He was born in 330, near Nazianzus. He travelled widely in search of knowledge. He followed his friend Basil into the wilderness, but he too was ordained and later made a bishop. He was elected Bishop of Constantinople in 381 but because of the factional fighting within the Church he retired to Nazianzus, where he died on 25 January 389 or 390. He is known as “Gregory the Theologian” in honour of his learning and eloquence. In his Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas repeats a statement from St. Jerome about St. Gregory of Nazianzus: “his authority in Christian doctrine is so great, that no one would dare attack his words” (STh I, q. 61, a. 3).