Basil the Great was born into a Cappadocian family which was
wealthy and distinguished, and there was always something aristocratic about his
spiritual outlook. His father, Basil the elder, was a well-known rhetorician in
Neocaesarea, and it was he who introduced his son to intellectual pursuits.
Basil's religious attitudes were formed largely under the influence of his grand
mother, Macrina the elder, who was a disciple of Gregory Thaumaturgus. Basil was
educated first in Caesarea and later in Constantinople and Athens, where he met
Gregory the Theologian. A close friendship and spiritual intimacy, which was
later described for us by Gregory, grew up between them. Basil was at this time
drawn in two directions. On one hand he was interested in philosophy and secular
knowledge, but he was also attracted by the idea of an ascetic life of quiet
contemplation in isolation from the world. He grew restless and dissatisfied in
Athens and finally left the city "for a more perfect life."
Before leaving Athens Basil completed a broad course of studies
and he was later renowned for his enormous erudition. He was a brilliant orator
and his eloquence, which "breathed with the strength of fire," seemed
effortless. He studied philosophy, dialectics, and medicine. Basil returned to
his native land in 354 and began to teach rhetoric, but he soon renounced his
secular activities in favor of a life of asceticism. He was baptized and
traveled through Syria and Egypt in order to witness the ascetic feats of the
Eastern fathers. His later memories of this journey were unhappy because the
East at this time was torn apart by religious controversy and the unity of the
Church was threatened by schism.
After his return Basil again withdrew to the desert near
Neocaesarea where he organized his first communal monastery. He was joined by
his friend Gregory, with whom he had earlier shared the ideal of ascetic
renunciation, and together they worked on the compilation of a cenobitic rule.
They also took an interest in theological problems, read Scripture, and studied
Origen, from whose works they compiled the Philocalia. The majority of
the original Greek texts of the Alexandrian teacher's writings have been
preserved for us in this collection. Gregory later remembered with great emotion
this period when he and his friend "luxuriated in tribulation," that is, in
their feats of asceticism.
Basil spent almost the entire reign of Julian in the desert.
The accession of Valens marked the beginning of the Arian controversy, which was
a difficult era for the Church. Basil was recalled by his compatriots. He
returned, although not without hesitation. In 364 he was ordained priest and
became the chief advisor to Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea. He began his work
as a spiritual leader at that time.
Basil was a pastor by vocation and by temperament. Although he
was a man of strong will, he did not have the militant heroism which
distinguished Athanasius, who was actually rejuvenated by controversy. Basil was
exhausted by conflict. It was easier for him to defend himself on a daily basis
than to take part in any major struggle which could prove to be decisive. He
was, however, a man who fulfilled his duties and he tried to overcome his
weaknesses by obedience and by humbly bearing the responsibilities which had
fallen to him. His will was made strong by stringent ascetic exercises and its
strength is evident in his very style, which is terse and abrupt.
Basil's character was severe and authoritative and many people
found him difficult to deal with. Even his affectionate and loving friend
Gregory occasionally complained about him. However, Basil was not a cold man. He
was easily moved and deeply hurt by disappointment and treachery on the part of
his friends. He was particularly grieved by the betrayal of Eustathius of
Sebaste. Sometimes he allowed himself to express his bitterness, but usually he
hid his feelings and overcame them, subordinating his personal emotions to his
vows and duties. His courage was the result of his will. Basil was never
physically strong and since his youth he had suffered from frequent illness. He
was inclined to be melancholic and could not easily overcome the painful
impressions produced by the life around him. All of this makes the strength of
his will even more remarkable.
As presbyter Basil was Eusebius' chief assistant in the
administration of the church of Caesarea. Eusebius, who had been appointed from
the laity, had little understanding of the difficult position in which the
Church found itself. According to Gregory the Theologian, Basil came, taught,
observed, gave advice, and served in all ways. He was a good counselor, skillful
assistant, interpreter of divine Scripture, mentor in all undertakings, support
to the aged, protector of the faith, the most reliable of men, and more
experienced than all the laymen." It was at that time that Basil's polemic with
Eunomius took place.
When Eusebius died in 370, Basil was elevated to his see,
although not without difficulty and opposition. Several prelates refused to give
him their obedience. First of all the new bishop had to pacify his flock, and he
achieved this by a combination of authority, eloquence, and charity: earlier,
during a terrible famine, Basil had sold the property he had inherited and given
all of his money to help the hungry. In the words of Gregory, Divine Providence
called Basil to be the bishop not only of Caesarea but "through one city,
Caesarea, he is lit up for the whole universe."
Basil was truly a universal pastor who brought peace to the
whole world. When at first he had to fight for his see, it occasionally seemed
that the concessions he was making were too great. However, these sacrifices
were deliberate because Basil considered that nothing could be worse than a
heretical bishop. Basil was forced to keep silent for a long time. He refrained
from openly confessing that the Holy Spirit was God because, in the words of
Gregory the Theologian: "They were trying to catch him clearly proclaiming that
the Spirit is God." In spite of both Scripture and his own beliefs, Gregory
continues, "Basil for a long time hesitated to use the proper expression, asking
both the Spirit and the true supporters of the Spirit not to take offense at his
circumspection. At a time when orthodoxy was threatened, an uncompromising
position taken on a matter of mere words could have ruined everything. The
defenders of the Spirit could suffer no harm from a small variation in wording,
since they would recognize the same concepts behind different expressions. Our
salvation is not so much in our words as in our works." Although he was forced
to impose caution on himself, Basil "granted the freedom" to speak to Gregory,
"who, by reason of his fame, would not be condemned or exiled from his
homeland."
As a result of this policy Basil was the only orthodox bishop
in the East who managed to keep his see during the reign of Valens. He also
succeeded in gradually reuniting the divided Eastern bishops. This, however, did
not completely resolve the problem. The shadow of the past still lay on the
Church and Basil himself agreed that in view of their previous actions some
prelates might not be completely trustworthy. Their predecessors had fought
against the Nicene Creed and had exiled Athanasius, and they themselves were now
in contact with the homoiousians. Many of them had been appointed by Acacius.
Finally, not all of them followed an orthodox liturgy, even if only because of
misunderstanding. It was necessary to explicate unclear theological concepts in
order to dispel suspicion and to combine the truth of those who supported Nicaea
with the truth of the "Eastern" conservatives. This problem was resolved by
Basil in his theology, which was based on a new theological terminology. This
became universal throughout the Church, and the Nicene doctrine was set forth in
the language of the Cappadocians.
This theological achievement was only the first step in Basil's
struggle. He was required not only to teach but also to bring peace to his
flock. He had to unite the Easterners in a single, firm faith, and he also had
to win for them the tolerance of the "Old Nicenes" and the West. These
difficulties resulted from both theological and canonical problems: most of the
"Easterners" in the Antiochene schism were Meletians, but Athanasius and the
Westerners were supporters of Paulinus.
Basil managed to accomplish a great deal. He received the
support of Athanasius, who testified to Basil's orthodoxy and to his wisdom as a
spiritual leader. "The Cappadocians should thank God for having given them such
a bishop, who would be desired by any country." It was more difficult for Basil
to reestablish relations with the West. He was hindered primarily by the
diversity of opinions within the Antiochene church. Furthermore, the West
generally had little sympathy for the problems of the East. However, the reunion
and mutual recognition of the Eastern and Western churches which took place
later was primarily brought about by the efforts of Basil the Great. Basil had
one direct and definite goal throughout the course of his activity as a pastor:
he wanted to gather together the divided forces of the Church in order to oppose
heresy with a strong and organized body, united by strength of faith and
purpose. During his life he was abused, denounced, and condemned, but even
Athanasius was able to foresee that "Basil became weak for the sake of the weak,
and thus truly won the weak."
Basil died some time before the Second Ecumenical Council and
thus did not live to see his victory. We know that the exact date of his death
was January 1, 379. He was not yet fifty years old. He had burned himself out in
the terrible fire which raged in the East and which was extinguished by his
self-sacrifice. His achievements were recognized at once and his immediate
successors called him "Great." Much of his work as a spiritual leader dealt with
the immediate problems of the day. It was soon forgotten when the storms were
over or, more exactly, when new storms arose and the past was forgotten in new
conflicts. But Basil has always been remembered as a great teacher and
theologian.
Basil was one of the great organizers of monastic life and the
father of monasticism in Asia Minor. He primarily supported the coenobitic ideal
of communal life, although he did not actually reject anchoritic monasticism and
even founded several secluded monasteries. However, he saw the purest type of
monasticism only in community living, and in this respect he was a precursor of
Theodore of Studios.
Basil considers that monasticism is the evangelical ideal, "the
image of life according to the Gospel." The primary means to achieving this
ideal is renunciation, not from disgust with the world, but out of love for God.
Such love cannot be satisfied in the vanity and confusion of the world, and the
ascetic must renounce and escape this confusion and noise. However, the Gospel
does not separate love for God from love for one's neighbor. Therefore, for
Basil, hermitic seclusion, inspired by the desire to find personal salvation in
isolation, is insufficient. It is even opposed to the law of love which,
according to the Gospel, "seeks nothing for itself." Furthermore, the spiritual
gifts of the anchorite are of no benefit to his brothers. Finally, isolation
frequently leads to arrogance. For all these reasons Basil summons ascetics to
communal life and stresses the importance of love. "By living in a community the
gifts given by the Spirit to one will also be given to the others."
In connection with this Basil refers to the description of the
early Christian brotherhood in Jerusalem which is found in the Acts of the
Apostles. He describes the early Church as the "body of Christ," and urges a
return to this type of communal life. A monastery should be a smaller Church, a
smaller "body." In order to achieve this ideal Basil advises monks to take vows
of obedience and subordination to their abbots "even until death." The abbot is
Christ Himself, and the organic integrity of the body requires that all of the
body's members be subordinate to its head. In this type of community an ascetic,
surrounded by his brothers, can follow his path of purification, love, and
self-sacrifice, his "service of words" ("mental service"). Basil considers that
the vow of chastity is extremely important as a way to the "single Bridegroom of
pure souls." Although he did not require monks to perform works of charity
outside the monastery, Basil himself built a hospice near Caesarea. "Here
sickness teaches wisdom, misfortune is not despised, and everyone is shown
compassion."
The ascetic's basic vow is love. From this intense love,
strengthened by spiritual exercise, Basil hoped that peace would return to
mankind. Possibly his enthusiastic advocation of the communal ideal came from
his desire to oppose the dissension which he saw in the Christian world around
him. Speaking of this disintegration, he said, with pain and bitterness, "in
everyone love has grown cold. Unanimity among brothers has disappeared, and even
the name of accord has become unknown." Basil hoped to restore agreement and to
reestablish "bonds in the world" through asceticism and communal life, even if
only for a select minority.
thanks to and source:
http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/fathers_florovsky_1.htm#_Toc3723862
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