St. Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia
c. 330 – January 1, 379

Feast days: in Bulgaria (on Mount Athos):
January 1 (14) – Repose
January 30 (February 12) – The Holy Three Hierarchs (together with Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom)

Born in Caesarea of Cappadocia (today Kayseri, Turkey) into the family of the eminent rhetorician, lawyer, and bishop St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. His grandfather was martyred, and his grandmother St. Macrina the Elder was a disciple and follower of St. Gregory the Wonderworker of Neocaesarea. He was the brother of St. Macrina, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Peter of Sebaste, St. Naucratius, and the Blessed Theosevia.

He received an outstanding education in his native city (from his father and the rhetorician Tespsius), in Constantinople (from the philosopher Libanius), and in Athens (from the rhetorician Himerius and the sophist Eubulus). He studied philosophy, poetry, geometry, astronomy, and rhetoric together with his friend St. Gregory the Theologian. Later became a rhetorician and lawyer.

He traveled through Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia and became deeply acquainted with the life of the desert ascetics. He founded a monastery on the family estate near the Iris River in Pontus. His brothers Gregory and Naucratius, as well as Gregory the Theologian, embraced monasticism there. He wrote a monastic rule and became one of the founders of coenobitic monasticism. He was a spiritual disciple of St. Meletius of Antioch. Deacon. Presbyter. Archbishop. He developed extensive charitable work.

He created the Basiliada complex: guesthouse, shelter, hospital, public kitchen, workshops, school, leprosarium — considered one of the wonders of the world at that time. He reformed thieves and prostitutes. A defender of the faith against the Arian heresy. Collaborated with St. Athanasius the Great.

The Arian emperor Valens personally came to punish him, but was so impressed that instead he made a generous donation to his charitable complex. A brilliant preacher. Converted many people to the Christian faith (including his own teacher Eubulus and his Jewish physician on his deathbed). Creator of the liturgy that bears his name. Inventor of the iconostasis. A prolific writer: author of numerous prayers for various needs, theological works on the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity (clarifying the essential Christian dogma of the Trinity and defining the concept of “hypostasis”), the Hexaemeron, over 350 homilies, commentaries, and letters.

Patron of Russia, Cappadocia, hospital administrators, reformers, monks, bishops, education, exorcism, liturgists, the Roma people, and pigs. He helps overcome envy and supports the founding of enterprises and workplaces. His head is preserved today in the Great Lavra on Mount Athos, and his incorrupt right hand is kept in the Catholic church of San Giorgio in Venice, Italy.