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Gregory of Nazianzus, Speeches (from Mravaltavis)

Greg.Naz. · titus

BothSourceEnglish
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machine-draft · no human review 1 passages · 136 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Old Georgian translation of Gregory of Nazianzus’ Speeches survives only within the Mravaltavi (homiliary) manuscript tradition, where liturgical excerpting shaped both selection and transmission. These speeches were translated for use in the Georgian lectionary, read on specific feast days. The translation is conventionally dated to the 10th–11th centuries, but the manuscript evidence is later, and no autograph or early witness survives. The text presented does not collate all Mravaltavi manuscripts, and variants between codices are not recorded, so it may not represent the earliest recoverable form. The Old Georgian text is a translation from Greek, and theological terms may reflect Georgian interpretive choices.

This Old Georgian translation of Gregory’s Speeches is a key witness to the reception of Greek patristic literature in the medieval Georgian Church. It demonstrates how liturgical needs shaped the selection and transmission of homiletic texts, and it preserves Georgian theological vocabulary and interpretive choices. The Mravaltavi tradition links Gregory’s works to the broader corpus of festal homilies used in the Georgian lectionary, illuminating the liturgical and cultural exchange between Greek and Georgian Christianity.

Historical context

The Georgian translation of Gregory of Nazianzus’ Speeches was produced for liturgical use in the Georgian Church, likely in the 10th–11th centuries, a period of intense translation activity from Greek into Old Georgian, especially in monastic centers such as the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos and the Georgian monasteries in Palestine. The Mravaltavi (homiliary) manuscripts, which preserve these excerpts, are festal collections used in the Georgian lectionary, where Gregory’s homilies were read on specific feast days. The selection and textual transmission were shaped by this liturgical function, not by the original sequence of the Speeches. The surviving manuscripts are later than the translation itself, and no early witness remains. The Georgian text reflects the interpretive choices of the translators, who adapted Greek theological vocabulary into Georgian, sometimes creating unique forms (e.g., 'nandzinandzorevelisay' for Nazianzus). The translation tradition is part of the broader reception of Greek patristic literature in the Georgian Orthodox world.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

6 commentary units 1 structure1 term1 scripture1 background1 reception1 caution 1 derived notes 2 open questions 1 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: liturgy in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 1 narrative.
  • caution1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Gregor Nazianzenus, Orationes. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.12.2008. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
nazia:1 · narrativehigh
Source
:ვ: [საკითხავი] წმიდისა გრიგორი ღმრთის-მეტყუელისა ეპიზკოპისისა ნანძინანძორეველისაჲ შობისათჳს უფლისა რამეთუ გამოჩნდა ღმერთი კაცთა შორის ჴორციელად შობილი, რომელი იყო და მარადის არს სამარადისოჲსაგან არსებისა, და ჩუენთჳს იქმნა იგი უკუანაჲსკნელ კაც. და ვითარცა არსებაჲ მოსცა კაცთა ეგრევე, რაჲთა უმჯობჱსად ყოფაჲ მოანიჭოს და, უფროჲსღა, რაჲთა დაცემისაგან ბოროტისა აღადგინოს მასვე კუალად ღი[რ]სებასა ჴორც-შესხმისაგა[ნ] თჳსისა. და სახელ ედების გ[ა]მოჩინებისა მისისათჳს გამოცხადება, ხოლო შობისათჳს -- შობ[ა]. ესე არს ჩუენდა კრება და ამ[ას] დღესასწაულსა აღვასრულებდეთ დღეს, და შემდგომად მცირედ ვიხილოთ ნა[თ]ლისღებაჲცა იესუჲსი იორდა[ნ]ესა მდინარე[სა] ჩუენისა გა[ნ]წმედისათჳს და უფროჲს [ხოლო] განწმედისათჳს წყალთაჲს[ა]
English
Fifth: [Reading] of Saint Gregory the Theologian, Bishop of Nazianzus, concerning the Nativity of the Lord: that God appeared among men, born in the flesh, who was and always is from the eternal being, and for our sake he became the last man. And just as he gave existence to men, so he might grant them a better state, and, moreover, that he might raise them up from the fall of evil again to the dignity of his own incarnation. And for the sake of the manifestation of his name, revelation; and for the sake of the birth, birth. This is our assembly, and on this feast we celebrate today, and afterwards we shall briefly also behold the illumination of Jesus in the Jordan River, for our purification and, moreover, for the purification of the waters.
Citation. Tergwame, “Gregory of Nazianzus, Speeches (from Mravaltavis)”, nazia:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/nazia#s1
Colophon. Source: titus · licence: This text is part of the TITUS edition of Gregor Nazianzenus, Orationes. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.12.2008. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder. · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0013 · generated 2026-11-15.