Format 

The module begins with a two-day in-person orientation retreat, hosted at the Trinity Anglican Seminary campus. The retreat is followed by eight (8) online virtual meeting sessions. Each cohort will be made up of eight to twelve participants and led by a facilitator. In each Zoom session, one student will lead discussion by providing a short summary of the readings, with guidance from the facilitator. The module will mainly involve tutorial-style discussion around primary texts. 

The module does not expect any prior knowledge of the writings of Gregory of Nyssa or Patristic. Theology. It does assume that most participants have some graduate-level training in theology or ministry (an MA or MDiv). The main goal is to afford the opportunity for clergy and lay leaders to go deeper in their readings of foundational texts in the Great Tradition and to do so in the company of other clergy. 

Meeting Times

In-Person Orientation Retreat (at Trinity Anglican Seminary): January 26-27, 2026 

Bi-Weekly Zoom Meetings: February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24, April 7, April 21, May 5, May 19

Cost: $1000*

*Cost includes the registration fee and meals/lodging at the in-person retreat. It does not include the cost of books or travel. A limited number of needs based scholarships are available. Prior to registering, please contact Alex.Fogleman@tas.edu for more information.

Registration deadline: December 1, 2025

Required Texts 

• On the Soul and Resurrection, trans. Catharine P. Roth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002). $16.00.
• On the Human Image of God, trans. John Behr (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023). 
• Catechetical Discourse: a Handbook for Catechists, trans. Ignatius Green (New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2019). $27.00. 
• St. Gregory of Nyssa: Ascetical Works, trans. Virginia Woods Callahan (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1967). $40.99.
• The Life of Moses, trans. Abraham Malherbe and Everret Ferguson (New York: Paulist Press, 1978). $19.00.

Module Facilitator

Thomas Breedlove (Ph.D., Baylor University) is a postdoctoral researcher at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. His research focuses on the intersection of early Christian theology and continental philosophy, especially on the writings of Gregory of Nyssa. His writing has appeared in the journals Modern Theology, St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, New Blackfriars, Literature and Theology, Religion and Literature, Political Theology, and The Heythrop Journal. Forthcoming books include a constructive theological anthropology drawn from Gregory of Nyssa in conversation with French phenomenology (Bloomsbury, 2026) and a book engaging Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine on human flourishing (Baylor Press, 2026, co-authored with Dr. Alex Fogleman).