‘Heaven-Bound Dung Beetles’: Gregory of Nazianzus and the Ordination of Slaves in the Early Church

Abstract

Abstract Gregory of Nazianzus considered the entry of slaves and freedmen into the clergy as debasing the church, calling bishops drawn from slave stock ‘heaven-bound dung beetles’. Such sentiments were shared by the broader church hierarchy and imperial government of the day with council canons, episcopal rescripts, and imperial laws all prohibiting the ordination of slaves. Yet, the ordination of unfree men was widespread. Indeed, we find Gregory himself complicit in the ordination of the slave of a Cappadocian noblewomen named Simplicia. This prompts two interlinked questions that have garnered little attention. Why was the ordination of slaves and freedmen so problematic for the post-Constantinian church, and what were the drivers that led men such as Gregory to ignore its prohibition? Approaching these questions through a close reading of Gregory’s dispute with Simplicia, we find that within the negotiation between traditional Roman practices and the new Christian narratives of the later Roman empire, the ordination of slaves posed a unique threat to the stability of both the church and state. However, it also becomes clear that despite the potential for social destabilization, slave ordination proved to be an all-too-tempting recruitment strategy for ecclesiasts operating within a crowded religious marketplace.