St. Gregory the Theologian and St. Damasus of Rome: comparative analysis of theological and church-political positions

• Main Author: Georgy Zakharov
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2017-12-01
• Series: Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия
• Subjects: раннее христианство; патристика; свт. Григорий Богослов; свт. Дамас Римский; церковные соборы; Антиохийская схизма; Аполлинарий; триадология; арианские споры
• Online Access: http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/6090

This article gives a comparative analysis of theological and political views of two most important representatives of the Nicene party at the fi nal stage of the Arian controversy, namely St. Damasus of Rome and St. Gregory the Theologian. The article points out the coincidence of views of the two bishops on the problem of the Antiochian schism, but takes into account the fact that Rome did not acknowledge Gregory as the legitimate bishop of Constantinople because of his violation of the 15th rule of the Council of Nicaea, prohibiting the transfer of bishops from one episcopal chair to another. At the same time, Damasus refrained from direct criticism of St. Gregory, sharply condemning his opponent in the struggle for the Constantinople see, Maximus the Cynic. From the theological point of view, we can clearly see the coincidence of positions and even of the arguments of the two saints as to the christological heresy of Apollinaris, which can easily be explained by the acquaintance of St. Gregory with the decisions of the Roman council (378). In the fi eld of triadology, both bishops demonstrate certain terminological flexibility within the framework of the Nicene tradition, but their interpretations of the Nicene faith diff er in details: for St. Gregory the unity of the Trinity is due to hypostatic properties, namely to the monarchy of Father, whereas St. Damasus concentrates his attention on the possession by the Persons of the Trinity of one Deity which is associated primarily with Father.