Righteous Mother
Saint Nonna of Nazianzus
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The prayerful mother of Saint Gregory the Theologian who led her household to faith in Christ.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Righteous Nonna, Orthodox Church in America — Righteous Nonna, The Prologue from Ohrid — August 5. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
Wife and Mother in a Family of Saints
Saint Nonna was raised as a Christian and married Gregory, a member of the Hypsistarian religious movement. Through patient prayer and holy example she helped lead her husband to the Church.
Gregory became Bishop of Nazianzus. Their children included Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Gorgonia and Saint Caesarius.
Prayer, Charity and a Mother's Tears
Nonna combined family responsibility with fasting, prayer and care for the poor. Saint Gregory the Theologian praised her reverence in church and her disciplined Christian life.
Her influence was neither control nor public ambition. She formed a household in which repentance, learning and service could mature into holiness.
Repose and Feast
After receiving Holy Communion in church, Saint Nonna reposed in prayer near the holy altar according to the account preserved by her son.
August 5 — Righteous Nonna, mother of Saint Gregory the Theologian.
From the Orthodox Synaxarion
The Prologue from Ohrid honors Nonna for the prayer that helped bring her husband to faith and for the holy household she formed. Her life shows the Church’s esteem for quiet perseverance, family discipleship and trust in God.
Historical Record and Ecclesiastical Tradition
The strongest personal witness is Saint Gregory the Theologian, her son, whose orations and poems praise her prayer, charity and role in the conversion of Gregory the Elder. Later devotional retellings are measured against that fourth-century testimony, and no catalogue of wonders is invented where the early witness emphasizes sanctified marriage and motherhood.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Righteous NonnaOrthodox Church in America — Righteous NonnaThe Prologue from Ohrid — August 5The Prologue from Ohrid — August 5