Evagrius and Gregory: Nazianzen or

Nyssen? Cappadocian (and Origenian)

Influence on Evagrius
Ilaria L. E. Ramelli

PONTICUS (345/6399) is one of the most

outstanding Greek Patristic thinkers and ascetics in the
Origenian tradition. His intellectual figure and his
thought are undergoing a reassessment,1 and rightly so. However, most of this reassessment still remains to be done,
especially with regard to a unitary vision of his production that
overcomes the unfortunate split between his ascetic and his
philosophical works (the former easily accepted, the latter
deemed daringly and dangerously Origenistic), and with regard to his (too often misunderstood) Origenism. In order to
address both questions, which are closely interrelated, it is
necessary to tackle the thorny issue of Origens true thought
as opposed to the false reconstruction of it that was made in the
course of the Origenist controversy and that partially still holds
todayand its exact impact on Evagrius system, as well as to
investigate the possible role of the Cappadocians in the transmission of Origens authentic ideas to Evagrius.
Gregory of Nyssa is, among the Cappadocians and among all
VAGRIUS

1 At the very least see A. Casiday, Evagrius Ponticus (New York 2006); J.
Konstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus: The Making of a Gnostic (Burlington 2009);
K. Corrigan, Evagrius and Gregory: Mind, Soul and Body in the 4th Century
(Farnham/Burlington 2009). Corrigans attention to the Kephalaia Gnostica
and the Letter to Melania or Great Letter, and his holistic approach to Evagrius
thought, are commendable. The same holistic approach (i.e. without the
inveterate fracture between Evagrius ascetic and philosophical works) is
also used, with good reason, by Konstantinovsky and, albeit briefly, by Casiday.

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118 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

Patristic thinkers, the most insightful and faithful follower of

Origen.2 The problem of which of the Cappadocians transmitted Origens thought and its interpretation to Evagrius
who surely had also a direct acquaintance with the ideas of the
great Alexandrianis most relevant to the overall assessment
of Evagrius intellectual heritage. For now I am primarily concerned with a biographical point, but, as will become obvious,
this point bears directly on that core issue.
Indeed, some aspects of Evagrius life3 so far have not received from scholars the consideration they deserve. Since,
however, they bear on his thought and his relationship to the
thought of the Cappadocians and consequently to that of
Origen himself, which is one of the most important problems in
Greek Patristics, they are worth investigating. In order to do so,
it will be necessary to analyse the sources critically, and when
they are controversial or ambiguous to suggest interpretations
that are not usually taken into account but can open up interesting perspectives for the reassessment of Evagrius intellectual
configuration. The main sources on his life are Palladius H.
Laus. 38, Socrates HE 4.23, and Sozomen HE 6.30, plus a fifthcentury Coptic biography.4 As I will point out, there is one
major point on which they disagree. But let us see what can be
2 A full demonstration is projected in the form of a systematic study of
Gregorys close dependence on, and creative and intelligent reception of,
Origens ideas. I suspect more and more that Gregory is the Patristic
philosopher and theologian who understood Origens true thought best of
all and misunderstood it least of all.
3 See on his biography A. and C. Guillaumont, Evagre le Pontique,
Dictionnaire de Spiritualit IV (Paris 1961) 17311744, and their Evagrius
Ponticus, ReallexAntChrist 6 (1965) 10881107; biographical details also in
Konstantinovsky, Evagrius 1126. Further references in the discussion below.
4 Other ancient sources, of less importance for Evagrius life, are Gregory
Nazianzens testament (see below); the anonymous end-fourth-century
Historia Monachorum 20.15 (p.123 Festugire); the anonymous fourth-fifthcentury Apopthegmata, Alphabetical Collection s.v. Evagrius (PG 65.173); Gennadius Vir.ill. 11 and 17; and Jerome Ep. 133, Dial. adv. Pel. praef., Comm. in
Ier. 4 praef.

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gathered from them.

According to our available sources, Evagrius was born in
Ibora in Pontus. As a son of a presbyter and , he
received a good education in rhetoric, philosophy, and the
liberal arts. He soon came into contact with Basil and Gregory
of Nazianzus, who, according to tradition and in all probability, were the compilers of the Philocalia, the Greek anthology of
key passages from Origens works.5 Evagrius is likely to have
become acquainted with Origens ideas first thanks to them.
He was ordained a reader by Basil. After the death of Basil,
and after the death of the presbyter who was Evagrius father
according to God6 and was ordained a presbyter in Arkeus by
Nazianzen, in his letter to Theodore (Ep. 115) that prefaces the Philocalia, does not state explicitly that this work was written by himself and Basil;
what the letter says is that it is a of Gregory and Basil for the use
of those who study the Bible, the , those who love the Logos (or
the Word). The attribution to Basil and Nazianzen is found in the anonymous prologue that follows the letter, probably posterior to the condemnation of Origenism in the fifth century. See E. Junod, Remarques sur la
composition de la Philocalie dOrigne par Basile de Csare et Grgoire de
Nazianze, RHPhR 52 (1972) 149156; M. Harl and N. de Lange, Origne,
Philocalie, 120, sur les critures / La Lettre Africanus sur lhistoire de Suzanne
(Paris 1983) 2024. It is very probable that the tradition according to which
Basil and Nazianzen were the redactors of the Philocalia is reliable, even
though doubts have been raised: see E. Junod, Basile de Csare et
Grgoire de Nazianze sont-ils les compilateurs de la Philocalie dOrigne? in
Mmorial Dom Jean Gribomont (Rome 1988) 349360; but in his previous
works Junod too accepted the traditional attribution, until his introduction
to Origne: Philocalie 2127 (Paris 1976). Most scholars accept Basil and
Nazianzens paternity of the Philocalia, e.g. W. Lhr, Christianity as Philosophy: Problems and Perspectives of an Ancient Intellectual Project, VChr
64 (2010) 160188, at 185.
6 Pallad. H.Laus. 38.2 Bartelink:
,
; 38.13:

. This makes it possible that the chorepiscopus
was not Evagrius biological father, but his spiritual father. This point is usually
not noticed or discussed in scholarship on Evagrius biography. However,
5

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120 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

Basil himself, Evagrius then went to Constantinople to study,

according to Socrates and Sozomen, with Gregory Nazianzen:
He studied philosophy and was educated in sacred Scripture
under the direction of Gregory, bishop of Nazianzus (Soz. HE
6.30.8). Evagrius stayed there in 379382, around the time of
the ecumenical Council of 381, in which he participated as a
deacon. Now, Evagrius was ordained a deacon by Nazianzen
himself according to Socrates (HE 4.23.34), but, as I shall point
out, Socrates testimony is contradicted by Palladius.
Socrates affirmation is followed by virtually all scholars in
Evagrian studies, for instance Manlio Simonetti7 and Robert
Sinkewicz, who speaks of Gregory Nazianzen as the one who
ordained Evagrius and never mentions Gregory Nyssen in his
biography of Evagrius;8 the same is true of Giovanni Cataldo,9
David Brakke,10 and Kevin Corrigan.11 Joel Kalvesmaki also
speaks only of Gregory Nazianzen in connection with Evagrius
formation, without mentioning Gregory Nyssen.12 Julia Konstantinovsky mentions Gregory of Nyssa only once in her account of the life of Evagrius, not as the one who ordained him
or was his friend or accompanied him to Egypt (see below), but
___
the possibility is interesting and suggests a possible parallel with Leonidas,
Origens so-called father ( ), as Eusebius describes him (HE 6.1.1). Details and arguments in I. L. E. Ramelli, Origen,
Patristic Philosophy, and Christian Platonism: Re-Thinking the Christianisation of Hellenism, VChr 63 (2009) 217263, and Origen the Christian
Middle/Neoplatonist, Journal of Early Christian History 1 (2011) 98130.
7 M. Simonetti, Letteratura cristiana antica greca e latina (Milan 1988) 287.
8 R. E. Sinkewicz, Evagrius of Pontus. The Greek Ascetic Corpus (Oxford 2003)
xviixix.
9 G. Cataldo, Vita come tensione nellantropologia di Evagrio Pontico (Bari 2007)
2223.
10 D. Brakke, Evagrius of Pontus, Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons (Collegeville 2009) 23.
11 Corrigan, Evagrius 2. See also G. Wassen, A Life of Evagrius of Pontus, http://home.versatel.nl/chotki/a_life_of_evagrius_of_pontus.htm.
12 J. Kalvesmaki, The Epistula fidei of Evagrius of Pontus: An Answer to
Constantinople, JECS 20 (2012) 113139, at 113115.

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simply in connection with the other Cappadocians: Evagrius

undoubtedly also encountered Gregory of Nyssa, both in
Basils Cappadocian estate and in Constantinople, although no
reliable record exists of their contacts.13 This last point, in
light of what I shall argue, may be questionable.
Palladius account is squarely different from Socrates with
regard to who was Evagrius close friend and who ordained
him a deacon. For, instead of indicating Gregory Nazianzen,
Palladius indicates Gregory of Nyssa. I shall analyse Palladius
testimony below. First, however, it is necessary to observe that
Palladius of Helenopolis report is noteworthy, for he was a
personal disciple of Evagrius, unlike Socrates. He wrote a biography of Evagrius, devoting a whole chapter of his Historia
Lausiaca to himas Eusebius had done with Origen, his hero,
devoting almost a book to him in the Historia Ecclesiastica. Palladius was an Origenian monk, and was bishop of Helenopolis
in Bithynia from 400 CE. He was a supporter of John Chrysostom (in honour and defence of whom he probably wrote the
Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom),14 and an acquaintance of
Konstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus 1126.
Many scholars support Palladius paternity of the Dialogue. See P.
Devos, Approches de Pallade travers le Dialogue sur Chrysostome et lHistoire
Lausiaque, AnalBoll 107 (1989) 243266, who bases his argument on the
similarity between this Dialogue and Palladius Historia Lausiaca; N. ZeegersVander Vorst, A propos du Dialogue de Pallade sur la vie de Jean Chrysostome, RHE 85 (1990) 3041; L. Dattrino, Palladio. Dialogo sulla vita di
Giovanni Crisostomo (Rome 1995); E. Cattaneo, Le cause della decadenza del
clero nel Dialogo sulla vita di Crisostomo di Palladio, Augustinianum 37 (1997)
333349; A. Miranda, Autorit ecclesiastica e giurisdizione civile nel Dialogo sulla vita di Crisostomo di Palladio, Studia Patristica 49 (2002) 405423; G.
D. Dunn, The Date of Innocent Is Epistula 12 and the Second Exile of
John Chrysostom, GRBS 45 (2005) 155170; D. Katos, Socratic Dialogue
or Courtroom Debate? Judicial Rhetoric and Stasis Theory in the Dialogue
on the Life of St. John Chrysostom, VChr 61 (2007) 4269, who grounds his
demonstration on the presence in the Dialogue of principles of judicial
rhetoric and late antique stasis theory, well known to Palladius, and argues
that he wrote it, not as a biography, but as a case for the restoration of John
13
14

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122 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

the Origenian monks dubbed Tall Brothers, as well as of

Evagrius, Rufinus, and Melania the Elder, all convinced
Origenians. Palladius actually speaks of Evagrius as his teacher
(H.Laus. 23.1). When Chrysostom was exiled, Palladius went to
Rome and tried hard to have him restored to his seat, but he
himself was banned, to Syene of the Thebaid in Egypt.15 He
even requested that Theophilus be put on trial as responsible
for the exile of John.16 The Dialogue, which is probably by him,
was modelled on Platos Phaedo, notably just as was Gregory
Nyssens De anima et resurrectione.17 I think it very likely that Palladius had Gregory of Nyssas work in mind and was inspired
by him.
In Egypt, before being elected bishop, Palladius had become
acquainted with the Desert Fathers Macarius of Alexandria,
and Evagrius. Remarkably, Palladius had known Evagrius personally, as he himself attests (H.Laus. 12, 23, 24, 35, 38, 47),
and it is in Evagrius spirit that, after his return from his own
exile, ca. 418420, he wrote his Historia Lausiaca18 (in the same
___

to the diptychs as a bishop. See now D. Katos, Palladius of Helenopolis, the

Origenist Advocate (Oxford 2011).
15 On those who supported John in and after his exile see M. Wallraff,
Tod im Exil. Reaktionen auf die Todesnachricht des Johannes Chrysostomos und Konstituierung einer johannitischen Opposition, in Chrysostomosbilder in 1600 Jahren (Berlin/New York 2008) 2337.
16 John Chrysostom was accused, among other imputations, also of
having invaded Theophilus jurisdiction when he received the Origenian
monks, and of having been given money by Olympias, his rich deaconess.
See J. Tloka, Griechische Christen, christliche Griechen (Tbingen 2005) 159160;
E. D. Hunt, Palladius of Helenopolis: A Party and its Supporters in the
Church of the Late Fourth Century, JThS 24 (1973) 456480.
17 A full study and commentary is provided by I. L. E. Ramelli, Gregorio di
Nissa sullAnima e la Resurrezione (Milan 2007); cf. the reviews of P. Tzamalikos, VChr 62 (2008) 515523, M. J. Edwards, JEH 60 (2009) 764765, M.
Herrero de Huregui, Ilu 13 (2008) 334336.
18 R. Draguet, LHistoire lausiaque: Une oeuvre crite dans lesprit
dEvagre, RHE 41 (1946) 321364; 42 (1947) 549. See also N. Molinier,
Ascse, contemplation et ministre daprs lHistoire Lausiaque de Pallade dHlnopolis
(Bgrolles-en-Mauges 1995); and G. Frank, The Memory of the Eyes: Pilgrims to

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spirit in which he very probably wrote the Dialogue on the Life of

John Chrysostom).19 At H.Laus. 86 Palladius speaks of Evagrius in
the most laudatory terms. Palladius much appreciated another
faithful Origenian as well, and a friend of Evagrius: Rufinus, of
whom he says that nobody was more learned or kind (98).
From Palladius work, including his account of John Chrysostoms character and trial,20 his sympathy for the Origenian
tradition is transparent. What is most relevant to the present
investigation is Palladius closeness to Evagrius himself, both
from the biographical and from the ideological point of view.
This is why Palladius account of Evagrius closeness to
Gregory of Nyssa is noteworthy. Now, Palladius in his Historia
Lausiaca is clear that it was not Gregory of Nazianzus, but
___

Living Saints in Christian Late Antiquity (Berkeley 2000). According to Bunge,

one of the main sources of the Historia Lausiaca was a book by Palladius himself on the sayings and deeds of the Desert Fathers: G. Bunge, Palladiana I:
Introduction aux fragments coptes de lHistoire lausiaque, StudMon 32 (1990)
79129. On the genesis of the Historia Lausiaca see K. Nickau, Eine Historia
Lausiaca ohne Lausos: berlegungen zur Hypothese von Ren Draguet ber
den Ursprung der Historia Lausiaca, ZAC 5 (2001) 131139. For a comparative approach between pagan and Christian hagiography see U.
Criscuolo, Biografia e agiografia fra pagani e cristiani fra il IV e il V secolo: le Vitae di Eunapio e la Historia Lausiaca, Salesianum 67 (2005) 771798.
Edition and German transl. D. Schtz, Historia Lausiaca. Die frhen Heiligen in
der Wste (Basel 1987); French transl. N. Molinier, Pallade dHlnopolis,
Histoire lausiaque (Bgrolles-en-Mauges 1999).
19 This is highlighted by G. M. De Durand, Evagre le Pontique et le
Dialogue sur la vie de saint Jean Chrysostome, BLE 77 (1976) 191206, at
least in respect to Evagrius psychology and ethics.
20 F. van Ommeslaeghe, Que vaut le tmoignage de Pallade sur le
procs de saint Jean Chrysostom? AnalBoll 95 (1977) 389414, who vindicates Palladius as a witness to the events anterior to Johns trial, outside
Constantinople. M. Wallraff, Le conflit de Jean Chrysostome avec la cour
chez les historiens ecclsiastiques grecs, in B. Pouderon and Y.-M. Duval
(eds.), Lhistoriographie de lEglise des premiers sicles (Paris 2001) 361370, observes that Palladius is even more favourable to John Chrysostom than
Socrates is: while Socrates does not side with John in his conflict with the
imperial court, Palladius does.

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124 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

Gregory of Nyssa who ordained Evagrius and was a close friend of

his (86: PG 34.1188C):21



,
.

After the death of the bishop Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, the
bishop of Nyssa, a brother of the bishop Basil who enjoys the
honour of the apostles, Saint Gregory I say, most wise and free
from passions to the utmost degree, and illustrious for his wideranging learning, became friends with Evagrius and appointed
him as a deacon.

Thus Gregory of Nyssa, according to Palladius, treated

Evagrius with kindness and friendship, and after the death of
Basil ordained Evagrius deacon.22 Palladius does not even
speak of Nazianzen here, but only of Basil first, and then of
Nyssen. It is impossible that an error occurred in this text and
that Palladius meant Nazianzen, since he expressly states that
this Gregory was the brother of Basil and was bishop of Nyssa.
Moreover, Palladius was a great admirer of Gregory Nyssen
and knew him well, and so was in a position to distinguish him
clearly from Nazianzen. Palladius describes Gregory Nyssen in
I follow here Mignes text, basically the edition of J. Cotelerius, Monumenta ecclesiae graecae III (Paris 1686), against recensio G (ed. Bartelink),
because it transmits what I believe to be the original text, as the whole of my
discussion in the present essay endeavors to demonstrate.
22 Anthony Maas, Evagrius Ponticus, The Catholic Encyclopedia 5 (1909)
640, does not draw any conclusion, but says only that Evagrius was ordained by Nyssen: Instructed by St. Gregory Nazianzen, he was ordained
reader by St. Basil the Great and by St. Gregory of Nyssa (380), whom he
accompanied to the Second Council of Constantinople (381). According to
Palladius, who differs in his account from Socrates and Sozomen, Evagrius
remained for a time as archdeacon in Constantinople, while Nectarius was
patriarch (381397). Then Nyssen disappears from his account; moreover,
he seems to make no distinction between Evagrius ordination as a reader
and as a deacon.
21

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the most laudatory terms for his wisdom, his ascetic life, and his
glory due to the richness of his learning.
The sentence that comes immediately next in the Historia
Lausiaca, namely that Gregory the bishop left Evagrius in
Constantinople during the council and entrusted him to bishop
Nectarius, might refer to either Nyssen or Nazianzen. Usually
it is thought that it was Nazianzen who recommended Evagrius
to Nectarius when he withdrew from Constantinople. But in
Palladius text the immediately preceding mention of Nyssen
rather than Nazianzen would make the reference to Nyssen
more natural:

[sc.
Evagrius] ,
.

When he left, Saint Gregory the bishop left Evagrius with the
blessed bishop Nectarius at the great Council of Constantinople.
For Evagrius was most skilled in dialectics against all heresies.

Socrates himself, when he states that Gregory went to Egypt

with Evagrius (HE 4.23), an otherwise unattested piece of information to my knowledge, may betray a source that in fact
referred to Nyssen. For while Gregory Nazianzen never went
to Egypt or Jerusalem after the Council of Constantinople, and
indeed seems to have never left Nazianzus and Arianzus after
the council,23 it is attested that after Constantinople, where he
was in 381, Gregory of Nyssa in fact went to Jerusalem late in
381 and in 382 (see his Ep. 3). It is quite possible that he
travelled further to Egypt with Evagrius, all the more so in that
Nyssen also was in Arabia in exactly that period. This, moreover, or at least an acquaintance with Evagrius and Melanias
circle, would help to explain why Gregorys De anima et resur23 After renouncing the bishopric of Constantinople, Gregory returned to
Nazianzus. There he administered the local church. He subsequently
withdrew to his Arianzus property with the intention of devoting himself to
literature, but he died there shortly after, in 390.

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rectione was translated into Coptic in Egypt very soon, possibly

already during Gregorys own lifetime.24 This is even more
probable in light of the consideration that Gregorys De anima et
resurrectione is a strong endorsement of the Origenian doctrine of
apokatastasis (the eventual universal restoration of all rational
creatures to God), which Evagrius himself decidedly supported.25
Indeed, it was the Council of Constantinople itself, in 381,
that sent Gregory of Nyssa to Arabia, to a church of that
province (possibly Bostra), which was close both to Palestine
and to Egypt. The goal of this mission was ,
for the sake of correcting them (Letter 2.12 [GNO VIII.2 17])
While he was there, Gregory also undertook a trip to Jerusalem, exactly when Evagrius too went there. Gregory was
requested to do so by those who oversee () the holy
churches of Jerusalem. These were certainly close to Melania
and Rufinus, whose double monastery was on the Mount of
Olives. Gregorys mission was very difficult, and he even ended
up being charged with heterodoxy, surely because of his
Christology, which, notably, drew on Origens conception that
Christ the Logos assumed not only a human body but also a
human soul. It is worth noting that this was also Evagrius
conception. When Gregory finally left Jerusalem, thus, he was
sad (Letter 3.4).
It can therefore be hypothesised that it was Gregory of Nyssa
who ordained Evagrius a deacon, and as his friend later was
with him after he left Constantinople, in Palestine and perhaps
in Egypt. At first, when Gregory left, he entrusted Evagrius to
Nectarius, because the former could be of use in Constan24 See Ramelli, Gregorio di Nissa sullAnima, Appendix I; the very early
Coptic translation was fruitful there in establishing the new edition of De
anima et resurrectione.
25 On Evagrius doctrine of apokatastasis, its metaphysical reasons, and its
Origenian roots, see I. L. E. Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A
Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena (Leiden 2013), the chapter
on Evagrius.

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tinople for his dialectical skills. But later Evagrius too left
Constantinople and may have joined Gregory of Nyssa in
Palestine and in Egypt. This hypothesis would also explain the
reason for the apparently odd interruption of all relationships
between Evagrius and Gregory Nazianzen after the Council of
Constantinople. This interruption is rightly noticed as very
strange by Julia Konstantinovsky,26 but she does not attempt to
explain it. Indeed, after 381, no contact seems to have taken
place between Evagrius and Gregory of Nazianzus. Only Letter
46, written shortly after Evagrius arrival in Egypt, may have
been addressed by him to Nazianzen, but this is uncertain, and,
moreover, even if this was the case, in that letter Evagrius
apologises precisely for having failed to be in contact for so
long.27 Evidence of further contact is lacking; Konstantinovsky
is right to deem it highly uncertain that Evagrius Letters 12 and
23 were addressed to Gregory Nazianzen.28 Now, this odd and
inexplicable situation would become less so if one admits that it
was Gregory of Nyssa who travelled to Palestine, and possibly
Egypt, with Evagrius, while Gregory Nazianzen remained far
from Evagrius, both geographically and from the epistolary
point of view.
At any rate, for a while Evagrius had been the assistant of
Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople,29 received from him
advanced education,30 and supported him in his fight against
Arians and Pneumatomachiansthe same fight that Gregory
of Nyssa also undertook. Evagrius letter On Faith, which reKonstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus, 14.
Konstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus 14 n.24, even wonders whether this
letter was in fact ever sent, given that it was found in the corpus of Evagrius
letters and not in that of Nazianzens letters.
28 Konstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus 14 n.25.
29 Gregory mentions Evagrius in his testament, written in 381, as the
deacon Evagrius, who has much labored and thought things out together
with me, (PG 37.393B)
30 Sozomen (HE 6.30) attests that Evagrius was educated in philosophy
and Holy Scripture by Gregory Nazianzen.
26
27

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128 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

flects the Trinitarian theology of all the Cappadocians to the

point that it was handed down in Greek as Basils Letter 8, probably stems from these years. Here Evagrius follows the Cappadocians Trinitarian formula, , ,
one common essence, three individual substances, which in
turn is wholly grounded in Origens Trinitarian theology and
terminology.31
I think it very probable, however, that Evagrius met Gregory
Nyssen as well, became a friend of his, possibly was ordained a
deacon by him, and was with him in Palestine and Egypt, and
surely was very well acquainted with his thought. There are
close and significant convergences between Evagrius and
Nyssens ideas;32 several, of course, can also be explained as
common dependence on Origen. But a systematic assessment
of the relationship between Evagrius thought and Nyssens,
from protology to eschatology, from theology to anthropology,
is still badly needed and will be, I expect, momentous and
fruitful. Some help has been recently offered in an interesting
study by Kevin Corrigan.33 But much still awaits to be done. A
closer personal relationship between Evagrius and Gregory of
Nyssa would also better explain the impressive similarities that
can be found in their thought.
31 For the roots of this formula in Origen see I. L. E. Ramelli, Origens
Anti-Subordinationism and its Heritage in the Nicene and Cappadocian
Line, VChrist 65 (2011) 2149, and Origen, Greek Philosophy, and the
Birth of the Trinitarian Meaning of Hypostasis, HThR 105 (2012) 302350.
On the Letter on Faith see P. Bettiolo, LEpistula fidei di Evagrio Pontico: temi,
contesti, sviluppi (Rome 2000).
32 I point out some in The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis. However, a
systematic study is needed.
33 Corrigan, Evagrius, might perhaps be seen more as a juxtaposition of
these two Christian philosophers in respect to some anthropological, ascetic,
and mystical themes, than as an examination of their interrelationship and
of Gregorys influence on Evagrius (which means Origens influence on
Evagrius as welland it must be determined which influence was direct and
which was mediated by Gregory). This is not at all meant as a criticism,
however. I have expressed my high appreciation of this book in n.1 above.

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I agree with Konstantinovsky that Evagrius mature thought

is not so close to that of the Cappadocians,34 but I would
rather say that it is not so close to that of Basil and Gregory
Nazianzen, while remarkably more affinities are to be found
with Gregory of Nyssa, most apparently in the eschatological
and the metaphysical domains. Evagrius predilection for Gregory Nyssen over Basil is understandable, if one considers that
Nyssen was one of the most faithful and perspicacious followers
of Origen (Basil and Nazianzen were too in some respects, but
Nyssen was far more). And Evagrius allegiance to resolute and
sometimes radical admirers of Origen such as the Tall
Brothers, John of Jerusalem, Rufinus, Melania, and Palladius
was strong. To Melania, Rufinus, and John, Evagrius also addressed many letters, including the fundamental Letter to Melania
sometimes also called Great Letterwhich was very probably
addressed either to Melania herself or to Rufinus.35
Konstantinovsky, Evagrius Ponticus, chs. 36.
What is relevant to the present argument is that the addressee is an
Origenian. In one of the two Syriac manuscripts in which it is preserved, as
in other letters of Evagrius extant in Armenian, the addressee is Melania the
Elder. Some scholars do not accept the identification of the addressee as
Melania, especially because in the Syriac text Evagrius addresses her thrice
calling her my lord. Thus, some deem Rufinus a more probable addressee: G. Bunge, Evagrios Pontikos, Briefe aus der Wste (Trier 1986) 194. G.
Vitestam, Seconde partie du trait qui passe sous le nom de La grande lettre dvagre le
Pontique Mlanie lancienne (Lund 1964) 45, also thought that the addressee
was originally a man. Casiday, Evagrius 64, agrees. On the other hand, Palladius repeatedly calls Melania , in the neuter form, a diminutive:
in Bartelinks edition, 5.2, 9.1 (n.b. ), 10.2,
18.28, 38.8, 38.9, 46 title, 46.1, 54 title, 54.1, 54.4, 54.7, 58.2, 61 title, 61.1.
Syriac translators may have understood it as a masculine. Evagrius, like his
disciple Palladius, may have used to call her . Rufinus, like Melania and Evagrius, was a steadfast admirer of Origen; indeed this letter is
intelligible only against the background of Origens ideas. Some scholars
consider the address in the masculine form for a woman to be understandable in a gnostic context, as a kind of honorific address: M. Parmentier,
Evagrius of Pontus Letter to Melania, Bijdragen, tijdschrift voor filosofie en
theologie 46 (1985) 238, at 56.
34
35

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130 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

It is likely that Evagrius considered, and called, Gregory of

Nyssa his teacher. The reference to Gregory the Just in the
epilogue of Evagrius Praktikos may refer to Gregory Nazianzen,
but an alternative reference to Gregory Nyssen cannot be ruled
out: The high Sun of Justice shines upon us thanks to the
prayers and intercession of Gregory the Just, who planted me
( ), and of the holy
fathers who now water me and by the power of Christ Jesus
our Lord, who has granted me growth (transl. Sinkewicz). The
same Gregory the Just is mentioned by Evagrius at Gnostikos
44 on the four cardinal virtues, a topic that Gregory of Nyssa
did develop.
Likewise in Praktikos 89, a relatively long chapter, Evagrius
expounds the tripartition of the soul according to Plato, with
the relevant virtues that are proper to each part of the soul,
crowned by justice which is a virtue of the whole soul. Interestingly, however, he does not attribute this doctrine to Plato at
all, but rather to our wise teacher (
). It is usually assumed that this unnamed teacher is
Gregory of Nazianzus, for instance by Antoine and Claire
Guillaumont, followed by Columba Stewartwho however
admits that it is unlikely that Gregory Nazianzen transmitted
this doctrine to Evagrius, but does not propose alternative solutions.36 In light of what I have argued, it is more probable that
Evagrius meant Gregory of Nyssa, who used this doctrine extensively in his De anima et resurrectione and elsewhere. And I
have suggested above that Gregorys De anima et resurrectione was
circulated in Egypt, and soon translated into Coptic, thanks
precisely to the influence of Evagrius there. Evagrius sympathy
for this dialogue was certainly much facilitated by its defence of
the doctrine of apokatastasis, which Evagrius too upheld.
Evagrius arrived at the Egyptian desert via Palestine, where
he belonged to the circle of Melania and Rufinus. A relationAntoine and Claire Guillaumont, Evagre le Pontique. Trait pratique ou Le
moine (Paris 1971) 680689; Columba Stewart, Monastic Attitudes toward
Philosophy and Philosophers, Studia Patristica 47 (2010) 21327, at 324.
36

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ship with the wife of a high functionary led him to depart from
Constantinople, as is well known (a novelistic account is provided by Sozomen HE 6.3037 and an even more detailed
version is in Palladius H.Laus. 38.37); he arrived at Jerusalem
(382 CE), where he frequented the Origenian, and pro-Nicene,
Melania the Elder in her double monastery, where Rufinus
also was. They had settled there in 380. Melania definitely confirmed Evagrius in monastic lifewhether he had already been
a monk earlier or notand gave him the monastic clothing
herself according to Palladius: , he had his clothes changed [sc. to monastic attire] by
Melania herself (H.Laus. 38.9 = PG 34.1194A). This is plausible, given that Melania directed the double monastery. It is
even more certain that she influenced Evagrius choice of the
Egyptian desert as the place where he would spend the rest of
his life, first Nitria, a cenobitic environment, and then Kellia, a
hermitic place, where Evagrius practiced an extreme form of
asceticism (383399).
In Egypt Evagrius was a disciple of Macarius of Alexandria
(394) and especially of Macarius the Egyptian, called the
Great, who was converted to asceticism by St. Anthony himself, founded Scetis, and was also a supporter of the Origenian

37 In Constantinople, an acquaintanceship he had formed with a certain

lady excited the jealousy of her husband, who plotted his death. While the
plot was about to be carried forward into deed, God sent him, while sleeping, a fearful and saving vision in a dream. It appeared to him that he had
been arrested in the act of committing some crime, and that he was bound
hand and foot in irons. As he was being led before the magistrates to receive
the sentence of condemnation, a man who held in his hand the book of the
Holy Gospels addressed him, and promised to deliver him from his bonds,
and confirmed this with an oath, provided he would quit the city. Evagrius
touched the book, and made oath that he would do so. Immediately his
chains appeared to fall off, and he awoke. He was convinced by this divine
dream, and fled the danger. He resolved to devote himself to a life of
asceticism and proceeded from Constantinople to Jerusalem.

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132 EVAGRIUS AND GREGORY: NAZIANZEN OR NYSSEN?

doctrine of apokatastasis.38 Near Alexandria Evagrius may also

have visited Didymus the Blind, the faithful Origenian whom
bishop Athanasius appointed head of the Alexandrian Didaskaleion. Evagrius had disciples himself, among whom were Palladius and Cassian,39 and many pilgrim visitors. He refused the
episcopate at Thmuis that Theophilus of Alexandria offered
him.40 In 399 he passed away just in time, shortly before
Theophilus Paschal letter against anthropomorphism: this
arose from a revolt by the simpler, anti-Origenian and anthropomorphising monks which alarmed Theophilus and induced
his U-turn against the Origenians. This rather opportunistic
move led him to persecute Evagrius fellow-monks in Nitria
and Kellia, and in particular Evagrius friendsthe Origenian
Tall Brothers, the monks Ammonius, Euthymius, Eusebius,
and Dioscorus. Palladius mentions them together with Evagrius
when he speaks of those belonging to the circle of Saints
Ammonius and Evagrius (H.Laus. 24.2). He probably is
referring to the same people when he mentions Evagrius
community (H.Laus. 33) and the circle of St. Evagrius
38 The former seems to be mentioned by Evagrius in 33
and 37 and Antirrheticus 4.23, 4.58, 8.26. In Pract. 9394, instead, the
reference seems to be to the latter; Sinkewicz, however, refers Pract. 94 to
Macarius of Alexandria as well: Evagrius of Pontus xix. As for St. Anthony
and Macarius and their adhesion to the doctrine of apokatastasis see my The
Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis, the chapter devoted to Anthony.
39 For a reconsideration of the person and the works of Cassian, however,
see now P. Tzamalikos, The Real Cassian Revisited: Monastic Life, Greek Paideia,
and Origenism in the Sixth Century (Leiden 2012), and A Newly Discovered Greek
Father: Cassian the Sabaite eclipsed by John Cassian of Marseilles (Leiden 2012).
40 Evagrius, a monk, tended to privilege the spiritual authority deriving
from inspiration, prayer, learning, teaching, and miracles, over and against
that which comes from ecclesiastical hierarchy: see C. Rapp, Holy Bishops in
Late Antiquity: The Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition (Berkeley
2005) 5699; for the derivation of these ideas from Origen see E. dal Covolo, Sacerdozio dei fedeli, gerarchia della santit e gerarchia ministeriale
in alcune omelie di Origene, in Origeniana VIII (Leuven 2003) 605612; I.
Ramelli, Theosebia: A Presbyter of the Catholic Church, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 26.2 (2010) 79102.

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(H.Laus. 35). Evagrius himself attests that he was with Ammonius when they visited John of Lycopolis in the Thebaid
desert (Antirrh. 6.16). Chased by Theophilus from Egypt, the
Tall Brothers would be received by the aforementioned John
Chrysostom. Much is known of their vicissitudes, once again
thanks to Palladius (besides Socrates and Sozomen).
I judge that Palladius is a more reliable source than Socrates
when it comes to the relationship between Evagrius and
Gregory of Nyssa: not only because Palladius, unlike Socrates,
was personally acquainted with Evagrius and is a first-hand
source, not only because Socrates wrote his information on
Evagrius and Gregory Nazianzen some forty years after
Evagrius death, but above all because Socrates seems to be
much better informed on Gregory Nazianzen than on Gregory
Nyssen. This is clear from HE 4.26. After devoting one whole
chapter to Didymus the Blind (4.25), Origens admirer and follower, and before devoting another whole chapter to Gregory
Thaumaturgus (4.27), Origens disciple and the author of a
thanksgiving oration in honour of Origen himself, in HE 4.26
he focuses on the other great Origenian and anti-Arian authors
of that time: the Cappadocians. But instead of speaking of the
most Origenian of them, Gregory Nyssen, unquestionably the
closest of all the Cappadocians to Origens authentic ideas,
Socrates spends almost the entire chapter on Basil and Gregory
Nazianzen (4.26.126), as though he knew rather little of
Gregory of Nyssa after all. Indeed, only in the very end of his
treatment of Basil (4.26.2627) does Socrates introduce two
brothers of his: Peter, who is said to have embraced the
monastic life, imitating Basil himself, and Gregory, who is said
to have chosen to teach rhetoric ( [sc. ], Gregory in his zeal
embraced the life of a teacher of rhetoric). This is correct, but
it refers to a rather short phase of Gregorys life, before his
adhesion to the ascetic life and his episcopate. Socrates is
uninterested in, or incapable of, offering more comprehensive
details concerning Gregorys life and intellectual place. He
adds only a very brief notice regarding Gregorys works, but

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here he merely lists the Apologia in Hexameron (clearly on account of its connection with Basils own Hexameron), his Oratio
funebris in Meletium episcopum, and other orations or, more
generally, works, of different kinds ( ). From this report, Socrates would seem to know nothing
of Gregorys own opting for the ascetic life, of his ecclesiastical
career as a bishop, of his anti-Arianism, and his predilection for
Origen, as well as all of his theological works. Only a funeral
oration of his is mentioned, plus his continuation and defence
of Basils In Hexameron.
What must be remarked in this connection is that Gregory
Nyssen was even more Origenian than Nazianzen and Basil
were, and that this would have been a very attractive aspect to
highlight for the strongly philo-Origenian Socrates, all the
more so in this sequence of chapters on the Origenians Didymus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, and the Cappadocians. But if
Socrates does not even mention this, and if he barely says anything of Gregory of Nyssa, while allotting incomparably more
room to Basil and Nazianzen, there must be a reason for this
apparent oddity. Either he had almost no information available
to him concerning Nyssen, or he was hostile to him for some
reason that escapes us but has nothing to do with Origen.
Socrates does not even say that Gregory was bishop of Nyssa;
he never calls him Nyssen, but only refers to him as
Gregory, the brother of Basil, both in the aforementioned
passage and at the end of HE 4.2627. In the latter passage
Socrates is summarising the various Gregories related to
Origen, in order to avoid confusion: thus, he mentions Gregory
Thaumaturgus, the disciple of Origen, then Nazianzen, and
finally (4.27.7)nothing else about Nyssen, not even the name of his episcopal see.
However, Socrates did know, at least, that Gregory was the
bishop of Nyssa. Indeed, he mentions him in two other passages, albeit again only incidentally. In one, HE 5.9, he speaks
of the death of Meletius, bishop of Antioch, and repeats that
Gregory, the brother of Basil, delivered a funeral oration for
him. Note that this is one of the only two works of Gregory
Nyssen that Socrates names in HE 4.2627. The other passage,

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HE 5.8, is the only one in which Socrates refers to Gregorys

bishopric. He is speaking of the Council of Constantinople in
381, and observes that Gregory Nazianzen returned to Nazianzus after renouncing his see in Constantinople (5.8.11). Soon
after, Socrates treats of the patriarchal territorial divisions
established at that council: Nectarius, he records, was assigned
Constantinople and Thrace; Helladius, the successor of Basil,
received the Pontic diocese; and then the mention of Gregory:
, ,
, Gregory of Nyssa, Basils brother, received this

town in Cappadocia (5.8.15). This is the only point in all of his

work in which Socrates cites Nyssa as the bishopric of Gregory.
Different is Jeromes entry devoted to Gregory of Nyssa,
written ca. 392 (the year of publication of his De viris illustribus).
Although it is a very short entry, both Gregorys episcopate at
Nyssa and one of his major doctrinal works, Contra Eunomium,
are mentioned with prominence, in addition to the reference to
many other works that Gregory had written and was still
writing (he died shortly after the completion of De viris illustribus): Gregorius, Nyssenus episcopus, frater Basilii Caesariensis, ante
paucos annos mihi et Gregorio Nazianzeno Contra Eunomium legit libros,
qui et multa alia scripsisse et scribere dicitur (128). Jerome gives the
impression of not having read the other numerous works by
Gregory, but he surely was acquainted with his Contra Eunomium: some years before the completion of De viris illustribus
Jerome, as he says here, directly met Gregory of Nyssa, who
even read to him and to Gregory Nazianzen together his books
Contra Eunomium. This must have happened in 381 in Constantinople, on the occasion of the council, when Evagrius also was
there. Gregory indeed composed his books against Eunomius
between 380 and 383.
The relationship between Gregory Nyssen and Evagrius may
easily go back to Gregorys stay in Ibora, Evagrius birthplace,
in Hellenopontus, shortly before the Council of Constantinople, from late 379 into 380. After the death of their bishop
Araxius, the inhabitants of Ibora asked Gregory to come and
supervise the election of a new bishop. Gregorys intervention

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was crucial, especially because of the controversy with the

Arians. It was essential to have a pro-Nicene bishop, and Nyssen would have provided for this (see his Letter 19.12 [GNO
VIII.2 66]). Moreover, Ibora was close to Annesi, the seat of
Basils and Macrinas monasteries. Gregory considered Ibora
as belonging to his own jurisdiction as bishop of Nyssa (In XL
Mart. II, GNO X.1 166). Nyssen went to Ibora, where Evagrius
was the son of a member of the local clergy, stayed there, and
provided for the election of bishop Pansophius, who, shortly
afterwards, participated in the Constantinople council.
In this council, in which Evagrius participated as well in his
capacity as deacon, and during which Nazianzen withdrew
from the episcopate of Constantinople, Gregory of Nyssa surely
played an important role, very probably even more important
than that of Nazianzen himself, who encountered such harsh
opposition as to be forced to resign. His theological weight was
certainly remarkable, and even from an institutional point of
view Nyssen was considered to be important. Indeed, in the list
of bishops with whom one had to be in communion in order to
be considered orthodoxa list indicated by the emperor Theodosius himself in the edict which imposed adherence to the
Council for any Christian (Cod.Theod. 16.1.3)Gregory of
Nyssa was included for the diocese of Pontus, along with
Helladius of Caesarea, the successor of Basil, and Otreius of
Melitene. Nazianzen, instead, seems to have criticised Theodosius edict.41 It is possible that Gregory Nyssen was present
also at the Constantinople council in 382, though improbable
given the aforementioned trips, and he certainly participated in
the Constantinople council in 383, a colloquium under the
patronage of Theodosius, where he delivered his oration De

41 F. Gautier, A propos du tmoignage de Grgoire de Nazianze sur le

concile de Constantinople (mai-juillet 381) aux vers 17501755 du De uita
sua, REAug 51 (2005) 6776, demonstrates that Gregorys criticism of the
teachings () of the council on the Spirit in fact refer to Theodosius edict of 10 January 381 (Cod.Theod. 16.5.6).

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deitate Filii et Spiritus Sancti and confronted Arians, Eunomians,

and Macedonians.42
The close relationship between Evagrius and Gregory of
Nyssa which Palladius reports (their friendship and Evagrius
ordination as a deacon by Gregory Nyssen) and which the
source of Socrates suggests (their possible going together to
Egypt after Constantinople), along with the very probable
connection between Evagrius and the remarkably early spread
of Nyssens Origenian work De anima et resurrectione in Egypt,
bears on Evagrius thought and his relationship with the
thought of the Cappadocians and, as a consequence, of Origen
himselfall the more so in that Gregory of Nyssa is the most
insightful and faithful follower of Origen, the one who best
grasped Origens true thought. For reasons that will be expounded in a future study, I suspect that Gregory Nyssen in
fact played a fundamental role in transmitting Origens true
ideas to Evagrius, i.e. not simply Origens textswhich
Evagrius read directly on his ownbut especially an interpretation of Origens thought that was the closest to Origens
authentic ideas. This issue is clearly crucial to an overall assessment of Evagrius thought, in which it is pivotal to investigate
the impact of Origen on Evagrius system, as well as to examine the possible role of the Cappadocians in the transmission of
Origens true thought to Evagrius.
September, 2012

Catholic University of Milan &

Durham Univeristy, UK
[email protected] &
[email protected]

42 On this colloquium and its participants see A. M. Ritter, Das Konzil

von Konstantinopel und sein Symbol (Gttingen 1965) 227.

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