Kenarchy Volume 7.2 – The Kenarchy Journal

Kenarchy Journal: Kenarchy & Peace, 2025, Volume 7

At last Towards the Good: The Eschatology of St. Gregory of Nyssa
Jeffrey Mears

Abstract

In this paper, I will demonstrate that Gregory of Nyssa provides a compelling and beautiful alternative vision of last things, one that not only remains within the bounds of Christian Orthodoxy, but is sourced from its very roots. Gregory’s theology is centered around his vision of a God who is indeed only good and who has an ultimately good plan for all of humanity. Western evangelicals’ current hellish iteration of Christianity claims that God is good in ways that necessarily contradict human comprehension. In contrast, Gregory elevates the goodness of God beyond human comprehension. His belief in the ultimate restoration of all things allows him to congruently claim that “God in his own nature, is everything that can be conceived of as good; or rather, being beyond any good that can be conceived or comprehended.” This should pique the interest of those experiencing this Great Deconstruction.

For those who are on a quest to find an antidote to our current hellish theologies—theologies that would make God evil—Gregory offers a healing salve. For those whose heads and hearts have deemed this current iteration of Christianity untenable but who don’t wish to leave their Christian faith, Gregory offers a path forward. He beckons these seekers to journey deeper into the roots of orthodox Christianity to find a cohesive vision of a good God, with a good plan, and an ultimately good outcome for all. Gregory does not stand alone in this perspective. His thoughts echo in the writings and sermons of some of the most formative voices of Christian theology, both before him and after. We could also look to saints and theologians like Maximus the Confessor, Isaac the Syrian, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Macrina the Younger, Basil, and Gregory Nazanius, among many others, to receive this antidote to our current malaise. However, in this paper, I will specifically examine the eschatology of one of the most brilliant and celebrated early church Fathers, Saint Gregory of Nyssa. We will see how his view of last things might shape our view of all things.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62950/vupl72

Pages 22-40

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About Kenarchy

While kenarchy is a gift for everybody, those of us who configure the politics of love in these terms are strongly motivated to do so in a way that deeply penetrates existing socially constructed mind-sets. This is why we combine applied academic research and writing together with grassroots social, economic and political activism. Kenarchy developed initially as a form of political theology and we make no apology for that, but it now embraces a wide and interdisciplinary perspective relevant to the politics and theology of love. The purpose of this Journal is to advance the applied research, and as such, it is an academic journal.

Lead Editor:

Roger Haydon Mitchell, PhD, theologian and activist, honorary researcher in the Lancaster University Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities, and political theologian with the Westminster Theological Centre

Associate Editors:

Sue Mitchell, MSc – co-facilitator for the Morecambe Bay Poverty Truth Commission, leading conversations between people with lived experience of poverty and decision makers, towards a new sociality

Bradley Jersak, PhD – (BradJersak.com) is the editor of CWRmagazine and Clarion-Journal.com, Principal & Director of Theology & Culture, at St. Stephen’s University

Andrew Klager, PhD – Provost & Vice-Chancellor, Professor of Religion and Peace Studies, Director of the Jim Forest Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice, St. Stephen’s University, Canada

Publishing Team:

Mike Winter, PhD
Martin Scott

In order to undergird the academic quality and scope of the Journal we are delighted that the following have agreed to be academic advisors to the lead editor and team.

Academic Advisors:

Linda Woodhead MBE DD FAcSS is FD Maurice Professor and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London

Professor Maggi Dawn, MA, PhD (Cantab), CCTM, APRS, APSE, Principal, St Mary’s College, Durham University, UK

Professor Anthony Reddie, Extraordinary Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of South Africa and Director of The Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture, Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford

Thomas Jay Oord, PhD, Director, Doctoral Program at Northwind Theological Seminary/C4ORT, Director, Center for Open and Relational Theology

Timothy Stacey, PhD, Lecturer in Religious Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands, Co-Founder and Co-Director, AltVisions, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Lived Religion Project

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The Kenarchy Journal (ISSN: 2976-6001) is published in Lancaster UK by 2MT, Charity registration number: 1069653.