Saint Gregory Thaumaturge -“Miracle-Worker”

Feast Day November 17

Bishop, Confessor (213- 270)

Saint Gregory, originally known as Theodore “Gift of God,” was born in Neocaesarea (now Turkey), of distinguished parents who were still engaged in the superstitions of paganism. His father had destined him for the legal profession, in which the art of oratory is necessary, and in this pursuit he was succeeding well, having learned Latin. He was introduced to the Christian religion at the age of fourteen, after the death of his father. Gregory and his brother Athenodorus, later to be a bishop like himself, on the advice of one of their tutors, were eager to study at the Berytus in Beirut, then one of the four or five famous schools in the Hellenic world. At this time, their brother-in-law was appointed assessor (legal counsel) to the Roman Governor of Palestine; the youths had therefore an occasion to act as an escort to their sister as far as Caesarea in Palestine. On arrival in that town they learned that the celebrated scholar Origen, head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, resided there. Curiosity led them to hear and converse with the master. Soon both youths forgot all about Beirut and Roman law, and gave themselves up to the great Christian teacher, who gradually won them over to Christianity.

Origen discovered in them a remarkable capacity for knowledge, and more important still, rare dispositions for virtue. Gregory took up at first the study of philosophy; theology was afterwards added, but his mind remained always inclined to philosophical study, so much so indeed that in his youth he cherished strongly the hope of demonstrating that the Christian religion was the only true and good philosophy. For seven years he underwent the mental and moral discipline of Origen, who strove to inspire love for truth in them and an ardent desire to attain greater knowledge and the possession of the Supreme Good. Gregory studied also in Alexandria for three years, after a persecution drove his master, Origen, from Palestine, but returned there with the famous exegete in 238. He was then baptized, and in the presence of a large audience delivered a speech in which he testified to his gratitude towards his teacher, praising his methods, and thanking God for so excellent a professor.

When he returned to his native city of Neocaesarea in the Pont, his friends urged him to seek high positions, but Gregory desired to retire into solitude and devote himself to prayer. For a time he did so, often changing his habitation, because the archbishop of the region desired to make him Bishop of Neocaesarea. Eventually he was obliged to consent. That city was very prosperous, and the inhabitants were corrupted by paganism. Saint Gregory, with Christian zeal and charity, and with the aid of the gift of miracles which he had received, began to attempt every means to bring them to the light of Christ. As he lay awake one night an elderly man entered his room, and pointed to a Lady of superhuman beauty who accompanied him, radiant with heavenly light. This elderly man was Saint John the Evangelist, and the Lady of Light was the Mother of God. She told Saint John to give Gregory the instruction he desired; thereupon he gave Saint Gregory a creed which contained in all its plenitude the doctrine of the Trinity. Saint Gregory consigned it to writing, directed all his preaching by it, and handed it down to his successors. This creed later preserved his flock from the Arian heresy.

He converted a pagan priest one day, when the latter requested a miracle, and a very large rock moved to another location at his command. The pagan priest abandoned all things to follow Christ afterwards. One day the bishop planted his staff beside the river which passed alongside the city and often ravaged it by floods. He commanded it never again to pass the limit marked by his staff, and in the time of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who wrote of his miracles nearly a hundred years later, it had never done so. The bishop settled a conflict which was about to cause bloodshed between two brothers, when he prayed all night beside the lake whose possession they were disputing. It dried up and the miracle ended the difficulty.

When the persecution of Decius began in 250, the bishop counseled his faithful to depart and not expose themselves to trials perhaps too severe for their faith; and none fell into apostasy. He himself retired to a desert, and when he was pursued was not seen by the soldiers. On a second attempt they found him praying with his companion, the converted pagan priest, now a deacon; they had mistaken them the first time for trees. The captain of the soldiers was convinced this had been a miracle, and became a Christian to join him. Some of his Christians were captured, among them Saint Troadus the martyr, who merited the grace of dying for the Faith. The persecution ended at the death of the emperor in 251.

It is believed that Saint Gregory died in the year 270, on the 17th of November. Before his death he asked how many pagans still remained in the city, and was told there were only seventeen. He thanked God for the graces He had bestowed on the population, for when he arrived, there had been only seventeen Christians.

These are some of the many miracles he worked. Through his prayer, a mountain that prevented the construction of a church moved, a lake that was the cause of dissension between two brothers dried, and the flooding of the Icus River that was devastating the fields stopped. His staff planted along the border of the river took root, and was transformed into a great tree beyond whose limits the water would not pass. Many times he expelled devils from the idols and the bodies of possessed persons. Some of the many miracles he worked caused multitudes to enter the Catholic Faith. He also had the spirit of the Prophets, foretelling many future events.

References and Excerpts

[1] M. P. Guérin, Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, Paris: Bloud et Barral, 1882.
[2] “Saint Gregory Thaumaturge – Lives of the Saints,” Magnificat, 24 February 2016. [Online]. Available: http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_gregory_thaumaturge.html. [Accessed 30 October 2016].
[3] “Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus,” Wikipedia, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Thaumaturgus. [Accessed 30 October 2016].
[4] P. P. C. d. Oliveira, “St. Gregory Thaumaturgus – November 17,” Tradition In Action, 2002. [Online]. Available: http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j203sd_Gregory_11-17.html. [Accessed 30 October 2016].
[5] R. E. Guiley, Encyclopedia of Saints, New York City, NY: Facts on File, 2001.