St. Gregory of Nyssa
Acrylic paint and gold leaf on glass
7" x 14"

This icon was made for St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio. My husband and I were lucky to be a part of this wonderful parish and to have had Fr. Daniel Rentel as our parish priest. We will miss them deeply now that we have moved to NY. This August Fr Dan is leaving for a greatly deserved retirement, and let's pray God to grant him many years of blessed life with his family!

Our father among the saints Gregory of Nyssa (ca. A.D. 335 – after 384) was bishop of Nyssa and a prominent theologian of the fourth century. He was the younger brother of Basil the Great and friend of Gregory the Theologian. Gregory's influence on Church doctrine has remained important, although some have accused this theology of containing an Origenist influence. He is commemorated on January 10.

Gregory was raised in a very pious (and large) Christian family of ten children; his grandmother Macrina the Elder, his mother Emily, his father Basil the Elder, his sisters Macrina the Younger and Theosebia, and his brothers Basil the Great and Peter of Sebaste have all been recognized as saints. He received a good education and taught rhetoric at one point. In 372, his brother Basil ordained him the bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia (in present-day Turkey). Gregory and Basil both spent much effort defending the Faith against the attacks of the Arians. He was twice deposed as leader of his See because of false accusations made by the heretics. His position as bishop was finally restored in 378. Gregory also attended the Council of Antioch, a local synod, in which he zealously defended Orthodoxy. The council was called to rebut a heresy which denied the perpetual virginity of the Theotokos, on one hand, and other the other hand forbid worship of her as God or part of the Godhead, while he continuing to fight Arianism. Then, he attended the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, which added the final section concerning the Holy Spirit to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. For the rest of his life, Gregory continued to attend church councils, discuss doctrinal matters, and combat various heresies. He reached old age and finally reposed in the Lord near the end of the fourth century.
Saint's life was taken from the OrthodoxWiki