E01879: Gregory of Nyssa in his Life of *Gregory the Miracle-Worker (bishop and missionary in Pontus, S00687), of the late 370s or the 380s, recounts a vision experienced by the saint (purportedly in the early 3rd century), with *John the Evangelist (S00042) and *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) revealing the doctrine of the Trinity. Written in Greek in Asia Minor.

Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Gregory the Miracle-Worker (CPG 3184, BHG 715-715b)

For the context of this passage, see $E01878

28. Οὕτω τοίνυν ὑπελθὼν τὸν ζυγὸν κατ᾽ ἀνάγκην πάντων μετὰ ταῦτα τῶν νομίμων ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τελεσθέντων καὶ βραχὺν χρόνον αἰτησάμενος παρὰ τοῦ τὴν ἱερωσύνην ἐπικηρύξαντος πρὸς κατανόησιν τῆς κατὰ τὸ μυστήριον ἀκριβείας οὐκέτι, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, Σαρκὶ καὶ αἵματι προσανέχειν ᾤετο δεῖν, ἀλλὰ θεόθεν ᾔτει γενέσθαι αὐτῷ τὴν τῶν κρυφίων φανέρωσιν καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἐπεθάρρησε τῷ τοῦ λόγου κηρύγματι πρὶν διά τινος ἐμφανείας ἐκκαλυφθῆναι αὐτῷ τὴν ἀλήθειαν. 29. Σκοπουμένῳ γὰρ αὐτῷ ποτε νύχιον περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς πίστεως καὶ παντοίους ἀνακινοῦντι λογισμούς — ἦσαν γὰρ δὴ καὶ τότε τινὲς οἱ τὴν εὐσεβῆ διδασκαλίαν παραχαράττοντες καὶ διὰ τῆς πιθανότητος τῶν ἐπιχειρημάτων ἀμφίβολον ποιοῦντες πολλάκις καὶ τοῖς συνετοῖς τὴν ἀλήθειαν — ὑπὲρ ἧς τότε διαγρυπνοῦντι αὐτῷ καὶ φροντίζοντι φαίνεταί τις καθ᾽ ὕπαρ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῳ τῷ σχήματι γηραλέος τὸ εἶδος ἱεροπρεπὴς τῇ καταστολῇ τοῦ ἐνδύματος πολλὴν ἐπισημαίνων τὴν ἀρετὴν τῇ περὶ τὸ πρόσωπον χάριτι καὶ τῇ καταστάσει τοῦ σχήματος. τὸν δὲ καταπλαγέντα τὴν ὄψιν διαναστῆναί τε τῆς εὐνῆς καὶ ὅστις εἴη μαθεῖν καὶ ὑπὲρ τίνος ἥκοι. ἐκείνου δὲ καταστείλαντος αὐτοῦ τὴν ταραχὴν τῆς διανοίας ἐν ἠρεμαίᾳ φωνῇ καὶ εἰπόντος θείῳ προστάγματι πεφηνέναι αὐτῷ τῶν ἀμφισβητουμένων παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ χάριν, ὡς ἂν ἐκκαλυφθείη τῆς εὐσεβοῦς πίστεως ἡ ἀλήθεια, θαρρῆσαί τε πρὸς τὸν λόγον καὶ βλέψαι πρὸς αὐτὸν μετά τινος χαρᾶς καὶ ἐκπλήξεως. 30. Εἶτα ἐκείνου κατ᾽ εὐθὺ τὴν χεῖρα προτείναντος καὶ οἷον ὑποδεικνύντος αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς τῶν δακτύλων εὐθείας τὸ ἐκ πλαγίου φαινόμενον συμπεριαγαγεῖν τοῦτον τῇ εὐθείᾳ τῆς χειρὸς τὸ ἴδιον βλέμμα καὶ ἰδεῖν ἀντιπρόσωπον τῷ ὀφθέντι ἕτερον θέαμα ἐν γυναικείῳ τῷ σχήματι κρεῖττον ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον. πάλιν δὲ καταπλαγέντα συγκλιθῆναί τε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τῷ προσώπῳ καὶ ἀμηχανεῖν τῷ θεάματι μὴ φέροντα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὴν ἐμφάνειαν. καὶ γὰρ δὴ τὸ παράδοξον τῆς ὀπτασίας ἐν τούτῳ μάλιστα ἦν, ὅτι νυκτὸς οὔσης βαθείας φῶς τοῖς ὀφθεῖσιν αὐτῷ συνεξέλαμψεν ὥσπερ τινός λαμπρᾶς ἐξαπτομένης λαμπάδος. ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐχ οἶός τε ἦν φέρειν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὴν ἐμφάνειαν, ἤκουσε διὰ λόγου τινὸς τῶν ὀφθέντων αὐτῷ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὸν περὶ τοῦ ζητουμένου λόγον διεξιόντων, δι᾽ ὧν οὐ μόνον ἐπαιδεύθη τὴν ἀληθῆ γνῶσιν τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων τοὺς ἐπιφανέντας ἐγνώρισεν ἑκατέρου αὐτῶν διὰ τῆς οἰκείας προσηγορίας ἀνακαλοῦντος τὸν ἕτερον.

31. Ἀκοῦσαι γὰρ λέγεται παρὰ τῆς ἐν γυναικείῳ φανείσης τῷ σχήματι παρακαλούσης τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν Ἰωάννην φανερῶσαι τῷ νέῳ τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας μυστήριον, ἐκεῖνον δὲ εἰπεῖν ἑτοίμως ἔχειν καὶ τοῦτο τῇ μητρὶ τοῦ κυρίου χαρίσασθαι, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο φίλον αὐτῇ. καὶ οὕτως εἰπόντα τὸν λόγον σύμμετρόν τε καὶ εὐπερίγραπτον πάλιν μεταστῆναι τῶν ὄψεων. τὸν δὲ παραχρῆμα τὴν θείαν ἐκείνην μυσταγωγίαν γράμμασιν ἐνσημήνασθαι καὶ κατ᾽ ἐκείνην μετὰ ταῦτα κηρύσσειν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τὸν λόγον καὶ τοῖς ἐφεξῆς ὥσπερ τινὰ κλῆρον τὴν θεόσδοτον ἐκείνην διδασκαλίαν καταλιπεῖν, δι᾽ ἧς μυσταγωγεῖται μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ὁ παρ᾽ ἐκείνοις λαὸς πάσης αἱρετικῆς κακίας διαμείνας ἀπείραστος.

32. Τὰ δὲ τῆς μυσταγωγίας ῥήματα ταῦτά ἐστιν·

Εἷς θεός
πατὴρ λόγου ζῶντος - σοφίας ὑφεστώσης καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ χαρακτῆρος ἀϊδίου -
τέλειος τελείου γεννήτωρ
πατὴρ υἱοῦ μονογενοῦς.

Εἷς κύριος
μόνος ἐκ μόνου
θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ
χαρακτὴρ καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς θεότητος
λόγος ἐνεργός
σοφία τῆς τῶν ὅλων συστάσεως περιεκτική
καὶ δύναμις τῆς ὅλης κτίσεως ποιητική
υἱὸς ἀληθινὸς ἀληθινοῦ πατρός
ἀόρατος ἀοράτου
(καὶ) ἄφθαρτος ἀφθάρτου
(καί) ἀθάνατος ἀθανάτου
(καὶ) ἀΐδιος ἀϊδίου.

Ἓν πνεῦμα ἅγιον
ἐκ θεοῦ τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχον
καὶ δι᾽ υἱοῦ πεφηνὸς - δηλαδὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις -
εἰκὼν τοῦ υἱοῦ τελείου τελεία
ζωὴ ζώντων αἰτία
ἁγιότης ἁγιασμοῦ χορηγός
ἐν ᾧ φανεροῦται θεὸς ὁ πατήρ
ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσι
καὶ θεὸς ὁ υἱός
ὁ διὰ πάντων.

Τριὰς τελεία
δόξῃ καὶ ἀϊδιότητι καὶ βασιλείᾳ μὴ μεριζομένη μηδὲ ἀπαλλοτριουμένη.

(οὔτε οὖν κτιστόν τι ἢ δοῦλον ἐν τῇ τριάδι οὔτε ἐπείσακτον ὡς πρότερον μὲν οὐχ ὑπάρχον ὕστερον δὲ ἐπεισελθόν. οὔτε οὖν ἐνέλιπέ ποτε υἱὸς πατρὶ οὔτε υἱῷ πνεῦμα, ἀλλ᾽ ἄτρεπτος καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος ἡ αὐτὴ τριὰς ἀεί.)

33. Ὅτῳ δὲ φίλον περὶ τούτου πεισθῆναι, ἀκουέτω τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἐν ᾗ τὸν λόγον ἐκήρυττε, παρ᾽ οἷς αὐτὰ τὰ χαράγματα τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης χειρὸς εἰς ἔτι καὶ νῦν διασῴζεται. ταῦτα οὐχὶ πρὸς τὰς θεοτεύκτους ἐκείνας πλάκας ἁμιλλᾶται τῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ τῆς χάριτος; ἐκείνας λέγω τὰς πλάκας, ἐν αἷς ἡ τοῦ θείου θελήματος ἐνετυπώθη νομοθεσία.


[After his ordination by the bishop of Amaseia, Gregory requests time to contemplate on doctrine]

’28. Thus, then, he willy-nilly came under the yoke, and later all the proper rites were performed on him; and he requested a little time from the man who had summoned him to the priesthood, in order to obtain an understanding of the exact purport of the mystery. For he thought that he should no longer pay heed “to flesh and blood,” as the Apostle says, but sought to receive the revelation of the hidden things from God. And he did not feel ready to preach the word, until the truth was manifested to him by a revelation. 29. So, one night, as he was contemplating on the doctrine of the faith, and was turning over all sorts of thoughts – for even then there were people who falsified the orthodox doctrine, and, through the plausibility of their proposals, they often blurred the truth even for the sound-minded — so, as he lay awake pondering these things, there appeared the living vision of a human figure of elderly appearance, very dignified in garb, and displaying every virtue in the grace of his countenance and the calmness of his appearance. Startled by the sight, he got up from his bed and asked who he was and why he had come. The man calmed his distress of mind with a calm voice, and said that he had appeared to him by divine command, on account of his uncertainties, and in order that the truth of the orthodox faith might be disclosed. And he took heart at the word and looked to him with joy and atonement.

30. Then the man stretched forth his hand, as if indicating to him by the direction of his fingers what was appearing by his side. And he followed with his eyes the direction where the hand was pointing, and saw, opposite the man he had already seen, another apparition in the form of a woman, but grander than human. Startled once again, he shrunk away and was at a loss at the vision, unable to bear the sight with his eyes. For the strangest thing about his vision was precisely this: although the night was far advanced, a light shone along with the figures he was seeing, like a bright bursting beacon. And, as he was unable to bear the sight with his eyes, he heard a conversation between the figures he had seen, discussing with each other the subject he was seeking to learn about, and, by that, he not only was instructed in the true knowledge of the faith, but also recognised those who had appeared by their names, since each of them addressed the other by their proper name.

31. For they say that he heard her who had appeared in a female form requesting the Evangelist John to show the young man the mystery of truth, and that the latter said that he would readily oblige the Mother of the Lord also in this, since she so pleased. And thus he uttered the word, balanced and succinct, and again vanished from his eyes. And he [Gregory] immediately wrote down that divine mystical doctrine, and afterwards preached the word in the church according to it, and left that God-given teaching to his successors as a kind of inheritance, by which the people of that region are initiated to this day, thus remaining unaffected by every heretical wickedness.

32. Now the words of the mystical doctrine are these:

“One God: Father of the living Word – who is subsistent wisdom and eternal power and impress; perfect begetter of perfect; Father of only-begotten Son.

One Lord: only from only; God from God; impress and image of the Godhead; acting Word; wisdom enclosing the structure of the universe, and power which makes the entire creation; true Son of true Father; invisible of invisible; incorruptible of incorruptible; immortal of immortal; eternal of eternal.

One Holy Spirit: holding existence from God, and manifested (i.e. to men) through the Son; perfect image of the perfect Son; life, the cause of the living; holiness granting sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father who is above all and in all, and God the Son who is through all.

Perfect Trinity: in glory and eternity and sovereignty neither divided nor estranged.”

(Therefore, neither is there anything created or servile in the Trinity nor anything secondarily added, as if non-existent in the first place and introduced later. Therefore, neither has the Father ever lacked the Son, nor has the Son the Spirit, but the Trinity is ever the same, unchanging and unaltered.)

33. Whoever would like to be convinced of this should listen to the Church where he proclaimed the doctrine, and where the very writings (charagmata) of that blessed hand are preserved to this very day. Do these not rival in the marvellous nature of their grace those divinely fashioned tablets of stone? I refer to those tablets on which the legislation of the divine will was engraved (...)’

Text: Heil 1990 (paragraph numbers Maraval 2014).
Translation: Efthymios Rizos (using Slusser 1998).