Basil of Caesarea
330 – 379 · Bishop of Caesarea Mazaca
Also known as Basil the Great
Feast: 2 January (Catholic) · 1 January (Orthodox)
Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, founder of cenobitic monastic rules in the East, author of On the Holy Spirit. One of the three Cappadocian Fathers.
Highlights
- Main contribution
- Basil refused to separate doctrine from the life of the church.
- Best first read
- On the Holy Spirit
- Primary source
- Basil, Epistulae
Basil refused to separate doctrine from the life of the church. He fought Arian theology, wrote On the Holy Spirit, organised monastic communities, and built institutions for the poor and sick around Caesarea. His importance is not only that he defended Nicene faith, but that he showed what that faith looked like in prayer, ascetic discipline, preaching, and public mercy. Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa carried parts of his work forward after his early death.
Notable works
- ·On the Holy Spirit · 375
- ·Hexaemeron (Homilies on the Six Days of Creation) · 378
- ·Long Rules and Short Rules · 370
- ·Letters · 370
Primary sources
- ·Basil, Epistulae
- ·Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 43 (Funeral oration on Basil)
- ·Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 116
Book of the day
On the Holy Spirit
Basil of CaesareaA reading pick tied to today's figure, quote, era, or event. Basil gives the mature Cappadocian defense of the Spirit's divinity after Nicaea.
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