Basil, the Great

no wonder they call him great

When you have become God's in the measure he desires, then he himself will bestow you upon others, unless, to your greater glory, he choose to keep you all to himself. —Basil the Great

From The Penguin Dictionary of Saints:

Basil the Great, bishop and doctor. Born at Caesarea in Cappadocia, circa 330; died there, 1 January 379; [Roman] feast day 2 January†. Basil was born into an old Christian family of wealth and distinction, with a remarkable religious history: his grandmother, Macrina the Elder, his father, Basil the Elder, his mother, Emmelia [also rendered “Emilia,” her proper English name is St. Emily —B.], his sister, St. Macrina the Younger, and two younger brothers, St. Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebastea, are all numbered among the saints. He was educated in the schools of Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens, where he formed a deep friendship with St. Gregory of Nazianzus [the Theologian -B.] About 357 he visited the chief monastic centres of the East, and then settled as a monk at Annesi, on the river Iris in Pontus. Basil lived with his community for only about five years, but he is justly accounted the father of Eastern communal monasticism; he was not a legislator as St. Benedict was in the West, but his influence was vast and the monastic life of the Orthodox Church is still based on the principles he laid down. [See the links on Orthodox monasticism at dmoz.org. —B.]
Having been ordained priest, St. Basil was from 365 practically responsible for the diocese of Caesarea, and in 370 was made bishop there. As such, he had to stand up against the persecutions of orthodox Christians by the Arian emporor Valens, and was called before the local prefect to justify himself. So stiff was Basil's attitude that the prefect expressed astonishment at his temerity: 'Perhaps you have never had to deal with a proper bishop,' retorted Basil. This and other controversies disturbed the whole of his episcopate, and he was involved in difficult relations with Pope St. Damasus I and the Western church. Valens feared him, and sought to diminish his authority by administrative measures; a by-product of this was an unhappy breach between Basil and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus (and Basil set a very high value of friendship). The weeping crowds at his funeral testified to Basil's popularity with his flock. One of his greatest works had been the provision at Caesarea of an estate which included dwelling-houses, a church, a hospital for the sick, a hospice for travellers, a staff of doctors, nurses, and artisans, the whole on such a scale as to be called a new town.
A good deal of what is known of St. Basil's life is derived from his own letters and sermons, which give a vivid picture of his many-sided character and activities. He had a strong practical sympathy with the poor and downtrodden and was merciless towards the enormities of the wealthy. But he was inclined to be headstrong and tactless, which contributed to some of his disappointments: 'For my sins, I seem to fail in everything,' he once wrote dispiritedly. Among his writings is a treatise in which he advises his nephews to make prudent but full use of classical pagan literature in preparing themselves for a deeper understanding of Christianity, a point of view not very common in his day. The influence of St. Basil did not a little to help bring about the ending of the controversy about Arianism two years after his death, and he is included among the four great Greek‡ doctors of the church."

Quoted from Donald Attwater and Catherine Rachel John, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 3d ed. London: Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0140513124 pp. 53-55. Text copyright 1965, Donald Attwater, 1983 and 1995, Catherine Rachel John.

†In the East, St. Basil's feast day is January 1, when it is celebrated in conjunction with the Circumcision of the Lord. He is also one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, the other two being St. Greogory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. Their feast is celebrated on January 30.

‡The "Greek doctors" are so called by the Roman Catholic church; they are: St. Basil, St. Athanasius the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory the Theologian. In the East, it is not clear whether the veneration of these four together as "doctors" is a natively eastern practice, or borrowed from the west during the so-called Western Captivity. In any case, see the article on the Doctors of the Church at the Catholic Encyclopedia, linked below.

A more comprehensive life of St. Basil may be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia, online at newadvent.org. It has a Roman bias, even stronger than the article above. Of particular note is the author's discussion of Basil's doctrinal writings. His statement about the Council of Florence and the "filioque" controversy is pure fantasy, but it is an accurate reflection of the Council's proceedings. In the main, it is a strong, well-researched article.

There was also a very comprehensive life of Basil available at the website of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Unfortunately, they completely broke their site around the beginning of the year 2001, and it is very difficult to find any of the great content they used to have there.

A selecton of St. Basil's writings from the Schaff edition of the Nicene Fathers is available online at Wheaton College.

Hymns for Basil
Troparion, Tone I:
Throughout the world your teaching spread, * setting forth the doctrines of faith. * You expound for us the nature of the world around us, * ennobling the ethics and morals of men. * O holy Basil, gracious father and royal priest, * beg Christ, our God, to save our souls.

Kondakion, Tone IV:
As one of those unshakeable foundation stones of the Church of Christ, * you bestowed on us all a legacy that cannot be taken from us, * and you seal the bequest with your teaching, O Basil, holy father.

Hymns for the Three Hierarchs
Troparion, Tone IV:
O teachers of the universal Church and equals of the apostles, * entreat the master of all to grant peace to the world, * and to us his great mercy.

Kondakion, Tone II:
Into eternal rest and the enjoyment of your heavenly delights, O Lord, * you have welcomed these priests and teachers of divine truth, * for they are the first among all teachers. * And you accepted their labors and sufferings in preference to any offering, * O you who alone glorify your saints.