Nonna of Nazianzus
Encyclopedia
Saint Nonna of Nazianzus was the wife of Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder
, and the mother of Gregory the Theologian
, Caesarius, and Gorgonia
. She lived in Cappadocia
, a province of the Roman Empire
in present-day central Turkey.
, a Jewish-pagan sect that worshipped Hypsistos, the "Most High" God. She was the mother of three children, each of whom became saints, the most notable being Gregory of Nazianzus. She outlived her husband and two of her children, dying in 374.
Her son Gregory tells of an occasion in 351 when Nonna fell sick with a severe illness and appeared to be at the point of death. On his way to visit a friend, Gregory hurried instead to his mother who, in the meantime, had begun to recover. She had a vision in which Gregory had given her magical cakes marked with the sign of the cross
, and blessed by him.
Gregory championed Nonna as a model of Christian motherhood. He wrote of her,
Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder
Gregory the Elder, or Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, was the bishop of the see of Nazianzus in Roman province of Cappadocia...
, and the mother of Gregory the Theologian
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
, Caesarius, and Gorgonia
Saint Gorgonia
Saint Gorgonia was the daughter of Saint Gregory the Elder and Saint Nonna. She is remembered in both Western and Eastern Churches for her piety as a married woman.-Biography:...
. She lived in Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, a province of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in present-day central Turkey.
Life
After Nonna married, she converted her husband Gregory to Christianity. He had been a member of the HypsistariansHypsistarians
Hypsistarians, i.e. worshippers of the Hypsistos , is a term appearing in documents dated about 200 BC to about AD 400, referring to various groups mostly in Asia Minor and on the South Russian coasts of what is today known as the Black Sea.Some modern scholars identify the group, or groups, with...
, a Jewish-pagan sect that worshipped Hypsistos, the "Most High" God. She was the mother of three children, each of whom became saints, the most notable being Gregory of Nazianzus. She outlived her husband and two of her children, dying in 374.
Her son Gregory tells of an occasion in 351 when Nonna fell sick with a severe illness and appeared to be at the point of death. On his way to visit a friend, Gregory hurried instead to his mother who, in the meantime, had begun to recover. She had a vision in which Gregory had given her magical cakes marked with the sign of the cross
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
, and blessed by him.
Gregory championed Nonna as a model of Christian motherhood. He wrote of her,
External links
- The Sisterhood of Saint Nonna, an OrthodoxEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
organization for wives of clergy - A life of Saint Nonna