Copyright ©2011 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
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Greek Church Father, and one of the three Cappadocian Fathers, whose influential writings earned him the title ‘the theologian’. He was appointed bp. of Constantinople during the Council there in 381, but he resigned shortly afterwards. Many of his writings were translated into Syriac, sometimes in two versions. The most important are:
1. 47 Homilies, or ‘Orations’ (
CPG
3010, and Suppl.).
There is an earlier version, preserved incomplete, and a thorough revision
made by
The Fourth Book of
Maccabees (1895), 55–73 (Pawla’s revision); Hom. 39 and 41, ‘On
Epiphany and Pentecost’, by A. Malki, Die
(1984), 153–76, 258–82 (Pawla’s revision); and in the
Louvain Corpus Nazianzenum: Hom. 40, ‘On Baptism’ (2001); Hom. 13, ‘On
Eulalius’, and 41, ‘On Pentecost’ (2002); Hom. 27, ‘Against the Eunomians’,
38, ‘On the Nativity’, and 39, ‘On Epiphany’ (2005); Homs. 28–31,
‘Theological Orations’ (2007), all providing both versions (further volumes
are in preparation). The mss. of the two versions are described by A. Van
Roey and H. Moors, in
2. Letters (
CPG
3032). According to
3. Poems. The names of three translators are known, Candidatus of Amid (17
poems, done in 665, according to ms. Vat. Syr. 96),
Actes, X Congrès des Orientalistes, vol. 3 [1896],
73–82). A large collection of poems survives in ms. Vat. Syr. 105, ed. P. J.
Bollig (1895), and smaller groupings in three mss. in the British Library,
ed. H. Gismondi (1896). It is unclear whether any of these can be allocated
to either Candidatus or Theodosios.
4. There is also a Syr. Orth. Anaphora attributed to Gregory (
CPG
3097), ed. with LT, I. Hausherr, Anaphorae Syriacae I.2 (1940).
His commemoration is on 1 or 15 Jan.