Saint Gregory of Nyssa, in his treatise titled “About the Perfection that the Christian Should Acquire,” writes about Christ, after whom we are named, as our ideal. A monk named Olympius sought guidance from Gregory on how to attain perfection and lead a virtuous life. Recognizing this opportunity, the holy Father imparts wisdom to Olympius and, by extension, to us today. He emphasizes that the most effective path to perfection lies in imitating Christ. To illustrate this, Gregory presents a list of Christ’s various names derived from the letters of Paul the Apostle. He argues that these names encapsulate the true essence of our identity.
The names of Christ are not only the ideal qualities that Christian disciples should strive to embody, but they also serve as powerful divine graces through which the Holy Spirit transforms our bodies and souls into children of God. This transformation bestows upon us the qualities of His Only-Begotten Son.
Therefore, since Christ embodies God’s power and wisdom, the Christian also attains perfection by becoming the embodiment of God’s power and wisdom. Christ is the peace that the Father bestows upon all, inviting us to His New Kingdom. Similarly, the Christian achieves perfection by spreading peace to everyone around them.
Christ is the true light. Christ is salvation. He is our Passover. Christ is the chief-priest and the sacrifice at the same time. He is the ray of God’s glory, the image of the Father’s own nature, he is spiritual nourishment and drink, the rock and keystone of our faith, he is the visible impression of the invisible Father, the head of the Church his body, the mediator of God and man, the Only-Begotten Son of the Father, principle and cause of all beings and the entire creation, king of justice and peace.
The path to Christian perfection is clearly outlined. Every Christian is confident in the significance of becoming a disciple of Christ and graduating from his school. We, too, must become beacons of light, offering salvation to everyone we encounter. We must serve as chief priests, presenting ourselves as the ultimate sacrifice acceptable to the Father, becoming channels of forgiveness and remission of sins for both heaven and earth. We must embody the image of God the Father, providing genuine nourishment and sustenance for spiritual growth, not through mere words and sermons, but through our actions. We must be trailblazers, guiding humanity as first-born brothers and sisters. We must act as mediators of reconciliation, distributing the perfect gifts of the Father without resorting to judgment and curses. Only then will we become co-workers of God in creating His new heavens and new earth, completing His salvation.
St. Gregory of Nyssa concludes the treatise by reminding us that true perfection is ever-growing and never stagnant. It is constantly striving for improvement and is not bound by any limitations.
