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He was born about 328/330 in Nazianz (Kappadokkia) and died around 390/391 in Arianz (Kappadokkia). He was a founding father, and a teacher of the
Eastern Orthodox Church. From 380 to 383 AD he was Patriarch of Constantinople. Along with the brothers Basilius the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, he was the main opponent of the Arians. At the
Council of Constantinople of 381 AD he contributed crucially to the formulation of the trinity dogma. In poems, epistles and lectures he strove to bring about a synthesis of classical education and
Christian thinking of historical importance. In eastern Orthodox art he is represented by the dove as symbol of the Holy Spirit; also in personifications of wisdom and chastity. This is
rarely the case in western religious representations. An exception are the representations of Ignaz Platzer in St. Nicholas in Prague (1769).
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