Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea, was born in Caesarea, Cappadocia in ca. 329. His two brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste, also became bishops; his sister St. Makrina the Younger was a model ascetic. Basil was actively involved in many political and ideological struggles. He is best known as an author of the liturgy, an important developer of the concept of the Trinity, and an advocate of an active economic, social, and cultural role for monks. He wrote a set of rules for monks and nuns that greatly influenced the development of monasticism both inside and outside Byzantium. The letters of Basil provide much geographical and secular information about the Roman Empire in the fourth century. In art, Basil frequently wears a pointed black beard and has a narrow face. As the purported author of the liturgy, he often stands at the head of one of the lines of bishops adorning the church apse. BLR

COMPARANDA
Icon of Basil the Great (Mt. Sinai, St. Catherine's Monastery)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Basil the Great." Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander Kazhdan. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press. 269-270.