St. Gregory Nazianzen
ST. GREGORY NAZIANZEN
cation, his priesthood and his episcopate, his virtues, com pares him with other great heroes of God, touches briefly on his death and burial, and concludes with the customary prayer. The oration has been admired by critics for its great power and beauty.
The date of the panegyric on Gorgonia cannot be deter mined exactly. We conclude from the oration itself that it was after the death of Caesarius in 369 and before the death of the elder Gregory in 374. The speech was probably delivered in Iconium in Lycaonia in the presence of Gorgonia's
'spiritual father' (22), Faustinus, then bishop of that city. It will seem surprising to us that the daughter of such pious parents should have postponed her baptism so long (20), though she must certainly have been baptized before the extraordinary incident involving her handling of the sacred
Species (18). The eulogy is a noble and eloquent tribute to Gorgonia and marked with greater warmth of feeling than are his other funeral orations.
The oration on the death of his father was delivered by the younger Gregory at Nazianzus in Cappadocia early in 374.
St. Basil the Great, who had been consecrated bishop by Gregory the Elder, was present, and the orator addresses the opening sections and one of the later sections (14) to his life long friend. St. Nonna, mother of the orator, was also present, and the conclusion of the eulogy (42,43) is addressed to her.
Gregory the Elder is presented as truly admirable in every way. The oration sketches his life and character, including the story of his conversion from heresy. So long a speech on the occasion of his father's death may seem a little out of place today. To many the panegyric may seem to lack genuine warmth of feeling, save perhaps in the sections dealing with his mother. An interesting sidelight on the ecclesiastical history of the time is the account of the election of the bishop of Caesarea (33-36).