Saint Gregory, a Doctor of the Church, was born around the year 325 at Arianzus in Asia Minor and died in 389. He was the son of Saint Gregory the Elder, who served as Bishop of Nazianzus from 329 to 374.
After receiving baptism at the age of thirty, Saint Gregory chose a life of prayer and study, joining his close friend Saint Basil in a newly established monastic community.
At the age of forty one, he was appointed suffragan bishop of Caesarea. Like Saint Basil, he faced great difficulty in defending the true faith against Arianism and in resisting the influence of the Arian emperor Valens.
Saint Gregory later went to Constantinople, where he worked tirelessly to bring Christians back to the orthodox faith. It was there that he delivered his renowned sermons on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, teachings that secured his lasting reputation.
Because of his profound theological insight and clarity of teaching, he came to be known simply as “Saint Gregory the Theologian.”