On Christine Doctrine and Practice

by Basil the Great, Mark DelCogliano (Translator)

As a priest and then bishop, Basil of Caesarea devoted sophisticated treatises to the Trinity and to articulating his vision of the Christian life. In his homilies St Basil distilled the best of his moral and theological teachings into forms readily accessible to his flock - and now to us. During his lifetime, Basil was recognized as one of the foremost rhetoricians of his day - a man supremely skilled in the art of speaking, instructing, persuading, and delighting at the same time. These rhetorical skills are on full display in the eleven Moral Homilies translated in this volume, seven of which appear in English for the first time.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Christian, Church History, Spirituality, Religion

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

After 370, Christian leader Saint Basil, known as "the Great," Greek bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, vigorously opposed Arianism.

Arabic: باسيليوس الكبير
Greek: Μέγας Βασίλειος

People also call him of Mazaca in Asia Minor. He influenced as a 4th century theologian and monastic.

Theologically, Basil supported the Nicene faction of the church, not the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea on the other side. Ability to balance theological convictions with political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to work as a theologian, Basil cared for the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines, which focus on community, liturgical prayer, and manual labor for monastic life. People remember him, together with Pachomius, as a father of communal monasticism in east. The traditions of east and west consider him.

People refer collectively to Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa as the fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholics gave the title of hierarch to Basil, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. The Catholic Church recognizes him as a doctor. The epithet "revealer of heavenly mysteries," sometimes refers to Basil.

Reviews

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. A delight to read.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the newer of the Popular Patristics series from St. Vladimir Press and contains several of St. Basil's moral and doctrinal sermons. The topics range from various virtues to a couple fairly technical sermons on the Trinity and various Trinitarian heresies. The introduction is an excellent one and gives a good understanding of St. Basil in his context. Each sermon has an introduction of its own to give context and, sometimes, some idea of the debates around authenticity. All in all, a strong scholarly effort.

That said, the only caveat I have on this volume is that it is such a grab bag of sermons. There is no guiding them nor was there in the original manuscript collection. Because I am who I am, I found the moral sermons more useful than the doctrinal ones. That is my own failing, of course, as I admit that I'm not the most philosophically minded person, so I find the Trinitarian theology baffling. That, of course, may be the point and one of the things I like about St. Basil and the other Cappadocians is that they would probably say that I'm not expected to understand it because no one really does. That, at least, is a comfort.

Well worth reading, although a high tolerance for ancient rhetoric and/or ancient philosophy is recommended.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the sermons of a major Church Father. Recommend that the reader start
here after reading "On the Incarnation".

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains some of the best patristics writings and some of the best sermons I've ever read. Basil's sermon "On Humility" is so rich and is one of the places in the patristics where justification by faith is highlight. His sermons "On Envy" and "On Detachment" are great moral sermons that diagnose the sinful condition of humanity well and prescribe remedies in Christ.

His sermon "On Faith" is beautiful and profound and incredibly brief. He expands the apophatic nature of theological language and surveys the Trinity.

Everyone should definitely buy this book and read it. Please do.

Also, there is plenty of introductory material for each sermon and this makes the book really long, but the sermons themselves are very easy to understand.

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off very strong but fades a bit by the end. Still, it is definitely worth the read!

The moralistic homilies that make up most of the book are excellent! Basil always has great insight into the human condition. I was especially struck by his teaching on envy and jealousy in this collection.

Though the last few polemical homilies get a bit into the weeds on ancient debates over the Trinity, they are still worth reading. Basil was extremely eloquent and his heart for unity and charity within the church can be seen even as he is engaged in more abstract theological debates.

I especially enjoyed the introductory material that comes before each homily. I am not an expert in ancient literature or the Patristic period, so I benefitted a lot from the extra background information and insight into Basil’s theology.

I will definitely revisit this book in the future, though I may skip the last few homilies.

[Samuel Eastlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of texts. In terms of practice, I enjoyed the homily on envy the most. His sermons on the Trinity and Holy Spirit were also very good.

[Caleb Purdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of homilies by Basil. Some are better than others. The introductions are helpful overall, but at times they just say what Basil says pretty clearly in the homilies themselves.

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Patristic sermons, but there is a reality that they often are looking for a few gems in a field of stones. Greek fathers are often rhetoricians, which means they take a long time to make a point. And of course they are answering the questions of their day, not necessarily our questions today.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction and translation. Aside from some formatting errors (incorrect numbers in footnotes, p. 293 for example), I have no complaints. It is well worth the read for anyone interested in fourth century theology and homiletics.