St Gregory Thaumaturgus Originally he was known

[Mary Naeem]

St Gregory Thaumaturgus

Originally he was known as Theodore (“gift of God”). He was introduced to the Christian religion at the age of fourteen, after the death of his father. He had a brother Athenodorus (who later also became a Bishop) and on the advice of one of their tutors, the young men were eager to study at the Berytus in Beirut, then one of the four or five famous schools in the Hellenic world. At this time, their brother-in-law was appointed assessor (legal counsel) to the Roman Governor of Palestine; the youths had therefore an occasion to act as an escort to their sister as far as Caesarea in Palestine. On arrival in that town, they learned that the celebrated scholar Origen, head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, resided there. Curiosity led them to hear and converse with the master. Soon both youths forgot all about Beirut and Roman law and gave themselves up to the great Christian teacher, who gradually won them over to Christianity