Rules summarized in questions and answers

After 370, having become the bishop of the metropolis of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Saint Basil the Great continued to support the ascetic life, striving for it to become the salt and leaven of the entire Church. At the same time, the communities of the "brothers" acquired their own dynamics and their own structure, in which their leaders gradually occupied more and more prominent places. In this situation, the second version of the “Moral Rules” arose: 55 lengthy and 313 short. This version subsequently received the name “Great Asceticon”, or “Monastic Rules of St. Basil”. The “Rules Summarized in Questions and Answers,” numbering 313, contain more specific, specific instructions than in the lengthy rules. There is a strong disciplinary element in them. Thus, in Canon 235, students are allowed to use the Holy Scriptures only to a limited extent: only in that which relates to them personally. *The title of the work in Greek is Κεφαλαία τῶν ὅρων τῶν κατὰ ἐπιτομήν. *The title of the work in Latin is Regulae brevis tractatae. The humane God, “teach man understanding” (Psalm 93:10), commands those who are entrusted with the gift of teaching to remain in teaching (1 Tim. 4:11-16), and advises those who need edification with Divine lessons through Moses, saying: “Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will tell you” (Deut. 32, 7). Therefore, we, who have been entrusted with the ministry of the word, must at all times be zealous for the correction of souls and publicly testify about some things before the whole Church, and about others, whether it concerns sound faith or true living according to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, since both of them are reliably perfected as a man of God, to allow each of those who come to ask us privately at will. But you need not to leave anything fruitless and neglected, but in addition to what you learn publicly, and in private ask about edifying things, and use all your free time in life profitably. Therefore, if for this purpose God has gathered us and we are now in great peace from external riots, then we will not occupy ourselves with any other work, and we will not give up our body to sleep, but we will spend the rest of the night in caring for that and in studying what is necessary for us, fulfilling what was said by blessed David: “in the law of the Lord ... we will learn day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Editor's note: Due to the fact that this work has a large number of questions (namely 313), it is not possible to create a table of contents that is convenient for use. Therefore, we have collected the questions by topic, but retained their numbering as indicated in the original source. You might be interested in: