To the memory of Basil the Great

Between Christmas and Epiphany (Christ’s Baptism), Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians honor the memory of one of the most venerated saints of the Ecumenical Church — Saint Basil the Great. He lived in the tempestuous fourth century, which was fraught with theological disagreements; in the period between the two Ecumenical Councils — a time when the Christian dogma was being established and the first monasteries were being founded.

Basil (later the Great) was born in 329 in Caesarea of Cappadocia (Asia Minor). His father Basil and mother Emmelia came from some of the noble families of Cappadocia and provided their numerous offspring with a respectable education. Basil’s early education took place under his father’s guidance. When the future priest turned 18, he set off to Constantinople, where he attended lectures of the famous Sophists. Later he spent a few years in Athens, which was still the center of philosophical education and philosophical debates of the ecumenes.

There he befriended Gregory of Nazianzin, also a future saint, who had come to Athens with the same purpose. Their friendship lasted for many years. Basil also met Julian, the future Roman emperor, who was almost the same age. (The reference here is to Julian the Apostate, who sought to turn back history, i.e., the Roman Empire, by rejecting the Christian religion and returning to the pagan gods of ancient Rome.)

In Athens, Basil the Great acquired all the knowledge available at the time. His contemporaries said that “he mastered all subjects while others do not master a single one; he had learned every science so perfectly as though he had not studied anything else. A philosopher, linguist, orator, lawyer, naturalist, and physician who had a profound knowledge of medicine — he was like a ship loaded with knowledge as fully as it was possible for human nature.”

Basil familiarized himself with the life of the Christian communities and was baptized only after his quests for knowledge. He became especially interested in monasticism. In order to learn more about it, he made his way to Egypt, where the first monastic communities were being formed in the deserts. This new, special way of life, which was completely alien to the traditions of the Roman Empire, made a double impression on Basil: on the one hand, he was impressed by the deeds of Christian recluses, but on the other — he was shocked by the rifts and discord in religious life.

Basil the Great lived in the times of the widespread Arian heresy. (Arius was a Christian theologian, who rejected the divine nature of both Christ and the Holy Spirit, which, in Arius’s opinion, was incompatible with monotheism.) The Arians persecuted Basil everywhere, threatening him bankruptcy, devastation, banishment, torture, and death. He used to say: “Death is a boon to me. It will sooner lead me to God for whom I am living and working.”

After returning to Caesarea, Basil founded a few monasteries in Pontus and wrote a special statute for them. In 364 he was ordained a priest. The presbyter Basil engaged in church affairs and protected the Caesarean Church from the influence of the Arians. He also embarked on a program of Christian charitable works and fearlessly championed the oppressed and persecuted. He used his own funds, inherited from his parents, for the benefit of the poor: he founded nursing homes, hostels for pilgrims, hospitals, and two monasteries — one for men and one for women.

All his deeds, including his ascetic way of life, brought Basil great popularity. In 370, at the age of 41, he was elected archbishop of the church in his home town. He devoted much time and effort to general problems of the church, and was constantly in touch with the future saint Athanasius of Alexandria, as well as Pope Damasus of Rome.

Bishop Basil had many enemies besides the Arians. Many considered him insufficiently firm in his efforts to protect the church against heresy, while others accused him of arrogance, coldness, and haughtiness. He was even suspected of apostasy and espousing Arianism. However, before his death the most distinguished theological authority of the time, St. Athanasius the Great, archbishop of Alexandria, testified to Basil’s spotless orthodoxy and the propriety of his ecclesiastical activity.

In 372 the bishop of Caesarea had to weather another storm — this one originating from the Roman Empire. Emperor Valens decided to force Arianism on the Caesarean Church and to defrock its head priest. But Basil excommunicated the emperor’s envoys and allowed Valens into the church only to bring gifts. When the emperor saw that Basil enjoyed the support of most of the population, he did not dare carry out his threats and quietly left for Constantinople.

Basil’s harsh life and ascetic deeds undermined his health. In his letters he called himself an old man since the age of 40. He died in 378 at the age of 49.

In spite of a comparatively short lifetime filled with constant work, St. Basil made a rich contribution to patristic literature. In particular, he compiled the rite of the Liturgy of St. Basil (one of the two liturgies now used in Orthodoxy; the other is the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) that is served in churches 10 times a year. Since the early 17th century the works of St. Basil the Great have been published numerous times.

Basil the Great had a very interesting view of church singing, of which he wrote, “Since the Holy Spirit knew that it is difficult to lead humankind to virtue and that we digress from the correct path because we are prone to pleasures, what did He do? He adds pleasant sweet chant to prayers, so that together with the sweet and melodious we take in inconspicuously what is useful in the word. Toward this end the fine songs of the psalms were composed for us so that children too will not only sing them but in reality — teach their souls.”

In the age of Basil the Great the entire congregation took part in the liturgical songs, singing psalms, concluding verses, and short musical formulas for the words “Amen,” “Alleluia,” etc. One can assume that Basil the Great was musically gifted.

Saint Basil the Great is honored on Jan. 1 (Old Style), on the day of Christ’s Circumcision. Bishop Amphilochius, St. Basil’s contemporary, assessed his merits thus: “He belongs not only to the Caesarian Church, and not only to his time; he was useful not only to his compatriots, he has been doing good for all people in all countries and cities around the world; for Christians he has always been and will be a most beneficial teacher.”