- Latin:
- Basilius
- Born:
- ad
329, Caesarea Mazaca,
Cappadocia
- Died:
- January 1, 379, Caesarea
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
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
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.
Britannica Quiz
Christianity Quiz
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.
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 “t
hree persons
(
hypostases
) in one substance (
ousia
),” thus preserving both unity and the necessary distinctions in the theological concept of the Godhead. On Eusebius’s 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?
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.
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
Subscribe Now
Works and legacy
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
Hexaemeron
(“Six Days”), nine
Lenten
sermons on the days of the 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
Holy 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
. 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.
Edward R. Hardy