E01235: Gregory of Nazianzus composes in 379/380 his Oration 21, On *Athanasius (bishop of Alexandria, ob. 373, S00294), which he delivers during a memorial service held by the then dissident Nicene congregation of Constantinople. He compares Athanasius with biblical figures and martyrs, and invokes his intercession on behalf of the church. Written in Greek at Constantinople.

Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 21, On Athanasius of Alexandria (CPG 3010.21; BHG 186)

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΚΑ’
Εἰς τὸν μέγαν Ἀθανάσιον ἐπίσκοπον Ἀλεξανδρείας.

Oration 21
On Athanasius the Great, bishop of Alexandria

1. Ἀθανάσιον ἐπαινῶν, ἀρετὴν ἐπαινέσομαι· ταὐτὸν γὰρ ἐκεῖνόν τε ἐπαινεῖν καὶ ἀρετὴν ὅτι πᾶσαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ συλλαβὼν εἶχε τὴν ἀρετὴν ἤ, τό γε ἀληθέστερον εἰπεῖν, ἔχει· Θεῷ γὰρ ζῶσι πάντες οἱ κατὰ Θεὸν ζήσαντες, κἂν ἐνθένδε ἀπαλλαγῶσι. Καθ’ ὃ καὶ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἀκούει Θεὸς, ὁ Θεὸς, ὡς οὐ νεκρῶν Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ ζώντων. (……)

‘1. In praising Athanasius, I shall be praising virtue. For it is the same thing to speak of him and to praise virtue, since he possessed virtue in its entirety, or rather he possesses it, to speak more truly: for all who have lived according to God still live in God, even if they depart hence: this is why God is called God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for he is not a God of dead men, but one of the living [Matthew 22:32]. (……)’

(2.) God is the ultimate source of true virtue which exalts all men, but very few are those who have managed to defeat the flesh and the material world and be in contact with God. (3.) These were few men in history, namely the Patriarchs, Prophets and Judges of Old Testament, John the Baptist, the Apostles of Christ, and men who excelled by their miracles and martyrdom. (4.) One of them was Athanasius who emerged equal or close to these figures, by his manifold virtue.

5. Πάντα μὲν δὴ τὰ ἐκείνου λέγειν τε καὶ θαυμάζειν μακρότερον ἂν εἴη τυχὸν, ἢ κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἱστορίας ἔργον, οὐκ εὐφημίας· ἃ καὶ ἰδίᾳ παραδοῦναι γραφῇ παίδευμά τε καὶ ἥδυσμα τοῖς εἰς ὕστερον, εὐχῆς ἔργον ἐμοὶ, ὥσπερ ὃν ἐκεῖνος Ἀντωνίου τοῦ θείου βίον συνέγραφε, τοῦ μοναδικοῦ βίου νομοθεσίαν, ἐν πλάσματι διηγήσεως. Ὀλίγα δὲ ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν ἐκείνου διεξελθόντες, καὶ ὅσα σχεδιάζει ἡμῖν νῦν ἡ μνήμη ὡς γνωριμώτερα, ἵνα τόν τε ἡμέτερον ἀφοσιωσώμεθα πόθον, καὶ τῇ πανηγύρει τὸ εἰκὸς ἐκπληρώσωμεν, τὰ πλείω τοῖς εἰδόσι παρήσομεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλως ὅσιον, οὐδὲ ἀσφαλὲς, ἀσεβῶν μὲν βίους τιμᾶσθαι ταῖς μνήμαις, τοὺς δὲ εὐσεβείᾳ διενεγκόντας, σιωπῇ παραπέμψασθαι· καὶ ταῦτα ἐν πόλει, ἣν μόλις ἂν καὶ πολλὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑποδείγματα σώσειεν, ὥσπερ τοὺς ἱππικοὺς καὶ τὰ θέατρα, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὰ θεῖα παίζουσαν.

5. ‘To tell his full story and praise would take much longer than the present occasion of my talk permits, and would be a subject for a book rather than a panegyric. For me it would be highly desirable to commit these things to a special book for the pleasure and instruction of posterity, just like the life of the divine Antony, which he wrote providing a rule for monastic life in the guise of a narrative account. Yet we shall recount only of few of the many things concerning him, as much as our memory currently preserves in greater clarity, so as to both express our own devotion, and fulfil what is necessary for this festival, and we shall leave the greatest part of the story to be said by those who know it. For it is neither right nor safe to celebrate the lives of impious men with memorials, while commending to silence those who lived in piety, and that in a city which even a multitude of examples of virtue would hardly be able to rescue, making sport, as it does, of divine matters just like horse-races and shows!’
(.....)

(7) Athanasius was trained in both Christian and pagan letters, and was ordained. (8) He was elected bishop of Alexandria by the vote of the people, becoming a worthy successor of the Apostle Mark, unlike others who imposed themselves by violence. (9) His ministry was accordingly blameless, unlike that of unworthy clerics. His virtues are manifold. (10-11) He embodies the image of Christ the archpriest and the characteristics of the good bishop described by Paul in Hebrews 4.14, and 1 Timothy 3. 1-7, 4-6. Gregory calls upon all to join him in praising Athanasius for his various virtues. (12-13) There was a time when orthodox theology flourished, without unnecessary philosophical elaborations, until Arius introduced his garrulous madness, and was followed by many, but not Athanasius, whose Trinitarian doctrine opposed both Arius and Sabellius. (14) Still a priest, he participates and excels at the Council of Nicaea. (15-18) The episcopal throne of Alexandria is usurped by two calamitous figures, Gregory of Cappadocia (338-339) and George of Cappadocia (357-361). (19) Athanasius joins the monastic movement in Egypt, which he reconciles with the Church, demonstrating that asceticism is necessary for the clergy, and that sacramental life is necessary for the monks. (20) He is therefore greatly respected by the monks who offer him their protection against men seeking to arrest him. (21-25) Exploiting his absence, Athanasius’ rivals prevail in Egypt and Syria and gain the favour of the emperor and the notables of Alexandria. They convoke councils at Seleucia of Isauria and Constantinople, which establish the heretical doctrine, and the whole Church is shaken by unrest. (26-29) Athanasius’ rival dies violently during a riot in Alexandria, and Athanasius returns triumphant to the city. His return is the greatest gathering of a crowd remembered. (30-31) On his return, Athanasius administers the church peacefully, sparing his own enemies. He cleanses the clergy from heretics, and brings peace among the various factions. The true doctrine of the Trinity prevails again. (32-33) Under Julian the Apostate, Athanasius is exiled again. Julian’s successor, Jovian, seeks to be informed about the Nicene faith in its many divisions, and Athanasius prevails as its best exponent. (34-36) He is revered in both East and West, and helps to harmonise Western and Eastern theology, overcoming superficial problems of linguistic interpretation. (35) Recapitulation of Athanasius’ praise. The oration closes as follows:

37. Ζήσας δὲ οὕτω καὶ παιδευθεὶς καὶ παιδεύσας, ὥστε ὅρον μὲν ἐπισκοπῆς εἶναι τὸν ἐκείνου βίον καὶ τρόπον, νόμον δὲ ὀρθοδοξίας τὰ ἐκείνου δόγματα, τίνα μισθὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας κομίζεται; οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο παριδεῖν ἄξιον. Ἐν γήρᾳ καλῷ καταλύει τὸν βίον, καὶ προστίθεται τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτοῦ, πατριάρχαις, καὶ προφήταις, καὶ ἀποστόλοις, καὶ μάρτυσι, τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἠγωνισμένοις. Καὶ, ἵνα εἴπω τινὰ βραχὺν ἐπιτάφιον, τιμᾶται τῶν εἰσοδίων τιμῶν τὴν ἐξόδιον πολυτελεστέραν, πολλὰ μὲν κινήσας δάκρυα, μείζονα δὲ τῶν ὁρωμένων τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαν ταῖς ἁπάντων διανοίαις ἐναποθέμενος. Ἀλλ’, ὦ φίλη καὶ ἱερὰ κεφαλὴ, ὁ καὶ λόγου καὶ σιωπῆς μέτρα, μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων σου καλῶν, διαφερόντως τιμήσας, ἡμῖν μὲν ἐνταῦθα στήσαις τὸν λόγον, εἰ καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐνδεέστερον, ἀλλὰ τοῦ γε πρὸς δύναμιν οὐ λειπόμενον· αὐτὸς δὲ ἄνωθεν ἡμᾶς ἐποπτεύοις ἵλεως, καὶ τὸν λαὸν τόνδε διεξάγοις τέλειον τελείας τῆς Τριάδος προσκυνητὴν, τῆς ἐν Πατρὶ, καὶ Υἱῷ, καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι θεωρουμένης καὶ σεβομένης· καὶ ἡμᾶς, εἰ μὲν εἰρηνικῶς, κατέχοις καὶ συμποιμαίνοις· εἰ δὲ πολεμικῶς, ἐπανάγοις ἢ προσλαμβάνοις, καὶ στήσαις μετὰ σεαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν οἷος σὺ, κἂν μέγα ᾖ τὸ αἰτούμενον, ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν· ᾧ πᾶσα δόξα, τιμὴ, καὶ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

‘37. His life, training and teaching were such that his living and ways have become a model for the episcopate, and his teachings a law for orthodoxy. And what reward did he win for his piety? Indeed, it is not right to pass that by. He closed his life in a good old age, and was gathered to his fathers, the Patriarchs, and Prophets, and Apostles, and Martyrs, who have contended for the truth. And, to say a few words on his burial, the honours he received at his departure surpassed even those of his arrival from exile. He triggered many tears, but even greater than these external expressions was the glory he stored up in the minds of all. Now, dear and hallowed figure who, among your other virtues, particularly honoured the due proportions of speech and silence, do stand our discourse here: if inferior to the truth, at least it has not fallen short of what our abilities permit. And may you watch upon us from above propitiously, and lead this people to be a perfect worshipper of the Trinity in its perfection: contemplated and venerated in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As for ourselves, if our lot be one of peace, may you keep and aid us in our pastoral ministry; but should it be one of fighting, may you take us up or welcome us and set us together with yourself and those like you – a great thing to ask though it is!– in the same Christ, our Lord, to whom be all glory, honour, and power for ever. Amen.’

Text: Mossay and Lafontaine 1980
Translation: E. Rizos