“As if Adam lived in us”. 5th Homily On the Lord’s Prayer by Gregory of Nyssa about the participation of all people in the first sin of Adam

M. Przyszychowska (Uniwersytet Warszawski, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa)

5^th Homily On the Lord’s Prayer is one of the most significant Gregorian texts concerning the way Adam’s sin affected entire human nature. We live our lives after the first sin in Eden as if Adam lived in us (Ὡς γὰρ ζῶντος ἐν ἡμῖν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ). Even more, Gregory speaks about real participation of every human being in the first sin as he states straightforwardly that everyone who participates in the nature of Adam, participates in his fall (ὁ κοινωνῶν τῆς φύσεως τοῦ Ἀδὰμ, κοινωνῶν δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐκπτώσεως). In my paper I will show the content of that homily in the context of the entire Gregory’s teaching about the original sin; I will also try to answer the question whether Gregory speaks about the sin of nature or not.