St. Gregory of Nyssa
(about 330 - 395) Gregory was born of a deeply religious family and was raised piously. His mother Emmelia was a martyr's daughter; two of his brothers, Basil of Cæsarea and Peter of Sebaste, became bishops like himself; his oldest sister, Macrina, is a saint. The younger brother of St. Basil the Great was educated by Basil and Macrina, which suggests that their parents died when he was young. He studied rhetoric, became a professor, and was elected Bishop of Nyssa in 372. He was falsely accused of embezzling church funds and was arrested by the governor of Pontus. He escaped from captivity, but did not return to his See until 378. Shortly after this, Basil died, soon followed by Macrina. His intellectual gifts, as evidenced in his numerous writings against Arianism and in support of orthodoxy, caused him to become known as the "common mainstay of the Church." He was sent on missions to counter heresy in Palestine and Arabia and he was the chief proponent of the trinitar...