Saint Basil of Caesarea

Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379), was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed heresies within the early Christian church such as Arianism and Apollinarianism. In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius, he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by the traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity. Basil, together with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, the title of Great Hierarch. He is recognized as a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church. He is sometimes referred to by the epithet Ouranophantor (Koine Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ), lit. 'revealer of heavenly mysteries'. Basil was born into the wealthy Cappadocian Greek family of Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea in Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia around 330. He was one of ten children, and his parents were known for their piety. His maternal grandfather was a Christian martyr, executed in the years prior to Constantine I's conversion. His pious paternal grandmother, Macrina, a follower of Gregory Thaumaturgus (who had founded the nearby church of Neocaesarea), raised Basil and four of his siblings who also are now venerated as saints: Macrina the Younger, Naucratius, Peter of Sebaste, and Gregory of Nyssa. Basil received more formal education in Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (modern Kayseri) around 350–51.