The Five Theological Orations

The Five Theological Orations, first delivered in AD 379 by Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the three "Cappadocian Fathers" of the early Church, were immediately recognized as a landmark defense of the orthodox doctrine of the holy Trinity. Their historical importance as a decisive blow against the various trinitarian heresies of the fourth century - one from which they would never really recover - is indisputable; but just as obvious is their abiding value for clear-headed thinking, devotional fervor, and reverent humility becoming a genuine man of God. This is edifying reading for all the saints, no less in our day than in Gregory Nazianzen's.