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Letters, Volume I: Letters 1-58. LCL 190: View cloth edition. Basil the Great was born ca. 330 CE at Caesarea in Cappadocia into a family noted for piety. He was at Constantinople and Athens for several years as a student with Gregory of Nazianzus and was much influenced by Origen.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY...
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Important Works Xxxv - Basil, Letters, Volume I: Letters...
- Life of St. Basil Xv
Life of St. Basil 1 1. Early Life and Education 2. In the...
- Table of Dates Xxxix
Now it is the paradox of St. Basil that in the terminology...
- Concordance Xlvi
Concordance Xlvi - Basil, Letters, Volume I: Letters 1-58 |...
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Prefatory Note Xi - Basil, Letters, Volume I: Letters 1-58 |...
- Foreword Ix
Foreword Ix - Basil, Letters, Volume I: Letters 1-58 | Loeb...
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Bibliography Xli - Basil, Letters, Volume I: Letters 1-58 |...
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Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99... ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA. Letter 1. Letter 2. Letter 3. Letter 4. Letter 5. Letter 6.
In 351 CE, St. Basil departed from Caesarea, setting his sights on the esteemed learning institutions of Constantinople, the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was here that he immersed himself in the teachings of Libanius, the era's preeminent rhetorician.
- Overview
- Early life and ecclesiastical career
- Anti-Arian activities
- Works and legacy
St. Basil the Great (born ad 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia—died January 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1) was an early Church Father who defended the orthodox faith against the Arian heresy. As bishop of Caesarea, he wrote several works on monasticism, theology, and canon law. He was declared a saint soo...
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 St. 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.
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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’s successor, the new convert Eusebius. Basil’s abilities and prestige, as well as Eusebius’s dislike of asceticism, led to tension between them, and Basil withdrew to Annesi.
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—St. Gregory of Nazianzus at Sasima and his own brother St. 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 St. 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 I.
Basil’s health was poor, perhaps because of the rigours of his ascetic life. He died soon after Valens’s 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.
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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 mo...
Much is known about Basil of Caesarea (329–379) – a Greek Bishop in what is now Turkey. A thoughtful theologian, he was instrumental in the formation of the Nicene Creed and fought a growing heresy, Arianism, which had found converts even in those in high positions of state.
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- Marvin Jones
Sep 19, 2022 · Our father among the saints Basil the Great (ca. 330 - January 1, 379), was bishop of Caesarea, a leading churchman in the 4th century, known especially for his philanthropic labors and theological works.
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Feb 24, 2017 · In this moving eulogy, Gregory has immortalized for posterity what was indeed a milestone in medical history: the Basiliad (also known as the Basileias or Basileiados), the first hospital in history. The Basiliad derives its name from its founder, the Christian priest (and later bishop) Basil.
