The Didactic Nature of Gregory Nazianzen’s Poemata Arcana and the Theme of Continual, Gradated Progress

In this essay, I provide a holistic reading of Gregory Nazianzen’s Poemata Arcana, eight poems providing a coherent and systematic account of the elements of Christian theology. I explore in particular the reflexive didactic poetics of the work, arguing that one of the most recurring themes is that of continual and gradated spiritual progress toward God and that Gregory takes care to position himself as an instructor and exemplar for his readers in their own individual, gradual self-perfective journeys. Over the course of this argument, I critically reconsider prior judgements concerning the poem’s theological content (especially on the issue of apophasis and theōsis), literary technique and textual constitution.