Previous studies of Gregory of Nazinazus's letter collection have failed to fully consider the implications of its self-authored status. This paper argues that the letter collection is best understood as a special form of self-writing—epistolary autobiography. Gregory's direct control over its contents and publication pushes readers to consider the collection's self-presentational and even propagandistic aspects in light of his career and personal authority within Constantinopolitan and Cappadocian circles. Such an approach highlights a coherent body of thematic currents that run throughout the collection, and it permits readers to ask new questions regarding the ways that late antique bishops and literary elites crafted personal authority.
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