Gregory was a man enchanted with Christ and dazzled by the meaning of his Passion. He was born in Caesarea in Cappadocia around 334, the younger brother of Basil the Great and, in his youth, was a reluctant Christian.

When he was twenty, the transfer of the relics of the Forty Martyrsof Sebaste to the family chapel at Annesi quickened Gregory’s faith, and he became a practicing Christian and a lector. He later abandoned this ministry, however, …