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Why is it that their ancestors are mentioned when describing the lives of great people, and is the intended goal achieved? Why should we not remember the earthly greatness of the ancestors of St. Vasily? The Christian virtues of his ancestors, their martyrdom, wandering through the forests and their miraculous feeding. The initial education of the parents of St. Basil, and their Christian virtues. Their prayers for the gift of a son, his illness shortly after birth and miraculous healing from the illness through the prayers of his parents. It is the duty of parents to first take care of their mental and moral education in order to convey to their children good inclinations and a disposition towards goodness. Examples of the dependence of children’s inclinations on the character and inclinations of their parents. Should the concept of God and the law of God be communicated to children before the meaning and concept of surrounding objects is fully revealed in them, and why? Why is earthly life, originally intended for bliss, filled with sorrows? Stay of St. Vasily until the age of seven with his grandmother, St. Macrina, and his initial upbringing. After the age of seven, his stay in his parents’ house, and the continuation of his religious and moral education and the development of mental abilities under the guidance of his parents. Entry by St. Basil to the Caesarea school, and his excellent achievements in science and exemplary behavior, earning him general respect from his mentors and residents of the city. The reasons that prompted him to go to Constantinople for further education. What contributed to the preservation of his morality in schools, where the teachers were pagans, and the students were gathered from different places and with different views on objects of faith? The content of his teaching to young men on how to use the works of pagan writers. His arrival in Athens, and the reasons that led to his closest friendship with Gregory. His success in science, his good behavior, and his relationship with his comrades. Why didn’t society and immoral comrades harm him? Instruction for young men on how to maintain integrity of heart and purity of faith while living among disorderly fellow pupils. The end of the teaching and separation from St. Gregory. When describing the life of people who were great in the concepts of the earth, whose activity was limited to the elevation of human well-being, in any respect, only on earth, their ancestors are often remembered. They remember either in order to enhance the brilliance of their deeds with the glorious deeds of their ancestors, or in order to make up for the lack of glorious deeds in the described persons with the reflective light from the deeds of their ancestors, although in this latter case the goal is not achieved. About the nobility and greatness of man, says St. Gregory the Theologian, - one must judge by personal merits and should portray oneself with features not borrowed from others, since the beauty of the face and the kindness of the paint, and the high or low breed of the horse are assessed by the property of the thing taken in itself 1. If we were about St. Basil the Great had the same concept as they have about the great figures of the earth, the glory of whose deeds does not carry over with them into the afterlife, then we could talk about him together with St. Gregory the Theologian in praise of him that his ancestors provide many examples of military leadership, government, power at the royal courts, as well as wealth, height of thrones, civil honors and brilliant eloquence 2. But, having in mind to talk about great things not only on earth, but also in heaven, we will remain silent about all this, since St. Basil the Great says: “in the discussion of the righteous and what they actually did is sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of their virtues” 3. We will, however, mention some of the ancestors of St. Basil the Great, but not about their external differences, but about their Christian virtues, and not in order to add something to Basil’s glory. “The sea,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, there is no need for a river to flow into it, although many of the largest rivers flow into it,” without, however, raising the level of its surface. We will mention the Christian virtues of the ancestors of St. Basil the Great in order to show “what examples he had before him from the very beginning, what examples he looked at, and how many of them he surpassed” 4 . “During the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximin, the last, but most severe of all previous persecutions against Christians were instituted. At this time, many thousands of Christians testified to their unshakable faith and unshakable devotion to Christ by martyrdom. In this terrible time of testing Christians, the grandfather of St. Basil the Great by his mother was deprived of his property and life for the name of Christ 5 . Grandfather is St. Basil the Great on his father's side and his grandmother Macrina, having lost all their property, which, by order of the Emperor, was taken to the treasury, and they themselves were eager to suffer for Christ in order to receive unfading crowns and eternal blissful life in heaven; but they did not want, however, to arbitrarily give themselves up to the tormentors until they were called to this feat by the invisible right hand of the hero of Christ, knowing that the feat itself must be legal. “The law of martyrdom,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, - such that, just as he is sparing the tormentors and the weak, he does not go out on a feat without permission, so once he has gone out, he does not retreat: because the first is insolence, and the last is cowardice” 6. Guided by this law, they, with a small number of devoted servants and with a small supply of food, disappeared into the dense forests that covered the mountains and valleys of Pontus, where they wandered in the open air for seven years, until the persecution ended with the accession of another Emperor. Such a life, full of hardships and sorrows, far from society, acquaintances, relatives and friends, which forced them to endure alternately the cold of winter, the scorching heat of summer, and hunger and thirst, for people accustomed to living in peace and complete contentment, was truly martyrdom, taking away life not instantly, as happens under the blow of an executioner, but slowly and with more prolonged suffering. But the power of God is made perfect in weakness, and what seems impossible for the natural powers of man is possible for God. Grandfather and grandmother of St. Vasily, despite his advanced years, although not without a feeling of sorrow, but with complete submission to the will of God, spent a difficult life in the forests. Divine Providence, which invisibly preserved them and strengthened their weak strength, preserved their lives, so that they, as St. says. Gregory the Theologian “could serve as incentives for others to virtue, living martyrs, animated monuments, silent preaching” 7 . And that their difficult life was pleasing to the Lord God, He testified with a special miracle. One day, towards the end of a seven-year wandering through the forests, the grandfather and grandmother of St. Vasily, with everyone who shared this life, full of sorrows and hardships, felt the weakening of their strength and the need to strengthen them with more nutritious food than what the forest could provide with its meager growths, which could not even provide satisfactory nutrition for animals. They did not have tools for catching forest animals suitable for food, and therefore for them the only means to achieve this goal was prayer to God, who appointed all animals to serve man. Their reflection on the miracles shown by God to the people of Israel during their wanderings in the desert led them to such a means of feeding themselves. “What is incredible, they said, if the God of miracles, Who richly nourished a wandering and needy people in the desert, rained bread, sent birds, served food, not only necessary, but also luxurious, divided the sea, stopped the sun, stopped the flow of the river - what is incredible, they said, if this God now saturates us, the ascetics of piety, with sweet foods? For there are many animals that, having escaped the meal of the rich, such as we once had, are hiding in these mountains, many birds suitable for food are flying above us. And are they already elusive, if You, Lord, please?” So they cried out to God, says St. Gregory the Theologian, - and the prey appeared, food voluntarily given into the hands, a self-prepared feast. Where did the deer suddenly appear on the hills? And how tall, and how fat, how willingly they rush to the slaughter! One could almost guess that they were indignant at why they had not been summoned earlier. Some beckoned the catchers, others followed the catchers... And what a miracle! the catchers themselves were the managers of the catch: they just had to want it, and what they liked was taken, and the excess was sent into the wilds until another time” 8 . The holy sufferers for Christ, after the end of the persecution of Christians, settled in Ponte, near Neocaesarea, in one of their estates. The solitary life they spent here gave them the opportunity to freely engage in the service of God. Grandfather of St. Basil the Great soon went to the Lord to receive a well-deserved reward for his unfailing devotion to Him until the end of his life. St. Macrina, remaining a widow, turned all her attention to her still young son Vasily. Her first concern was to inspire in him a strong faith in God, a living love for Him and zeal for piety. When this goal was achieved, St. Macrina, taking into account the excellent abilities of her son, gave him the opportunity to develop them in the best schools in all branches of science, especially in eloquence. After completing his studies in educational institutions, Vasily, the son of St. Macrina, soon gained fame for his eloquence in the courts and schools of the Pontic region, and at the same time became the owner of rich estates in Pontus, Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia. St. Macrina, valuing in her son most of all the living faith and zeal for Christian piety, and knowing at the same time that a kind and pious wife can greatly contribute to the development of good inclinations in a husband, and an evil one can destroy what was already good in the soul, she was looking for for her son such a wife who, combining an enlightened mind with a living faith, a good heart with zeal for Christian piety, could the husband, at least, to support what was already planted in his soul of goodness. Emmelia, who lived in Cappadocia, as satisfying all the desires of St. with her spiritual qualities. Macrina and her son Vasily, attracted their attention. Emmelia's parents, as we said above, ended their lives as martyrdom for their faith in Christ, and their property was taken away from the treasury. Emmelia, thus remaining an orphan at a young age, wanted to devote her entire life to serving God as a virgin; but, due to the homelessness of his position, and especially out of deep respect for the high piety of St. Macrina, agreed to accept her proposal, and gave her hand to her intelligent and pious son Vasily. But, having entered into marriage with Vasily, she did not forget the blessed destiny of a virgin - worrying without amusement about the Lord, how to please the Lord (1 Cor. 4:34). Devotion to the Lord and attentiveness to His holy inspirations, readiness to make all kinds of donations in favor of St. The church and the needy brethren, raising children in the spirit of Christian piety, clearly testified that married life did not prevent her from constantly nourishing in her soul an ardent love for the Lord and sanctifying all her work with the thought of Him. St. Gregory the Theologian, looking with admiration at the high holiness of the life of St. Basil the Great and the wonderful combination of all Christian virtues in his parents, Vasily and Emmelia, says: “if it was necessary that the husband we praise (St. Basil the Great) should be given to people: then it was most fitting for him to come from these, and not from other parents, and for them to be called the parents of this, and not another son” 9. The fruit of the marital love of Vasily and Emmelia were four sons and six daughters, one of whom died in infancy. The eldest of all the children who survived was a daughter, St. Macrina, the eldest among his sons was St. Basil the Great. After him was born Naucratius, who in an accident lost his life at a young age. After Naucratius, St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, the youngest of all was St. Peter, Bishop of Sebaste. Some of the daughters dedicated themselves to serving God in virginal life, and some entered married life, “however, as St. Gregory the Theologian, - that married life did not prevent them from succeeding in virtue on a par with the first; on the contrary, they turned this only into their gender and way of life” 10. The souls of those who entered married life were also imbued with a sense of reverence for the Lord, like the souls of virgins, the same love for God guided all their actions, the same fear of God protected them from everything that had the appearance of sin, they expressed the same desire for deeds of piety in their actions, like virgins. They looked at marital relations not as a means to satisfy sensual desires, but as the path indicated by God to the blessed birth of children; and therefore, each conception of a baby in the womb was preceded by a prayer to God for the blessing of the fruit of marital love and a careful cleansing of their souls from everything passionate and sinful, in order to make children the natural heirs of the good dispositions of their souls, since children always serve as a reflection of the inclinations and characters of their parents. Every seed produces fruit according to its kind; whatever seed is sown, such is the fruit that will come out. If we pay attention only to some examples from the history of the Church: then we can easily be convinced of the truth that the good or bad inclinations of children are highly dependent on the spiritual disposition of their parents and the initial upbringing that is given to the children. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned against God by violating the commandment given to them, when sin penetrated all the powers of their souls and bodies: they conceived and gave birth to Cain. When their souls, after their expulsion from paradise, were already purified to some extent by repentance: they give birth to Abel, meek and reverent of God, whose sacrifices were already pleasing to Him. When the souls of Adam and Eve, struck by grief over the unfortunate death of their son, were even more imbued with the spirit of repentance and achieved even greater purity: they were born with the highest spiritual perfections - Seth, who became the ancestor of a pious tribe. In these constantly improving spiritual qualities of the sons of Adam and Eve, one cannot help but see the dependence of the spiritual qualities of children on the degree of spiritual perfection of their parents. It is impossible not to pay attention to the birth of some righteous people of the Old Testament and some saints of the New Testament Church. Forefather Isaac, prophet and high priest Samuel, the Most Pure Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Basil the Great, and, closer to us in time, St. Sergius of Radonezh the Wonderworker - all of them were the fruit of the prayers of their parents. Fathers and Mothers! Who among you would not want to have children like the righteous Vasily and Emmelia? in one family, four children were canonized by the Church as glorified saints, and all their other children were distinguished by high piety, attested by one of the great glorified saints, St. Gregory the Theologian. What a wondrous and touching sight the whole family of Vasily and Emmelia presents! Truly a holy family! If you, fathers and mothers, want your desires to have pious children not to remain fruitless, try to raise your souls to the same degree of mental and moral perfection as the souls of the righteous Vasily and Emmelia. But if you achieve the same perfection, and therefore acquire the ability to give birth to children with a predisposition to goodness, then remember that children in their infant state are still only excellent soil, capable of bearing fruit a hundredfold; but so that the fruit, while abundant, is also of good quality, sow good seeds on the soil of the souls of your children. And having dedicated good seeds, do not forget that all the initial manifestations of the spiritual powers of your children developing mentally and physically are still tender sprouts that can easily be scorched by the heat of the sun, distorted by a blow of wind, and beaten by falling hail. Therefore, you, fathers and mothers, like a farmer, rejoicing at the greenery that has appeared in the fields and at the same time tormented by the fear of unfavorable weather during the summer, not trusting your strengths, pray to the Lord daily and with zeal, so that He will enlighten the minds of your children with His grace to know the truth of the saving teaching of the Gospel, and warm their hearts with love for Him - the Creator and Provider, and for all that is good, would direct their will to unswervingly follow the path of His commandments, and would turn them away from all evil. But praying to God, try to protect them yourself from the heat of awakening passions, which can scorch the embryos and predispositions to goodness, and thereby slow down their development, take care to protect them from the corrupting breath of the winds - false wisdom that can distort their concepts of good and truth, use efforts - not to allow them to be defeated and distorted by a hail of bad examples, involuntarily dragging them along, like stormy streams. And most importantly, try to arrange your family life in such a way that it will be for your children both a school of piety and a clinic for moral wounds inflicted on the souls of your children outside the home. At the same time, take into account that your word will remain ineffective on children if it is not accompanied by an edifying example from your own life. But let us return to the family of the pious Vasily and Emmelia. The eldest of all their children, as we have already said, was St. Macrina. All children, of course, were given the same upbringing, and therefore, in order to form an idea of ​​the home education of all the children of Vasily and Emmelia, let us pay attention to the initial home education of St. Macrina. “The mother took care of herself,” writes St. Gregory of Nyssa, - about the education of his daughter, but not about that external education that ordinary children draw from poetic works. She considered it shameful and completely indecent for a necessary and well-bred soul to study female passions in tragedies, or to become acquainted with shamelessness in comedies, and in some way to defile oneself with immodest stories about women. The young daughter studied what her mother found intelligible to her from the inspired Scripture, especially the wisdom of Solomon, and everything that serves to educate our moral life. She was also familiar with the book of Psalms and at one time read her share of them. Whether she got up from her bed, took up her studies, rested before and after dinner, going to bed, standing in prayer: everywhere she had the Psalter with her, like a good companion who never left her friend 11. With such an upbringing, the family of Vasily and Emmelia became an exemplary school of piety, whose students, having been saints and faithful servants of the Church on earth, were also made blessed heirs of the kingdom of Christ in heaven. After St. Macrina Vasily and Emmelia did not have children for many years. But a strong desire to have a son in order to make him the natural heir, so to speak, of the ancestral Christian virtues, courageous faith in God, ready to suffer for Him even to the point of death, fiery love for Him, expressed in the zealous fulfillment of His holy will, and filial devotion to Him in all even sorrowful circumstances of life, devotion based on unshakable faith in His Divine providence, without whose will not only a child cannot be born into the world, but also hairs fall from their heads - they prayed to God the Giver of Life to give them a son. And their prayer was heard by God. In the year of their prayer, while they were in Caesarea in Cappadocia, they had a son (at the end of 330), whose name was given Basil. The parents' hearts were filled with great joy. But the earth is not a land of undisturbed joys, although man was created for bliss. The reason for this, however, is not God, who, out of His infinite goodness, suffered on the Cross in order to again open man’s path to bliss, closed by arbitrary sin, but man himself, his inability to enjoy earthly joys harmlessly for his soul. Paradise, planted on earth, due to man's unworthiness to use it, was transferred to heaven, and therefore man's life on earth no longer became a place of bliss, but only a path leading to bliss. But just as every road has two directions: one that leads to the goal of the journey, the other moves away from this goal, so human life is a path that has two directions. Walking in one direction, a person approaches the goal of his journey - to eternal bliss; those going in the opposite direction move away from the goal of a person’s earthly life. The merciful Heavenly Father, constantly watching over every movement of the traveler, uses various methods to give him the proper direction. Sometimes a green carpet, speckled with various flowers, is spread out on the way for a weary traveler, or beckons him forward, revealing before his mind's eye a wonderful picture of the inexpressible bliss awaiting him at the end of the journey; and sometimes, to strengthen his strength, he even makes him feel the sweetness of future bliss in his soul. For the traveler who has chosen the opposite direction, leading no longer to bliss, but to death and eternal torment, the Lord, out of His loving care for him, erects various obstacles in order to turn him away from the disastrous path and return him to the true path. It happens, however, that the Lord also sends sorrows to travelers who go straight to their intended good goal, and sends sorrows so that, having enjoyed a pleasant overnight stay, they do not slow down on their journey. For this reason, perhaps, the Lord did not allow Vasily and Emmelia to enjoy the joy of the birth of their son for a long time. A little time passed after the birth of St. Vasily, how he got sick. The disease, developing rapidly, reached the point that, according to the doctors, it left no hope for his return to life. But the parents of St. Basil the Great did not despair. Knowing that what is impossible for man is possible for God, they turned with warm prayer to God, whose miraculous power can now also manifest itself as it manifested itself in former times. And their prayer, based on faith in the omnipotence and goodness of God, did not remain fruitless. At night, in a dream, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the grieving father that he had once told the courtier in Capernaum: go, your son is alive (John 4:50). And the baby recovered 12. Parents of St. Basil the Great lived in Neocaesarea, the main city of the Pontic region. But the poor health of the miraculously healed baby disposed them to give him to his grandmother, St. Macrina, who lived in rural solitude, near Neocaesarea. Here baby Vasily, who lived until the age of seven, breathing clean air and feeding his soul with the pious instructions of St. his grandmother, strengthened and developed not only in body, but also in spirit. No conversation touched his ears that did not remind him of God, His infinite goodness and His loving care for the whole world and especially for those who, called Christians, are connected with Him with sincere love and zealous care for the fulfillment of His holy will. From St. Macrina St. Basil the Great learned not only various prayers, but also the Creed, compiled by St. Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea, for the Neocaesarea Church. And this symbol, in that troubled time, troubled by various heretical teachings, was of very great importance as an expression of the true teaching of the Orthodox Church about the dogmas of faith. The impressionable soul of St. Basil fully corresponded to the pious zeal of St. Macrina, and all her instructions were so deeply impressed on his soul, soft as wax, that St. Basil the Great, even when he was already standing in the bishop's chair, in refutation of the slander leveled against him in his wrong teaching, pointed to the symbol of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, which he studied in infancy, as proof of the correctness of his beliefs and teachings. “About my faith,” wrote St. Basil the Great To the neo-Caesarians, what proof could be clearer than the fact that I was raised by my grandmother, a blessed wife, who is yours by birth? I’m talking about the famous Macrina, from whom I learned the sayings of the Most Blessed Gregory, which were preserved before her by succession of memory, and which she herself observed and imprinted on me from an early age, forming me with the dogmas of piety 13 . There are people (I don’t know what to call them more correctly, malicious or just not well-meaning) who say that children should not teach the law of God, as a subject inaccessible to their understanding, until reason and self-awareness have fully developed in them. But you, fathers and mothers, who want the true good of your children and do not want to mourn the sad consequences for your children from the bad direction of their minds and actions, turn your ears away from such harmful speeches, and take for yourself an indispensable rule in raising your children, the way of action of the grandmother of St. Basil the Great, Macrina, and his parents. From the earliest childhood of your sons and daughters, closely following every manifestation of their minds and hearts, you could not help but notice that the evil hiding in our corrupted nature, even before the full meaning and understanding of the objects around them is revealed in them, like good and bad herbs making their way to the surface of the earth even before the full manifestation of the beneficial warmth of the spring sun, manifests itself in them in various sinful movements: whims, anger, irritability, resentment, revenge, envy and other similar things. Every farmer, who wants the good seed that he intends to sow on the field not to go to waste without fruit, first weeds out the weeds, and then thickly sows the field with good seed, so that the tares, even if they sprout again later, do not have the power to choke out the already developed sprouts of the good seed. So you, kind and caring parents, from a very early age, try to suppress all sinful manifestations in your children, and instill in them the concept of God, love for Him and the fear of punishment for sin. Having become accustomed from childhood to everything good, they will be able in later life to resist emerging bad dispositions and suggestions, guided by the love of God and protected by the fear of God. When St. Basil the Great reached the age of seven, his parents took him into their home for the further development of his mind and heart. The instructions of his pious mother, Emmelia, were in complete agreement with the spirit of living faith in God and love for Him, which permeated the instructions of his grandmother, St. Macrina. She also exercised St. Basil in reading the word of God 14, strengthened his faith in God, love for Him, zeal for the fulfillment of His Divine will, inscribed in St. Scripture, and all the institutions of St. Churches. And the word of the blessed mother had an irresistible effect on the heart of St. the youth, since he always saw in all her actions a tangible confirmation of her instructions. Basil, father of St. Basil the Great, confirming by the example of his high pious life what St. inspired. mother, tried to develop his mind by studying various sciences. “Under this leadership,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, the wonderful Vasily, learns deeds and words, which together grow in him and promote each other... studies the initial circle of sciences and practices godliness; in short, the very first lessons lead to future perfection. For those who succeed either in deeds, leaving the word, or in the word, leaving the deed, do not, it seems to me, differ in any way from those with one eye, who suffer great damage when they themselves look, and even greater shame when they are looked at. But whoever can succeed in both, it is possible for him to be perfect and in this life to taste the bliss there. So, it was beneficial for Vasily that he had a model of virtue at home, which, looking at, he soon became perfect... he did not lag behind (his parents) in high impulses of virtue, but, as if in a drawing, he showed the future beauty of virtue, and before the time came for a strictly (ascetic) life, he destined (by his actions) what was needed for this life” 15. And the seeds of faith and piety sown in the soul of St. Basil the Great and his St. grandmother and blessed parents, were so pure and perfect that even in his subsequent life, with his further mental, religious and moral development, he did not find it necessary to change or abolish anything that he had perceived in childhood. “I dare,” says St. Basil the Great, to boast about the Lord in one thing, that he never held sinful opinions about God, and did not subsequently change the thoughts that he had before; but that concept of God, which I acquired from childhood from my blessed mother and grandmother Macrina, grew in me; because with the opening of my mind I did not exchange one thing for another, but improved the principles they taught me. Like a growing seed, although from a small one it becomes large, it nevertheless remains the same in itself, not changing in kind, but improving through growth: so, I think, in me the same mind grew as I progressed and was not replaced by the present one that was at the beginning 16. There are two one-sided views among people on the religious, moral and mental education of a person. Some, looking at the earthly life of a person as the last purpose of his birth, strive to fill their life with all kinds of pleasures, without examining the moral dignity of these pleasures. As a result of this outlook on life and on external scientific education itself, they look at it as the most reliable means of achieving various earthly benefits; religious and moral education, as not included in the sphere of their concepts and aspirations, is either ignored or provided to those who wish to only increase the volume of knowledge, and not as a guiding principle for all human actions. The disastrousness of such a view of human life is clear to everyone in whom the voice of conscience is not completely muffled, who extends his gaze beyond the grave, and in the land of eternity expects peace for himself from his earthly labors. Others, striving to preserve piety and saving faith in their souls, seeing at the same time that many of the scientifically educated, carried away by the spirit of freethinking, fall away from the faith and lose the spirit of Christian piety, and, due to the underdevelopment of their minds, believing the cause of moral evil in sciences that are not directly related to Christian doctrine, treat with disdain both all scientifically educated people, and even external learning itself, recognizing it, according to bad understanding, as evil, dangerous and moving away from God. But it shouldn’t, says St. Gregory the Theologian, - despise heaven, earth, air and everything that is in them because some have poorly understood, and instead of God, they gave them Divine worship... One should not degrade learning, as some argue about this; but on the contrary, we must recognize as stupid and ignorant those who, holding such an opinion, would like to see everyone similar to themselves, in order to hide their own shortcoming in a common lack, and avoid being accused of ignorance 17 . But the parents of St. Basil the Great was far from these one-sided views on faith and external learning; They, wisely combining high Christian piety with multifaceted learning in external sciences, wanted to completely pass on this inheritance to their son. - And therefore, having strengthened in his soul faith in all the dogmas of the Orthodox Christian doctrine, confirming his will in strict obedience to the commandments of God and all the statutes of St. The Church, having developed in his heart a fiery love for God, which did not allow the slightest attachment to anything earthly and sinful, they tried to enrich his mind with acquaintance with all the sciences. They understood that the sciences, like capital, in themselves, are neither evil nor good, but can become one or the other depending on the way they are used by the person who owns them. And therefore, well understanding the high mood of their son’s soul, they fearlessly, from under the roof of their parents, sent him for further education to Caesarea, the place of his homeland and future service. And St. Vasily did not deceive their hopes for him. Caesarea, according to St. Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great himself, was considered the capital of enlightenment, and could boast as its best asset the wealth of learned people 18. St. Basil the Great did not ignore any science, but like a bee collecting honey from every flower, he tried to extract something useful from every science 19 . But most of all he paid attention to the verbal sciences, which make it possible to clearly and eloquently express his thoughts. He cared about eloquence and power in speech, not in order to shine only with words, and through this gain vain glory from people, but in order to offer his word as a pure sacrifice to God’s Word. And the word in the mouth of the shepherd of the Church, especially at a time when falsely wise, but strong in words, heretics tried to catch the right-thinking Orthodox Christians in their destructive networks, it was necessary to unravel the intricate sophisms of false teachers and by the power of eloquence to attract the lost to the truth, the inner worth of which they could not always appreciate. - Guided by this thought, St. Basil soon achieved such perfection in his knowledge of all sciences that he not only surpassed all his peers, but also became equal to the best of his teachers, so that, as St. Gregory the Theologian, “was a rhetorician among rhetoricians even before the sophist’s chair, a philosopher among philosophers even before listening to philosophical propositions” 20. Learning, unaccompanied by a pious Christian life, can arouse surprise in others and arouse praise from some persons, but cannot attract the owner of this treasure of sincere respect, brilliant in appearance, but of little value in content. But the 20-year-old young man, St. Basil, who also possessed external beauty, although he did not attach any importance to it 21, managed not only to arouse surprise with his extraordinary talents and extensive knowledge in his comrades and mentors, but also earned respect from the most distinguished citizens and the then Archbishop of Caesarea, Dianus 22. And he acquired this respect not so much by his scholarship as by his high piety and detachment from all earthly vanities. “Verbal sciences,” says St. Gregory the Theologian - were a foreign matter for him, and he borrowed from them the one thing that could contribute to our (Christian) wisdom: because strength is needed in words in order to clearly express what is imagined. For a thought that does not express itself in words is the movement of a numb person. And his main occupation was philosophy, that is, renunciation from the world, being with God, as through time he ascended to the heavenly, and through the impermanent and fleeting things he acquired constantly and everlasting 23.” And the example of his piety and all his actions, imbued with a sense of reverence for the commandments of the Lord, influenced so much the morals of those who knew him that he is rightly called St. Gregory the Theologian “is a priest for Christians even before the priesthood.” St. Gregory the Theologian, who was almost the same age as St. Basil the Great, having entered the Caesarea School to educate himself in verbal sciences, became close to him; and here was the beginning of their close friendship, which inextricably bound them throughout their entire lives. After completing classes at the Caesarea School, St. Basil the Great, carried away by the desire to master all the best that human wisdom could produce, decided to go for further education to Constantinople, the capital of the Empire, where the best teachers in eloquence and philosophy were gathered. But here he had to learn from pagan teachers, who, jealous of maintaining the dying glory of paganism, tried by all means to instill in the young men that the study of the various works of pagan writers is the only means of maintaining enlightenment on earth, and in order to inspire in them respect for the pagan religion, they tried to attach deep moral significance to the most immoral pagan rituals 24. Besides this, St. Vasily inevitably had to have among his comrades and followers all shades of pagan beliefs, and already infected with different types of heretical teachings. With all this in mind, one cannot help but be surprised; How could the parents of St. Vasily to let him, still young and not confirmed in faith by the sacrament of Baptism, into a place that, apart from the greatest danger to faith and morality, could not pose anything? And how could Vasily himself, so zealous about protecting himself in the spirit of piety, decide to enter such a school, and, having entered, remain, like the three youths who remained intact in the Babylonian cave, undamaged either in his concepts regarding the objects of the Christian faith, or in his aspirations for the highest Christian piety? What also makes it possible to resolve these issues is that many of today’s pious parents fearfully send their children to Christian schools, into which, unfortunately, the spirit of freethinking has penetrated, and therefore it is desirable for them to know what St. Basil from moral damage in pagan schools, in order to use the same means to protect their children from modern harmful freethinking. Parents of St. Basil the Great, releasing him to a distant country for further education, could not fear for him, because, observing him until he was twenty, they saw that in him, as his concepts of good and truth improved, his desire to please God also increased. Faith in the goodness of God, combined with a warm prayer to Him for the preservation of the holy fruit of their initial prayers, further strengthened in them the hope that their son, even among the temptations of the world, will remain intact, and will return to them, to their consolation, with a greater supply of information and with a firmer disposition towards everything good, since the temptations that we encounter in life, through victory over them, serve only as a reason for strengthening our will in good. To understand why St. remained harmless to the soul. Basil the Great and his stay in Constantinople and Athens, where the teachers were, for the most part, pagans, and his study of the works of pagan writers: for this we need to pay attention to what was his view of real life, and how did he look at the works of pagan writers? We can clearly see both from his conversation with the young men about how to use pagan writings. Addressing the young men, St. Vasily says: “To you, who go to teachers every day and talk with respected men of antiquity through the works they left behind, I will say that I myself found something more useful. About this very thing I want to give you advice, and namely, that you should not, having once forever handed over the helm of the ship to these men, follow them wherever they lead you, but, having borrowed from them everything that is useful, you must be able to do otherwise and discard it.” And in order for young men to be able to distinguish the useful from the useless, it shows them that a Christian, throughout his entire earthly life, must always, in all his activities and aspirations, have one goal - the achievement of an eternally blissful life in heaven, and therefore, of all earthly blessings, he should consider useful only that which contributes to the achievement of this goal; everything else that does not contribute to this, or counteracts it, is considered useless or harmful. “We believe,” says St. Basil the Great - that real human life means nothing at all; We do not at all honor and do not call good that which brings us perfection in this life alone. We do not recognize the fame of our ancestors, nor the strength, beauty and greatness of the body, nor honors from all people, nor the kingdom itself, nor anything else that is called human, as great, even worthy of desire, and we do not turn our gaze to those who have these things, but we extend our hopes further, and do everything to prepare for ourselves another life. Therefore, what helps us towards it, we say that we should love it and strive for it with all our might, and what does not go into it, we should despise as worthless.” - “And eternal life is worth neglecting everything earthly for it.” “If someone takes into account and brings together all the happiness of people from the time of their existence, he will find that this is not equal to the slightest part of the blessings of that life, but on the contrary, all the blessings here are much more distinguished in dignity from the slightest of those blessings than a shadow and a dream are poorer than reality.” He further shows that the Holy Scriptures introduce us into this blessed life, forming us through mysterious teachings. But while the young men, by their very age, are not able to penetrate the depth of their meaning, he advises them to “exercise their spiritual eye in other scriptures, not completely distant from them, as in some shadows and mirrors, imitating those practicing in military affairs, who, having acquired experience in dexterous movements of the arms and legs, take advantage of the benefits of this game in the battles themselves.” And in order to dispose them to the preliminary exercise of their spiritual powers through studies in external sciences, he says: “we have before us a feat, the most important of all feats, a feat for which we must do everything, in preparation for which we must work to the best of our ability, talk with poets, and with historians, and with every person who can be of any benefit to the care of the soul. “Dyers first prepare what is intended for coloring in special ways, and then apply the color, purple or some other: in the same way, so that our good glory remains indelible forever, we will devote ourselves to the preliminary study of these external writers, then we will begin to listen to the sacred and mysterious lessons, and, as if accustomed to looking at the sun in the water, we will finally turn our gaze to the light itself. Therefore, if there is some mutual affinity between teachings, then studying the differences between teachings, comparing them with each other, serves a lot to confirm the best teaching.” Wanting further to show the superiority of Christian teaching over external sciences, he compares the former with the fruit of a tree, and the latter with leaves. “The tree’s own superiority,” says St. Basil the Great - abound in ripe fruits; but it also wears some decoration - leaves swaying on the branches: so in the soul, truth is the predominant fruit, but it is not without pleasantness even if the soul is clothed with external wisdom, like leaves that serve as a cover for the fruit and produce a decent appearance. Having shown the possibility and benefit of studying external sciences, he nevertheless inspires young men to take books to read with strict discrimination, and from what they read in books, learn only that which can bring real benefit to the soul. “The poets,” I’ll start with them, says St. Vasily, - since they are not the same in their writings, - it is not necessary to dwell on everything in order with the mind, but when they retell to us the deeds or sayings of good men, we must love them, compete with them and, as much as possible, try to be the same. And if their speech reaches evil people, they should avoid imitating this, stopping their ears in the same way as Odysseus, according to them, blocked his ears from the song of the sirens. For the habit of using unsuitable words serves as a certain path to deeds. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the soul with all possible care, so that, while finding pleasure in words, you do not unnoticed accept something bad, just as others swallow poisonous substances with honey. Therefore, let us not praise poets when they slander, mock, represent lovers and drunkards, or when they limit bliss to a free table and riotous songs... I can say the same about historians, especially when they write history for the entertainment of listeners. And let us not imitate the orators in the art of lying... On the contrary, let us rather take from them those places where they praised virtue and condemned vice. For just as for others the enjoyment of flowers is limited to the incense and variety of colors, and the bees collect honey from them: so here too, whoever pursues more than just the sweetness and pleasantness of compositions can stock up on some benefit in his soul from them. Therefore, being like bees in everything, we must study these works. For bees do not settle on all flowers equally, and from those that they attack, they do not try to take everything away, but, having taken what is suitable for their share, they leave the rest untouched. And we, if we are chaste, having collected from these works what is characteristic of us and akin to the truth, we will pass by the rest. And just as when we pick flowers from a rose bush we avoid thorns, so in these writings, having taken advantage of what is useful, we will beware of what is harmful.” Continuing his speech in the same spirit, St. Vasily advises, in order not to waste useless time, to consider each of the sciences from the very beginning, and from each science to choose only that which leads to the goal of our life. “And since such a life must be achieved with the help of virtue, and in its praise a lot has been said by poets, a lot by historians, and even more by wise men (philosophers): then we should pay attention to such especially works.” Further St. Vasily points to some sayings of poets and philosophers, which either praise virtue, or indicate the means and incentives for acquiring it. But since some, carried away by the spirit of vanity, love to praise virtue only in words, repeating the memorized sayings of poets or philosophers, and live completely opposite to the requirements of good morality: then St. Vasily, warning such people against the double evil - negligence about their correction, covered with hypocrisy, says: “to ardently praise virtue in front of people, to make long speeches about it, and in private to prefer pleasure to chastity, and to justice - profit, I would call imitation of those who perform at the spectacle, and often come out to represent kings and owners, not only being neither kings nor owners, but even, perhaps, free." We will be an unpleasant choir of singers who disagree with each other if our words and deeds are not only not in pleasant harmony with each other, but also contradict one another. Having shown the possibility and benefit of getting acquainted with the opinions and some reasonings of poets and philosophers, he further shows that it is not useless for those who have not yet learned to live up to the high demands of the Gospel teaching to imitate the valiant deeds of men of bygone times, information about which has been preserved either in the continuous memory of people, or in the writings of poets and historians. Further St. Basil the Great also points out examples of the valiant deeds of pagan sages. Since many modern Christians, not caring about their spiritual improvement, and leaving their spiritual powers without exercise, consider some of the commandments of the Gospel to be unfulfillable, such as the commandment to love enemies and the like; Therefore, we find it not useless to point out some of the actions of the pagan sages, who, with only natural forces, sometimes showed such perfection of actions as is required of Christians. “For example,” says St. Basil the Great, - someone in the public assembly slandered Pericles, but he did not pay attention to it, and the whole day continued that one showered the other with curses, and the other did not care at all about it. Then in the evening, and when it was dark, Pericles escorted this man, who had barely stopped scolding, with a lamp, so that his exercise in philosophy would not be wasted. Someone else, angry, threatened Euclid of Megara with death and swore to it. But Euclid himself swore an oath that he would appease him and force him to stop his dislike towards him. How good it is if such examples come to mind for a person when he is already overcome by anger! “It’s better not to get irritated at all.” If this is difficult, then at least, holding irritability with your mind, like a bridle, you must not allow it to go beyond its limits.” “Someone mercilessly attacked Socrates, hit him right in the face, and he did not resist, but allowed this drunken man to satiate his anger, so that Socrates’ face was already swollen from the blows and covered with wounds. When he stopped beating, Socrates, as they say, did nothing else, but just as the name of the artist is written on a statue, he wrote on his forehead: did so-and-so, and thus took revenge. since this indicates almost the same rule as ours: I affirm that it is very good to imitate such men. For this act of Socrates is similar to the commandment according to which you must offer another to the one who hits you on the cheek (Matthew 8:39) - to that extent you must avenge yourself. And the act of Pericles or Euclid is similar to the commandment: to endure persecutors and meekly endure their anger, and with the commandment: to wish good to enemies and not to curse them (44). Therefore, one who has been previously trained in this will not disbelieve the commandments as something impossible. I won’t keep silent about Alexandrov’s action. Alexander, having taken captive the daughters of Darius, about whom it is testified that their beauty was amazing, did not deign to see them, considering it shameful for the winner to cede victory over himself to women. For this indicates one thing with the commandment that he who looks at a woman for pleasure, although he does not commit adultery by the very act, is not freed from guilt for allowing desire into his soul (Matthew 5:28). Having pointed out the valiant deeds of the pagan men, he again reminds the young men not to borrow everything in order from the writings of the pagan sages, but only that which is in accordance with the main goal of our life, and more or less contributes to achieving it. “For it is a shame,” says St. Basil the Great, - to reject harmful things in food, and to make no distinction in the sciences that feed our soul, but, like a spring stream, carrying along with it everything that comes across, thereby loading the soul. And what is the calculation in this, if the helmsman does not recklessly give himself up to the winds, but directs the boat to a safe place, and the shooter throws an arrow at the target, and the coppersmith and the carpenter strive for the end in accordance with their art: and we will remain lower than these workers, being able to understand their work, and forgetting the intended goal for the work? And among artisans, their work has some purpose; But for human life, isn’t there a goal, in accordance with which everything must be done and said to someone who does not intend to completely become like the dumb? If we say and do everything without directing our words and actions towards the intended goal, then, like an unequipped ship, we will rush along the waves of the sea of ​​life, and the end of our life will be the inevitable death of our soul. And in competitions with bodily strength, and, if you like, in musical instruments, they practice precisely those feats for which crowns are offered..., but since I mentioned crowns and ascetics, I add: they, having endured thousands of difficulties in a thousand cases, increased their strength by all means, shed a lot of sweat in difficult bodily exercises, took many beatings in schools, choosing not the most pleasant way of life, but prescribed by teachers, and in all other respects behaving in such a way that their life before the feat was an exercise in feat, after all this they are ready for the field, enduring all the labors and dangers in order to receive a wreath of wild olive, or of gircha, or of something similar, and having won, to earn a proclamation from the heralds. Is it really permissible for us, who are presented with rewards so amazing in their multitude and greatness that it is impossible to express them in words, to indulge in carelessness? ... No, we should not be lazy and exchange great hopes for a short rest, if we do not want to hear reproaches and endure punishment... For someone who has sinned against his duty unwittingly, perhaps there will be some mercy from God, but for someone who has deliberately chosen something bad, there is no excuse, why not endure greater punishment.” As a result of such suggestions, anticipating a natural question on the part of the young men: what should we do? St. Basil the Great answers: “What else than, having been freed from all other cares, to have care for the soul?” Further, revealing before their eyes what needs to be done to preserve purity in one’s soul, he points primarily to those shortcomings that a young man is most easily carried away by. “It shouldn’t,” says St. Vasily, - to serve the body, except for extreme necessity, and the soul must be supplied with all the best, through wisdom, as from a prison, freeing it from communication with bodily passions, and at the same time making the body irresistible to passions. The belly must be provided with what it needs, but not too sweet, as those who invent some kind of table preparers and cooks do, searching all land and sea, collecting tribute to the belly, as if it were some cruel ruler... And to work beyond the need on hair and clothes, as Diogenes put it, is characteristic of either the unfortunate or the offenders. Therefore, I affirm that we should consider being and being called a dandy just as shameful as living indecently and deceiving someone else’s marriage bed. For for someone who has intelligence, what difference does it make between putting on a spectacular outfit or wearing the clothes of a commoner, as long as they provide sufficient protection from cold and heat? In the same way, you need to prepare other things for yourself, not exceeding your needs, and do not take more care of the body, but how much is good for the soul. For a husband truly worthy of this name, to be a dandy and indulge in his appearance is no less reproachful than to slavishly indulge in any other passion. To use every effort to ensure that the body is as elegant as possible is characteristic of a person who has not known himself and does not understand that wise rule that it is not just the visible that makes up a person, but a certain higher wisdom is required, through which each of us knows himself, what he is. And this is more impossible for someone who has an unpurified mind than for a sick person to look at the sun.” “The purification of the soul is to despise sensual pleasures, not to saturate the eyes with absurd ideas of miracle workers, or the sight of bodies that incite voluptuousness, and not to pour damaged sweetness into the soul through the ear. For from this kind of music, passions usually arise - the product of slavery and baseness... You should participate in this sweet singing that is dominant today less than in any of the shameful deeds. But to dissolve the air with various vapors that give pleasure to the sense of smell, to anoint yourself with fragrant ointments, I am ashamed and forbid you. What would someone say about the fact that there is no need to pursue the pleasures of touch and taste, except that those who are devoted to the pursuit of these pleasures are forced to live like cattle according to the whims of the belly and that which is below the belly. In a word, everything corporeal should be despised by one who does not want to wallow in bodily pleasures, as in mud. One must have as much affection for the body as, says Plato, it participates in the service of wisdom, to put it somewhat like Paul, who gives advice that one should not do much to please the body for the sake of lusts (Rom. 13:14). Those who take care that the body is as elegant as possible, and despise the soul, which acts through the body, as worthless, how do they differ from people who take care of tools, but do not care about the art that acts through the tool? Therefore, on the contrary, one must oppress and restrain the body, like the impulses of an animal, and the rebellions it produces in the soul should be pacified, hitting the mind like a whip, and not weaken the reins of voluptuousness at all and not neglect the fact that the mind is carried away by it, like a driver who is uncontrollably carried by unbridled horses... So, if excessive care for the body is useless for the body itself and serves as an obstacle to the soul, then submit and serving the body is sheer madness. But if we learned to despise him, we would hardly be surprised at anything else from everything human. For what would we need more wealth for, who value bodily pleasures at nothing?... Anyone who has learned to behave prudently when considering such things will determine the very need by natural needs, and not by pleasures. For those who have crossed the limits of their needs, like someone rushing down a slope, having nothing in front of them to hold on to, do not stop anywhere in their striving forward... But I think that when there is no wealth, one should not desire it; and when it is, you need to think a lot not about the fact that you have it, but about whether you know how to dispose of it.” Having given this kind of instruction to the young men, in conclusion he says to them: “You, since there are three types of illnesses, will not turn out to be like the terminally ill, and do not discover in yourself an illness of the will, similar to the illness of those suffering from the body. For those suffering from an unimportant illness come to the doctors themselves; those obsessed with the most important illnesses call for doctors; and those who have fallen completely into the incurable disease of black bile and the doctors who come to them do not allow themselves to be seen, which may not happen to you; you do not run away from people who argue the right” 25. Fathers and mothers! if you arrange the souls of your children even during their home education, like the soul of St. Basil the Great, and if you inspire them to unswervingly follow his instructions above, then you can safely send them to all schools, having the confidence that they, living and away from you, under the cover of your parental prayers, protected by invisible divine grace, will return to you with the same purity of heart, but with a greater supply of useful knowledge. But since example has a stronger effect on the soul than words, let us therefore follow St. Basil the Great to Constantinople and Athens to see how, while collecting the treasures of human wisdom, he knew how to protect and increase the divine treasure - faith and piety, breathed into his soul by St. Macrina and his pious parents. Encouraged by the blessing of his parents, their holy prayers and the desire that he always and everywhere keep his heart pure in the face of the all-seeing God, St. Basil the Great went to Constantinople, where the best teachers in literature and philosophy were gathered. His quick abilities and zealous desire to master in its entirety everything that human wisdom could produce, here, as in Caesarea, gave him the opportunity to soon surpass all his comrades and become an object of surprise for his very mentors. The capital city, of course, presented many temptations for the young man who had just entered it, but St. Vasily, guided by the rules that he later taught to other young men, did not pay attention to anything except the lessons of his mentors. If any shadow fell on his impressionable soul from the objects or speeches of the sinful world, then he had the opportunity to quickly drive it away and again illuminate his soul by frequent visits to Christian churches and listening to the word of God. For the final education of himself in the sciences, after Constantinople, St. Basil, drawn by God, as St. Gregory the Theologian, - and with a wonderful hunger for knowledge, he decided to visit Athens - this abode of sciences, which gathered young men from all over the Empire, and of all nationalities and beliefs. Arrival of St. Basil's visit to Athens must truly be considered a work of divine Providence. Athens gave him the opportunity to become better acquainted with the external sciences, which at one time helped him a lot in repelling the attacks of heretics and other false thinkers who attacked the divine truth hidden in the Christian teaching with only the weapon of external learning, a weapon insignificant and powerless against strong faith, but which did a lot of harm to the weak faith of simple and unenlightened Christians. Athens gave him the opportunity, from the example of his very mentors, to be convinced that external sciences alone, without the guidance of Christian doctrine, cannot bring one closer to God, without giving strength to elevate a person’s moral actions to the degree of purity that is necessary to give a person the right to communicate with the Most Holy God. Athens, with the multitude of idolatrous temples that existed in them, and the powerless zeal of pagan scholars to defend the errors of pagan beliefs, gave St. Vasily had the opportunity to become more clearly and tangibly convinced of the unattainable superiority of the Christian doctrine. Finally, Athens gave him the opportunity to become closer to the future great hierarch and universal teacher, St. Gregory the Theologian, who in all circumstances of his life was both a wise adviser and a zealous collaborator. St. Basil arrived in Athens around 352. But here, instead of the former respect for him, which he rightfully enjoyed both in Caesarea and in Constantinople, he, at first, was insulted by the unreasonable customs of his schoolmates, to which each of the students who newly entered Athens was involuntarily exposed. Only the intercession of St. saved him from this insult. Gregory the Theologian. St. Gregory, who became acquainted with St. Basil, while still at the Caesarea school, having learned of his arrival in Athens, was able to inspire in his school comrades such a high opinion of his learning and brilliant eloquence that the comrades accepted St. Vasily is no longer as a beginner, seeking only wisdom, but with respect, as a person who has acquired the right to attention to himself through his learning. “Athens,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, - accepted us like a river stream - us, who, separating from one source, that is, from one fatherland, were carried away in different directions by the love of learning, and then, as if by mutual agreement, in fact by God's will, came together again. Somewhat earlier they received me, and then Vasily, whom they were expecting there with extensive and great hopes; because his name, even before his arrival, was repeated in the mouths of many, and it was important for everyone to anticipate what was dear to everyone” 26. In Athens, it was the custom among students to subject any newly arrived student, despite his rank and condition, to ridicule and all sorts of insulting ceremonies. “And I,” says St. Gregory the Theologian not only accepted his Great Basil with respect then, because he foresaw firmness of character and maturity in concepts in him, but he convinced other young people who had not yet had the opportunity to know him to treat him in the same way. And the consequence of this was that he was almost one of the newcomers who escaped the general law, and was awarded the highest honor, not as a newcomer. And this was the beginning of our friendship, hence the first spark of our union” 27. Here is another case that brought St. Gregory the opportunity to express his affection and devotion to St. Vasily, and Vasily - to be more convinced of his friendly feelings. All his comrades looked at Vasily for his extraordinary abilities and extensive knowledge, although with respect, but also with envy, since he, having just entered the school, already admired everyone's primacy, and therefore they always harbored a secret desire to defeat him in controversial subjects, and thus humiliate him in the opinion of everyone who knew and recognized his superiority. With this intention, some of the students - Armenians, more cunning and secretive in nature, began to offer him questions that were more controversial than reasonable. “I,” says St. Gregory, - at first did not understand their intentions, when they began to weaken and were already running away, he became jealous of the glory of Athens, and so as not to fall in their face and soon be subjected to contempt, he resumed the conversation, strengthened the young people and gave them weight with his intervention, introduced, as they say, equal forces into the battle. But as soon as I realized the secret purpose of the interview, because it became impossible to hide it further, using an unexpected twist, I turned the stern over and became at one with Vasily, making the victory doubtful. Vasily understood the matter immediately, because he was as insightful as hardly anyone else; and filled with jealousy, with his words he confused the ranks of these brave men, and not before he began to amaze them with syllogisms, but forced them to completely flee, and decisively gained the upper hand over them. This second incident ignites in us no longer a spark, but a bright and high flame of friendship” 28. This victory in a dispute with comrades, apparently, should bring a pleasant feeling, feeding pride, but on St. Vasily, on the contrary, had a very unpleasant effect. He sought only to embrace and assimilate as fully as possible the sciences that were taught in Athens, in order to then devote them to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and among his comrades he would like to see only one noble competition in the sciences, which does not exclude the possibility of helping weaker comrades in their development. But seeing in the mentors, despite their high learning, the desire for empty glory and the acquisition of more money, as a due tribute for their learning, and in the comrades an ignoble desire to humiliate those who are superior in ability and knowledge, St. Vasily became sad, and, without finishing his studies, decided to leave Athens, calling it deceptive bliss. “That was his situation; but I, says St. Gregory, - dispelled most of his grief, now presenting evidence, now adding affection to the evidence, reasoning (of course and rightly) that a person’s character can not be learned suddenly, but only over time and with a completely short treatment; Likewise, learning is not learned through a few or unimportant experiences. Thus, I brought him into a calm mood, and after mutual experiences of friendship, I became more attached to him.” 29 School friends, for the most part, remain friends only as long as they live within the same walls of the school, and then they forget each other if the interests of their subsequent lives diverge in different directions. So, perhaps, Gregory’s friendship with Vasily would have ended if, upon leaving school, they had gone down different paths in life. When they revealed to each other their desires and the highest goals of their education throughout their lives, they were united by the closest bonds of love, and united forever. “When,” says St. Gregory, “we revealed to each other our desires and the object of them - philosophy” 30, i.e. “the desire to further reject the world from ourselves, and ourselves to live a common life for God, and to bring success in the word as a gift to the one wise Word” 31, “then we already became everything to each other - comrades, table mates, and relatives; Having one goal, we continually grew in ardent love for each other” 32. “In such a disposition towards each other, we stretched forward, having God and love as our partners. We were led by equal hopes, and in the most enviable matter - in teaching. But envy was far from us; competition made us the most diligent. Both of us strove not for one of us to become the first, but in some way to yield primacy to each other, because each of us considered the glory of the other to be our own glory. It seemed that one soul in both supported two bodies." Pay attention, young men, to the purpose of life and all the actions of two great friends - Saints Basil and Gregory, so that you can understand why neither the company of corrupt comrades, nor interviews with the enemies of even Christianity harmed them. “For both of us,” says St. Gregory, - there was one exercise - virtue, and one effort - to renounce this place before leaving here, to live for future hopes. We have directed our entire life and activity towards this goal, and have been guided by the commandments, and have encouraged each other to virtue. And if I say this a little, we served for each other as a rule and a plumb line, with the help of which one can recognize what is straight and what is not straight.” Since the company of comrades has a great influence on the character and mode of activity of especially new students entering each school, we therefore advise young men to learn from Saints Basil and Gregory in choosing their comrades with whom they intend to enter into closer relations. “We,” continues St. Gregory, “we also made friends with comrades, but not with the arrogant, but with the chaste, not with the perky, but with the peace-loving, with whom it was possible to get along with some benefit, for we knew that it was easier to borrow a vice than to pass on a virtue, since one could sooner become infected with a disease than communicate one’s health to another.” The way of life of the holy friends deserves the full attention of modern young men in other manifestations of their lives and activities: therefore, let us not be lazy in listening to the further story of the saint. Gregory about their life in Athens. “As for the lessons,” he says, “we loved not so much the most pleasant as the most perfect; because this also helps young people to educate themselves in virtue or vice. “We knew two roads: one, the first and most excellent, led to our sacred churches and to the local schools (i.e., in which they taught Christian doctrine), the other, the second and unequal in dignity, led to the teachers of external sciences. We provided other roads - to holidays, to spectacles, to public meetings, to feasts - to those who wished. For they did not consider anything worthy of attention that does not lead to virtue and does not make its lover better... We had one great cause and name - to be and be called Christians” 33 . And it was this constant desire to be and be called Christians that made them, being surrounded by many idols, which everyone bowed to and which everyone defended, always remained faithful to Christ. “Living in Athens,” says St. Gregory, “we were established in the faith... and there we learned to despise demons, where they are surprised at them” 34. The tireless diligence and comprehensive learning of Gregory and Vasily, unfailing friendship, high morality, reflected in all actions, prudence and deliberation in all words and actions, made them famous not only among their mentors and comrades, but also in the whole of Hellas, especially among the noblest men of Hellas. “For who has ever known Athens,” says St. Gregory, he heard and spoke about our mentors; and whoever knew our mentors heard and spoke about us” 35. What great successes did St. Basil in the sciences, and in which particular sciences, St. also speaks about this in detail. Grigory. “Who else, before turning gray, was so gray in mind? he talks about St. Vasily. For old age also supplies Solomon with this (Proverbs 4:6). Who, not only of our contemporaries, but also of those who lived long before us, was so respected by both old and young? Who, due to an edifying life, needed words less? And who, during an edifying life, possessed the word to a greater extent? What kind of sciences did he not take? It’s better to say: in what kind of sciences did you not succeed in abundance, as if studying this one science? he studied in such a way that another does not study one subject; He studied every science to such perfection, as if he had never studied anything else. His diligence and talent, from which knowledge and the arts draw strength, did not lag behind each other. Although, with his tension, he had the least need for natural speed, and with his speed, he had the least need for tension; however, he combined and brought both to unity to such an extent that it is unknown whether he is more amazing by diligence or speed of abilities. Who can compare with him in rhetoric, breathing with the power of fire, although he was not like a rhetorician in morals? Who, like him, puts grammar or language into proper rules, studies history, masters the measures of verse, gives laws to poetry? who was so strong in philosophy - in philosophy that is truly sublime and extends to the heavenly, that is, in the active and speculative, as well as in that part of it that deals with arguments and oppositions, as well as competitions and is called dialectics? For it was easier to get out of the labyrinth than to escape the snares of his word when he found it necessary. He studied so much of astronomy, geometry and the science of the relationship of numbers that those skilled in this could not lead to confusion, yet he rejected the superfluous, as useless for those wishing to live piously. Medical science was made a necessity for him by his own bodily ailments and caring for the sick.... It was a ship as loaded with learning as was possible for human nature.... But no matter how important this is, does it mean anything in comparison with the moral training of Vasily? 36. St. Basil was already about 27 years old when he completed his studies at the Athens school. The time has finally come for the holy friends to return to their parents' homes. The joy of a quick meeting with my dearly beloved parents was doubled by the consciousness of the opportunity to finally fulfill my cherished desire - to devote the rest of my life, with all its rich store of knowledge, to serving God. They were already ready to set off and were ready to go together. But, completely unexpectedly for them, the love and deep respect for them of their comrades and mentors upset their plans. “We should have returned home by now,” said St. Gregory, - to enter into a more perfect life, to set about fulfilling your hopes and general plans. The day of departure arrived, and, as usual when leaving, farewell speeches, farewells, begging to stay, sobs, hugs, and tears began. And nothing is as sad for anyone as for Athenian fellow pupils to part with Athens and with each other. Indeed, what happened then was a pitiful and worthy of attention spectacle. We were surrounded by a crowd of friends and peers, there were even some of the teachers: they assured us that under no circumstances would they let us go, they asked, convinced, and held us by force. And how is it characteristic of those who complain, what did they not say, what did they not do? I blame myself somewhat for this; I blame (although it is bold) this divine and blameless soul. For Vasily, having explained the reasons why he certainly wanted to return to his homeland, overcame those who were holding him, and they, although forced, nevertheless agreed to his departure. But I stayed in Athens, because partly I myself was touched by the requests, and partly he betrayed me and allowed himself to be persuaded in order to leave me, who did not want to part with him, and give in to the attractions - an incredible thing to accomplish, for this would be the same as cutting one body into two” 37 . So, the holy friends parted, apparently by accident, due to unexpected circumstances, but in reality by the wave of Divine Providence, which destined them to serve as St. Churches in different places and under different circumstances. Although the spiritual love between them always remained, and they, at different times and under different circumstances, helped each other in achieving the good purposes of one or the other, but their school assumptions about the corporate service of God in some solitary desert were never realized. The two great lamps could not be hidden under a bushel. Divine Providence, despite their constant desire to live in solitude, placed them on the priesthood of the highest hierarchical level, so that they, illuminating the society darkened by heretical errors with the light of their teaching and holy life, would lead everyone along the unstumbling path to Christ and, through Him, to eternal bliss in heaven. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, p. 56. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, pp. 55, 56. Basil the Great conversations. 18, p. 281. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, p. 60. St. Gregory of Nyssa. Life of Macrina. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, p. 57. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, pp. 58 and 59. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, p. 62. Gregory of Nyssa, life of St. Macrina. Basil the Great, letter 196, p. 69. Basil the Great in his word about the judgment of God. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 43, p. 65. Basil the Great letter 215, pp. 126. Gregory the Theologian Sl. 43 pp. 63–64. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 43, p. 66. Basil the Great 72. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 43 p. 66. Basil the Great, letter 47. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 43, p. 67. Creation Basil the Great, part IV, pp. 345, 366. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 43, pp. 67–68. Gregory the Theologian, poem about his life, verse. 20. Him, Art. 43, verse. 173. Ibid., page 78. – We do not find it necessary to mention here the names of the teachers of St. Basil, since no matter how much glory they enjoyed in their time, their glory will not increase the glory of the universal teacher St. Church of Christ.