Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
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Basil of Caesarea, or St. Basil the Great, was a monk and bishop who lived during the fourth century AD. He is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers who defended the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation and worked on behalf of the poor. He is venerated as a saint by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Basil of Caesarea is sometimes called the “father of communal monasticism” because he set up a Christian community (of both men and women) who were committed to common goals, such as the pursuit of the gospel and helping the poor and needy.
Basil grew up as a somewhat sickly child, but he received an excellent education in Caesarea, Antioch, Constantinople, and Athens. After his studies, he returned to Caesarea where, after some personal tragedies, he adopted an ascetic lifestyle and founded a monastery where he encouraged other monks to dedicate themselves to work, prayer, Bible-reading, and good works. Eventually, Basil joined with the bishop of Caesarea in his struggle against Arianism, a heresy that denied the deity of Christ. When the bishop died, Basil was selected as the new bishop.
Basil of Caesarea defended the gospel against the Arian heresy and the homoiousian (or Semi-Arian) heresy, which both attacked the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ’s deity. Arianism claims that Jesus Christ is not one with the Father but subordinate to Him, having been created “at a point in time”; homoiousianism claims that Jesus is of a “like” essence to God the Father but, again, unequal to Him. Both are a contradiction of Scripture. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), and John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1–2). Jesus was therefore not created at “a point in time” but has always been with God and is, in fact, God.
Continuing to record myself recording this recording.
Basil of Caesarea, or St. Basil the Great, was a monk and bishop who lived during the fourth century AD. He is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers who defended the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation and worked on behalf of the poor. He is venerated as a saint by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Basil of Caesarea is sometimes called the “father of communal monasticism” because he set up a Christian community (of both men and women) who were committed to common goals, such as the pursuit of the gospel and helping the poor and needy.
Basil grew up as a somewhat sickly child, but he received an excellent education in Caesarea, Antioch, Constantinople, and Athens. After his studies, he returned to Caesarea where, after some personal tragedies, he adopted an ascetic lifestyle and founded a monastery where he encouraged other monks to dedicate themselves to work, prayer, Bible-reading, and good works. Eventually, Basil joined with the bishop of Caesarea in his struggle against Arianism, a heresy that denied the deity of Christ. When the bishop died, Basil was selected as the new bishop.
Basil of Caesarea defended the gospel against the Arian heresy and the homoiousian (or Semi-Arian) heresy, which both attacked the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ’s deity. Arianism claims that Jesus Christ is not one with the Father but subordinate to Him, having been created “at a point in time”; homoiousianism claims that Jesus is of a “like” essence to God the Father but, again, unequal to Him. Both are a contradiction of Scripture. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), and John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1–2). Jesus was therefore not created at “a point in time” but has always been with God and is, in fact, God.
