Joyce's Photos of Cappadocia

While there probably were real Christians in Cappadocia for a short while in the first to third century, they probably left by or shortly after the 4th century.

In the fourth century, one named Gregory become bishop of Nyssa in 372. Nyssa is in a region now called Cappadocia, in modern-day Turkey. His brother Basil appointed him bishop in Nyssa. Gregory of Nyssa was present at the Council of Antioch, and later at the Second Ecumenical Council (381) which took place in Constantinople (this second council resulted in severe persecutions against true Christians). There Gregory defended the so-called Nicene Creed (more information on the creed is in the article What was the Original Apostles' Creed?) and helped promote the trinitarian heresy.

The area now called Cappadocia essentially became the major non-Egyptian bastion of monasticism for the Orthodox Church.

Much more information about monasticism can be found in the article Did The Early Christian Church Practice Monasticism?

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