Icon Saint Basil

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Feast of 1 January

Basil the Great, this father and teacher of the Orthodox Church was born in 329 AD, according to others in 330 AD, in Neocaesarea of Pontus in the village of Annisa and grew up in Caesarea of Cappadocia.

He had 8 brothers, 3 boys and 5 girls. Of the 4 boys, 3 became bishops (Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste) and one became a monk (Naucrates). Of his 5 sisters, the first, and at the same time the eldest child of the family, Makrina, became a nun.

With this Christian upbringing, Basil begins an amazing upward spiritual journey. Having the gifts of wit and memory, he conquers almost all the sciences of his time. Most importantly, he conquers the divine theory of the Gospel, which he immediately puts into practice by his strict ascetic life.

But let us briefly mention the course of its activities. After his first studies in Caesarea and then in Byzantium, he visited Athens, still a young man, where he completed his studies for four years, studying philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, astronomy and medicine, having as his fellow students Gregory of Nazianzus (the theologian) and Julian the Parabaptist.

From Athens he returned to Caesarea and taught the art of rhetoric. He decided, however, to follow the monastic life and therefore went to the centres of asceticism, to learn the monastic state in Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia.

When he returned, he retired to a monastery in Pontus, after becoming a monk, and practiced there with all rigour for five years (357 – 362 AD). Already perfectly trained in the Orthodox Faith, he was ordained deacon and elder by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea.

His exemplary way of spiritual work did not take long to elevate him to the throne of the high priesthood, succeeding Eusebius in the bishopric of Caesarea (370 AD). With steadfastness and brave spirit, as high priest he made many struggles for the Orthodox Faith. With the Orthodox speeches he wrote, he struck down the sentiments of the evil-doers.

The rest of his pastoral activity was unparalleled, building the famous “Vassiliada”, a complex with charitable institutions, such as an orphanage, an orphanage, a nursing home, a hotel and a hospital, etc., where thousands of sufferers of all ages, races and races found food and care.

Basil the Great has a rich and important literary work. His main works are the 9 discourses in the Hexameron, discourses on the Psalms, many and various other discourses, ascetical works and letters.

Apart from his other works, he also wrote a Divine Liturgy, which, after the prevalence of the shorter one of St. John Chrysostom, is celebrated 10 times a year: on 1 January (where his memory is also celebrated), the first five Sundays of Lent, on the eve of Christmas and Epiphany, on Maundy Thursday and on Holy Saturday.

At the age of fifty, Basil the Great, because of his weak constitution and his strict ascetic life (some sources say because of a severe liver or kidney disease), on January 1, 378 A.D. or according to others in 379 to 380 A.D., he leaves this perishable and futile world, leaving a legacy and a sacred heritage to humanity of an enormous spiritual work.

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