MEMORIAL OF SAINTS BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY NAZIANZEN, BISHOPS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church.
SAINTS BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY NAZIANZEN, BISHOPS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH: In the revision of the calendar the Church has seen fit to honor these two great Doctors of the Church and friends on the same day. Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen were among the most devoted defenders of the faith in the fourth century. Both were bishops and both are now saints and doctors of the Church. These two men met while studying in Caesarea Cappadocia and strengthened their tight friendship in Athens. After Basil’s death, Gregory wrote of their bond, “We seemed to have one soul, inhabiting two bodies.” Both saints came from families of saints.
SAINT BASIL THE GREAT: St. Basil (330 – 379 A.D.) was born to wealthy and pious parents in Caesarea of Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in 330. His family was renowned for their great sanctity. St. Basil’s grandfather was martyred under the persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian, and his maternal grandmother was a martyr; his paternal grandmother, both of his parents and several of his siblings are honored and numbered among the Saints. He attended school in Caesarea, as well as Constantinople and Athens, where he became acquainted with St. Gregory Nazianzen in 352. A little later, he opened a school of oratory in Caesarea and practiced law. Eventually, St. Basil decided to become a monk and founded a monastery in Pontus which he directed for five years. He wrote a famous monastic Rule of life that has proved to be the most lasting of those in the East. St. Basil studied under the finest teachers and was a respected man of great learning, as well as a zealous defender of orthodoxy against many heresies that threatened the Catholic faith, especially Arianism. After founding several other monasteries, he was ordained and, in 370, made Bishop of Caesarea and in this role became one of the most influential saints in Church history. In this post as Bishop (until his death in 379) he constituted to be a man of vast learning and constant activity, genuine eloquence and immense charity. His life of deep prayer, austerities, and humility, combined with his uncommon preaching and teaching gifts, guided him in leading one of the most politically and ecclesiastically important Sees of the day, for which he earned the title of “the Great” during his life and Doctor of the Church after his death. He is a Doctor of the Church, and one of the group of three saints called the Cappadocian Fathers, together with his brother, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and his lifelong friend, St. Gregory of Nazianzus. St. Basil is the Patron Saint of monks, hospital administrators, reformers, monks, and Russia. St. Basil’s feast day is celebrated on January 2nd, a shared feast day with his close friend St. Gregory of Nazianzus.
SAINT GREGORY: St. Gregory Nazianzen (c. 329–389) was born at Arianzen in Cappadocia of parents who both honored among the Saints. St. Gregory’s father was converted to Catholicism by his wife. After his conversion, he was ordained a priest and then consecrated as Bishop of Nazianzen. He served as bishop for about 45 years, living into his 90s. These saintly parents had three children, all of whom became saints. St. Gregory studied at Caesarea, Alexandria, and Athens, in which latter city he had as fellow pupils St. Basil and Julian the Apostate. On his return to Nazianzen he was baptized by his father and began to lead a most holy life. In 358, he joined St. Basil in the solitude of Pontus and remained until his father (who was Bishop of Nazianzen) recalled him shortly after and ordained him a priest, much against his wishes. He was appointed Bishop of Sasima, a small town, in 372 by St. Basil. St. Gregory preferred a life of quiet solitude and reflection, but circumstances always conspired to call him away from it. In 379, he was made Bishop of Constantinople and remained there until 381 when he was finally able to resign and return to his solitude up to his death in 389. The depth of his theological knowledge and the vastness of his eloquence have made him one of the greatest Doctors of the Greek Church. St. Gregory is the Patron Saint of harvests and Christian Poets.
At the time that Saints Gregory and Basil lived, the Church, the body of Christ, was suffering from the pandemic of Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. This heresy was like a disease infecting the Church. Arianism entered the bloodstream of Christ’s body and weakened every limb and muscle, causing convulsions, violent outbursts, and deep divisions among both bishops and the faithful. The clear teaching and brave episcopal leadership of Saints Basil and Gregory helped the Church to heal, to eradicate this heresy, and to restore unity of faith in the East. But not all warmly welcomed their efforts. They both suffered greatly. From the emperor, many bishops, and other clergy and laity, they received many abuses, calumnies, physical attacks, and threats. Through it all, they remained faithful to their preaching and calm and focused in their resolve, restoring a deeper and more ancient unity to Christ’s faithful. Today, their voluminous writings are among the most inspiring, insightful, and convincing teachings of the early Church, particularly as they pertain to Christ’s divinity and the Most Holy Trinity. These two men did not become saints simply because they were smart, they were also holy. And their holiness came from a life of deep prayer. After they both received an excellent education at the finest universities, they mutually sought to live as hermits, with Basil leading the way by forming what would become the model for monasticism in the East. They both spent years in solitude and prayer at different stages of their lives. Their interior communion with God through prayer, more than anything else, prepared them for their common mission.
PRAYER: Saints Gregory and Basil, you were called by God to be a light in the midst of darkness during a time of great turmoil within the Church. Please pray for me, that I will never live enveloped in the darkness of this world but will always carry the light of Christ to scatter falsehood and sin, so that God may be glorified and souls may be saved.
Lord God, You desired to enlighten Your Church by the life and teachings of Sts. Basil and Gregory. Grant that we may learn Your truth with humility and faithfully put it into practice with love… Amen. 🙏
Saints Basil and Gregory, ~ Pray for us 🙏