Saint Basil
Saint Basil the Great (born c. 330 AD in Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia [present-day Kayseri, Turkey]; died January 1, 379 AD in Caesarea) was one of the most towering figures of the early Church—a Bishop of Caesarea, Doctor of the Church, monastic legislator, theologian, defender of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism, and champion of the poor. Together with his brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa and their friend Saint Gregory Nazianzus, he forms the great "Cappadocian Fathers" whose theological work gave definitive shape to the Church's understanding of the Trinity. His feast day in the Roman Rite is January 2 (shared with Saint Gregory Nazianzus); in the Eastern Church it is celebrated on January 1 as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs. He is the patron of hospital administrators, reformers, and education.
Basil the Great transformed early Christianity in ways that endure to the present day: his monastic rules still govern Eastern monasticism; his liturgy (the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil) is celebrated ten times a year in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox traditions; his charitable institutions—the Basiliad, a great complex of hospital, poorhouse, and hospice outside Caesarea—were among the first organized social welfare institutions in history; and his theological writing on the Trinity and the Holy Spirit gave the Church the vocabulary to confess "God in three Persons, one Substance."
Stored in Cargo: Saint Basil
| Saint Basil | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | January 02 |
| Profession | Bishop; theologian; monastic legislator |
| Rel. Affiliation | Patriarchate of Constantinople (Cappadocia) |
| Patronage | Hospital administrators; monks and nuns; education; reformers of the Church; Russia |
| Attributes | Bishop's vestments; book (the Scriptures and his theological writings); dove (the Holy Spirit) |
| Birthplace | Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia (present-day Kayseri, Turkey) |
| Death Place | Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia (present-day Kayseri, Turkey) |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes (liver disease) |
| Primary Shrine | Caesarea (Kayseri), Turkey |
| Liturgical Class | Memorial (January 2, with Saint Gregory Nazianzus) |
| Historic Class | June 14 |
Biography
Birth and family
Basil was born around 330 AD into a remarkable Christian family in Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia. His grandmother Saint Macrina the Elder had been a disciple of Saint Gregory the Wonder-Worker; his mother Saint Emmelia and father Basil the Elder were both devout Christians; his brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa became one of the greatest theologians of the early Church; his sister Saint Macrina the Younger was a holy woman who influenced Basil's own turn toward ascetic life; and two other brothers became bishops. The family is sometimes called "the family that gave the Church the most saints."
Education
Basil received the finest education available in the ancient world. He studied in Caesarea, then Constantinople, and finally in Athens—the great center of classical learning—where he formed a profound and lifelong friendship with Gregory Nazianzus. The two studied together, moved in the same intellectual circles, and developed a shared vision of Christian theology and Christian life.
After completing his education, Basil returned to Cappadocia and for a time taught rhetoric. But his sister Macrina, already living as a consecrated woman on the family estate at Annisa, challenged him to take seriously the Christian life he was professing, and Basil underwent a decisive conversion to a more committed form of Christianity.
Monastic life
Basil traveled to Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia to study the forms of monastic life already flourishing there. He was inspired by the desert tradition but saw in it a risk of individualism and spiritual pride; he returned to Cappadocia and established a form of communal monastic life on the family estate at Annisa with Gregory Nazianzus. Together they compiled an anthology of Origen's writings (the Philocalia) and Basil developed the rules of communal monastic life that came to be called the Asketikon or Basilian Rule.
The Basilian Rule—emphasizing common life, obedience, work, and integration of prayer with charitable service to society—became the normative rule for Eastern monasticism and remains so to the present day. Eastern monks do not follow Saint Benedict's Rule but the Rule of Saint Basil.
Bishop of Caesarea
Basil was ordained bishop in 370 AD, succeeding Eusebius as Bishop of Caesarea, one of the most important sees in the Eastern empire. He immediately confronted two great challenges: the continuing influence of Arianism (which denied the full divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit) and the practical needs of the poor.
Against Arianism, Basil deployed his great theological gifts, especially in his work On the Holy Spirit (375 AD), which argued rigorously for the full divinity of the Spirit—a position that was not yet universally accepted. He also forged alliances among the pro-Nicene bishops of the East, working to build the consensus that would prevail at the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD) two years after his death.
For the poor, Basil built what contemporaries called the Basiliad—a great complex outside Caesarea comprising a hospital, a hospice for the elderly and terminally ill, a poorhouse for the destitute, housing for travelers, and workshops providing employment for the poor. It was arguably the first organized institution of social welfare in the Western world, anticipating the hospital systems of later centuries by many centuries.
He also wrote extensively on Scripture, on asceticism, and on the moral theology of Christian life—including a famous set of nine homilies on the Hexaemeron (the six days of creation) that remain classics of patristic literature, and a set of shorter moral rules addressing every aspect of the Christian life.
Death
Basil died on January 1, 379 AD, worn out by his intense labors, his austerities, and what his biographers describe as a liver condition. He was not yet fifty years old. Gregory Nazianzus delivered a famous funeral oration in his honor that is one of the great pieces of patristic literature.
Significant events
- Born c. 330 AD in Caesarea, Cappadocia; member of an exceptionally devout and saintly family.
- Studied in Athens alongside Gregory Nazianzus; formed a lifelong theological friendship.
- Traveled to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia to study monastic life.
- Established communal monastic life in Cappadocia; wrote the Basilian Rule that governs Eastern monasticism to this day.
- Ordained Bishop of Caesarea, 370 AD.
- Built the Basiliad—hospital, hospice, poorhouse—outside Caesarea: one of history's first organized charitable institutions.
- Wrote On the Holy Spirit (375 AD); contributed decisively to the theology of the Trinity.
- Died January 1, 379 AD; feast in the Roman Rite January 2 (with Gregory Nazianzus); in the East January 1.
- Declared Doctor of the Church.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia (present-day Kayseri, Turkey)
Death location: Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia (present-day Kayseri, Turkey)
Notable location: City of his birth, his episcopal see, and his death (Caesarea Mazaca (present-day Kayseri), Turkey)
Notable location: Great charitable complex (hospital, poorhouse, hospice) he built outside Caesarea (The Basiliad, near Caesarea, Turkey)
Notable location: City where he studied with Gregory Nazianzus; formed their lifelong friendship (Athens, Greece)
Notable location: Location of his family's estate, where he first practiced ascetic life with his mother Saint Emmelia and sister Saint Macrina (Annisa (Neocaesarea region), Turkey)
Notable location:
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Parishes
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| This map created from a Cargo query () |
| Parish | Diocese | City | AdministrativeSubdivision | Country | ParishWebsite |
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| Parish | Diocese | City | AdministrativeSubdivision | Country | ParishWebsite |
| St. Basil Seminary (Diocese of Bridgeport) | Diocese of Bridgeport | Bridgeport, CT | Connecticut | United States | https://www.stbasilseminary.org/ |
Media
| Media | Length | AuthorCreator |
|---|---|---|
| Saint of the Day: June 14th - Saint Basil the Great | 30–60 minutes | Butler's Lives of the Saints |
| One of the Most Influential Saints in Church History (St. Basil the Great) | Under 5 minutes | Good Catholic |
| Powerful Prayer of St. Basil the Great | Under 5 minutes | Joy of Heaven |
| Prayer to St. Basil the Great | Under 5 minutes | Joy of Heaven |
| Saint Basil The Great - June 14th | Under 5 minutes | Saint of the Day |
| The Inspirational Life of Saint Basil the Great | 15–30 minutes | Sanctus |
| The Holy Fool for Christ – St. Basil the Blessed | Under 5 minutes | The Story of the Saints |
Shrines
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No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Canonization
Saint Basil the Great is venerated through the ancient process of universal veneration in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions. He is a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic tradition.
Feast day
January 2 (Roman Rite, with Saint Gregory Nazianzus); January 1 (Eastern tradition, as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs)
Veneration
Saint Basil the Great is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on January 2, jointly with Saint Gregory Nazianzus. He is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 1 as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, alongside Gregory Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. He is a Doctor of the Church.
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.
Books
Written about the saint
- Philip Rousseau, Basil of Caesarea (University of California Press, 1994) — the standard scholarly biography.
Written by the saint
- On the Holy Spirit — foundational pneumatology.
- Homilies on the Hexaemeron — on the six days of creation.
- Asketikon (Long Rules and Short Rules) — the Basilian Rule for monks.
- Letters — a vast correspondence; nearly 400 letters survive.
- Liturgy of Saint Basil — a eucharistic liturgy still celebrated in the Eastern tradition.