When St. Gregory first ascended his cathedra, there were only seventeen Christians in Neocaesarea. At his death, only seventeen pagans remained in the city.

From the Life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker

This is the third great St. Gregory to come from Cappadocia in a matter of a couple generations. Actually he lived before St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. Gregory of Nyssa, and he had a large influence on them via St. Gregory of Nyssa’s grandmother, St. Macrina the Elder. Also styled Thaumaturgus, St. Gregory studied under Origen. He was bishop in Neocaesarea when St. Macrina the Elder was a girl. She knew him personally and was able to pass his teaching on to St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa (St. Basil’s brother), and St. Gregory of Nazianzus (St. Basil’s best friend).