Alexander Abecina: Power in Weakness: Pneumatology in Gregory of Nyssa’s De virginitate

Gregory of Nyssa's De virginitate has not, to date, been adequately studied with regard to Nyssen's theology of the Holy Spirit, despite the work being saturated with pneumatological references. In this paper, I will argue that Gregory’s pneumatology is the key to understanding the skoposof the text, namely to “create a desire for a life of virtue” leading to beatific vision. I will show that attention to what Gregory says about the Spirit as "life-giving power" helps to clarify his views on virginity and marriage, while shedding light on the essence of his opposition to his unnamed opponents (sometimes identified with Messalians or followers of Eustathius of Sebaste). Since De virginitate is, arguably, Gregory's first written work, this study will be particularly important for assessing the development of Gregory’s pneumatology in the years leading up to his anti-Pneumatomachian writings.