Hierarch · 329–390
Gregory the Theologian
Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople
New Calendar January 25 Old Calendar February 7
Why they are a saint
Gregory the Theologian was one of the Three Holy Hierarchs; his sermons on the Trinity earned him the rare title Theologian. Briefly archbishop of Constantinople during the Second Ecumenical Council. The years given for this life are 329–390. His name is kept on the calendar with the other holy hierarchs.
Life
Saint Gregory was born in 329 at Arianzos near Nazianzos in Cappadocia. His father, also Gregory, was Bishop of Nazianzus, and his mother was Saint Nonna. He studied at Nazianzos, Caesarea, Alexandria and Athens, where he and Saint Basil were such close friends that they seemed one soul in two bodies.
Against his will his father ordained him priest, and for several years he lived with Basil in his monastery in Pontus. In 378 a council of bishops invited him to help the Church of Constantinople, then ravaged by heretics. There his preaching converted many; in his five Theological Orations he set forth the Orthodox teaching on the Holy Trinity.
At the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 he was chosen Patriarch of Constantinople and presided at the Council, but when some bishops disputed his election he resigned for the sake of peace in the Church. He withdrew to Arianzos, where he continued to defend Orthodoxy through letters and poems, and died on January 25, 389. He is honoured with the title 'Theologian,' like the Apostle John. In 950 his relics were brought to Constantinople.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Patron of students and teachers, theologians, because he taught and wrote in defence of the faith.
Prayer
O holy Gregory the Theologian, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.
Do not confuse with Gregory of Nyssa; Gregory Palamas; Gregory the Dialogist; Gregory of Armenia.