Hierarch Gregory Thaumaturgus Of Neocaesarea

Saint Gregory the Wonderworker was Bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, living in the 3rd century (c. 213 – c. 270-275). Born to a wealthy pagan family, he was educated in rhetoric and law before becoming a disciple of Origen at the school of Caesarea, an experience that turned him toward theology and asceticism. Before his consecration as bishop, tradition holds that the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him together with the Apostle John the Theologian, and he set down the Orthodox teaching on the Holy Trinity that was later recorded as his "Exposition of Faith." Upon becoming bishop of a city that reportedly had only 17 Christians, he became renowned for numerous miracles — moving a mountain, diverting a flooding river, and expelling demons among them — earning the epithet "Thaumaturgus" (Wonderworker). Through his preaching and miracles he converted nearly the entire population of Neocaesarea to Christianity; tradition holds that by the time of his death, the city had only 17 pagans left, an inversion of the number he found on his arrival. He died around 270-275.