Bible Dictionaries
Nonna, Mother of Gregory Nazianzen

Wace's Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V Z

Prev Entry
Nomus, Leading Personage at Constantinople

Next Entry
Nonnus of Panopolis

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Nonna (1) , mother of Gregory Nazianzen; a lady of good birth, the child of Christian parents, Philtatius and Gorgonia, brought up in the practice of the Christian virtues, of which she was so admirable an example. Her son describes in glowing terms the holiness of her life and the beautiful conformity of all her actions to the highest standards of Christian excellence. To her example, aided by her prayers, he ascribes the conversion of his father from the strange medley of paganism and Christianity which formed the tenets of the Hypsistarian sect, to which by birth he belonged (Greg. Naz. Or. ii, 19; Carm. 1, 2). We know of two other children of the marriage, a sister named Gorgonia, probably older than Gregory, and a brother named Caesarius. Nonna's death probably occurred on Aug. 5 (on which day she is commemorated both by the Greek and Latin churches) in 374 ( Orat. 19, p. 315; Carm. 1, p. 9). Tillem. Mém. eccl. t. ix. pp. 309–311, 317, 318, 322, 385, 397.

[E.V.]