This book explores Basil's Trinitarian thought as the meeting place of the worlds within which he lived, that of ancient Greek culture and learning, and that of Christian faith lived in the liturgy and expressed in the Scripture.

This unique volume examines the life and thought of Basil of Caesarea. Stephen M. Hildebrand brings together a lengthy introduction to his life and thought with a selection of extracts from his diverse works in new translations, with each extract accompanied by an introduction and notes. This format allows students to better understand this significant figure in the Early Church by providing an accessible representative selection of his works in one concise volume, making this an invaluable resource for students of Early Christianity.

Divine simplicity is the idea that, as the ultimate principle of the universe, God must be a non-composite unity not made up of parts or diverse attributes. Radde-Gallwitz explores how this idea was appropriated by early Christian theologians from non-Christian philosophy with particular reference to Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa.

"In this new portrait of Basil of Caesarea, which will certainly win acceptance as the standard work in English, erudition does not blunt perceptiveness: we are brought close to the heart of a man who struggled to reconcile the high calling of his faith with the appalling demands that a fast-changing world imposed on its leaders. This book takes another long stride towards what all Rousseau's earlier work has aimed at—an undogmatic and sympathetic understanding of the fourth-century Church, and the presentation of its great spiritual leaders to new, often unsuspecting audiences."—Garth Fowden, National Hellenic Research Foundation

Basil of Caesarea is considered one of the architects of the Pro-Nicene Trinitarian doctrine adopted at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which eastern and western Christians to this day profess as ""orthodox."" Nowhere is his Trinitarian theology more clearly expressed than in his first major doctrinal work, Against Eunomius, finished in 364 or 365 CE. Responding to Eunomius, whose Apology gave renewed impetus to a tradition of starkly subordinationist Trinitarian theology that would survive for decades, Basil's Against Eunomius reflects the intense controversy raging at that time among Christians across the Mediterranean world over who God is. In this treatise, Basil attempts to articulate a theology both of God's unitary essence and of the distinctive features that characterize the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--a distinction that some hail as the cornerstone of ""Cappadocian"" theology. In Against Eunomius, we see the clash not simply of two dogmatic positions on the doctrine of the Trinity, but of two fundamentally opposed theological methods. Basil's treatise is as much about how theology ought to be done and what human beings can and cannot know about God as it is about the exposition of Trinitarian doctrine. Thus Against Eunomius marks a turning point in the Trinitarian debates of the fourth century, for the first time addressing the methodological and epistemological differences that gave rise to theological differences. Amidst the polemical vitriol of Against Eunomius is a call to epistemological humility on the part of the theologian, a call to recognize the limitations of even the best theology. While Basil refined his theology through the course of his career, Against Eunomius remains a testament to his early theological development and a privileged window into the Trinitarian controversies of the mid-fourth century.

This classic exposition of Trinitarian doctrine eloquently sets forth the distinction yet perpetual communion of the divine Persons. Without explicitly calling the Spirit "God, " St Basil demonstrates that He, like the Son, is of the same nature with the Father.

Famous for fighting a growing heresy, Arianism Champion of the underprivileged Part of Early Church Fathers series

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.

Basil of Caesarea (AD 32978), called the Great by later generations, was one of the fourth centurys greatest theologians and pastors. His influence on the foundation of monastic life was enormous. As he toured the early ascetic communities, members would ask Basil about various aspects of living the Gospel life. Their questions and Basils replies were taken down by tachygraphers and eventually became the Small Asketikon, first published in 366. The Regula Basilii is a Latin translation of this work, done in 397. It is one of the major sources of the Rule of Saint Benedict, and Benedict recommends it to zealous monks, calling it the rule of our holy father Basil. This volume represents a new Latin edition, translated and annotated in English by Anna M. Silvas. It also includes three extra questions and answers that survive only in the Syriac translation. Silvas balances masterfully between the rigors of academic research and the interests of an intelligent, non-specialist readership. This volume promises to become an indispensable resource in understanding both the history and the spirituality of monastic life.