Divine Unity and the Divided Self: Gregory of Nyssa’s Trinitarian Theology in its Psychological Context

In the last hundred years Gregory of Nyssa’s Trinitarian theology has received a substantial amount of attention. Unfortunately, it has been appropriated because of its perceived psychological content—so much so that Gregory’s Trinitarian theology becomes re–stated as the Trinity as “personal relationship” or as “locating consciousness(es) in the Trinity.” To be sure, a knowledge of Gregory’s psychology reveals its role in his Trinitarian theology; however, it also makes clear that personal relationship or consciousness are not important, substantial psychological concepts in the way that they are often taken to be by contemporary interpreters. Rather, Gregory’s psychology takes its fundamental shape from a concern for the integrity of the will in its action.