Basil the Great was born into a family of saints. On his father’s side he was the grandson of Saint Macrina, and on his mother’s side, the grandson of a martyr. His parents were Saint Emelia and Saint Basil the Elder, and among his siblings were Saint Macrina the Younger, Saint Peter, bishop of Sebaste, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa. By the holiness of his life and the brilliance of his character, Basil became one of the greatest figures of the 4th century. His contemporaries already called him “the Great.”
As a monk, Basil had a decisive influence on the growth of communal monastic life; Saint Benedict himself later recognized him as a spiritual father. As a priest and later as Metropolitan of Cappadocia, pastor of his own city of Caesarea, he shone as an organizer and shepherd. It was said of him that he was “a Roman among Easterners.” One of his most famous works of charity was the great hospital he founded for the poor, the sick, and travelers. He also gave great attention to the liturgy, the unity of the Church, and the relationship between East and West.
Above all, Basil was a strong defender of the faith of Nicaea. He made an outstanding contribution to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, especially regarding the Holy Spirit, and he resisted the pressures of Arian imperialism with courage. He died on January 1st, 379, at about fifty years of age. The Roman Church originally celebrated him on January 1st, while the Greek Church still does so today. The current calendar assigns him to January 2nd, while in the Middle Ages his feast was kept on June 14th.
Gregory of Nazianzus, known as “the Theologian,” was born into another deeply Christian family. His father, also named Gregory, was bishop of Nazianzus, and his mother was Saint Nonna. Among his relatives were Saints Gorgonia and Caesarius (his siblings) and Saint Amphilochius of Iconium (his cousin). Gregory studied in Caesarea of Cappadocia, Caesarea of Palestine, Alexandria, and finally Athens, where he formed a lifelong friendship with Basil. For a time, the two shared the solitude of the monastic life in Cappadocia.
Gregory never desired ordination and accepted it only reluctantly. His father ordained him a priest, but he fled back to solitude. Later, Basil persuaded him to accept the episcopacy of Sasima, a small town that Gregory himself described disdainfully as “a place of mule drivers.” He never even went there. Instead, he briefly administered his father’s diocese in Nazianzus, but soon withdrew again, this time to Seleucia. Eventually he became the leader of the small but faithful Orthodox community in Constantinople, where even Saint Jerome listened to his preaching.
The First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381) recognized him as the rightful Patriarch of the city, but he soon resigned and returned to Nazianzus. At the end of his life, he retired to his birthplace, Arianzus, where he dedicated himself to prayer and poetry. A gifted orator and poet, Gregory left us more than 16,000 verses. His title “the Theologian” is well deserved, as his writings on the Trinity remain among the most profound of Christian tradition.
Gregory died around the year 390. The Eastern Churches celebrate him in January, while the Roman Church formerly kept his feast on May 9th. Today, the calendar unites the two friends—Basil and Gregory—into one celebration on January 2nd.
