Vested as bishop, wearingomophorion, holding aGospel Book orscroll. St. Basil is depicted inicons as thin and ascetic with a long, tapering black beard.
In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines formonastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together withPachomius, he is remembered as a father ofcommunal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered asaint by the traditions of bothEastern andWestern Christianity.
Basil received more formal education inCaesarea Mazaca inCappadocia (modernKayseri) around 350–51.[16] There he metGregory of Nazianzus.[17] Gregory went to Alexandria, while Basil went toConstantinople for further studies, including the lectures ofLibanius. The two later met again inAthens and became fast friends. There they met a fellow student who would become the emperorJulian the Apostate.[18][19] Basil left Athens in 356, and after travels in Egypt and Syria, he returned toCaesarea. For around a year he practiced law and taught rhetoric.[20]
Basil's life changed radically after he encounteredEustathius of Sebaste, a charismatic bishop and ascetic.[21] 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 labours, 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.[22]
After his baptism, Basil travelled in 357 to Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia to study ascetics and monasticism.[23][24]Eustathius of Sebaste, a prominentanchorite near Pontus, mentored Basil.[25] Basil distributed his fortunes among the poor and went briefly into solitude near Neocaesarea of Pontus (modernNiksar), on theIris River.[23] He eventually realized that, while he respected the ascetics' piety and prayerfulness, the solitary life did not call him.[26] He and Eustathius also eventually differed overdogma.[25]
Basil instead felt drawn toward communal religious life, and by 358 he was gathering around him a group of like-mindeddisciples, including his brother Peter. Together they founded a monastic settlement on his family's estate near Annesi[24] (modern Sonusa or Uluköy, near the confluence of theIris andLycos rivers[27]). 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).[28]
Here Basil wrote about monastic communal life. His writings became pivotal in developing monastic traditions of theEastern Church.[29] In 358, Basil invited his friend Gregory of Nazianzus to join him in Annesi.[30] When Gregory eventually arrived, they collaborated onOrigen's Philocalia, a collection ofOrigen's works.[31] Gregory decided to return to his family in Nazianzus.
Basil attended theCouncil of Constantinople (360). He at first sided with Eustathius and theHomoiousians, a semi-Arian faction who taught that the Son was oflike substance with the Father, neither the same (one substance) nor different from him.[32] The Homoiousians opposed the Arianism of Eunomius but refused to join with the supporters of theNicene Creed, who professed that the members of the Trinity were of one substance ("homoousios"). However, Basil's bishop,Dianius of Caesarea, had subscribed only to the earlierNicene form of agreement. Basil eventually abandoned the Homoiousians, and emerged instead as a strong supporter of theNicene Creed.[32] His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.
In 362, BishopMeletius of Antiochordained Basil as adeacon. Eusebius then summoned Basil to Caesarea and ordained him aspresbyter of the Church there in 365. Eusebius needed him as an assistant because of his intellectual gifts. Ecclesiastical entreaties rather than Basil's desires thus altered his career path.[23]
Basil and Gregory Nazianzus spent the next few years combatting theArian 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.[33] In the subsequent public debates, presided over by agents ofValens, Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant. This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in the administration of the Church.[33] Basil next took on functional administration of the city of Caesarea.[29] Eusebius is reported to have been jealous of Basil's quickly developed reputation and influence. He allowed Basil to return to his earlier solitude. Later, however, Gregory persuaded him to return, and Basil became the administrator for the Diocese of Caesarea.[34]
In 370, Eusebius died. Basil was chosen to succeed him and was consecrated as a bishop on 14 June 370.[35] His new post as Bishop of Caesarea also gave him the powers ofexarch of Pontus andmetropolitan of fivesuffragan 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 asoup 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 taking care in selecting worthy candidates forholy 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 theBasiliad,[36] which included a poorhouse, hospice, and hospital. It was compared by Gregory of Nazianzus to thewonders of the world.[37]
His zeal fororthodoxy did not blind him to what was good in an opponent; and for the sake of peace and charity, he was content to waive the use of orthodox terminology when it could be surrendered without a sacrifice of truth. The EmperorValens, who was an adherent of the Arian philosophy, sent hisprefect Modestus to at least agree to a compromise with the Arian faction. Basil's adamant negative response prompted Modestus to say that no one had ever spoken to him in that way before. Basil replied, "Perhaps you have never yet had to deal with a bishop." Modestus reported back to Valens that he believed nothing short of violence would avail against Basil. Valens was apparently unwilling to engage in violence. He did however issue orders banishing Basil repeatedly, none of which succeeded. Valens came himself to attend when Basil celebrated theDivine Liturgy on theFeast 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.[38]
Basil then had to face the growing spread ofArianism. This belief system, which denied that Christ wasconsubstantial with the Father, was quickly gaining adherents and was seen by many, particularly those in Alexandria most familiar with it, as posing a threat to the unity of the church.[39] Basil entered into connections with the West, and with the help ofAthanasius, he tried to overcome its distrustful attitude toward the Homoiousians. The difficulties had been enhanced by bringing in the question as to the essence of theHoly Spirit. Although Basil advocated objectively theconsubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with theFather and theSon, he belonged to those, who, faithful to Eastern tradition, would not allow the predicatehomoousios to the former; for this he was reproached as early as 371 by the Orthodox zealots among the monks, andAthanasius defended him.
Basil corresponded withPope 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.[40]
Basil died before the factional disturbances ended. He suffered from liver disease; excessiveascetic practices also contributed to his early demise. Historians disagree about the exact date Basil died.[41] 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.[42]
11th-centuryfresco of Basil the Great in the cathedral ofOhrid, showing the saint as a priest during theDivine Liturgy.
The principal theological writings of Basil are hisOn the Holy Spirit, an appeal to Scripture and early Christian tradition to prove the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and hisRefutation of the Apology of the Impious Eunomius, which was written about in 364 and comprised three books againstEunomius of Cyzicus, the chief exponent ofAnomoian Arianism. The first three books of theRefutation are his work; his authorship of the fourth and fifth books is generally considered doubtful.[43]
Title page ofBasilii Magni Opera (1523), a translation of the writings of Basil the Great intoLatin.
He was a famous preacher, and many of his homilies, including a series ofLenten lectures on theHexaemeron (alsoHexaëmeros, "Six Days of Creation";Latin:Hexameron), and an exposition of thepsalter, have been preserved. Some, like that against usury and that on the famine in 368, are valuable for the history of morals; others illustrate the honour paid to martyrs andrelics; theaddress to young men on the study ofclassical literature shows that Basil was influenced by his own education, which taught him to appreciate thepropaedeutic importance of the classics.[44] In one of his Homilies, he describes, in one of the earliest descriptions ofdesalination, how sailors in his time obtain fresh water by hanging sponges over a vessel with boiling seawater and collecting and condensing the water vapour.[45]
In hisexegesis Basil was an admirer ofOrigen and the need for the spiritual interpretation of Scripture. In his work on theHoly 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 expressed reservations against the use of overly speculative allegorations of some contemporaries.[46] 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."[47]
Hisascetic tendencies are exhibited in theMoralia andAsketika (sometimes mistranslated asRules 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 theGreater Asketikon and theLesser Asketikon.[25]
According toOrosius, Basil taughtapocatastasis entailing the restoration of all sinners to Christ after purification. This doctrine is most evident in hisCommentary on Isaiah, although there is some scholarly dispute whether this commentary should truly be attributed to him. On the other hand, Basil vehemently opposed the view thathell has an end in his shortRegulae, even claiming that the many people who hold it are deceived by thedevil. However, the notion of a finite hell was also espoused by his siblings Macrina and Gregory of Nyssa and potentially by his dear friend Gregory of Nazianzus, which is one of the reasons to think that the relevant passage inRegulae was interpolated. The passage also seems to include ideas that could be considered in opposition to ideas in Basil's undisputed writings, for example the notion of physical punishments in hell and of hell itself as a physical place with different locations. It is potentially in contradiction to most of Basil's linguistic use as well.[48]
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 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.[50]
Basil faced the slavery issue inDe Spiritu Sancto 20 in the context of a Trinitarian debate. Basil recognizes that no human is "a slave by nature". This principle counteredAristotle's conviction and was consistent withGregory of Nyssa's view and with that of many other patristic thinkers; evenAugustine andTheodoret conceded this. Basil, indeed, viewed slavery as a result of the Fall, a principle that was shared by Augustine, Theodoret, and many other Fathers.[51][52] Sometimes slavery is a boon to the enslaved person, Basil maintained (inMoral 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.[50]
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 hisSermon to the Lazicans that we find Basil explaining how it is our common nature that obliges us to treat our neighbour'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.[53]
Most of his extant works, and a few spuriously attributed to him, are available in thePatrologia Graeca, which includes Latin translations of varying quality. Several of Basil's works appeared in the late twentieth century in theSources Chrétiennes collection.[54]
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 thevestments of a Roman Catholic bishop, at the 18th-centuryChurch of St. Nicholas inPrague, Czech Republic.
Basil of Caesarea holds a very important place in the history ofChristian liturgy. Basil is known to have composed a liturgy by refining an existing liturgy; in addition to 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.[56]
Most of theliturgies 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 songs. Patristic scholars conclude that the Liturgy of Saint Basil "bears, unmistakably, the personal hand, pen, mind and heart of St. Basil the Great".[57]
The Eastern Churches preserve numerous other prayers attributed to Basil, including three prayers ofexorcism, several morning and evening prayers, and the "Prayer of the Hours" which is read at each service of theDaily Office.[citation needed] One of the earliest eucharistic prayers still in use in the Coptic Orthodox Church bears the name of St Basil and may have been brought to Egypt by Basil himself who spent some time in Alexandria in 357.[58]
Through his examples and teachings, Basil effected a noteworthy moderation in the austere practices which were previously characteristic of monastic life.[59] He is also credited with coordinating the duties of work and prayer to ensure a proper balance between the two.[60]
Basil is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the development ofChristian monasticism. TheSayings of the Desert Fathers include one saying of Basil and bothBarsanuphius andDorotheus of Gaza refer to his rule.[61] Not only is Basil recognized as the father of Eastern monasticism; historians recognize that his legacy extends also to the Western church, largely due to his influence onSaint Benedict.[62] Patristic scholars such as Meredith assert that Benedict himself recognized this when he wrote in the epilogue to hisRule that his monks, in addition to the Bible, should read "the confessions of the Fathers and their institutes and their lives and theRule of our Holy Father, Basil.[63] Basil's teachings on monasticism, as encoded in works such as hisSmall Asketikon, were transmitted to the West viaRufinus during the late 4th century.[64]
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 theCongregation of St. Basil, an international order of priests and students studying for the priesthood, is named after him.[65]
Basil was given the titleDoctor 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 theHoly 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.[66]
InGreek tradition, Basilbrings gifts to children every 1 January (St Basil's Day). It is traditional on St Basil's Day to servevasilopita, 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.[67]
It is customary on his feast day to visit the homes of friends and relatives, to singNew Year'scarols, 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.[68]
There are numerousrelics of Basil throughout the world. One of the most important is his head, which is preserved to this day at the monastery of theGreat Lavra onMount Athos in Greece. The mythical swordDurandal is said to contain some of Basil's blood.[80]
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^mod. Yeşilırmak and Kelkit Çayi rivers, see Rousseau (1994), p. 62.
^The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History: The Early, Medieval, and Reformation Eras, vol.1, Westminster John Knox Press, 2008,ISBN0-664-22416-4, p. 75.
^abAttwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John.The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.ISBN0-14-051312-4.
^Foley, O.F.M., Leonard (2003). "St. Basil the Great (329–379)". In McCloskey, O.F.M., Pat (rev.) (ed.).Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feasts (5th Revised ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press.ISBN978-0-86716-535-7. Archived fromthe original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved15 December 2007.
^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. Retrieved21 January 2021.
^Basil. "Hexameron, 9.1". In Schaff, Philip (ed.).Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (2nd Series). Vol. 8Basil: Letters and Select Works. Edinburgh: T&T Clark (1895). p. 102. Retrieved15 December 2007.. Cf.Hexameron, 3.9 (Ibid., pp. 70–71).
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