Richard A Brumback III: Gregory of Elvira and the Evolution of a Spanish Pro-Nicene

Concerning the fourth-century Spanish bishop Gregory of Elvira, Jerome wrote that he “composed various homilies in ordinary speech and an elegant book on the Faith [De fide orthodoxa]” (De vir. ill.105). The few modern studies on Gregory have emphasized the De fideand his five homilies on the Canticum Canticorum, but the collection of twenty homilies known as the Tractatus Origenis,which constitutes the bulk of his literary output, remains largely unexplored. While Gregory’s reputation rests heavily upon his role as a pro-Nicene defender in the turbulent middle decades of the fourth century and his associated De fide, the Tractatus sheds light upon the bishop’s own Christological development and the theological sources by which he was influenced.This presentation first examines the Tractatus to identify the developing lines of argumentation Gregory employed in his battle for acceptance of the Nicene Creed. The Tractatus serves as an incidental Trinitarian dossier revealing the bishop’s evolving thought that ultimately resulted in his De fide.This examination also permits a more precise dating of the Tractatus homilies using the De fide(360/361) as the terminus ante quem. In addition, these texts shed light upon the Christological variety present in Spain and the West in the decade of the 350s. Finally, this allows us to suggest the theological sources to which the bishop was exposed and which informed his Christology, especially certain polemical works of Tertullian.