Gregory plays an important part in early Church history (see bibliography). His presence at both the council of Antioch and the councils of Constantinople place him at the center of debate. Along with Life of Moses, Gregory's mystical texts include the 15 homilies On the Song of Songs.
Gregory was not translated into Latin. His De opificio hominis was, however, translated by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century and by John Scotus Eriugena in the 9th century. Gregory of Nyssa takes his place in the line of great thinkers of the early Church.
Gregory was one of three notable Cappadocians (a region of Asia Minor or what is today modern Turkey), Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzen. As far as it is known, he was not educated at any of the important intellectual centers of the Hellenistic world. However, he was inspired by such pagan authors as Plato (especially the Paedrus, Phadeo, Republic), Middle Platonism, Iamblicus (cosmology), Porphyry (logic), Plotinus, not to mention being greatly interested in Hellenistic sciences. Gregory was also inspired by such Christian writers as Origen, Macarius, his brother Basil as well as Philo. Both influences provided models to stimulate his interest in philosophy and theology through the medium of a lofty rhetorical style.
Gregory's youth coincided with the last revival of pagan culture which culminated with Julian the Apostate. He was completely won over by the humanism of this period, married and became a teacher of rhetoric. Later he travelled throughout Palestine and Egypt to visit monastic and hermetical communities which stimulated him to take up this form of life at the family estate in Pontus along with his dear friend, Gregory of Nazianen. Although he greatly admired the monastic ideal, Gregory was married, and no evidence exists that he had ever lived it.
Having been appointed by Basil to the insignificant see of Nyssa, Gregory showed no signs of outstanding administrative talent. In 376 he was deposed by the Arian faction on the pretense of mismanaging his jurisdiction and was forced into exile until 378. When the emperor Valens died in that same year and Theodosius I favored the upholders of the Nicene Creed, Gregory became the heir of his brother Basil who died in 379. Despite his Basil's domineering attitude towards him, Gregory was actively involved in perpetuating his doctrine and teachings on monastic life plus in restructuring ecclesiastical affairs at the council of Antioch. In the years 381 and 382 Gregory played a significant role at the councils of Constantinople. He also refuted the Arian theologian Eunomius who claimed that a person could attain direct knowledge of the divinity. Many twentieth century theologians hold Gregory of Nyssa in great esteem, for example, Hans Urs von Balthasar and Jean Danielou. Although he made considerable use of various Hellenistic schools as vehicles to express Christian teaching, Gregory never did achieve a logical consistency in his writings. One of the most important contributions made by him should be seen in light of a prevailing belief of the day, namely, that the Platonic notion of perfection is static as opposed to movement or change. It is here that Gregory breaks with a strong philosophical position--that stability is perfection and that alteration is for the worse. It was therefore easy to envisage in Christian terms, for example in Origen, that humankind "fell" from perfection and needed to return to this static state of existence. On the other hand, Gregory saw perfection in terms of constant progress, the term for which is epektasis, his most notable contribution to theology. Since there is no limit to perfection, the same applies to virtue. Thus progress is never-ending.
While this notion of advancement can be misunderstood as giving rise to a certain unfulfillment, Gregory sees the soul as never satiated; as soon as it attains one degree of satiety, it advances with increased ardor to the next and so forth. This idea is based in Gregory's most fundamental perception, namely, that human mutability enables us to make constant progress while on the other hand, God's transcendence can never be grasped. This incomprehensibility of God is established in his infinity which for Gregory is a positive insight as opposed to the Greek philosophical tradition which held it as being formless.
Gregory of Nyssa expresses his ideas through the vehicle of allegorical representation which can appear alien to a modern reader. However, one cannot help but be captivated by his original notion of epektasis, perpetual ascent, which runs throughout most of his writings. Since men and women are made in God's image and likeness, another central theme for Gregory, they bear the very stamp of divinity within them, a fact which serves to ennoble the human race. Both insights thereby lend a certain modern quality to Gregory's writings and help make them relevant to us today.