Journal of Early Christian Studies

The present monograph represents a revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Zürich in 2007. Leuenberger-Wenger introduces her study by reflecting on the interrelation between ethics and Christian identity in the theology of Gregory of Nyssa. The very foundational question in Aristotle's ethics ("What is the good life?") presupposes an answer to the theological question: "What is the end of man?" The author explains succinctly: "The question of the good life is the question of who man is and where the purpose and meaning of his existence is to be found" (1). The coordinates of biblical theology and classical philosophy serve to orient this study of Gregory of Nyssa. In Part One, Leuenberger-Wenger reviews Gregory's sermons and paints a portrait of his ethics for the community. In Part Two, the author discusses Gregory's theological treatises and explores his ethics for individuals.

Poverty, alms, extortion, vulgarity, sexuality, social policy, and slavery are some of the themes in Gregory's preaching that Leuenberger-Wenger examines in Part One. Those in Gregory's church were frequently recent converts to Christianity, and Gregory could not assume that they had been raised in a Christian environment. The congregants were poor—financially as well as intellectually—and Gregory consciously followed the Christian tradition of paideia in his preaching in order to supply for his listeners some elementary education. Gregory labored to [End Page 650] alleviate the material poverty of the congregation, preaching passionately on the virtue of Christian charity. His depictions of the plight of the poor are horrific. The poor were treated like animals—less than animals in fact, for the rich treated their house animals with more compassion than the city beggars. The stories that Gregory tells in his sermons reveal a certain intimacy with the poor of the city, and he insists that these miserable creatures were people in possession of reason and deserving of justice. The author notes: "In Gregory's portrayal of the poor, it is clear that his purpose is to show how undeserved the plight of the sick and the poor is, as well as the contempt shown to them. Gregory identifies natural disasters, wars, and disease as the causes of their poverty" (53).

According to Leuenberger-Wenger, Gregory also advances a surprisingly negative and modern view of institutional slavery. Slavery is to be condemned, Gregory decries, because it places a material price on people, their rationality, and their souls, asking, "Is there any difference in these matters between the slave and the one who rules over him?...Do they not have the same bodily organs? Will they not both become ashes in death? Is there not one judgment? Are not the kingdom and hell both common to all?" (103). Although Gregory stood against slavery, he also opposed revolt as a means to achieve social justice and therefore he stopped short of advocating the abolition of slavery. For this failure, Gregory has drawn much criticism from modern scholars. Gregory addresses other issues as well, including the enslavement to sexual lust, gluttony, and fasting. Leuenberger- Wenger's thesis is perhaps best substantiated in the second part of the book when she turns to examine Gregory's ethical instructions to those who are advanced in Christian discipline. As she then notes, according to Gregory, Christian maturity means never to stop striving for perfection: "Virtue as the fulfillment of human existence and its destiny is a central theme for Gregory. Virtue brings human nature to perfection and lets it bloom like a flower" (178).

The book would be worth reading for Sandra Leuenberger-Wenger's careful analysis of Gregory's homilies alone. The author repeatedly points out that in his preaching Gregory adopts the rhetorical structures he learned during his classical education. The author also expends a great deal of effort in demonstrating that Gregory's ethical conclusions are in fundamental agreement with Greek philosophy. In this respect, Leuenberger-Wenger's observations are predictable. However, the author also advances several rather surprising conclusions. For example, the author praises Gregory for avoiding misogyny in his ethical principles and reasoning. Gregory does not imagine that women have been assigned to the feminine sex as a punishment, and almost never does he appeal to the category of "female" to represent anything inferior or evil. On the contrary, Gregory extols various holy women as positive examples of virtue. In the same vein, Leuenberger- Wenger depicts Gregory's attitude toward asceticism as remarkably temperate. Surrounded by radicals who practiced an extreme strain of asceticism, Gregory kept a relatively reserved stance towards self-discipline and self-denial. Gregory knew the danger of giving into asceticism with the same reckless lust that the true ascetic sought to abandon (356). Gregory taught that hatred of the physical body reflected badly on the creator. [End Page 651]

This monograph represents a fine new study on Gregory of Nyssa and early Christian ethics. Saundra Leuenberger-Wenger's evenhanded analysis of Gregory's views on a number of politically sensitive topics is a welcome addition to the literature.