Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors
Saints Basil and Gregory were actually life-long friends, first as university students in Athens and later as monks. They were both important teachers of the Eastern Church, and both came from Cappadocia in what is now Central Turkey, and hence are known as ‘Theologians of the Cappadocian School’.
Basil was born in 330 AD into a family which would later produce a number of canonised saints. Following his studies, he became a monk and a hermit before he was consecrated Bishop of Caesarea (Kayseri today) in his native Cappadocia. He was not only a theologian, but a very pastoral bishop and deeply concerned with the plight of the poor. He produced a monastic rule, known as the ‘Basilian Rule’, which is still followed everywhere by monks and nuns of the Eastern Church. He died in 379 at the relatively early age of 49.
Gregory was born in the town of Nazianzus, also in Cappadocia and also about 330 AD. He was the son of a bishop and, like Basil, joined the monastic life. He was ordained a priest relatively late in life. He was first made bishop of an out of the way town called Sasima, but later was asked to go to Constantinople to restore harmony to the community there following the divisions of the Arian heresy. In this, he was very successful. In later life, Gregory retired to the (for him) more congenial life of study and prayer in a rural setting and subsequently died in 389 AD.
Both Basil and Gregory were deeply involved in dealing with the Arian heresy, named after Arius, a monk from Alexandria in northern Egypt, who denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. It was Basil’s teaching in particular which influenced the Council of Constantinople (381 AD) in revising the Nicaean Creed of 325 AD into the form we now use on Sundays and feasts.
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Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors – Readings
Commentary on Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13; Matthew 23:8-12
In the Gospel, which is from Matthew, Jesus calls on his followers to avoid all honorary titles. Every member of the community, irrespective of their role, has only one Master and all are brothers and sisters to each other. All are called to serve each other, to seek the well-being of every other member through agape-love. And, in any community, those are greatest who provide the most effective service. Both Basil and Gregory were bishops, but at heart they remained true to their original callings as monks and hermits. Their lives were lived not to rule or dominate but to heal the divisions among their communities.
The First Reading, from the Letter to the Ephesians, emphasises first, the unity which must bind the community. A unity which comes from being members of one Body, with one Faith, one Lord, one God, one hope and one Baptism.
The Church in the time of Basil and Gregory was seriously divided by the Arian heresy and it was through their efforts that unity was restored. Unity, however, does not mean uniformity; we are not clones of each other. And so, as the Reading says, real unity only happens when people with different characteristics and callings, different responsibilities work together towards one goal—the establishment of God’s Kingdom. For us, their lives, committed to unity and service, are highly relevant for us today.
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