Confessor (c.331-394), Father of the Church, born Sebaste, Asia Minor, brother of Saint Basil and Saint Macrina. Against the wish of Basil he became a rhetorician and subsequently married, but about 371 he was consecrated Bishop of Nyssa. This appointment which Basil later thought unfortunate, stirred up jealousy, and Gregory was soon forced into exile for two years. He returned to his see 378, and was present at the Council of Antioch, 379, and probably at Constantinople, 383. Most of his writings treat of the Scriptures, which he is fond of interpreting allegorically. His "Catechesis" is an argumentative defense of Catholicism; Gregory, however, believed in the temporal nature of the punishment of hell. Among his ascetical works is an admirable treatise on virginity. Feast, March 9,.
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