Project "Gregory of Nazianzus on the episcopate." Studies at CUA, autumn 2006

Karl Johan Skeidsvoll is attached as a PhD-candidate under the NFR-financed project "Highways and Byways" ("Vei og Villstrå") led by professor Jostein Børtnes, and the "Programme for the study of Ancient Christianity" (PROAC), led by professor Einar Thoma ssen at IKRR, UiB. Skeidsvoll's doctoral project is an analysis of the greek father of the Church, Gregory of Nazianzus' (ca. 330-390) writings with regard to the author's theory on ecclesiastical office. In the process of christianization of the Roman Em pire during the fourth century, the leaders of the church, the bishops, experienced a marked shift of privileges and responsibilities, and a great deal of confusion on how to play their newly framed roles. Central in the process of defining the episcopate were the so called Cappadocian fathers: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory of Nazianzus (a short while archbishop of Constantinople) is one of the most outspoken and prolific writers discussing the nature of office. The key to read his critiques and idealizations lies, as is Skeidsvoll's postulation, in the autobiography of Gregory. He constantly reinterpreted his own life in writing during his lifetime, and his groping and insecure path to an understanding of his own o ffice as bishop lies behind all his portrayals of colleagues. The project combines the candidate's background in ancient greek philology as well as in theology. As visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Early Christianity, Catholic University of America, Washington DC, Skeidsvoll will work in one of the world's leading scientific circles in this field, and have access to its specialized library and other scholarly resources of Washington DC such as Dumbarton Oaks Research Library.