Day of St. Gregory the Theologian

The memory of Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, is honored by the Orthodox Church on February 7 in the new style This famous saint was born around 325 into a noble Christian family His father, a pagan by birth, accepted the faith of Christ and became the bishop of the local diocese And the mother was raised by believing parents and sacredly revered the precepts of Christianity Gregory also had a virtuous brother and sister; all members of his family over time began to be revered as saints The theologian received a decent primary education, which he continued in the city of philosophers and scientists, Athens Here Gregory became friends with Basil the Great, who later became the greatest father of the Christian faith At the age of 30, Gregory was baptized by his father, after which he retired to a monastery founded by Basil the Great Monastic life, as well as the years of study in Athens, were the most gratifying in the life of the saint, but fate was destined for him to become an important figure in the church struggle for the purity of the faith For a long time Gregory resisted attempts to make him a bishop, and even voluntarily left the diocese entrusted to him in the city of Sasim, but after the death of his father he was forced to take over the management of the affairs of his parent’s church After the death of Basil the Great, Gregory accepts the offer to leave for Constantinople The Christian Church in the capital was under the control of heretics; 40 years before this, the Arian heresy was considered the only true one Gregory noted with regret that dark, uneducated people were discussing the Almighty Concerned about this situation, the saint begins to hold services in one of the rooms of his relatives’ house This event greatly outraged the Arian monks; they rushed into Gregory with angry shouts and heavy stones and took the holy father to the city authorities The saint turned out to be more convincing than the heretics and was not taken into custody Gregory's words also reached the heart of Emperor Theodosius, who entrusts the Theologian with the administration of the Church of Constantinople When Gregory ascended to the temple, the sun shone in the gloomy sky, which became a good sign for both the saint and the people Gregory took up the task of cleansing the Orthodox faith from heretical impurities, for which he convened the Second Ecumenical Church Council After the anathematization of heresies, Gregory could remain the Bishop of Constantinople, but he was reminded of the old history with the Sassim bishopric, which means they pointed out past unrighteousness The saint did not fight for power, which he sincerely did not want; he returned to his hometown and took over the administration of the diocese, which was once under the bishopric of his father After his health deteriorated, Gregory moved to the family estate and there, in solitude, he engaged in literary theological works until his death Interesting signs and customs were associated in folk traditions with the Day of Gregory the Theologian Good deeds were greatly welcomed and promised to be returned many times over But boasting was not very welcome, and it was better to think about every word spoken several times Everything said on St Gregory’s day could come true By the weather of the day, one could find out what the next winter would be like Before lunch they judged about December, and after about February