Anointing and Kingdom:

Some Aspects of Gregory of Nyssas Pneumatology

Miguel BRUGAROLAS, Pamplona, Spain
ABSTRACT
The biblical notions of anointing and kingdom are two significant concepts of the christol-
ogy and pneumatology of Gregory of Nyssa. Gregory finds in them on several occasions
throughout his writings
1
an appropriate way to set forth his theological concept of the Holy
Spirit. Isa. 61:1, Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38 and the variant of Luke 11:2 that Gregory reads in
parallel with Matth. 6:10
2
are fundamental for understanding Gregorys pneumatology.
The pneumatological use of anointing and kingdom points out that Gregory
of Nyssas pneumatology is biblically rooted. It also shows the existent theo-
logical continuity between Irenaeus and Athanasius, Basil and Gregory of
Nyssa,
3
who use these notions to affirm the intimate unity of Persons in the
Trinity.
Gregory of Nyssa, based on the notions of anointing and kingdom,
expresses the relation of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son and, espe-
cially, the indivisible and inseparable union
4
between them.
5
Irenaeus and Athanasius
The biblical idea of the Son being anointed in his divinity by the Holy Spirit
is present in the Fathers since the first centuries. However, from the beginning
1
See Gregory of Nyssa, Maced. (GNO III/1 102f.); Eust. (GNO III/1 15f.); Ref. Eun. 11
(GNO II 317); Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 39,15-9); Perf. 7f. (GNO VIII/1 176f.); Prof. 12f. (GNO
VIII/1 134,3-6).
2
See Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 39,15-40,20).
3
The closeness of language and thought between the Great Cappadocians especially Greg-
ory of Nyssa and Irenaeus with regard the concept of the Holy Spirit as divine unction, may
suggest the Cappadocians conviction that defending the Trinitarian doctrine was anchored in the
doctrine of the first generation of Christians.
4
tv xwrstou ka diasttou sunafeav, Eust. (GNO III/1 16,12f.).
5
The Nyssens texts where the Holy Spirit is identified with the divine anointing of the Son
and with his kingdom, or kingship, have special relevance to understanding Gregorys idea of
intimate communion between the Son and his Spirit (see Rom. 8:9).
Studia Patristica LXVII, 113-119.
Peeters Publishers, 2013.
114 M. BRUGAROLAS
the references to the anointing by the Spirit seems to be an expression of the
divine nature of the Word,
6
and it is not easy to recognize a specific allusion
to the Spirit as a divine person.
7
The first clear Trinitarian expression around
the anointing of Christ appears in Irenaeus of Lyon, who doubtlessly identifies
the unction of Christ with the Holy Spirit
8
in some of his writings. I quote a
passage of the Adversus haereses III:
For in the name of Christ is implied, the one who anointed, the one that was anointed,
and the unction itself with which he was anointed: he who anointed is the Father, he
who was anointed is the Son, and the unction itself is in the Holy Spirit. As the Word
declares by Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
(Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18), indicating the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unc-
tion, which is the Spirit.
9
Irenaeus is pointing out the unity of the three divine persons: the Father who
anoints, the Son who is anointed and the Holy Spirit who is the unction.
10
In
this case, the anointing does not mean the divine nature of the Son but the Holy
Spirit, as a member of the Trinity. According to A. Orbe, in Irenaeus the Spir-
its anointing seems to concern the Word of God, the Son before the Incarna-
tion, therefore it has a transcendent dimension beyond the historical anointing
of Jesus in his economy of salvation.
11
In contrast, other authors such as
A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleau consider that for Irenaeus the anointing of the
Son concerns exclusively his humanity.
12
Nevertheless, Irenaeus thought
clearly identifies the anointing with the Holy Spirit. And this fact is probably
6
The question of baptismal anointing of the Son and the uniqueness of the Word and Jesus,
becomes in the first centuries, for the speculations of Gnosticism, a complicated issue. In any
case, both anointing the anointing of Jesus and the anointing of the Word are closely related.
As J.M. Odero states, la teologa patrstica ha ofrecido tres posibles vas de interpretacin para
la Uncin de Cristo, segn que sta fuera situada como Uncin eterna del Verbo, como Uncin
en la Encarnacin, o como Uncin en el Bautismo del Jordn, so Jos Miguel Odero, La uncin
y el bautismo de Cristo en San Cirilo de Alejandra, in Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco (ed.), Cristo
Hijo de Dios y Redentor del hombre. III Simposio Internacional de Teologa de la Universidad
de Navarra (Pamplona, 1982), 520.
7
See Antonio Orbe, La uncin del Verbo. Estudios Valentinianos III (Roma, 1961), 71.
8
Although the intent of Irenaeus in the passages where he speaks of Christs anointing is
eminently christological rather than pneumatological, the simple trinitarian statement (the Father
anoints, the Son is anointed, and the Holy Spirit is the unction itself) is situated at the beginning
of the theological development of the Holy Spirit as eternal divine anointing and hence that it
acquires a special importance.
9
Irenaeus, Adversus haereses III 18,3 (SC 211, 350f.). See the parallel texts: Adversus haer-
eses III 6,1; III 9,3 (SC 211, 64-8, 108-12); Epid. 47 (SC 406, 152).
10
Basil uses this statement in the same way, see Basil of Caesarea, De Spiritu Sancto XII 28
(SC 17bis, 344).
11
See A. Orbe, La uncin del Verbo (1961), 505-11.
12
See Adeline Rousseau, Irne de Lyon. Dmonstration de la prdication apostolique,
SC 406 (Paris, 1995), 303f.; Adeline Rousseau and Louis Doutreleau, Irne de Lyon. Contre les
hrsies livre III, SC 210 (Paris, 1974), 248-52.
Anointing and Kingdom: Some Aspects of Gregory of Nyssa's Pneumatology 115
the precedent on which Athanasius and the Cappadocians especially Gregory
of Nyssa build to develop the theology of the anointing with regards the
immanent Trinity.
Athanasius, through the theme of the anointing, brings out a valuable vision
of the presence of the divine Persons in one another. His grasp is a rich contri-
bution to the understanding of the mutual inherence of the divine Persons. In
his Epistulae ad Serapionem on at least two occasions he uses the notion of
anointing, while he is underscoring the bond between the Son and the Spirit.
13

After stating that the Spirit is called unction and seal,
14
Athanasius affirms that
the Holy Spirit, who belongs to the Word,
15
is fragrance and form of Christ.
The unction and the one that is anointed have the same fragrance and the same
form. In this way it is shown how the Holy Spirit cannot be a creature, because
the Son being in the form (Phil. 2:6) of the Father is not a creature.
16

I quote:
If we have confessed that the Son is not a creature, because he is in the Father and the
Father is in him, then the Spirit likewise cannot possibly be a creature; because the Son
is in him and he is in the Son. Wherefore, he who receives the Spirit is called a temple
of God.
17
As we see, the affirmation of the divinity of the Holy Spirit him not being a
creature is given from his intimate unity with the Son. If there is no distance
between them the Holy Spirit must be divine. It is impossible for a created
spirit to exist in the Son and the Son in him.
Gregory of Nyssa
The words of Gregory of Nyssa about the pneumatological anointing follow
the same argumentative line. He makes a more detailed use of the notion of
anointing than his predecessors. The theme appears repeatedly throughout his
works, but is chiefly found on a more detailed treatment in his works: Adversus
Macedonianos and Ad Eustathium. The underlying idea is that it is impossible
to confess the Holy Spirit as inferior or subordinate to the Son if, according to
the Scripture, the Son is anointed with the Spirit. As there is no distance
between the oil and the skin, there cannot be separation between Christ and his
anointing.
18
13
See Athanasius, Epistulae ad Serapionem I 23,4-6; III 3,1-4 (AthW I 1,4, 508f.; 569f.).
14
Ibid. I 23,4 (AthW I 1,4, 508).
15
See Rom. 8:9; ibid. I 23,5 (AthW I 1,4, 509).
16
See ibid. I 23,6 (AthW I 1,4, 509).
17
Ibid. III 3,4 (AthW I 1,4, 570); trans. C.R.B. Shapland, The Letters of Saint Athanasius
Concerning the Holy Spirit (London, 1951), 172.
18
See Maced. (GNO III/1 103,1-5); Ref. Eun. 11 (GNO II 317).
116 M. BRUGAROLAS
Whoever dismisses the Holy Spirit cannot confess Christ since as Gregory
says how will one who does not recognize the chrism along with the
Anointed One confess Christ? God anointed this man, he says, in the Holy
Spirit (Acts 10:38).
19
For Gregory to think of Christ necessarily entails think-
ing of the Holy Spirit, just as nobody can contemplate the Father without con-
sidering the present Son.
20
In Adversus Macedonianos Gregory underscores the
royal meaning of the chrism in order to stress the divine nature of the Spirit:
So if the Son is king by nature, and the chrism is a symbol (smbolon) of his kingship,
then what does the logic (kolouqav) of the reasoning mean to you? That the chrism is
not something foreign to the natural king, and we do not classify the Spirit with the Holy
Trinity as a stranger and foreigner. Indeed the Son is king. But the Holy Spirit is the living,
substantial and subsistent kingship (basilea d hsa ka osidjv ka nupstatov
t pnema t gion). Since he has been anointed with this kingship, the only-begotten
Christ is also king of all existing things. So if the Father is king and the Only-begotten is
king and the Holy Spirit is kingship, the reason for kingship in the case of the Trinity is
absolutely the same. [] If, then, the Son is king by nature, and the dignity of the king-
ship (zwma basileav) is the Holy Spirit, through which the Son is anointed, how is
it possible to think that the kingship by nature could be foreign to itself?
21
The Holy Spirit is contemplated together with the Son.
22
He is the distinctive
mark, the sign, the symbol of the Sons kingship (smbolon basileav) and
therefore he can neither be of a strange nature nor distant from the King him-
self. If the Son is king for the ointment of the Holy Spirit that he receives from
the Father, the Spirit must belong to the same divine royal scope.
23
Gregory
calls the Holy Spirit the living, substantial and subsistent kingship (basilea
hsa ka osidjv ka nupstatov) to indicate that he belongs to the same
and unique divine nature of the Son. Both Son and Spirit have the same royal
dignity for they are inseparable in their divine nature, in their glory. Gregorys
explanation in the Ad Eustathium is particularly clear:
For this reason, in order that the dignity (za) of the Holy Spirit might be more clearly
manifest to human beings, he was named by the Scripture
24
as the symbol of kingship
19
Maced. (GNO III/1 102,14f.).
20
See Giulio Maspero, The fire, the kingdom and the glory: The Creator Spirit and the intra-
trinitarian processions in the Adversus Macedonianos of Gregory of Nyssa, in Volker Henning
Drecoll and Margitta Berghaus (eds), Gregory of Nyssa: The Minor Treatises on Trinitarian
Theology and Apollinarism (Leiden, 2011), 229-276, 260.
21
Maced. (GNO III/1 102-3).
22
See Ref. Eun. 11 (GNO II 317).
23
Using these texts, G. Maspero has highlighted the role of the Holy Spirit as unitive bond
inside the Trinity: The Spirit makes the Trinity one in his very being the communion of the
Father and Son: The Second is image of the First, is King as He is, precisely by the Person of the
Holy Spirit. G. Maspero, The fire, the kingdom and the glory (2011), 262.
24
Gregory, while explaining the metaphorical meaning of the unction, quotes before: Acts
10:38; Luke 4:18. See Eust. (GNO III/1 15,19).
Anointing and Kingdom: Some Aspects of Gregory of Nyssa's Pneumatology 117
(smbolon basileav), that is anointing, from which we are taught that the Holy Spirit
shares (koinwne) the glory (dzjv) and the kingship (basileav) of the Only- begotten
Son of God.
25
The text reveals that Gregory understands the anointing in a theological way
rather than in its economic sense. The anointing of the Holy Spirit belongs to
the eternal Son of the Father, who is King before the ages. According to this
theological notion of anointing it is not surprising that Gregory uses the name
Christ several times, referred to the Word before the Incarnation.
26
This is so
as Christ is the name of the one who has received the eternal kingship of his
Father in the Holy Spirit. Through the earthly anointing of Christ in his bap-
tism by the Holy Spirit Scripture teaches us that other, eternal anointing.
In this transcendent anointing we see that the Father (who anoints), the Son
(who is anointed), and the Holy Spirit (who is the unction) share the same royal
dignity, sign of their unique divine nature. The last paragraph of the Letter
Ad Eustathium is beautiful and deep in his theological content:
The kingship of the Son is not assumed without the dignity of the Holy Spirit. Where-
fore he [the Son] is properly called anointed, since this name furnishes proof of his
indivisible and inseparable union (tv xwrstou ka diasttou sunafeav)
between the Son and the Holy Spirit. If therefore the Only-begotten God ( monogenv
qev) is anointed (xristv), and the anointing (xrsma) is the Holy Spirit, and the title
of Anointed (xristo) indicates his kingly authority (basilikn zousan), and the
anointing is the symbol (smbolon) of his kingship, then the Holy Spirit also shares
(koinwne) this dignity (the royal dignity).
27
The unity of Son and Spirit is described by Gregory with the Greek terms tv
xwrstou ka diasttou sunafeav, in a way that can only happen in
God, in the scope of uncreated being. For Gregorys thought creation is essen-
tially diastematic in contrast to God who is by nature undiastematic
(adiastaton),
28
therefore an undiastematic unity diasttou sunafeav
cannot exist outside the eternity of God, cannot occur between two who are not
perfect in their divine nature.
29
25
Eust. (GNO III/1 16,3).
26
Gregory devotes many paragraphs of the books III and IV of his Contra Eunomium III to
refute the Eunomian interpretation of Acts 2:36. In those paragraphs Gregory asserts that it was
Jesus in his humanity the one that in the economy of salvation was made Lord and Christ, since
in his divinity, as the eternal Word of God, he was yet Lord and King before the ages. He who
is Lord and King from eternity cannot be made Lord and Christ. See Eun. III 3,67-9 (GNO II
131,16-133,20); Eun. III 4, 41-52; 59-64 (GNO II 149,27-154,16; 156,26-159,6).
27
Eust. (GNO III/1 16,10-9); the trans. is helped by Anna M. Silvas, Gregory of Nyssa: The
Letters. Introduction, translation and commentary (Leiden and Boston, 2007), 245.
28
See Scott Douglass, Diastema, in L.F. Mateo-Seco and G. Maspero (eds), The Brill Dic-
tionary of Gregory of Nyssa (Leiden and Boston, 2009), 227f.
29
See Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prsence et pense: essai sur la philosophie religieuse de
Grgoire de Nysse (Paris, 1947), 1-10.
118 M. BRUGAROLAS
Gregory argues in these texts that the Holy Spirit is of divine nature through
his inseparable unity with the Son. The intimate bond of the Holy Spirit with the
Son is a proof of his being God, separated from created beings. This statement, in
fact, appears in a more explicit way at the end of the third homily of De oratione
dominica where Gregory identifies the Holy Spirit with the kingdom of God.
Gregory uses one variant of Luke 11:2 (may thy Holy Spirit come upon us
and purify us)
30
in parallel with Matth. 6:10 (thy Kingdom come) to indicate
by this identification the impossibility of counting the Holy Spirit among crea-
tures.
31
Gregory goes on with his reasoning stating that the Spirit does not share
anything with creatures, for in his royal dignity there is nothing in common with
those who are servants.
32
Thus, for example, the Holy Spirit, participating in the
dignity of the kingdom of God has authority to purify from sin, an action that is
exclusively divine.
33
So the power of the Spirit to purify from sin reveals his
divine nature, for in the purifying action he is united to the Only-begotten (Hebr.
1:3).
34
Then Gregory concludes that, if the Son and the Spirit have one unique
power (dnamiv) and activity (nrgeia), how can a diversity of nature be
assumed between them?
35
The same divine nature must be confessed in those in
which it is impossible to find a difference with regards their activity and power.
Conclusion
Through the theology of the Holy Spirit as the unction of the Son, Gregory empha-
sizes one of the key points of his pneumatology and Trinitarian theology: the
bonds that exist between divine Persons by their close interpersonal communion.
30
On the variant of Luke 11:2 see Monique Alexandre, La variante de Lc 11,2 dans la
troisime Homlie sur lOraison Dominicale de Grgoire de Nysse et la controverse avec les
pneumatomaques, in Matthieu Cassin and Hlne Grelier (eds), Grgoire de Nysse: la Bible dans
la construction de son discours. Actes du Colloque de Paris, 9-10 fvrier 2007 (Paris, 2008),
163-189, 167; See Luc Fritz, Lapport de la version marcionite du Notre Pre (Lc 11,2) dans la
dfense de la divinit du Saint-Esprit par Grgoire de Nysse, in Daniel Vigne (ed.), Lire le Notre
Pre avec les Pres (Toulouse, 2009), 215-26. Some allusions to this variant are found in Tertul-
lian (see Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem IV 26,3f. [SC 456, 332-4]) but, as M. Alexandre affirms,
the witness of Gregory is much clearer and seems to be the root of the later quotations.
31
See Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 39,15-40,20).
32
See Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 40,3-6).
33
The purpose of this texts of the Or. Dom. against the pneumatomachs seems to be, according
to M. Alexandre, a clear indication of its date of composition around the year 381, see M. Alexan-
dre, La variante de Lc 11,2 (2008), 181. Even among scholars, there are different opinions, the
affirmations of Gregory fit very well in the contexts of the pnematomachian polemic. See Pierre
Maraval, Chronology of Works, in L.F. Mateo-Seco and G. Maspero (eds), The Brill Dictionary
of Gregory of Nyssa (2009), 153-169, 159; Ekaterina Kiria, De oratione dominica, in L.F. Mateo-
Seco and G. Maspero (eds), The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (2009), 550-3, 551.
34
See Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 41,1-8).
35
See Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 41,8-10).
Anointing and Kingdom: Some Aspects of Gregory of Nyssa's Pneumatology 119
Gregory describes the hypostatic properties (iditetas) of the Holy Spirit
mainly on the basis of biblical texts: John 15:26, Rom. 8:9 and Gal. 4:6 saying
that the Spirit has his own hypostasis because he is from God and he is the
Spirit of Christ.
36
In the words of A. de Halleux, the hypostasis of the Holy
Spirit is described by Gregory in terms of causality in relation to the Father and
in terms of coeternity in relation to the Son.
37
Thus, the pneumatology of the
anointing is an expression that remarks the statement of the intimate unity of
coeternity between the Son and the Spirit.
Gregory finds in the pneumatology of the anointing an appropriate way to
argue not only the divinity of the Holy Spirit but also his hypostatic property
(idites). Besides saying that the Spirit participates in the unique nature of God
for his communion with the Son, the pneumatology of the anointing is an asser-
tion of the hypostatic property of the Holy Spirit. When Gregory affirms that
the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ and the kingship of the king he is
doubtlessly making reference to his personal property (idites) of being Spirit
of the Son (Rom. 8:9).
The biblical notions are beautifully used to understand the relationship of inter-
personal unity that exists between Son and Spirit. This unity is found not only in
their unique divine nature but also in their bond as different divine Persons that
exist one in another. Through the notions of anointing and kingdom we perceive
that Father, Son and Spirit are intimately united precisely because in his personal
properties they are different and they can inhere in one another.
38
From this point of view we can say that the pneumatology of Gregory of
Nyssa acquires a special importance compared to the other Cappadocians. To
the argument of the origin of the Spirit in the Father that was common in the
defence of the Spirits divine nature Gregory adds the deep reasoning of the
mutual inherence of the divine Persons. The Father who anoints, the Son who
is anointed and the Holy Spirit who is the unction exist one in the other as dif-
ferent divine Persons. The notions of anointing and kingdom are in the
thought of Gregory a lucid illustration both of the Spirits divine nature and of
his personal distinction and property.
36
See Maced. (GNO III/1 89,21-90,5); Or. Dom. III (GNO VII/2 43,1). See Werner Jaeger,
Gregor von Nyssas Lehre vom Heiligen Geist (ed. Hermann Drries) (Leiden, 1966), 142.
37
Andr De Halleux, Manifest par le Fils. Aux origenes dune formule pneumatologique,
in Patrologie et Oecumnisme. Recueil dtudes (Leuven, 1990), 338-66, 362.
38
The idea of the mutual inherence of the divine Persons can be found, among other texts, in:
Maced. (GNO III/1 98f.). See L.F. Mateo-Seco, El Espritu Santo en el Adv. Macedonianos de
Gregorio de Nisa, ScrTh 37 (2005), 475-98, 495f.