The Legacy of Origen in Gregory of Nyssa’s Theology of Freedom

This essay will argue that what I call Gregory of Nyssa’s ‘theology of freedom’ (which gave rise, among other things, to his powerful theological arguments against slavery and social injustice) is grounded in Origen’s own theology of freedom. I will first introduce the uniqueness of Gregory’s argume...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ramelli, Ilaria 1973- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2022
In: Modern theology
Year: 2022, Volume: 38, Issue: 2, Pages: 363-388
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Origenes 185-254 / Gregory of Nyssa 335-394 / Freedom / Slavery / Social justice
IxTheo Classification:KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
NBE Anthropology
NCC Social ethics
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Summary:This essay will argue that what I call Gregory of Nyssa’s ‘theology of freedom’ (which gave rise, among other things, to his powerful theological arguments against slavery and social injustice) is grounded in Origen’s own theology of freedom. I will first introduce the uniqueness of Gregory’s arguments against slavery and social injustice, and their theological bases, pointing out how these, more broadly, are part and parcel of Gregory’s theology of freedom. I shall then investigate briefly Origen’s own all-important theology of freedom—how freedom is at the centre of Origen’s Trinitarian theology, cosmology, and anthropology. Finally, I shall trace Gregory’s theology of freedom and his arguments against slavery and socio-economic injustice back to Origen's influence. Indeed, the main reason why Gregory was able to develop such a theology of freedom and use it against slavery and social iniquity is, I will argue, due to his commitment to the Origenian theology of freedom.
ISSN:1468-0025
Contains:Enthalten in: Modern theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/moth.12777