Basil the Great, Saint

born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia

died Jan. 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1

Early church father.

Born into a Christian family in Cappadocia, he studied at Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens and later established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi. He opposed Arianism, which was supported by the emperor Valens and his own bishop Dianius, and organized resistance to it after 365. He succeeded Eusebius as bishop of Caesarea in 370. He died shortly after Valens, whose death in battle opened the way for the victory of Basil's cause. More than 300 of his letters survive; several of his Canonical Epistles have become part of canon law in Eastern Orthodoxy.

St. Basil, detail of a mosaic, 12th century; in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

Alinari

Art Resource

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▪ bishop of Caesarea

Introduction

Latin  Basilius  

born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia

died January 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1

 early Church Father who defended the orthodox faith against the heretical Arians. As bishop of Caesarea he wrote several works on monasticism, theology, and canon law. He was declared a saint soon after his death.

Early life and ecclesiastical career.

      Basil was born of a distinguished family of Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia, which was a province of Asia Minor of special importance in the 4th century due to its position on the military road between Constantinople and Antioch. The family had been Christian since the days of the persecutions of Christians, which ended early in the 4th century. One of Basil's uncles was a bishop, as later were two of his brothers (Gregory and Peter of Sebaste). He received a literary education, however, which would have fitted him to follow in his father's footsteps as lawyer and orator. He studied at Caesarea and Constantinople and, finally (c. 351–356), at Athens, where he developed his friendship with Gregory of Nazianzus. On returning home he began a secular career, but the influence of his pious sister Macrina, later a nun and abbess, confirmed his earlier inclination to the ascetic life. With a group of friends, he established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi in Pontus. In 357 he made an extensive tour of the monasteries of Egypt, and in 360 he assisted the Cappadocian bishops at a synod at Constantinople. He had been distressed by the general acceptance of the Arian Creed of the Council of Ariminum the previous year and especially by the fact that his own bishop, Dianius of Caesarea, had supported it. Shortly before the death of Dianius (362), Basil was reconciled to him and later was ordained presbyter (priest) to assist Dianius' successor, the new convert Eusebius. Basil's abilities and prestige, as well as Eusebius' dislike of asceticism, led to tension between them, and Basil withdrew to Annesi. In 365 he was called back to Caesarea, when the church was threatened by the Arian emperor Valens. His theological and ecclesiastical policy thereafter aimed to unite against Arianism the former semi-Arians and the supporters of Nicaea under the formula “three persons (hypostases) in one substance (ousia),” thus preserving both unity and the necessary distinctions in the theological concept of the godhead. On Eusebius' death in 370, Basil became his successor, although he was opposed by some of the other bishops in the province.

Anti-Arian activities.

      As bishop of Caesarea, Basil was metropolitan (ecclesiastical primate of a province) of Cappadocia, and his own diocese covered the great estates of eastern Cappadocia, where he was assisted by a number of “country bishops” (chorepiscopi). He also founded charitable institutions to aid the poor, the ill, and travellers. When Valens passed through Caesarea in 371, Basil dramatically defied his demand for submission. But in 372 Valens divided the province, and Basil considered this a personal attack, since Anthimus of Tyana thus became metropolitan for the cities of western Cappadocia. Basil countered by installing supporters in some of the border towns—Gregory of Nazianzus at Sasima and his own brother Gregory at Nyssa. This tactic was only partially successful, but Basil escaped the attacks that Valens launched on orthodox bishops elsewhere. Meanwhile, Basil tried to secure general support for the former semi-Arian Meletius as bishop of Antioch (one of the five major patriarchates of the early church), against Paulinus, the leader of the strict Nicene minority, since he feared that the extreme Nicenes at this point were lapsing into Sabellianism, a heresy exaggerating the oneness of God. During Basil's lifetime, however, this was prevented by the recognition of Paulinus by the bishops of Alexandria and—in spite of a series of negotiations—after 375 by Pope Damasus of Rome.

      Basil's numerous and influential writings stemmed from his practical concerns as monk, pastor, and church leader. The Longer Rules and Shorter Rules (for monasteries) and other ascetic writings distill the experience that began at Annesi and continued in his supervision of the monasteries of Cappadocia: they were to exert strong influence on the monastic life of Eastern Christianity. A notable feature is Basil's strong preference for the monastic life, in which brotherly love can be practiced, as opposed to that of the hermit. Basil's preserved sermons deal mainly with ethical and social problems. One of the best known, the Address to Young Men, defends the study of pagan literature by Christians (Basil himself made considerable critical use of Greek philosophical thought). In the Hexaëmeron (“Six Days”), nine Lenten sermons on the days of creation, Basil speaks of the varied beauty of the world as reflecting the splendour of God. Against Eunomius defends the deity of the Son against an extreme Arian thinker, and On the Holy Spirit expounds the deity of the spirit implied in the church's tradition, though not previously formally defined. Basil is most characteristically revealed in his letters, of which more than 300 are preserved. Many deal with daily activities; others are, in effect, short treatises on theology or ethics; several of his Canonical Epistles, decisions on points of discipline, have become part of the canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Eastern Orthodoxy). The extent of Basil's actual contribution to the magnificent series of eucharistic prayers known as the Liturgy of St. Basil is uncertain. But at least the central prayer of consecration (setting apart the bread and wine) reflects his spirit and was probably in use at Caesarea in his own lifetime.

      Basil's health was poor, perhaps because of the rigours of his ascetic life. He died soon after Valens' death in the Battle of Adrianople had opened the way for the victory of Basil's cause. Vigorous and firm and sure of his own position, in his own time he seems to have been admired rather than loved, even by his intimates. But he was widely mourned and was soon numbered among the saints.

Edward R. Hardy

Additional Reading

The Benedictine edition of Basil's works is reprinted in J.P. Migne (ed.), Patrologia Graeca, vol. 29–32 (1857). There are modern editions in Sources Chrétiennes of On the Holy Spirit, 2nd ed. by B. Pruche, vol. 17 (1968); and the Hexaëmeron, 2nd ed. by S. Giet, vol. 26 (1968), with French translations; and of the Letters and Address to Young Men in the Loeb Classical Library; the Hexaëmeron and Letters are in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ser. 2, vol. 8 (1895), trans. by Blomfield Jackson. The Ascetic Works was translated by W.K.L. Clarke (1925).The basic source for the life of St. Basil is the eulogy by Gregory of Nazianzus (Oration 43). E. Venables, “Basilius of Caesarea,” in Dictionary of Christian Biography, vol. 1, pp. 282–297 (1877), is still important. Among modern sketches, see J. Quasten, “Basil the Great,” in Patrology, vol. 3, pp. 204–235 (1960), with bibliography; J.W.C. Wand in Doctors and Councils, pp. 31–46 (1962); and Hans von Campenhausen in The Fathers of the Greek Church, pp. 84–100 (1963).

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