Self-Portrait in Three Colors

University of California Press

2019

ix, 261 p.

Christianity in Late Antiquity ; 6

978052097294

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Translations -- 1. An Epistolary Autobiography -- 2. The Architecture of the Letter Collection -- 3. “The Most Eloquent Gregory” -- 4. “Father of Philosophers” -- 5. “Basilist” -- Epilogue -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index of Gregory’s Epistulae -- Index of Subjects

A seminal figure in late antique Christianity and Christian orthodoxy, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus published a collection of more than 240 letters. Whereas these letters have often been cast aside as readers turn to his theological orations or autobiographical poetry for insight into his life, thought, and times, Self-Portrait in Three Colors focuses squarely on them, building a provocative case that the finalized collection constitutes not an epistolary archive but an autobiography in epistolary form—a single text composed to secure his status among provincial contemporaries and later generations. Shedding light on late-ancient letter writing, fourth-century Christian intelligentsia, Christianity and classical culture, and the Christianization of Roman society, these letters offer a fascinating and unique view of Gregory’s life, engagement with literary culture, and leadership in the church. As a single unit, this autobiographical epistolary collection proved a powerful tool in Gregory’s attempts to govern the contours of his authorial image as well as his provincial and ecclesiastical legacy

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