St. Basil The Great Influence

910 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thesis on st basil the Great

St. Basil the Great, the founder of communal monasticism and a famous teacher of rhetoric was born in Caesara, the capital of Cappadocia in the year 329. Basil came from a wealthy family who owned a considerable amount of land. His parents were St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. Basil spent much of his childhood with his Grandmother, who gave him much knowledge and information, which ended up being a critical factor in his development. He started his education in Constanipole and finished it in Athens, where he met Gregory of Nazianzus who would soon become his close friend. Basil started his career in Caesara as a rhetoric teacher, where he was very successful and spread his knowledge to many. After being baptized, he began studying ascetics …show more content…

He opposed the solitary life, but rather wanted a more cenobitic, or communal way of life. Basil argued that cenobitic life was the best way to follow the will of God and that it is important to be surrounded by a loving community. Although these communities would remain small so the monks could create a personal relationship between one and another. He was not afraid to express his opinions to his fellow disciples and made monasticism a universal concept. Through his actions, Basil expressed his belief that one needs to be unselfish and detached from the satisfaction of the outside world to leave a peaceful life. Each one of the monks in his community were required to live in absolute poverty. To him, it was more important to start a new life, in which one would follow the will of God. “In the West, he is venerated as one of the Four Greek Doctors, in the East as the first of the Three Holy Hierarchies. As patriarch of Eastern monks, he has always enjoyed great fame in Russia, and is honored there as one of its patron saints.” He also defined the terms ousia (nature) and hypostasis (being, person). In all, St. Basil had a great influence on Christianity who will be remembered for the founding of communal monasticism and one who put himself before

Show More
Related

  • St. Gregory Of Tours

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    Saint Gregory of Tours was born around the year 538 at Arverni, which is now Clermont-Ferrand. He belonged to the Gallo-Roman family, which was a very prestigious family. He was also related to the houses of Gaul. Gregory’s original name was Georgius Florentius. He took the name Gregory to honor his late grandfather who was named Gregory. His Grandfather was the Bishop of Langres. When Gregory was young, his father died and he went to live with his Uncle. His uncle, Gallus, was the Bishop of Clermont. Gallus educated him until his death in 554. Gregory’s mother left to live with friends in Burgandy and left her son to Avitus who became Bishop of Clermont after Gallus. Avitus taught Gregory all about the Scriptures. Gregory was not too impressed with the scriptures. Gregory got seriously ill and wasn’t supposed to recover. He did recover though and this made him more mindful of God and the scriptures. Gregory then became a friend with the Bishop of Tours whose name was Euphronius. Euphronius died in 573 and Gregory succeeded him as Bishop of Tours.

    Read More

  • A Brief Biography of Saint Basil the Great

    599 Words  | 2 Pages

    Born in the year 330 AD in the northern Asian minor, Basil the Great's childhood consisted of his grandmother lecturing him on the work and teachings of Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea. Soon after, Basil began his rhetoric teaching with his father in Neocaesarea. Basil then moved on to Caesarea, Cappadocia to continue his studies. Later, Basil traveled to Athens to continue his studies in rhetoric. Notably, he studied for five years with his good friend, Gregory of Nazianzus who became a theologian and Cappadocia father. Before Basil returned to Caesarea, he journeyed to countries such as Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria, where he studied the rise of ascetics, or the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention. Basil, returning to Caesarea, entered a monastic life. Between 357-365 AD, Basil remained monastic. At the same time, a number of aesthetic communities began growing around him, "seeking his guidance". Basil rose through the ranks, first designated as a reader in 360, then a priest in 362. Basil made a name for himself in 379 when he preached for...

    Read More

  • The Crusades and Medieval Government

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of religions importance in people�s live, many people chose to devote their lives to serve God and do the Church’s work. These monks and nuns lived apart from the world and lived in special communities called monasteries or nunneries. Monks and nuns promised to ...

    Read More

  • The Rise And Death Of Julius Caesar

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Julius Caesar was believed to be born around the 13th and 14th of July in Rome, 100 BC. Caesar did come from an aristocratic family, but he was far from rich in his youth, and father, Gaius Caesar, died when he was 16, making him becoming much closer towards his mother, Aurelia. While he was growing up in Rome, at the time it was in much disorder and was unstable. It struck Caesar, around the time of his father’s death; he began or would take things into his own hands and do something about this instability and in doing so married Cornelia, the daughter of a noble. His marriage to Cornelia had drawn the ire of Rome’s dictator, Sulla, and ordered the two to divorce or risk losing his property. Caesar ultimately refused this, and sought refuge in the military and served in the province of Asia and on to Cilicia.

    Read More

  • St. Clare Of Assisi Research Paper

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    St. Clare of Assisi was an Italian saint, and she was born on July 16, 1194 and died August 11, 1253 , at the age of 59. She was born in Assisi and her name birth was Chiara Offreduccio. St. Clare is honored in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church. She was the founder of the Order of Poor Ladies. St. Clare was born into a wealthy family, who lived in a palace in Assisi. Later in life she entered into Clare's monastery, along with her sisters Catarina and Beatrix. St. Clare was raised a woman of prayer, and through her life she blessed many around her which led to her ordination.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Early Christian Monk

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Monks are known to live in seclusion and to focus their mind on spirituality. Yet, there is more to their lives than just that. Early Christian monks strived to protect Christianity. Christians during this time were being persecuted for their religion. Many were in danger of pagans whose religion maintained a stronghold on theirs. In order to protect the faith, monks tried to get people to remain resilient in their faith. Monks wanted ideas like this to be passed down to other fellow Christians. That is why the intended audience from the Early Christians Lives is fellow Christians. Early Christian monks stressed the idea of having faith in God, so that fellow Christians who have faith would be protected from enemies, that certain situations

    Read More

  • Medieval Monastery Research Paper

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    A monastery is a building where a community of monks lived and worshiped, devoting their time and life to God. Each monastery strived to form an independent self supporting community. They made their own clothes and grew their own food. Monks within this community could obtain different positions. A few positions in the monastery include tutors, doctors, pope and archivists. They also had a pyramid of power within the Medieval church. This pyramid starts off with the pope and continues with the bishop, arch bishop, arch deacon, abbot, prior, dean, and then the monks. A monastery includes a place reserved for prayer such as a temple or church.

    Read More

  • St. Ignatius Church Research Paper

    202 Words  | 1 Pages

    The St. Ignatius Church is located in 1301 East Third Street in Segundo barrio. It was built by Father Carlos Pinto, the Jesuit “Apostle of El Paso” in 1913 on the Chamizal Tract, a parcel of land that at the time was claimed by both the United States and Mexico. For many decades, the church and school served and exiled Mexicans who were displaced during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).The first church was a small two- story structure that also housed a parochial school. It was replaced with the now larger church. Also with twin towers and elaborately painted ceiling. The church has a Georgian style Architecture with a T- shape rectangular plan. The buildings construction mainly relied on brick exterior, with

    Read More

  • Essay On Medieval Piety

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Benedict who founded a group of monks and established a universal order for monks to follow. Adding to this, nuns called each other sisters and monks called each other brother. Moreover, the idea of asceticism was a life of self- denial where monks would descend themselves. Monks would descend themselves from sex, marriage, having a family, greed, processions, because to own and do such things they would be further away from God. Therefore, the universal order monks and nuns lived a lifestyle allowing them to be higher to the gods and live a life of

    Read More

  • Gregory The Great Qualities

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    strong will, “But his wide range of work in politics, liturgy, monasticism and even music

    Read More

  • Saint Thomas Becket Biography

    299 Words  | 1 Pages

    Saint Thomas Becket was born on 21 December c. 1119 in Cheapside, London. He was the son of Gilbert and Matilda Becket. Thomas also had a sister; her name was Mary. Thomas became a student at Augustinian Merton Priory at age 10 and later attended school in London. After finishing school as a child, he moved away from home and attended the University of Paris. While away at college, Thomas’s mother passed away and his father went through financial issues.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Accomplishments Essay

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was born on July 12th or 13th 100 B.C in Rome. His family wasn’t rich, But Caesar’s parents came from an old, noble family. They claimed that they were descendants of the goddess Venus. Caesar’s mother was named Aurelia and his father was named Gaius Julius Caesar who died when Caesar was 16. Later on, Julius Caesar married Cornelia,

    Read More

  • How Does St. Basil Refute The Dignity Of The Trinity?

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    St. Basil’s first task is to refute the heretics who wish to use small and petty words in order to subordinate the Son and/or the Spirit to a lower position of dignity to the Father. While in the grand

    Read More

  • St. Benedict's Rule For Monasteries

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    Their obedience to god should supersede any form of self-interest; monks shall always place god ahead of personal matters. As secular Christians’ devoutness to god is neither as intense nor as committed they do not hold the same values in their daily lives that are held by the monks. Obedience is expected without hesitation, as it represents genuine faith in God. Silence denotes another quality that distinguishes Christians and monks forming the distinction between them. Monks are pupils and should not be speaking as speaking is reserved for the master. If they must speak, they are to speak in a humble manner. This subordination of speech illustrates another step in the formation of a barrier between the monastery and the outside world. Humility is another of the defining characteristics that differentiate monasteries from secular Christians. Unlike secular Christians the monks are required to refrain from satisfying their desires, endure any form of temptation, and be content with the self-assigned

    Read More

  • Philosophies of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

    2597 Words  | 6 Pages

    Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, Aurelius was taught by several talented teachers. When he was young, the great Epictetus tutored him, followed by a man named Q. Junius Rusticus, who would accompany Aurelius throughout much of his life.

    Read More

More about St. Basil The Great Influence

Open Document