Basil of Caesarea

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"Saint Basil" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Basil (disambiguation).

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Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (

Asia Minor. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church, fighting against both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.[citation needed
]

In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with

Pachomius, he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by the traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity
.

Basil, together with his brother

Roman Catholic Church. He is sometimes referred to by the epithet Ouranophantor (Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ), "revealer of heavenly mysteries".[9]

Life

Early life and education

Basil was born into the wealthy family of

Neocaesarea),[14] raised Basil and four of his siblings who also are now venerated as saints: Macrina the Younger, Naucratius, Peter of Sebaste, and Gregory of Nyssa
.

Basil received more formal education in

Julian the Apostate.[17][18] Basil left Athens in 356, and after travels in Egypt and Syria, he returned to Caesarea. For around a year he practiced law and taught rhetoric.[19]

Basil's life changed radically after he encountered Eustathius of Sebaste, a charismatic bishop and ascetic.[20] Abandoning his legal and teaching career, Basil devoted his life to God. In a letter he described his spiritual awakening:

I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labors, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world.[21]

Annesi

Russian icon of Basil of Caesarea

After his baptism, Basil traveled in 357 to Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia to study ascetics and monasticism.[22][23] He distributed his fortunes among the poor, and went briefly into solitude near Neocaesarea of Pontus (modern Niksar) on the Iris.[22] Basil eventually realized that while he respected the ascetics' piety and prayerfulness, the solitary life did not call him.[24] Eustathius of Sebaste, a prominent anchorite near Pontus, had mentored Basil. However, they also eventually differed over dogma.[25]

Basil instead felt drawn toward communal religious life, and by 358 he was gathering around him a group of like-minded

Iris and Lycos rivers[26]). His widowed mother Emmelia, sister Macrina, and several other women, joined Basil and devoted themselves to pious lives of prayer and charitable works (some claim Macrina founded this community).[27]

Here Basil wrote about monastic communal life. His writings became pivotal in developing monastic traditions of the

Origen's Philocalia, a collection of Origen's works.[30]
Gregory decided to return to his family in Nazianzus.

Basil attended the

Nicene form of agreement. Basil eventually abandoned the Homoiousians, and emerged instead as a strong supporter of the Nicene Creed.[31]

Caesarea

Gregory the Theologian (right)—from Lipie, Historic Museum in Sanok
, Poland.

In 362, Bishop Meletius of Antioch ordained Basil as a deacon. Eusebius then summoned Basil to Caesarea and ordained him as presbyter of the Church there in 365. Ecclesiastical entreaties rather than Basil's desires thus altered his career path.[22]

Basil and Gregory Nazianzus spent the next few years combating the Arian heresy, which threatened to divide Cappadocia's Christians. In close fraternal cooperation, they agreed to a great rhetorical contest with accomplished Arian theologians and rhetors.[32] In the subsequent public debates, presided over by agents of Valens, Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant. This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in administration of the Church.[32] Basil next took on functional administration of the city of Caesarea.[28] Eusebius is reported as becoming jealous of the reputation and influence which Basil quickly developed, and allowed Basil to return to his earlier solitude. Later, however, Gregory persuaded Basil to return. Basil did so, and became the administrator for the Diocese of Caesarea.[33]

In 370, Eusebius died, and Basil was chosen to succeed him, and was consecrated bishop on 14 June 370.[34] His new post as bishop of Caesarea also gave him the powers of exarch of Pontus and metropolitan of five suffragan bishops, many of whom had opposed him in the election for Eusebius's successor. It was then that his great powers were called into action. Hot-blooded and somewhat imperious, Basil was also generous and sympathetic. He personally organized a soup kitchen and distributed food to the poor during a famine following a drought.[25]

His letters show that he actively worked to reform thieves and prostitutes. They also show him encouraging his clergy not to be tempted by wealth or the comparatively easy life of a priest, and that he personally took care in selecting worthy candidates for holy orders. He also had the courage to criticize public officials who failed in their duty of administering justice. At the same time, he preached every morning and evening in his own church to large congregations. In addition to all the above, he built a large complex just outside Caesarea, called the Basiliad,[35] which included a poorhouse, hospice, and hospital, and was compared by Gregory of Nazianzus to the wonders of the world.[36]

His zeal for

Feast of the Theophany (Epiphany), and at that time was so impressed by Basil that he donated to him some land for the building of the Basiliad. This interaction helped to define the limits of governmental power over the church.[37]

Basil then had to face the growing spread of

Athanasius
defended him.

Basil corresponded with Pope Damasus in the hope of having his aid and encouragement against triumphant Arianism; the pope, however, cherished some degree of suspicion against the Cappadocian Doctor.[39]

Death and legacy

Correr Museum
Venice

Basil died before the factional disturbances ended. He suffered from liver disease; excessive

ascetic practices also contributed to his early demise. Historians disagree about the exact date Basil died.[40] The great institute before the gates of Caesarea, the Ptochoptopheion, or "Basileiad", which was used as poorhouse, hospital, and hospice became a lasting monument of Basil's episcopal care for the poor.[25] Many of St. Basil's writings and sermons, specifically on the topics of money and possessions, continue to influence modern Christianity.[41]

Writings

Gifts during the Divine Liturgy
which bears his name.

The principal theological writings of Basil are his On the Holy Spirit, an appeal to Scripture and early Christian tradition to prove the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and his Refutation of the Apology of the Impious Eunomius, which was written about in 364 and comprised three books against Eunomius of Cyzicus, the chief exponent of Anomoian Arianism. The first three books of the Refutation are his work; his authorship of the fourth and fifth books is generally considered doubtful.[42]

Basilii Magni Opera (1523)

He was a famous preacher, and many of his homilies, including a series of

classical literature shows that Basil was influenced by his own education, which taught him to appreciate the propaedeutic importance of the classics.[43] In one of his Homilies, he describes, in one of the earliest descriptions of desalination, how sailors in his time obtain fresh water by hanging sponges over a vessel with boiling seawater and collecting and condensing the water vapor.[44]

In his exegesis Basil was an admirer of Origen and the need for the spiritual interpretation of Scripture. In his work on the Holy Spirit, he asserts that "to take the literal sense and stop there, is to have the heart covered by the veil of Jewish literalism. Lamps are useless when the sun is shining." He frequently stresses the need for Reserve in doctrinal and sacramental matters. At the same time he was against the wild allegories of some contemporaries. Concerning this, he wrote:

"I know the laws of allegory, though less by myself than from the works of others. There are those, truly, who do not admit the common sense of the Scriptures, for whom water is not water, but some other nature, who see in a plant, in a fish, what their fancy wishes, who change the nature of reptiles and of wild beasts to suit their allegories, like the interpreters of dreams who explain visions in sleep to make them serve their own end."[45]

His

ascetic tendencies are exhibited in the Moralia and Asketika (sometimes mistranslated as Rules of St. Basil), ethical manuals for use in the world and the cloister, respectively. There has been a good deal of discussion concerning the authenticity of the two works known as the Greater Asketikon and the Lesser Asketikon.[25]

According to Orosius, Basil taught apocatastasis entailing the restoration of all sinners to Christ after purification. This doctrine is most evident in his Commentary on Isaiah. On the other hand, he vehemently opposed the view that hell has an end in his short Regulae, even claiming that the many people who hold it are deceived by the devil. However, the notion of a finite hell was also espoused by his siblings Macrina and Gregory of Nyssa, and it is possible that the relevant passage in Regulae was interpolated.[46]

In his book De Spiritu Sancto, Basil lists some who for him are illustrious men of the church and quotes them; these are

Dionysius of Alexandria, Eusebius, Julius Africanus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Firmilian and Origen.[47]

Basil also stresses the complete equality of both genders, deriving from the same human 'lump' (φύραμα‎), both in the image of God, endowed with the same honour and dignity (ὁμοτίμως‎), in perfect equality (ἐξ ἴσου‎). Men even risk being inferior in piety (Homily on Julitta 241B). Likewise, in Homilies on Psalms 1, PG 29.216–17, he insists on the Socratic and Stoic tenet, here Christianized, that man and woman have 'one and the same virtue' and 'one and the same nature' (φύσις‎). Their common creation was of equal honour and dignity (ὁμότιμος‎); they have the same capacity and activity (ἐνέργεια‎), and will be given the same reward. Similarly, in Letter to Amphilochius 188, Basil again uses ἐξ ἴσου‎ in reference to the equality of women and men.[48]

Basil faced the slavery issue in De Spiritu Sancto 20 in the context of a Trinitarian debate. Basil recognizes that no human is "a slave by nature". This principle countered Aristotle's conviction and was consistent with Gregory of Nyssa view and with that of many other patristic thinkers; even Augustine and Theodoret conceded this. Basil, indeed, viewed slavery as a result of the Fall, a principle that was shared by Augustine, Theodoret, and many other Fathers.[49][50] Sometimes slavery is a boon to the enslaved person, Basil maintained (in Moral Rules 75 he recommended, that Christian slaves work harder than non-Christian slaves). This view is opposed to Gregory of Nyssa, and is reminiscent of Aristotle's argument and of Theodoret's.[48]

It is in the ethical manuals and moral sermons that the practical aspects of his theoretical theology are illustrated. So, for example, it is in his Sermon to the Lazicans that we find Basil explaining how it is our common nature that obliges us to treat our neighbor's natural needs (e.g., hunger, thirst) as our own, even though he is a separate individual.[citation needed]

Basil's three hundred letters reveal his character. They show his observant nature, which, despite the troubles of ill-health and ecclesiastical unrest, remained optimistic, tender and even playful. Basil is honoured as the chief architect of monastic life in the Greek Church.[51]

Most of his extant works, and a few spuriously attributed to him, are available in the Patrologia Graeca, which includes Latin translations of varying quality. Several of Basil's works have appeared in the late twentieth century in the Sources Chrétiennes collection.[52]

A famous quote of Basil is the below:[53] The bread you store belongs to the hungry. The clothes you accumulate belong to the naked. The shoes that you have in your closet are for the barefoot. The money you bury deep into the ground to keep it safe, belongs to the poor. You were unfair to as many people as you could have helped and you did not.

Statue of Saint Basil, depicting him in Western vestments, in the Church of St. Nicholas, Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic.

Liturgical contributions

Basil of Caesarea holds a very important place in the history of Christian liturgy, coming as he did at the end of the age of persecution. That St. Basil composed a liturgy, or rather reformed an existing liturgy, is beyond doubt, since besides the constant tradition of the Byzantine Church there are many testimonies in ancient writings to establish the fact. Basil's liturgical influence is well attested in early sources.[54]

Most of the liturgies bearing the name of Basil are not entirely his work in their present form, but they nevertheless preserve a recollection of Basil's activity in this field in formularizing liturgical prayers and promoting church-song. Patristics scholars conclude that the Liturgy of Saint Basil "bears, unmistakably, the personal hand, pen, mind and heart of St. Basil the Great".[55]

One liturgy that can be attributed to him is

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The difference between the two is primarily in the silent prayers said by the priest, and in the use of the hymn to the Theotokos, All of Creation, instead of the Axion Estin of John Chrysostom's Liturgy.[54]

The Eastern Churches preserve numerous other prayers attributed to Basil, including three prayers of

Daily Office.[citation needed
]

Influence on monasticism

Further information: Eastern Christian monasticism § Byzantine monasticism

Through his examples and teachings, Basil effected a noteworthy moderation in the austere practices which were previously characteristic of monastic life.[56] He is also credited with coordinating the duties of work and prayer to ensure a proper balance between the two.[57]

Basil is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the development of

Saint Benedict.[58] Patristic scholars such as Meredith assert that Benedict himself recognized this when he wrote in the epilogue to his Rule that his monks, in addition to the Bible, should read "the confessions of the Fathers and their institutes and their lives and the Rule of our Holy Father, Basil.[59] Basil's teachings on monasticism, as encoded in works such as his Small Asketikon, was transmitted to the west via Rufinus during the late 4th century.[60]

As a result of Basil's influence, numerous religious orders in Eastern Christianity bear his name. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Basilian Fathers, also known as the Congregation of St. Basil, an international order of priests and students studying for the priesthood, is named after him.[61]

Commemorations

Basil was given the title Doctor of the Church in the Western Church for his contributions to the debate initiated by the Arian controversy regarding the nature of the Trinity, and especially the question of the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Basil was responsible for defining the terms "ousia" (essence/substance) and "hypostasis" (person/reality), and for defining the classic formulation of three Persons in one Nature. His single greatest contribution was his insistence on the divinity and consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son.[62]

In

brings gifts to children every 1 January (St Basil's Day). It is traditional on St Basil's Day to serve vasilopita, a rich bread baked with a coin inside. The tradition is attributed to St. Basil, who when a bishop, wanted to distribute money to the poor and commissioned some women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins. Thus the families in cutting the bread were pleasantly surprised to find the coins.[63]

It is customary on his feast day to visit the homes of friends and relatives, to sing New Year's carols, and to set an extra place at the table for Saint Basil. Basil, being born into a wealthy family, gave away all his possessions to the poor, the underprivileged, those in need, and children.[64]

According to some sources, Basil died on 1 January, and the

traditionalist Catholic communities continue to observe pre-1970 calendars.[66][67]

The

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates Basil, along with Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa on 10 January.[68]

The Church of England celebrates Saint Basil's feast (Lesser Festival) on 2 January, but the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada celebrate it on 14 June.[69][70]

In the

Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom.[71]

The

Tobi[72] (6th of Terr on the Ethiopian calendar of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church). At present, this corresponds to 14 January 15 January during leap year.[73]

There are numerous

Durandal is said to contain some of Basil's blood.[74]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας ὁ Καππαδόκης. 1 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
  2. ^ St Basil the Great the Archbishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia. OCA – Feasts and Saints.
  3. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Οἱ Ἅγιοι Τρεῖς Ἱεράρχες. 30 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
  4. ^ Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. OCA – Feasts and Saints.
  5. ^ "نياحة القديس باسيليوس الكبير رئيس اساقفة قيصرية الكبادوك - عيد سنكسار يوم 6 طوبة، شهر طوبة، الشهر القبطي - St-Takla.org". st-takla.org.
  6. ^ Lutheranism 101, CPH, St. Louis, 2010, p.277
  7. ^ "عيد تذكار الأعجوبة التي صنعها القديس باسيليوس الكبير أسقف قيصرية - سنكسار يوم 13 توت، شهر توت، الشهر القبطي - St-Takla.org". st-takla.org.
  8. ^ Fedwick (1981), p. 5
  9. ^ "St Basil the Great the Archbishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  10. ^ Quasten (1986), p. 204.
  11. ^ Oratio 43.4, PG 36. 500B, tr. p.30, as presented in Rousseau (1994), p.4
  12. ^ Davies (1991), p. 12.
  13. ^ Rousseau (1994), p. 4.
  14. ^ Rousseau (1994), p. 12 & p. 4, respectively
  15. ^ Hildebrand (2007), p. 19.
  16. ^ Norris, Frederick (1997). "Basil of Caesarea". In Ferguson, Everett (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (second ed.). New York: Garland Press.
  17. ^ Ruether (1969), pp. 19, 25.
  18. ^ Rousseau (1994), pp. 32–40.
  19. ^ Rousseau (1994), p. 1.
  20. ^ Hildebrand (2007), pp. 19–20.
  21. ^ Basil, Ep. 223, 2, as quoted in Quasten (1986), p. 205.
  22. ^ a b c Quasten (1986), p. 205.
  23. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica (15th ed.) vol. 1, p. 938.
  24. ^ Merredith (1995), p. 21.
  25. ^ a b c d McSorley, Joseph (1907). "St. Basil the Great" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  26. ^ mod. Yeşilırmak and Kelkit Çayi rivers, see Rousseau (1994), p. 62.
  27. ISBN 0-664-22416-4
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  28. ^
    ISBN 0-14-051312-4
    .
  29. ^ Rousseau (1994), p. 66.
  30. ^ Merredith (1995), pp. 21–22.
  31. ^ a b Meredith (1995), p. 22.
  32. ^ a b McGuckin (2001), p. 143.
  33. ^ "Saint Basil the Great", Newman Connection
  34. ^ Meredith (1995), p. 23
  35. ^ The Living Age. Vol. 48. Littell, Son and Company. 1856. p. 326.
  36. ^ Gregory of Nazianzus. Oration 43: Funeral Oration on the Great S. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia. p. 63. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  37. ISBN 9780860122500
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  38. ISBN 978-0-86716-535-7. Archived from the original
    on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  39. ^ Shahan, Thomas. "Pope St. Damasus I." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 23 September 2021Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  40. ^ Rousseau (1994), pp. 360–363, Appendix III: The Date of Basil's Death and of the Hexaemeron
  41. ^ No. 48: St. Basil Wants You To Be Charitable, retrieved 29 November 2017
  42. ^ Jackson, Blomfield. "Basil: Letters and Select Works", Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, (Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds.) .T&T Clark, Edinburgh
  43. ^ Deferrari, Roy J. "The Classics and the Greek Writers of the Early Church: Saint Basil." The Classical Journal Vol. 13, No. 8 (May 1918). 579–91.
  44. ^ Nebbia, Giorgio; Menozzi, Gabriella Nebbia (April 1966). "A Short History of Desalination". Acqua Dolce Dal Mare. Inchiesta Internazionale, Milano. Federazione delle Associazioni Scientifiche e Tecniche: 129–172. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  45. ^ Basil. "Hexameron, 9.1". In Schaff, Philip (ed.). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (2nd Series). Vol. 8 Basil: Letters and Select Works. Edinburgh: T&T Clark (1895). p. 102. Retrieved 15 December 2007.. Cf. Hexameron, 3.9 (Ibid., pp. 70–71).
  46. ^ Ramelli, Ilaria L.E. "BASIL AND APOKATASTASIS: NEW FINDINGS" (PDF). Eclectic Orthodoxy. WordPress.com. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  47. ^ Basil the Great. De Spiritu Sancto Chapter 29 . Translated by John Henry MacMahon – via Wikisource.
  48. ^ a b Ilaria L.E. Ramelli. (2016). Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery: The Role of Philosophical Asceticism from Ancient Judaism to Late Antiquity.
  49. ^ Ilaria, 2016
  50. ^ Kontoulis, Problem, 132–53, 186–91; De Wet, 'Sin as Slavery'.
  51. ^ Rousseau, Philip. "Basil of Caesarea", Oxford Classical Dictionary', OUP, 2015
  52. ^ "SOURCES CHRÉTIENNES, LISTE DES PUBLICATIONS" (PDF). Sources Chrétiennes (in French). November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  53. ^ περὶ τῆς πλεονεξίας, καὶ τοῦ ρητοῦ τοῦ κατὰ Λουκᾶν Εὐαγγελίου «Καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας, καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω» ( Patrologia Graeca 31, pages 261 – 277)
  54. ^ a b Goggin, John (1913). "Liturgy of St. Basil" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  55. ^ Bebis (1997), p. 283
  56. ^ Murphy (1930), p. 94.
  57. ^ Murphy (1930), p. 95.
  58. ^ K. E. Kirk, The Vision of God: The Christian Document of the summum bonum (London, 1931), 9.118, (as quoted in Meredith)
  59. ^ Meredith (1995), p.24
  60. ^ Silvas (2002), pp. 247–259, in Vigliae Christanae
  61. ^ Hanrahan, James (1973). The Basilian Fathers (1822–1972). Toronto: The Basilian Press. pp. 1–8.
  62. ^ Tan 2013.
  63. ^ "The Vasilopita (Saint Basil's Bread)", St. Basil's Academy, Garrison, New York
  64. ^ "Santa Claus". Eastern-Orthodoxy.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  65. ^ Calendarium Romanum, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969, p. 84
  66. ^ "Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the "Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970" (July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI". www.vatican.va.
  67. ^ "Letter to the Bishops that accompanies the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" Summorum Pontificum on the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970 (July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI". www.vatican.va.
  68. ^ "Commemorations – Church Year – The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". www.lcms.org. Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  69. ^ "The Calendar [page ix]". Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  70. ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4
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  71. ^ "Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom". www.oca.org. Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  72. ^ "- 6 Tubah – Topa Month – Coptic Synaxarium | St-Takla.org". st-takla.org. St. Takla Haymanout Coptic Orthodox. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
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  74. ^ Keary, Charles Francis (1882). Outlines of Primitive Belief Among the Indo-European Races. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 512 – via Internet Archive. durendal basil.

Sources

Further reading

External links

Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Basil of Caesarea.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basil of Caesarea.