spiritual person, dominating all subordinate material instincts, becomes similar to God. This similarity must be goal of all human undertaking. Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus (330-390) contemplated on the origin of the human body. Man was created by God with body and soul, a visible and invisible part, like the angels. He was created to praise God like they did. The body was given to man, so he may suffer and eventually die, and thus not consider himself to be God. The material essence of the body separates us from God, like a cloud, or, as Gregory stated, like the cloud between the Egyptians and the Israelites. By giving man a perishable body, man was saved from the deep fall of Lucifer into eternal damnation. Gregory does not describe the human body before the fall, but he states that the bodily existence of man was free of any illness, needs or problems. The human body was related to God and free of sin towards him. The fall consisted in false pride, a revolt against God. Regarding the relation between body and soul, Gregory states, the body is related to the soul, like the way in which the soul is related to God. To explain human existence, Gregory uses the concept of light: God is the most sublime light, He cannot be penetrated or defined. He is followed by the angels, and then by human beings. Man is the image of God but only in his soul, not in his body. He is therefore also a mixture of eternal and temporal. The grace of God created the soul of man. His body was created for suffering, to overcome his pride. The soul is destined to lead the body and be purified like gold in a fire. The soul is oriented towards God and yearns to communicate with him. The human body is the lower element of the human person. Through the body, man experiences his temporal existence. But Gregory also admired human beauty and the bodily abilities to dream, sleep and memorize. The body can be both a friend and enemy of a person, according to Gregory. The final goal is a unity of the soul with God, which is possible with Grace and the assistance of the Holy Spirit according to Gregory. Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa (335-394) was a bishop who wrote, among others, about the creation