Basil of Caesarea, also called Basil the Great (he received this nickname during his lifetime), born in 329 and died, according to tradition, on  in Caesarea of Cappadocia, is one of the principal Fathers of the Church.

Basil of Caesarea

Saint Basil of Caesarea, father of the Church

Founder of a monastery in the Pontus region on the Black Sea, he is the author of a rule known as the Rule of Saint Basil. This became the main monastic rule of the Eastern Church and partly inspired the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Christian West. He practiced asceticism throughout his life.

The rule of Saint Basil was divided into two parts: the “major rules” and the minor rules. They were unified by their Latin translator, Rufinus of Aquileia, under the title of Regulae sancti Basilii episcopi Cappadociae ad monachos. This rule was adopted by several monasteries in the West.

In his rule Basil adopts a simple catechetical method. The disciple asks a question to the master who answers it. It limits itself to the fundamental principles of monastic life which will guide the superiors of monasteries in the direction of their monks.

The questions generally concern virtus that monks must practice and the vices to avoid. Basil often refers his monks to Holy Scripture. In his eyes, the Bible is the source of all monastic legislation; it is the only and true rule. Many answers contain a biblical quotation of several verses followed by a commentary which defines the meaning. Poverty, obedience, renunciation and personal abnegation are the foundation of all monastic life.

Basil's rule is remarkable for its human and religious prudence and wisdom. It leaves to the local superior the task of regulating and legislating on the organization of daily life. It does not enter into the temporal administration of monasteries.

Over time, the rule was enriched by a monastic tradition, including the decisions of councils, instructions from particularly revered abbots, and imperial ordinances from Constantinople. This created a whole body of monastic legislation around the rule, more or less accepted and observed in Eastern monasteries, depending on the regions where they are located. But the existence of the rule of Saint Basil remains the unifying principle.

In 370, he became Bishop of Caesarea. His commitment during the famine, the institutions he created and which bear his name (the Basiliad) made him one of the precursors of social Christianity.

He defended the Nicene faith against Arianism and wrote treatises on the Holy Spirit, developing the theology of the Trinity. He sought as much as possible to limit divisions within the Church. He is considered, along with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus, to be one of the three "Cappadocian Fathers".

Saint Basil of Caesarea was recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1568 by Pope Pius V. He is venerated as a saint by both Orthodox and Catholics: his feast day is January 2 in the West, and January 1, his dies natalis, in the East, but also on the "feast of the three ecumenical doctors" on January 31, with John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen.

Basil is recognized as one of the great theologians of the 4th century, he published a book on the Holy Spirit written in 375, the treatise Against Eunomius in three books written between 363 and 365, thirty-seven homilies, including nine on the work of the six days called the Hexameron or the six days of creation, which Ambrose of Milan imitated, thirteen homilies on psalms, as well as a rich epistolary correspondence. He also left treatises on Morality and Asceticism and Commentaries on various parts of Scripture.

He also produced several other literary works in a style similar to that of the Second Sophistic, such as Lucian of Samosata.

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Today, Catholics celebrate Saint Basil of Caesarea. A theologian of the Trinity, he is at the origin of the rule of Saint Basil. In his rule Basil adopts a simple catechetical method. The disciple asks a question to the master who answers it. It limits itself to the fundamental principles of monastic life which will guide the superiors of monasteries in the direction of their monks. #calendar #2January #mythology #myth #legend #Christianity #Catholicism #jesus #basile

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Saint Basil of Caesarea