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Cappadocian Fathers
(1,818 words)

Cappadocia, the most easterly district of Asia Minor, was early taught the Christian message (cf. 1 Pet 1:1), and at the Council of Nicaea was represented by seven bishops. There was no Cappadocian school of theology in the sense of the schools of Alexandria and Antioch. The unity of thought among the “Cappadocian” Fathers derives ultimately from Basil of Caesarea. It is Basil whom Gregory of Nazianzus and his younger brother Gregory of Nyssa recognize as teacher, and from Basil a line can be traced back to Origen through Gregory Thaumaturgus, and thereby to the Alexandrian tradition.

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Friedrich Normann, “Cappadocian Fathers”, in: Sacramentum Mundi Online, General Editor Karl Rahner, SJ. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-483X_smuo_COM_000600>
First published online: 2016



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