Архимандрит Порфирий (Попов). Жизнь святого Василия Великого, архиепископа Кесарии Каппадокийской 1

Respect for St. Basil in the ancient Church. – The celebrity of his ancestors and their piety. – Vasily’s home education from grandmother Macrina. - Suggestions from his mother. – Subjects of study at the Caesarea School. – Lessons in Constantinople and Athens. – Vasily’s reception at the Athens school and his first impressions. – His lifestyle here and his friendship with Gregory of Nazianzus. - Farewell to the school. – His sister Macrina’s view of his first studies upon his return from Athens. – Vasily’s journey through the monasteries Saint Basil the Great is one of those shepherds of the Church who enjoyed respect and love not only during his life from his contemporaries, but also after his death from all for whom the holy faith was dear and who knew how to value true piety. On the day of remembrance of Basil, the following chorus is usually sung on the 9th song of the canon: “Glorify, my soul, in all hierarchs Basil the Great, the most bright lamp of the world and who adorned the Holy Church.” These words are an almost literal repetition of the review of Basil of the Ecumenical Councils. Thus, the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon approved for it the name of the Great. The fathers of the Second Council of Constantinople, having expressed the idea that whoever has one nature has one will and one action, added: “This is how the luminary of the universe, the wondrous Basil, taught us.” The Council of Trullo in its 32nd canon also clearly states that the glory of Basil spread throughout the entire universe; and the praises about him found in the writings of ancient fathers and teachers are innumerable. Only the wicked Eunomius, an Arian bishop, had the shamelessness in his apologies to call Basil cunning, insidious, cowardly, and a sophist, and laughed at the fact that he constantly ate lentils and had a constant pallor on his face from long fasts. Despite the impudent curses of this heretic, all the most famous shepherds of the Church never considered themselves capable of praising Basil according to his merits, 2 and one can say in the words of St. Gregory the Theologian, that there is not a single human praise that would not befit Vasily, and that he has improved so much in everything that he has become, as it were, an exemplary work of nature. Vasily was loved by the entire flock, respected by the secular government, even by the emperor who was the patron of the Arians; His acquaintance was valued by learned pagans, he was extolled with praise by contemporary bishops, known for their faith and holiness of life. The right faith and good morals of the flock, reverence and tenderness of worship, the glory of the clergy, the consolation of the unfortunate, charity to the needy of all kinds, the welfare of all Orthodox Churches and the mutual unity of the bishops themselves, divided by unfounded suspicions - all this was the subject of Vasily’s most active concern. The name of Vasiliev and the gifts of the Holy Spirit were not lacking for glory. Thus, through his prayers, Iparkh Modest 3 received healing. About the arrival in Caesarea of ​​St. Ephraim the Syrian, according to the latter’s assurance, Vasily was informed by the Holy Spirit. Thus, even if we do not recognize the legend about the life of Basil, which is placed in the Slavic Chetyah-Menaia, as a genuine work of St. Amphilochius of Iconium, then one cannot conclude from this that the writer, even if it was not Amphilochius, did not have true tradition as the basis for his tales. Be that as it may, we are confident that for the true children of the Orthodox Church all reliable stories about the life and deeds of such a great saint are dear and desired, and therefore we will collect all the information about him from sources, the reliability of which is not subject to the slightest doubt. Basil the Great came from his father and mother from families that were remembered and spoken of by the Cappadocians for a long time with great respect and gratitude. Gregory the Theologian did not know surnames in which there were such frequent examples of military leadership, people's rule, power at the royal courts, as well as wealth, civil honors and brilliant eloquence, as in the surname of Vasily's ancestors. But according to Christian judgment, the most honorable thing about the Vasiliev ancestors should be their deep piety. During the persecution of Maximinovo 4, his maternal grandfather died a martyr’s death for the name of Christ, and his paternal grandfather was deprived of his property and, with his entire family, a few acquaintances and servants, hid for seven years in a forest on the Pontic mountains. Their suffering in the open air was the more difficult for them, the more contented they lived before the persecution. At the same time, naturally, they had to endure lack and poverty of food. But God, through their prayers and desires, says St. Gregory the Theologian, however, sometimes sent them something for pleasure. So, tired of time and weakened by prolonged fasting and dry eating, they once desired meat food and for this they decided to go out to hunt animals, but first, with the simplicity of faith, they revealed their desires to God and prayerfully remembered all the miracles performed by Moses in the Arabian desert. So what? As soon as we went hunting, says Gregory the Theologian, deer soon appeared out of nowhere on the hills. And how tall, how fat, how eagerly they are hastening to the slaughter! One might think that they were indignant at why they had not been called before. No one drove or forced them. They were connected by prayer and righteous petition. After this, the hermits became even more zealous for the feat for which they received such a reward, that is, for prayer 5. These high Christian virtues - patience, faith, fervent prayer, an example of which Vasily's father (also named Vasily) had before his eyes, passed on to his son and other members of the family, of whom there were up to ten people. Some of them became bishops, like Basil, Gregory and Peter, some became virgins, and some, says Gregory the Theologian, committed themselves to marriage, however, in such a way that married life did not prevent them from succeeding in virtue on an equal basis with the first. The eldest among the brothers, Vasily was born at a time (precisely in 329) when St. Athanasius had already gained fame as a champion of Orthodoxy and had already ruled the Church of Alexandria in the rank of bishop for a year. Even in the days of infancy, a serious illness threatened Vasily with death, but through the prayers of his father, he soon recovered and was entrusted to the leadership of his grandmother, Macrina, who lived in rural solitude near Neocaesarea. What and how she taught her grandson, taking him from his father’s house in the first summers of his childhood, can be judged by the fact that St. Vasily subsequently, as the best proof of the correctness of his faith, pointed to his initial upbringing in the house of Macrina. Here are his words: “What proof of my faith could be clearer than the fact that I was raised by my grandmother, a blessed wife? I’m talking about the famous Macrina, from whom I learned the sayings of Blessed Gregory of Neocaesarea, 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” 6. Upon his return from his grandmother to his parents’ house, the parents themselves began to educate their son. Even before his ordination to the priesthood, Vasily’s father was famous for his eloquence, and therefore he introduced his son to the beginnings of rhetoric. But, in addition, he continued the teaching begun by his grandmother. In one letter (236th) there are 7 St. Vasily writes that even as a child he heard from his father about the sense in which it is said that Jesus Christ does not know the day and hour of the end of the world. Vasily's mother Emmelia was more involved in the education of his heart and helped him in reading the Holy Scriptures. According to the testimony of Gregory of Nyssa, the sister of Basil Macrina, under the guidance of her mother, studied the parables of Solomon and fell in love with the book of Psalms so much that whether she got up from her bed, began to study, rested before and after dinner, went to bed, stood in prayer - everywhere she had the Psalter with her, like a good companion who is never separated from her friend. The mother, of course, taught her son the same way. Therefore, pointing to home education, St. Vasily wrote about himself: “From infancy I began to study the Holy Scriptures and subsequently did not change my thoughts about God; but that concept of the objects of faith, which I acquired from childhood from my father and mother and grandmother Macrina, that concept grew in me, and I only perfected the principles they taught me” 8. Even in his youth, Vasily’s pious mood was clearly defined. According to Gregory the Theologian, he strove for virtue with the jealousy of a young horse and did not lag behind his elders in high impulses of virtue. Therefore, Vasily’s parents did not hesitate to send him to pagan teachers for further education, despite the fact that he had not yet been baptized. The homeland of Basil and the place of his future ministry, Caesarea, could be called, with Gregory the Theologian, the metropolis of sciences, 9 so that if someone had deprived her of primacy in the sciences, he would have taken away her best property. It was here, to the Caesarea schools, that after home education, Vasily was sent from Neokesarea, the place of temporary residence of his parents. Here he soon surpassed his comrades in all kinds of knowledge and equaled the teachers, acquired great fame both among common people and among leading citizens, because he discovered in himself learning above age and firmness of character above learning. He was, according to Gregory the Theologian, a rhetorician among rhetoricians even before the sophist's chair, a philosopher among philosophers even before listening to philosophical propositions, and most importantly, a priest for Christians even before the priesthood 10. The then Archbishop of Caesarea, Dianius, also showed a preferential disposition towards Basil. In Caesarea in Cappadocia he began his scientific education and St. Gregory the Theologian. In his newly-entered school comrade, Gregory soon noticed, in his own words, renunciation from the world and being with God, and this prompted him to prefer Vasily to all other comrades. From Caesarea, carried away by a thirst for knowledge, Basil went to Constantinople, because Byzantium was also famous for its most accomplished sophists and philosophers, and with his natural talent, in a short time he collected everything that was excellent from them. Here one of Vasily’s teachers was the rhetorician Livanius 11, who loved his student with the most lively love. But Athens, the fatherland of Plato and Demosthenes, was at that time the highest abode of science, where zealots of learning flocked from all over the empire. In this era, bordering on the era of the decline of the sciences and arts, dying Hellenism strained all its last strength; The local sophists, with all the techniques of their eloquence, tried to attract youth to themselves, with all their efforts they revealed the grace of ancient works of poetry and the high importance of philosophy, and attached deep moral meaning to the most immoral myths. In the Athens School, some engaged in sophistry with particular zeal, having in mind mainly the fight against Christianity. With all this, children of Christian parents flocked to this best school of literature, although pagan, just as Russians of the Orthodox confession once sent their children to the Jesuit colleges; Vasily also aspired to Athens, but with the goal of sacrificing the fruits of education to the gospel teaching. Here a Caesarea friend was already waiting for Vasily and was preparing for him proof of true friendship. Many others were waiting here for Vasily, and with broad and great hopes; His name was repeated in the mouths of many even before his arrival. But all the caution of Gregory was needed so that the pleasure of seeing himself as an object of general affection would not be poisoned for Vasily by some strange rituals that were then followed by the Athens School and which themselves remind those who know a lot of tomfoolery in the medieval life of European universities. Every newcomer was subjected to these humiliating rituals and unwittingly became a laughing stock at the first carelessness. For Vasily, who sought one truth and was constantly reverent, this would have been unbearable, and perhaps he would have better decided to abandon his intention to be an Athenian student, rather than become the subject of stupid pranks that the Athenian youths indulged in. An example of these pranks is St. Gregory points out a rude reception to anyone who has just come to Athens to study. The students of the sophists, not only of humble birth and name, but also noble ones who had already gained fame, solemnly accompanied, took the newcomer across the square to the bathhouse, and when approaching it, they raised a loud cry and began to dance like frantics; then, after a long dance, they forced the newcomer to break down the doors to the bathhouse and only on this condition they gave the newcomer freedom and greeted him from the bathhouse as a person equal to them and included in their brotherhood. Knowing the bad habits of his comrades, Grigory persuaded him to treat Vasily with more respect, and the consequence of this was that he was almost one of those who arrived and was received without the usual tomfoolery. In addition, in Athens there were some of Vasily’s former acquaintances and even friends who greeted him with malicious envy. This is how St. responds. Gregory about the newcomers from Armenia: soon after Vasily’s arrival, they entered into some kind of learned dispute with him, in which they firmly hoped to prevail over him, and for the first time they wanted to present him as a person who did not understand the simplest truths. Not suspecting the baseness of his motives, Gregory himself at first supported the side of Vasily’s opponents and, having given them strength with his intervention, brought equal forces into the battle; but when he noticed the purpose of the interview, by some unexpected twist he gave Vasily the opportunity to defeat his rivals. Vasily understood what was the matter, and, filled with jealousy, stopped striking, as Gregory put it, the brave daredevils with his syllogisms, not before he forced them to completely flee and decisively gained the upper hand over them. These two incidents convinced Vasily of Gregory’s devotion, and they gradually became more and more closely united by bonds of friendship. But despite all the apparent respect with which Vasily was greeted by most of the Athenian students, and despite the victory over the envious people, Athens at first made an unpleasant impression on Vasily. When, hoping for great things, we suddenly get what we expected, then it seems to us lower than our formed opinion. Vasily was exposed, says Gregory the Theologian, to precisely this human weakness; he became sad, began to grieve in spirit, was ready to condemn himself for coming to Athens and called Athens a deceptive bliss. A close friend hastened to inspire him in this state of reflection and sadness that neither people nor the lessons of teachers should be judged by first impressions, reminded him that just as a person’s character can be learned not suddenly, but only over time and with a completely short exchange, so learning is learned not from a few and not from unimportant experiences. A reminder of these simple truths dispelled most of Vasily's grief; he calmed down and for about four or five years listened to the lessons of pagan teachers and Athenian sophists, especially Imeria and Proaresia. About Vasily’s studies and success in the sciences, Gregory expresses himself in this way: “He did not lag behind each other with diligence and talent, from which knowledge and the arts receive strength... Grammar, rhetoric, astronomy, philosophy, mainly moral, music, physics, medicine and natural history were studied by him with such thoroughness, with which another does not study even one subject; He studied each one to such perfection, as if he had never studied anything else” 12. When, after some time, says Gregory the Theologian, “we revealed to each other our desires, and the object of them - love of wisdom, then everything became for each other: comrades, table mates, and relatives; Having one goal, we continually grew in ardent love for each other. Both of us sought not to decide which of us should become first, but how to yield primacy to each other, because each of us considered the glory of the other to be our own glory. It seemed as if one soul in both supported two bodies. And although those who claim that everything is poured out in everything do not deserve to be believed, we must still believe that we were one in the other and one in the other. We both had one exercise - virtue and one effort - before leaving here, renouncing this place, living for future hopes. We directed our entire lives and activities towards this goal and encouraged each other to virtue... 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 not without benefit to get along. For we knew that it is easier to borrow a vice than to pass on a virtue, since you are more likely to contract a disease than to communicate your health to another. As for the lessons, we loved not so much the pleasant ones as the most perfect ones. We knew two roads: one - this is the first and most excellent - led to our sacred churches, where we mainly went to listen to Christian instructions, the other led to the teachers of external sciences. Other roads - for holidays, to spectacles, to public gatherings for feasts - were provided 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. Others have other nicknames, either their father’s or their own, according to the nature of their own rank and occupation; but we have one great cause and name - to be and be called Christians. For others, Athens is soul-destroying because it abounds in evil wealth - idols, of which there are more there than in the whole of Hellas, so it is difficult not to be carried away by others who defend and praise them; however, there was no harm from them for Vasily and me. On the contrary, living in Athens, we were confirmed in the faith, because we learned the deceitfulness and deceitfulness of idols, and learned to despise demons where they are surprised; and if there really is, or only in popular belief, there exists such a river that is sweet when it flows through the sea, and such an animal that jumps in all-destroying fire, then we were like this among our peers. Through this we gained not only fame among our mentors and comrades, but also throughout Hellas, especially among the noblest men of Hellas. The rumor about us reached beyond its borders, as was clearly done from the stories of many. For whoever knew Athens heard and spoke about our mentors, and whoever knew our mentors heard and spoke about us” 13. By the end of his five-year stay in Athens, Vasily reached the age of twenty-five. It was necessary to return to their homeland. The day of departure arrived, and, as usually happens during departures, says Gregory the Theologian, farewell speeches, farewells, begging to stay, sobs, hugs, and tears began. Vasily and Gregory were surrounded by a crowd of friends and peers, among them were some of the teachers; Both of them assured that they would not let them leave Athens under any circumstances, and after requests and persuasion they even resorted to coercive measures. Gregory could not refuse such lively and sincere expressions of spiritual affection for him. Vasily remained adamant, and those holding him against his will agreed to his departure. He returned, in the words of Gregory the Theologian, like a ship, as much loaded with learning as was possible for human nature. But with all this, he also wanted to get acquainted with the philosophy of Eustathius, probably a student of Iamblichov, his compatriot; however, he did not find him either in Constantinople or in Caesarea and was forced to abandon his desire 14. Upon returning to his parents' house, Vasily himself now faced the title of teacher: both Caesarea and Neokesarea convincingly asked Vasily to take upon himself the education of the youth. An embassy of honorary citizens came from Neokesarea to the disciple Livanius with this proposal; Everyone surrounded him in a crowd, used all kinds of persuasion, expressed many and very flattering promises, but he did not accept the offers. He could not refuse such a request to his native city; paying tribute to the world, he gave several public readings in the Caesarea school, and these readings were accompanied by noisy applause. But after these experiments in brilliant eloquence, Vasily’s own sister, the strict virgin and ascetic Macrina, began to think that Athenian learning had given rise to an excessive opinion of herself in her brother; In the hope of reconciling this conceit, she and her mother hastened to tear her brother away from what she considered to be a seductive field. Vasily's father died three years before Vasily returned from Athens; the suggestions of his beloved elder sister, supported by his mother’s advice and the name of his deceased father, must have had a strong effect on Vasily’s soul, and he himself had no disposition to live for spectacle or for show and did not value the applause of his students and listeners. So, he soon abandoned public readings, and soon after this he hastened to cleanse himself of all sins, receiving Holy Baptism, probably from the Caesarea Archbishop Diania. The way of life and activities after baptism was destined by mutual consultation with Gregory back in Athens. It was here that they expressed a decisive desire, upon returning from Athens, to devote themselves to monastic life in some desert and never be separated from each other. Now it was only necessary to take care of fulfilling the promise made to a friend. But Gregory, beyond all expectations, sent a letter in which the following words were read: “I confess that I changed my promise to live and philosophize with you, as I gave my word back in Athens during the friendship there and the merger of hearts there. But he did not change voluntarily, but because the law commanding him to serve his parents prevailed over the law of partnership and mutual habit. However, I won’t change this at all, if you agree to the same thing. Sometimes I will be with you, and sometimes you yourself deign to visit me, so that we have everything in common and the rights of friendship remain equal” 15. It was hard to hear about such a change of thoughts, but one could not blame him for it, out of respect for the duty of children in relation to their parents. Moreover, written communications showed that Gregory was only postponing the fulfillment of his promise for a while. Left by a friend, Vasily considered it necessary to first visit the Palestinian and Egyptian desert dwellers in order, as he himself says, to learn from them how not to worry about worldly life and not to give in to any addiction in his soul 16 . The entire year 357 was spent traveling, no longer for scientific education, as before, but for studying the ascetic life. Alexandria, Thebaid, Cilisyria, Mesopotamia presented him with many examples of amazing selflessness, tireless prayers and deeds of love. The desire to imitate the lives of such people as Pachomius, the two Macarii, Paphnutius and a host of their companions who shone in the monastic world at that time was completely established in his soul. Moreover, he still did not lose hope that in a short time he would win Gregory over to his side. But even the stories about the impressions that the journey through the monastic deserts made on Vasily could not dissuade Gregory from caring for his parents, who needed his assistance. Vasily decided to take upon himself all the worries about setting up the monastery and starting an ascetic life, following the example of the desert dwellers he had seen. His conversations with the Neo-Caesarians and Cappadocians soon found imitators and accomplices in his way of life. Location of the Vasilieva Desert. – Gregory the Theologian’s response to the invitation to this desert. – Vasily’s activities in the desert and Gregory’s review of life here. – The first exploits of Vasily’s jealousy in the fight against the Arians. – Opposition to his plans of Julian. - Ordination of Vasily to the presbyter and a letter to him on this occasion from Gregory. - Distress to Vasily on the part of the Bishop of Caesarea. – Basil’s opposition to the Arians, who attempted to introduce their heresy into Caesarea. – Vasily’s concern for his flock during the famine and for the joining of the Semi-Arians to the Orthodox Church In Pontus, not far from Neocaesarea and the Black Sea, on the wild banks of the Iris River, the pious Emmelia, the mother of Basil, and Saint Macrina, his sister, lived in their own dachas, surrounded by a cathedral of women who had taken a vow of celibacy. The mountain opposite the shore, overgrown with dense forest, provided all the amenities for founding a monastery. Here Vasily settled with his disciples, who, before others, heeded his admonitions and advice. The chosen place fully corresponded to his desires. Therefore, in one of his letters to Gregory, picturesquely depicting his desert, this cradle of eastern monasticism, he playfully laughed at Tiberin, the seat of Gregory, a country village near Nazianza. Here is an extract from this wonderful letter: “It’s time for me to retire to Pontus, where finally, if God pleases, I will perhaps put an end to my wanderings. Having with difficulty given up the vain hopes that I once had for you, I am now going to Pontus to learn how to live. Here, of course, God shows me a place that exactly matches my character. This is a high mountain, covered with dense forest, on the northern side irrigated by cold and clear waters, but underneath the mountain lies a sloping valley, constantly thickened with moisture from the mountain. All around the valley, a forest of various kinds of trees has grown on its own and serves as a kind of fence. Deep ravines have been dug on both sides, and on the side the river also serves as a continuous and impregnable wall. Since the mountain stretches in both directions and adjoins ravines with bow-shaped bends, access to the foothills is blocked. There is only one entrance to it, which we own. Behind our place of residence there is another ridge, its lofty peak rising above the mountain, and from it the entire peak unfolds before our eyes. From above you can also see the river flowing past the plain; this river, being the fastest of all known to me, is somewhat fierce at the neighboring cliff and, reflected from it, swirls in a deep whirlpool, which gives me and every viewer a very pleasant view; in its depths it also feeds an innumerable multitude of fish. Is it necessary to talk about the coolness of the earth, about the breezes from the river? Let anyone else marvel at the multitude of flowers and songbirds, but I don’t have the leisure time to pay attention to it. Of all that I can say about my refuge, the most important thing is that, due to the convenience of its position, being able to grow all sorts of fruits, for me it grows the sweetest of fruits - silence, because it not only frees us from urban riots, but also does not bring to us a single traveler, except for those who meet us on the hunt for animals. For, in addition to everything else, there are also animals here, however, not bears or wolves, as you have in Tiberin; no, herds of deer, wild goats, hares and the like live here. Therefore, consider what danger I, feeble-minded, would be exposed to if I stubbornly decided to exchange such a refuge for Tiverin - this earthly abyss” 17. Such a poetic description clearly demonstrates the deep sympathy of the author of “Sixdays” for the beauty of locations, but could not attract Gregory. Although Grigory strongly wanted to visit the Vasiliev desert, he, mutually joking about the legibility of the places, pretended that Vasiliev’s letter seemed somewhat strange to him. Gregory wrote that the position of the place meant little to him and could not create in his soul any desire to live in the Vasilyevsky Hermitage until he learned something about the local way of life and spending time 18. In addition, Gregory allowed himself to laugh at the description of the chosen place for the monastery. Here are his own words: “In truth or in jest, you laugh and denigrate everything we have... I will marvel at your Pontus and the Pontic gloom, this dwelling worthy of fugitives, these ridges and wild animals hanging overhead, this desert or wormhole lying below with the honorable names of monastery, monastery and school, these forests of wild plants, this crown of steep mountains with which you are not crowned, but locked. I will be amazed that you have plenty of air and rare sunshine, which you, Pontic Cimmerians, see through smoke, sunless people, not only condemned to a six-month night, but never even in their lives without shadow, people whose whole life is one long night. Your river is large and swift, impassable, muddy and undrinkable, with only one forbearance - that it does not carry away your monastery when mountain streams and bad weather make it furious. Do not praise to me those onion-shaped curves that suppress rather than protect the approach to your foothills, do not praise to me these blowing breezes, and this earthly coolness that refresh you, tired to the point of darkness, do not praise the songbirds, which, although they sing, are hungry, although they flutter, but in the desert. No one comes to you, unless, as you say, to chase animals, add to this: and to look at you, the living dead...” 19 So friendly and simple-heartedly St. Gregory location of Vasiliev Monastery. But Vasily’s activities were of great importance, and he with firm confidence expected great and beneficial consequences from the construction of his desert for both himself and others. If he had decided to build a monastery in his old age, after he felt either fatigue from the work of the affairs of the vast metropolitanate, or the extreme vanity of earthly glory and honors, with which even then the high service of a bishop was associated, if at that time he had set about establishing monasteries, then his desire for asceticism would not have been so surprising. But Vasily devoted himself with all his soul to the concerns of establishing a monastic brotherhood according to a special rank in his youth and immediately after making scientific trips to all famous schools, after brilliantly completing the course of science. Therefore, one cannot help but revere such a founder of a monastic community. In his desert, St. Vasily was often engaged in scientific works, such as the explanation of Scripture and the reading of the church fathers and writers who preceded him in time, as evidenced by a book compiled at that time called “The Philokalia.” And this can even more reconcile historians with Vasily’s view of ascetic life. If he sought solitude out of sheer love for asceticism, then nothing could explain the disproportion between his comprehensive education and his chosen type of life. But now this difficulty completely disappears. Vasily had not yet spent even three years in his desert, when “this desert lying below,” in the words of Gregory the Theologian, this “wormhole” 20 had already received the honorary names of monastery, monastery, and school. These names alone lead to the idea that by the end of his three-year ascetic exploits, Vasily managed to gather around him a large number of people who wanted to imitate his way of life and be guided by his instructions. Not content with the fact that many of the Cappadocians expressed their readiness to share ascetic labors with him based on one rumor about his way of life, Basil, according to Rufinus, himself went around many villages and cities and with his inspired preaching inflamed the lazy and careless Pontians to such selflessness that they vyingly threw down part of their estates before their teacher, abandoning all worldly honors, and made a vow live only for God. The many disciples who came to Vasily in the desert prompted him to initiate the life of the Cenobites, that is, monks who, unlike the Eremites (solitary), would live in community with each other and could provide assistance to each other. Vasily’s new letter to Gregory, where the founder of the Pontic hermitage outlined in some detail the rules of ascetic life that he adopted for the monastery, described the external life of his ascetics and recalled the benefits of solitude, reading Scripture and prayer, had a much stronger effect on Gregory; he wanted to see the newly built monastery and, having visited Vasily and his brotherhood, could not find worthy praise for the way of life introduced here. Here is his own confession: “What I wrote before about the Pontic way of spending time was a joke, not the truth. And what I’m writing now is already very true. Who will arrange me according to the months of former days, in which I amused myself with suffering with you? Who will give me these psalmody, vigils and prayers to God? Who will give life as if immaterial and incorporeal? Who will give the consent and unanimity of the brothers whom you are leading to heights and deification? Who will give competition and encouragement to virtue, which we have protected by written statutes and rules? Who will provide daily and manual labor - carrying firewood, cutting stones, planting and watering plants? Who will give this golden sycamore, under which sat not a satiated king, but an exhausted monk, which I planted, Apollos or your honorability watered, and God increased to my honor, so that it will remain with you as a monument of my hard work? It is easier to wish for all this, but not so easy to receive it. Protect me with your prayers, so that I do not dissipate little by little, as a shadow dissipates with the passing of the day. But I breathe you more than air, and the only way I live is that whether I am with you together or separately, I am always inseparable in my mind.”21 St. wanted so much. Gregory to settle in the Vasilyeva desert and obey all the rules of his monastery. This is all the more surprising because the treat offered to Gregory when visiting Vasily was very meager and that here he shared with Vasily labors that were not high and even those that are not called noble. The hut in which Vasily lived had no decent doors, no fire, no roof; it was, in the words of Gregory, a shelter without a roof or doors, a hearth without fire and smoke, and walls dried over the fire. During the meal, however, some hot food was also served, but with such bread, on pieces of which, due to its extreme callousness or dryness, the teeth first slipped, and then got stuck in them and were difficult to pull out, as if from a swamp. All these are the words of Gregory himself. The consequence of this dry eating was such suffering, from which if the great beggar-loving mother of Vasily had not saved the dear guest, and had not brought with her more tasty and nutritious cookies, then one could have feared for the health of the young ascetic friends. In addition to general prayers, readings of the Holy Scriptures, and scientific works, there were other activities: carrying firewood, cutting stones, planting and watering; in addition to this, on their own shoulders, Gregory and Vasily carried a cart the size of a mountain to the gardens, and this cart was filled with manure. All these circumstances, of course, sufficiently characterize the direction of Vasily, who was busy organizing his monastery. If we remember that his rules for monks subsequently became the law for all Eastern monasticism, then the reason why information about the activities of St. Vasily upon completion of a course of science in Athens. No matter how pleasant the worries about setting up the monastery were for Vasily, due to the needs of the Universal Church he had to interrupt his desert activities and undertake distant journeys even beyond the borders of his fatherland. It is very likely that the young hermit was visited in his solitude by some bishops who went to Councils on the occasion of various church unrest. They informed him of reliable news about the current state of Orthodoxy, about the plans of the Arians, and challenged him to fight the enemies who disturbed the peace of the Church. Thus, he, still as a reader of the Church of Caesarea, was present at that same Council of Constantinople in 360, at which he strenuously labored for the Orthodoxy of St. Hilary of Pictavia, and like Hilary, not only in Constantinople, but also in its environs, Chalcedon and Heraclea, defended the truth with skill and strength in disputes with heretics. How much he was now jealous of the purity of the faith and how deeply he understood its dogmas is also evident from the fact that upon his return from the council [Basily] broke off communication with his bishop Dianius, who subscribed to the ambiguous Arian Creed. Naturally, one might fear that such an action would be considered disobedience and even indignation against the bishop; but jealousy truly did not allow Vasily to assume a false appearance. After the bishop was exposed as unorthodox, he did not find it convenient to live among his brotherhood. Therefore, he retired for a short time to Nazianza, but even from here he admonished his Pontic monks with messages in which he set forth the true teaching of the controversial dogma; The most important work written around this time was a refutation of the apology of Eunomius, this is the best guide for Christians of that time in the dispute with the Arians. That is why Sozomen says that Basil, even during the reign of Constantius, was famous as a zealous defender of Orthodoxy from the followers of Arius. During the reign of Julian 22, Basil, according to the testimony of the same Sozomen, went everywhere, publicly and openly convinced Christians to adhere to their dogmas, not to be defiled by pagan sacrifices and libations, and to impute the honors bestowed from the king into nothing. From these legends of Sozomen about Vasily, it is possible to conclude that Basil, even after resuming his communication with Bishop Dianius, could not live for a long time in his peaceful monastery, although he expected and sought complete peace here. Frequent absences from the monastery were indeed necessary due to the circumstances of that time. Julian, as punishment for the destruction of the pagan Temple of Happiness, imposed a heavy penalty on the Christians of Caesarea and ordered all clergy to be included in the list of the regional army, in which the service was considered the most unprofitable and low 23; In addition, he threatened with an oath that if the Caesarea Christians did not erect a temple, he would not agree to leave their heads on their shoulders. Knowing all this, St. Vasily assured his friends in writing that the apostate’s plans would soon be destroyed, and compared his exaltation to hemlock or wolf’s root and other poisonous plants that do not bloom for long and soon dry up. The more Vasily cared about the spread of monasticism, the more zealously he opposed the plans of both the Arians and Julian, the more hopeful Diania’s successor Eusebius looked at him, especially with new attempts by the Arians under Valens 24 . Despite Basil's desire to spend his life in his secluded desert, in 364 Eusebius ordained Basil as a presbyter and forced him to live at his bishop's house. Vasiliev’s state of mind after this separation from the desert was so restless that he needed consolation from friends. And Gregory of Nazianzus was not slow to console the newly installed presbyter. He wrote to Vasily the following: “And you were captured, like me, included in the list; Both of us were forced to be elevated to the degree of presbyterate, although this was not what we sought, for we can testify about each other more reliably than anyone else that we like the quiet wisdom that is kept at the bottom. But although, perhaps, it would have been better if this had not happened to us, nevertheless, since this happened, we must endure, especially taking into account the time that has loosened the tongues of many heretics; we must endure and not disgrace both the hope of those who have placed their trust in us and our own life” 25. Indeed, Vasily submitted to the calling and devoted all his strength to the work of presbyteral service, especially to preaching the word of God; his Conversations on the Sixth Day, on the Psalms and others refer to this particular time. In the rank of presbyter, Vasily did not leave care for the monks he collected, as can be seen from the instructive letters to them; but besides this, he had many other concerns, for which he now refused even to correspond with his former friends. And at the same time, in his new field, he soon acquired such respect for himself that the archbishop himself, who was not yet quite experienced in church affairs, did not enjoy, since he was elected to the throne of Caesarea from among the catechumens. But barely a year of his presbytery had passed when Bishop Eusebius, who was suspected by the people, envious of Basil's glory, began to oppress and insult him. The cooling of love between the bishop and the presbyter was very noticeable to outsiders. The monks took the side of their abbot and dared to do the most dangerous thing; they plotted to separate from their bishop, cutting off a considerable part of the people from the low and high classes. Wanting to prevent such an indignation, Vasily, on the advice of Gregory the Theologian, fled with him and retired from Caesarea to his peaceful desert 26. The rumor that Emperor Valens was leading Arian bishops with him in order to introduce an evil teaching in Caesarea, and the letters of Gregory, the father of Gregory of Nazianzus, soon, however, disposed Eusebius to reconcile with Basil; the desire for reconciliation was so strong that Eusebius was the first to decide to write a letter of petition and invitation to the offended presbyter. But the peace-loving hermit, having learned about the change of thoughts and disposition of Eusebius, wanted to completely defeat his enemy with love and generosity; on the advice of Gregory, Basil himself came to Caesarea before the episcopal invitation. His return could not have been more opportune and timely, because a crowd of heretics had already attacked the Church of Caesarea and some of them had already appeared and were causing trouble, while others promised to appear, relying heavily on the inexperience of the then primate 27 . Vasily soon let them know how vain their hope was. And in the present case, in the orders and actions of Vasily, zeal for the truth, according to Gregory the Theologian, corresponded to firmness of will and prudence. But what exactly Vasily’s activities consisted of during these five years of his presbytery service is unknown. An indication of this lies only in the following general expressions of Vasiliev’s friend. “Immediately upon learning of the danger,” says Gregory, “Basily sets off with me from Pontus, becomes a voluntary supporter of the truth and devotes himself to the service of the mother of the Church... he is reconciled, gives advice, puts the army in order, destroys the obstacles encountered, stumbling blocks and everything that, relying on, the opponents raised a fight against us. One accepts, the other holds, and the other reflects. For some he is a solid wall and stronghold, for others he is “a hammer that breaks the rock” (Jer. 23:29). From that time on, church rule passed to Vasily, although he occupied second place in the department. For he was a good adviser to the primate, a truthful representative, an interpreter of God’s word, a mentor in affairs, a rod of old age, a support of faith, the most faithful in internal affairs, the most active in external affairs. And in his relationship with Eusebius there was some kind of wonderful agreement and combination of power: one ruled the people, and the other governed. Vasily was likened to a lion tamer, with his art he humbled the ruler, who needed guidance and support, because he still showed some traces of worldly habits and was not established in the spiritual. But there is a lot,” continues Gregory, “and other evidence of Vasily’s care and concern for the Church; These are: Vasily’s courage before the leaders, both in general before everyone and the most powerful in the city, his solutions to disputes, through use turned into law; his intercession for those in need, mostly in spiritual matters, and sometimes in carnal ones; feeding the poor; hospitality; care of virgins; order of prayers (that is, probably, the liturgy known under the name of Basil the Great); decoration of the altar and many other things in which only a truly man of God can be useful to the people” 28. Not in general terms, but in detail, Gregory spoke only about Vasily’s feat of charity during his presbytery during a severe famine. This was in 368. The whole city was exhausted from the drought that had befallen, and there was no help or means to alleviate the evil from anywhere. Vasily himself described this social disaster in vivid colors. Here are his words: “Winter, due to its dryness, did not have its usual phlegm, but shrouded it in ice and dried up all the moisture. Although spring showed warmth, it did not add humidity. Due to severe drought, the earth became cracked, abundant and never-drying springs became scarce, the flows of large rivers dried up so much that small children could cross them on their own feet. In the sown fields, some seeds dried out before germination, while others, having given greenery, wilted pitifully from the heat; therefore, with the onset of the usual days of harvest, one could say contrary to the Gospel (Matthew 9:37): there are many laborers, but the harvest is not small. Farmers, sitting in the fields and folding their hands on their knees (the usual position of mourners), bitterly mourn their wasted labors, look at their young children and begin to sob, fix their gaze on their wives and burst into tears, touch and feel the dry leaves of the sprouted stems and sob loudly” 29 . What is most intolerable in such cases is the insensitivity and insatiability of the rich. They wanted to make a profit from poverty, to reap a harvest from disasters. Vasily at this time was burdened with grief on the occasion of the death of his mother, whose dignity (as he wrote to one bishop) did not see in those remaining; Besides this, he was exhausted by his diminishing strength and was only expecting the inevitable end of his life from hour to hour; with all this, Vasily did not leave his flock without consolation. He gathered into one place those who were exhausted from hunger, some even barely breathing, husbands and wives, babies, elders, all the miserable age, (through the servants) he ordered to put out cauldrons full of vegetables and salty provisions, and with his own hands he distributed bread and stew to most of those who demanded and, moreover, did not disdain to wash the feet of some; he used most of the property left after his mother to treat the hungry; Even the children of the Jews enjoyed his benefits at this time. Following this treat, he spoke a strong and touching Word, in which he argued that it was because the earth had dried up, that love had dried up, and that few took part in church prayers with him, and of those who came to church, many yawned, constantly turned around and watched to see how soon the psalmist would finish his poetry and whether they would soon be freed from church, as from school, and from prayer, as from bondage Since the exhortation to charity was supported by the living example of the preacher, the rich people then opened their granaries and brought food to those who were exhausted from hunger. St. Gregory the Theologian, in his eulogy to Basil, speaks only about his presbyteral labors and concerns related to the Caesarea flock. The letters of Basil himself contain a fairly clear indication of the external relations of the Church of Caesarea, undertaken due to his jealousy and influence; these relations further explain the passage from the Word of praise to Basil, in which it is said that from the time of the reconciliation of Eusebius with Basil, the Church of Caesarea actually passed over to the latter. Here is the information that Vasily conveys about this subject in some of his letters. Even in the rank of presbyterate, his strongest and most sincere desire was to join the Church of those semi-Arians who began to seek an alliance with the Orthodox when they saw that Valens did not tolerate anyone except Arians. He also strongly wanted to unite the Orthodox archpastors, such as Athanasius of Alexandria and Meletius of Antioch, who were separated by mutual misunderstandings and distrust, and to establish a union between the Eastern and Western churches. It is known that during the reign of Valens the Westerners did not provide any assistance to the Easterners in the fight against Arianism, whereas with their more active assistance it would have been more likely to overthrow the Arians or at least weaken their power. For the first purpose, Basil had to either go himself, or send proxies to the council in Lampsacus, where the semi-Arians gathered, to destroy the definition of that Council of Constantinople, which took place in 360, at which it was decided to confess the Son of God, as the semi-Arians wanted, only like the Father according to the Scriptures. Vasily chose the latter; His friend Eustathius and many others went to Lampsacus 30, and they were instructed by a lengthy discussion about faith, which was then written down by cursive writers. There is no information left about what was done during the presbytery to bring about an agreement between the two archpastors. But in relation to the last goal, that is, the admonition of the Western bishops, circumstances worked out so favorably for Basil that his friends, three bishops, were instructed to enter into communication with the then Pope Liverius and ask for help from the Western Emperor. As a result, communication with the Roman Church was received and joyfully opened at the Council of Tyana, which took place under the chairmanship of Eusebius of Caesarea. But the actions of this council have not reached us. Election of Basil as Bishop of Caesarea. – The state of the Cappadocian churches at this time. – Reconciliation with Vasily of his uncle and other bishops. – Letters from Vasily to the bishops. - Strengthening Arianism. – Letters of petition for help to Western bishops. – Vasily’s explanation with Modest. – The arrival of Emperor Valens in Caesarea and Basil’s conversation with him in the altar. - The sentence to expel Basil from Caesarea and the reversal of this sentence. - New Aryan attacks on Cappadocian churches under the governor Demosthenes. – Vasily’s strong request to Western bishops for assistance from the Eastern Church in the fight against the Arians. – Reasons why the requested assistance was not provided Towards the end of his six-year presbytery service, Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, died, and Basil himself suffered such a serious illness that he expected his own imminent death. Therefore, he called his friend Gregory to him only in order to convey to him his last will. But, beyond all expectation, as soon as the painful attacks began to pass, the bishops, having gathered in Caesarea on the occasion of the death of Eusebius, gave the sick Basil full control of the Caesarea church. This was done mainly at the insistence of the Bishop of Nazianza, Father Gregory. However, only envious people and the most vicious citizens reluctantly agreed to the election of Vasily as bishop. The reason why they did not express consent did not deserve respect at all, especially since, by elevating Vasily to the rank of bishop, it was only necessary to make him de jure what he had long been de facto. They pointed to Vasily’s painful condition. “But you are not choosing a fighter, but a teacher,” Father Gregory the Theologian answered this to the bishops with force. “I am sure that there are others worthy of presiding over you, but I cannot prefer anyone you respect to our most beloved son, Presbyter Vasily, a husband (I say this before God as a witness), who in life and in teaching has achieved purity more than any other; he is fully capable of resisting the current times and the prevailing idle talk of heretics” 31. And the same Gregory wrote to Eusebius of Samosata: “If we had been honored to grant the episcopal see to Basil, I know that we would have acquired great boldness before God and would have done a great good deed to the people who invited us.” 32 Indeed, the very events soon made it clear to everyone that the high service granted to Vasily was not a matter of human mercy, but of God’s providence for the Church. “Honored to the chairmanship, Vasily not only did nothing to disgrace either his wisdom or the hopes of those entrusted to his service, but he also turned out, as Gregory the Theologian put it, to constantly surpass himself, because he received a wide range of actions and, in power, found more subjects where to show himself. To be not bad,” continues Gregory, “or no matter how good or bad he is, he considered a virtue for a private person, but in a leader and primate, according to his judgment, that is already a vice, if he does not constantly turn out to be the best and best and if he does not commensurate his virtues with the rank and highness of the throne” 33 . In the letters written by Vasily during his episcopate, he often and in strong terms mentioned the many affairs and worries that burdened him until his strength weakened. “I have so many things to do,” he says, for example, in one letter, “and they are so extraordinary that it would be necessary to keep a daily history, which... I would have compiled if the continuity of events had not distracted me from this intention” 34. In another letter, he also writes: “The number of affairs surrounding me is great, my thoughts are engulfed in thousands of worries, and only a short-term rest can I get from my constant idle time” 35. But only fragmentary information has reached us about the measures that he used to pacify the bishops who were dissatisfied with him, to stop the unrest between the Caesarian clergy and to counter the insidious plans of the Arians, who attacked both his metropolis and other Eastern churches. From the presentation of this preserved information, the historical life of Basil the Great as Archbishop of Caesarea is composed. The churches that depended on the metropolis of Caesarea, according to Basil himself, at the beginning of his bishopric were in almost the same poor condition as his body 36 . Unkind people caused him a lot of grief and even caused a division in the Church of Cappadocia immediately as soon as the bishops who were more favorable to Basil, namely Eusebius of Samosata and Gregory of Nazianza, left Caesarea. A rumor unfavorable for Vasily quickly spread to distant countries, and harmful consequences threatened not just one or two, but entire cities and nations 37 . Even some uncle of Vasily, Bishop Gregory, did not want to have contact with him. From Bishop Vosporius, Vasily received news that some accused him of excessive severity towards those who deviated from Orthodoxy and slandered him, as if he, while still a priest, cursed his bishop Diania because the latter had carelessly signed a heretical confession of faith. This news worried Vasily so much that the next night he could not sleep, in his own words, not for a minute. Other enemies of Vasily called him, on the contrary, too lenient towards the wrong-minded, because he was getting close to the Semi-Arians. The Archbishop of Caesarea had fifty chorebishops under his command. According to the church rules of that time, they had to appoint clergy to vacant vacancies with the consent of the archbishop. But they took upon themselves all the powers and did not even inform the new archpastor about who they were elevating to church degrees; allowed presbyters and deacons to classify unworthy people into the clergy - due to passion, relationship or some kind of friendly connections. There were also chorebishops who took money from those being ordained and called it sinless, because they took money not before ordination, but after ordination 38 . To reconcile with dissatisfied bishops, Basil, as Gregory the Theologian wrote in his laudatory Homily to Basil, did not resort to servility or cunning; he skillfully knew how to dissolve hardness with compliance. When it was impossible to enter into a personal explanation with slanderers, he reflected rumors and gossip unfavorable to himself by letters either to those persons who trusted the absurd rumor, or to those who spread it. What was especially regrettable for Vasily was the dislike of his uncle, Bishop Gregory, a man who was well-intentioned in all other respects 39 . Vasily’s enemies looked at this disagreement with pleasure and said: “If his close relative does not want to have contact with him, then undoubtedly there are sufficient reasons for this.” Vasily's brother Gregory of Nyssa, wanting to ease his grief, resorted to a trick, which, as it turned out, was very unprofitable and dangerous for Vasily; namely: Gregory himself first delivered him a fictitious letter supposedly from their common uncle, a letter in which a strong desire for reconciliation was expressed; then the servant also sent two forged letters, and in these letters the imaginary uncle also expressed his readiness for reconciliation with his nephew. Vasily accepted the first letter with extreme joy, showed it to many of his friends and thanked God for the joyful end of hostility. The news of this was also conveyed to Vasily’s uncle; but, as one would expect, he began to insist that he had never written a letter to Vasily. Vasily was brought to great shame by this; Because of the reproaches that he had to hear on this occasion, he even wanted the ground to give way under him. And about other letters it was also discovered late that they were forged. In such circumstances, Vasily issued a rather sharp written reprimand to his brother, and his uncle convincingly asked to appoint a place and time for a personal explanation on this matter 40. Bishop Vosporius also needed to be brought to his senses; St. In a letter to him, Vasily revealed his relationship to his predecessor Dianus and demanded from the slanderers evidence of where, when and in front of whom he cursed his bishop. And to the nuns who were tempted by Basil’s communication with the Semi-Arians, he, through a letter, revealed and explained the reasons why people deserve some leniency who, with the fathers of the Council of Antioch (269), which was against Paul of Samosata, do not agree to accept the expression “consubstantial.” After the meeting with Vasily, the uncle really made peace with him, and after the uncle, other ill-wishers began to get closer to Vasily, apologized and, as much as they had shown hostility before, were now so much disposed and voluntarily yielded to his reason, recognized his virtue as unattainable for themselves, and resistance to him or deviation from him was considered alienation from God 41. At the same time, probably, those bishops who were at first indignant and slandered Gregory, Bishop of Nazianza, for his favor towards Basil, apologized to Gregory, fell at his knees and, putting aside hatred, recognized him as their patriarch, legislator and judge 42. In relations with the chorebishops of St. At the very beginning of his bishopric, Vasily showed such firmness that is rarely seen in others even at the end of his life. Convinced of the veracity of the rumors regarding simony, he wrote a district message and in it he decisively threatened the chorebishops with removal from the altars if they did anything similar after this district message. In order to prevent the self-will of priests who accepted unworthy people into their clergy, Vasily demanded from all chorebishops that they send him lists of all rural clergy with the meaning of who assigned them and what type of life, and he himself kept a similar list so that it would be impossible for anyone to assign themselves to the clergy whenever they wanted. In addition, he ordered a thorough investigation of all previously accepted clergymen, whether they are worthy of clerical positions, and those unworthy should be excluded from the number of laity; He especially forbade the inclusion of anyone in the clergy without his approval. We also know that Vasily confirmed the previous church rules that persons of clergy, widowed or unmarried, should not keep strange women (the so-called sinizakts) under any pretext. Such measures of the archpastor's concern for the improvement of the clergy raised the Caesarea clergy to such an extent that neighboring and distant cities asked Basil for clergy to improve their Churches and to appoint them to episcopal sees. Thus, Bishop Innocent asked for a presbyter from the Caesarea clergy 43 . The citizens of Satal asked Vasily for a bishop, and he gave his relative, despite the tears of his parishioners and his elderly mother 44 . And St. Amphilochius of Iconium from the Caesarea clergy asked for a candidate for the episcopal see in Isauria 45 . The disasters that the Orthodox suffered from the Arians also caused a lot of grief to Basil, although they concerned not so much his metropolis as the other Eastern churches. “Others,” says Gregory the Theologian, “look only at what is under their feet, they only calculate how their own will be safe, but they do not extend further and cannot invent or carry out anything great and bold. But Vasily, although he observed moderation in everything else, did not know moderation in this. Noticing that the heritage of God was brought into a bad position, carried away into thousands of opinions and errors, he did not recognize it as sufficient to mourn the disaster in silence and only raise his hands to God; on the contrary, he made it his duty to bring something in and provide some kind of help; he gave neither sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids, and with his worries he exhausted the remains of his flesh until he found a cure for evil” 46. In such expressions, St. Gregory points out his friend’s intense concern for the overthrow of Arianism outside his metropolis. The correspondence of Basil the Great with Eastern and Western bishops on this matter that has reached us further clarifies the deep meaning of Gregory’s expressions. According to the testimony of these letters, this is the bad position of the Orthodox in the East: “The Arians have become so strong,” says Vasily, “that the leaders of the right teaching in all dioceses are forcibly deprived of their churches due to slander, and everywhere, from the borders of Illyricum to the Thebaid, a harmful heresy is rampant. And the presidency is clearly offered as a reward for wickedness, so that whoever uttered more severe blasphemies was elected with preference to the bishopric among the people; Priestly dignity has disappeared, there are few people who shepherd the flock of the Lord wisely; ambitious people constantly spent what they saved for the poor on their own pleasures and on giving gifts” 47 . The then Emperor Valens, in the words of Gregory the Theologian 48, gnashed his teeth against the Church, taking on the image of a lion, roared like a lion and was unapproachable for many. Already the first experiences of courage of this king, the patron of the Arians, were: exile, descriptions of property, open and secret advice, coercion due to lack of conviction; burning of elders at sea, staining a bloodless sacrifice with the blood of people and insulting the modesty of virgins. In 371 49, an Arian bishop, famous for his learning, Evippius, appeared in Caesarea itself; they feared the arrival of bishops from Armenia and Cilicia who were still of the same mind with him. Vasily's written communications with friends at the court of Emperor Valens were unsuccessful; the courtiers only answered that we must thank God and for the fact that the state of Orthodoxy is no worse. So, St. Basil came up with the following, according to Gregory, very saving means: “As much as he could, going deep into himself and shutting himself up with the Spirit, he strains all the powers of the human mind, rereads all the depths of Scripture, makes objections to heretics, fights and argues with them, reflects their excessive impudence; he goes to some, sends to others, calls others to himself, gives advice, denounces, prohibits, threatens, reproaches, defends nations, cities, private people; those who were at hand, he overthrows nearby with a striking weapon, and those who were far away, he strikes with arrows of letters, in general he comes up with all kinds of salvation and heals everyone” 50. One of these types of salvation was relations with the Western churches, which Vasily began while still in the rank of presbyter and which even then he considered a reliable way to heal evil. Not long before, the Western bishops managed to depose the strong defenders of Arianism, the Hungarian bishops Valens and Ursacius and Auxentius of Milan. Therefore, one could almost confidently argue that if only the Westerners wanted, they could win over their emperor in the East in favor of Orthodoxy and through him influence Valens, who from day to day intensified the persecution against the Orthodox. It was best for St. to persuade the Westerners to convince their emperor to patronize the Orthodox. Athanasius the Great, who already enjoyed special respect in the West. And Vasily most convincingly asked St. Afanasy to take over this matter. When most of the eastern bishops expressed consent to relations with the Roman Church, Basil recognized as the best, in addition to the letter of St. Athanasius and write a letter on my own behalf to Pope Damasus; in this letter, he earnestly asked the pope to send experienced and meek people to the East to admonish the stubborn heretics 51 . But the embassy's result did not meet expectations. The Pope did not even deign to answer Vasily. Instead of the required bishops, only Deacon Savin was sent with private letters to Basil from the bishops of Illyria, Italy and Gaul and with the news of the determination of the former Roman Council 52 shortly before, which rejected all other creeds except the Orthodox Nicene. Decency required that someone sent from the general meeting deliver the second letters to the Western bishops, and Basil, probably on the instructions of St. Meletius of Antioch, on behalf of thirty-two eastern bishops, wrote a touching letter to the western bishops in general, and not to the pope; in this letter, he urgently asked his Western brethren to send several trusted people to draw up a common Council with them, which could reconcile those who differ in their views by the very majority of votes. The message said: “We ask you to be aroused by zeal for the truth and compassion for us; We ask you to put on the wombs of generosity, put aside all procrastination, take upon yourself the labor of love and not take into account either the distance of the journey, or domestic idleness, or other human obstacles, while the trace of the ancient dispensation still remains. Before complete ruin befalls the Church, hurry to us, hurry to her, to her; We ask you, most sincere brothers. May your brotherly compassion move towards us, may tears of compassion be shed. Do not neglect the fact that half the universe is immersed in error." 53 But this letter did not please the Westerners very much, as St. Vasily, lovers of accuracy, and the next year it was sent back without any execution or response 54. Although Pope Damas, according to the blessed one. Theodoret, was adorned with all kinds of virtues, St. Vasily was not far from the idea of ​​attributing the reason for the failure of the embassy to the arrogance of the Bishop of Rome, and after this he no longer considered it necessary to repeat his request to him. “What is needed,” said Vasily, “has already been written about before, but writing unnecessary things is completely in vain. Wouldn’t it be funny to worry about the same thing several times?” Therefore, he only advised Westerners to accept indiscriminately into fellowship all those who come from the East and not to trust anyone who, under the guise of Orthodoxy, writes his own statement of faith 55. But although the extensive correspondence of St. Vasily with the Western bishops did not fully achieve the desired goal, but his own example of firmness in the confession of faith did not remain without imitation and gained him more and more friends among the zealots of Orthodoxy. In 371, the first dignitary of the empire, Prefect Modestus, was sent to Caesarea solely to induce Basil to communicate with the Arians, otherwise expel him from Caesarea; but all the calculated threats and flattering promises did not in the least shake the firmness of the Bishop of Caesarea. This explanation of Vasily with the prefect is such a feat of faith, for which others, invested even with the highest civil power, in similar cases lacked willpower and unyielding boldness. So, later, when the military leader Gaina asked Emperor Arcadius for a special church in Constantinople for the Arians of the same faith, Arcadius was ready out of cowardice to yield to this demand; only the advice and insistence of Chrysostom saved the emperor from humiliation 56. But also St. Chrysostom could have been inspired in this matter of holy jealousy, by the way, by the legend of Vasily 57. In the present case, Vasily needed to have even greater willpower and inflexibility of character. The closest dignitary of the sovereign demanded a quick answer from him with lion's fury, with the assurance that after him the emperor himself would appear with the same goal of bending Vasily to the side of the Arians. How did Vasily respond to the prefect’s demand? Here is the legend about this from Vasiliev’s friend Gregory the Theologian 58: ““What happened to you, Vasily,” said the prefect, not even deigning to call him a bishop, “how did you dare to rebel against the autocrat and are you the most stubborn of all? Why don’t you stick to the same faith with the tsar, when all the others bowed down and gave in?” “I cannot bow to the creature,” answers Vasily, “being myself a creature of God.” “But what do you think we are?” asked the ruler. “Why is it not important for you to join us and be in communication with us?” “You are rulers,” answered Vasily, “and I don’t deny that they are famous rulers, but they are not higher than God. And it is important for me to be in communication with you; however, it is no more important than being in communication with any other of your subordinates, because Christianity is determined not by the dignity of persons, but by faith." Then the ruler became agitated, became more incensed with anger, stood up from his place and began to speak to Vasily more sternly than before. “Well,” he said, “aren’t you afraid of power?” - “No, no matter what happens and I will not tolerate anything.” - “Even if you suffered confiscation of property, exile, torture, death?” - “If you can, threaten others; but this doesn’t bother us at all.” - “How is this and why?” - asked the ruler. “Because,” the saint answers, “he who has nothing is not subject to a description of his property; Will you really demand from me this piece of hair and the few books that contain all my belongings? I don’t know about exile, because I’m not connected to any place; and what I live on now is not mine, and everything wherever they throw me will be mine. It’s better to say, everywhere is God’s place, wherever “I am a stranger and a stranger” (Ps. 39:13). Death is beneficial for me: it will sooner send me to God, for Whom I live and work, for Whom most of myself I have already died and to Whom I have been hastening for a long time." - The ruler, amazed by these words, said: “So no one has ever spoken before me with such freedom." - “Perhaps,” answered Vasily, “you have not met with the bishop: otherwise, without a doubt, having to do with on a similar subject, you would have heard the same words. For in everything else, O ruler, we are modest and humbler than anyone else, this commandment commands us, and not only in front of such power, but even in front of anyone else, we do not raise our eyebrows; and when the matter is about God and they dare to rebel against Him, then, despising everything, we mean God alone. Fire, sword, wild beasts and flesh-tearing claws will rather be a pleasure for us than cause horror. In addition to this, insult, threaten, do whatever you want, use your power. Let the king hear about this, that you will not subjugate us and force us to join in wickedness, no matter what horrors you threaten.” “The Emperor wants little,” were the penultimate words of Prefect Modest 59; “he only wants the word consubstantial to be excluded from the symbol.” But the saint decisively said: “For the Tsar to become a member of the Church is very important, but I will not agree to allow even one word to be excluded or added to the statement of faith, or even to change the order of what is written.”60 Soon Valens himself arrived in Caesarea. Modest reported to him: “We, king, have been defeated by the rector of this church: this is a man who is above threats, stronger than arguments, stronger than convictions” 61. The emperor did not seem to want to believe, and in order to attract Vasily to his side, he also sent to him many of the courtiers, and people of military rank, and acting judges, and female guards, and his chief cook, Demosthenes, who threatened to kill the archpastor with his chef’s knife. But all these ambassadors had to admit that the archpastor’s firmness was irresistible. After this, the tsar showed so much prudence that he did not agree to use open force against the archbishop, despite the advice of the courtiers, and was only looking for an opportunity to talk with Vasily personally. The feast of Epiphany arrived, on which Vasily performed divine services in his cathedral church. There were no Arian churches in Caesarea. Therefore, the emperor and his retinue entered the Orthodox Church and, by joining the people, showed the appearance of some unity with them in the faith. When Valens’ ears were struck like thunder by the chanting that began, when Valens saw a sea of ​​people, and in and near the altar there was not so much human as angelic splendor, then he fell into exhaustion; and his gaze and soul were covered with darkness and became dizzy. At the same time, he himself brought gifts to the Divine meal, probably golden vessels, but none of the clergy touched them, because they did not know whether the archpastor would accept them from the heretic. The king was so embarrassed that he could not stand firmly on his feet, and if one of the altar servants had not supported him, the sovereign would have fallen, worthy of tears. With such embarrassment, he became completely unable to enter into a conversation with Vasily and, thus, left the church with nothing. To reward the first failure, it was necessary to visit the Orthodox Church another time. At this time, Vasily did not serve, invited the emperor to the altar, where he himself stood, and spoke to him a lot about Divine dogmas 62. The king listened with satisfied attention to the words of the saint and praised him for his wisdom and splendor in his priestly service. Only the royal cook Demosthenes, who was here among other dignitaries, reproached the ecumenical teacher for allegedly allowing some kind of barbarism in his speech. At first, Vasily responded to such a remark only with a smile, and then, when he noticed that Demosthenes began to get angry and threaten him with something, he said: “Your business is to take care of seasonings for stews, and not to establish Divine dogmas” 63. During this meeting, Valens not only did not show any dislike for Vasily, but, according to Theodorit, he was even delighted with Vasily’s conversation. And Gregory the Theologian, who was present at this conversation, testified that this conversation between Vasily and Valens stopped most of the insults that had hitherto been inflicted on the Orthodox. But firmness and constancy were not the virtues of this sovereign. At the insistence of the Arian bishops and his courtiers, Valens, after some time, decided to sign the verdict on the expulsion of Basil. The next night was already appointed for the execution of the royal decree, the chariot was prepared, the enemies applauded, the pious were despondent, and Vasily’s friends looked with deep sorrow at his calm preparations for departure 64. Condemned to exile, according to Gregory the Theologian, he only took care of this by saying to one of his guides: “Take your notebook and follow me.” At this very time, the only son of the emperor, Galatus, fell ill with a fever, and so severely that neither medicine nor the prayers of the Arian bishops helped. It was impossible not to recognize in this incident the actions of the punishing hand of God. The emperor, although with shame, was forced to invite Vasily to his place. Vasily came without making excuses, as another would have done, and immediately with his arrival the fever in the patient decreased. The saint also promised a complete recovery, but only if the sick person was baptized by the Orthodox. But the condition was not accepted, and the baby died. This event had such a strong effect on Valens that he immediately revoked the banishment sentence. Soon a serious illness befell Prefect Modest. But this one with great confidence resorted to the prayers of the saint and received complete healing. The rumor about these events increased the glory of the archpastor and strengthened the affection towards him not only of the flock, but also of those bishops who had previously not agreed to his proposed relationship with the Western Church. Based on these actions of Vasily, one can judge how much truth there is in the following words of Vasily about himself: “I have been placed in front of everyone; like underwater stones emerging from the sea, I take upon myself the fury of heretical waves, and they, breaking against me, do not flood what is behind me” 65. Only four years later the Arians decided to make a new attack on the churches of the Caesarea Metropolis. But even at this time, the vigilant archpastor correctly foresaw the approaching danger and took all possible measures to repel it (see letter to the Chalcidians in 375). “The fire that devastated most of the East,” Vasily now wrote in one letter, “is already moving towards our borders and, having burned everything in the surrounding area, is intensifying to touch the churches of Cappadocia, which until now were forced to cry only by the smoke reaching from neighboring countries” 66. The following events soon provided justification for these words of apprehension. In the first years of Basil's bishopric in Cappadocia, there was a ruler named Elijah, who was a true guardian of truth, was accessible to the offended, terrible to criminals of the law, both poor and rich, and, most importantly, returned to Christianity its ancient honor (lost under Julian the Apostate). But according to the slander of the Arians, Valens gave the highest civil positions only to the enemies of Orthodoxy. Therefore, this ruler was soon deprived of his post, and Demosthenes was appointed in his place, a man about whom Basil considered it fair to use the following expressions in one letter: “A governor has arrived to us - this is the first and greatest evil of all evils for Cappadocia.” He had no zeal for matters of faith and did not engage in them, but he loved heretics as much as he hated the Orthodox. In the middle of winter, he gathered a host of godless people in Galatia and deposed the Orthodox Bishop Ipsias there, and installed Ekdikias in his place. Upon the complaint of one insignificant person, he ordered Gregory of Nyssa to be brought into his custody and, despite the requests for him from the entire Caesarea church, he appointed in his place, as bishop of Nyssa, a slave, bought for several obols, similar in his morals and faith to Anisius and Ekdikiy, whom Basil calls depraved and vile. Breathing rage and murder, Demosthenes, upon returning from Galatia, assigned all the clergy of the Church to the department of the city duma. In Sebastia, he held meetings for several days, examining the citizens, and to those who were in communication with the Orthodox, he entrusted the correction of more burdensome than profitable positions, and he distinguished the adherents of Eustathius of Sebastia (a semi-Aryan, as we will see later) with the highest honors. Under his influence, the affairs of Nikopol were also brought into disarray 67 . After the death of Theodotus, Metropolitan of Armenia, Basil made every effort to move Euphronius, Bishop of Colonia, to the see of Nikopol (in Armenia). But, as the clergy and citizens of the colonies reluctantly parted with their beloved bishop, the Arian bishops managed to take possession of Nicopolis and ordained there the pitiful Fronto, a priest of Nicopolis, who insulted the Orthodox with such cruelty and violence that the latter, especially the priests, had to seek salvation for themselves in flight 68 . Around this time, the Arians burned several monasteries of Orthodox monks. In such circumstances, Vasily considered it his duty to console the people of Nicopolis and wrote several letters to his friends who served at the court of Valens, asking that through their intercession they would curb such a frantic person as Fronto. But some of the courtiers replied 69 that Valens, being in Antioch, intended to summon Basil himself to Antioch and here he was going to hand him over to his heretical accusers. And it was probably at this time that the cane of the emperor, who was already preparing to sign the sentence to Vasily, was crushed, as Saint Ephrem tells about in his Eulogy to Vasily. Having learned about these intrigues and about the disasters of other Orthodox churches that were owned by the Arians, 70 Vasily, in consultation with his friend, Bishop Eusebius of Samosata, decided to again ask the Western bishops for assistance in the fight against the Arians. In two letters written on this occasion, St. Vasily so vividly and touchingly revealed to the eyes of the Western hierarchs the disasters to which their fellow believers in the East were subjected during the thirteen-year reign of Valens that it is impossible not to quote his true words. “Our suffering,” he wrote, “has reached the borders of the country you inhabit, most honorable brethren. When one oud suffers, all ouds suffer with it. Therefore, of course, it is fitting for your compassion to grieve with us, who have suffered for such a long time. Why is there no letter of comfort from you, no fraternal visit, nothing that we are entitled to according to the rules of love? Persecution has befallen us, and the persecution is the most severe. For they persecute the shepherds, so that the flock may be scattered. And the most painful thing is that the embittered do not accept suffering with confidence in martyrdom, and the people do not honor the ascetics along with the martyrs, because the persecutors bear the name of Christians. One fault now that is severely punished is the exact observance of fatherly traditions. For this, the pious are expelled from their fatherland and resettled in the desert. Unrighteous judges do not respect either gray hair, or deeds of piety, or life spent from youth to old age according to the Gospel. While not a single villain is condemned without denunciation, bishops are taken one by one for slander and punished without any proof of the accusations leveled against them. And some of them did not know the accusers, did not see the trial, were not even slandered at first, but were forcibly abducted at night, exiled to distant countries and brought to death by the hardships that they must endure in the desert. And this was followed by: the flight of the presbyters, the flight of the deacons, the dissipation of the entire clergy, popular lamentations, incessant tears both at home and in society. The voice of those crying is heard in the city, in villages, along the roads and in the desert. Our holidays have turned into tears; the houses of prayer are closed, there is no spiritual service performed on the altars, there are no Christian meetings, no teachers preside, there are no saving teachings, no solemn or all-night hymns. The people, leaving their houses of worship, gather in deserted places. Women, children, elders and other infirm people suffer in the open air during heavy rains or in the summer heat of the sun, and they endure all this because they do not want to partake of the evil Aryan leaven. Let it be proof of our suffering for you that we cannot go anywhere. For if anyone leaves his church even for the shortest time, he will betray his people to evil people, such as the Arians. We even fear that the growing evil, like a flame spreading through a flammable substance, will eventually touch a distant region; the evil of heresy is devastating, there is a danger that it will creep into the healthy part of the countries close to you. The ears of simple-minded people are deceived; they are already accustomed to heretical evil. The children of the Church are fed with ungodly teachings. In the power of heretics, baptism, accompanying those departing, visiting the sick, consoling the sorrowful, helping the oppressed, all kinds of benefits, communion of the Mysteries. All this, being accomplished by them, becomes for the people a knot of unanimity with the heretics. Therefore, after some time, even if freedom had come, there is no longer any hope of returning those contained in long-term deception to the knowledge of the truth. And before we appealed to your love for help and compassion for us; but, of course, because the penalty was not fulfilled, you were not allowed to rise to our aid. We strive most of all, so that through your reverence our predicament becomes known to the Most Powerful One in the countries you inhabit. If this is inconvenient, then let some of you come to visit and console the mourning and see with your own eyes the disasters of the East, about which it is impossible to acquire information through hearing, because there is not a word that would clearly depict our situation to you” 71. The response letters of Western bishops have not reached us; at least, what is known is that these letters were comforting to Vasily and filled his heart with joy 72 . It is likely that the Westerners promised to send someone to encourage and console the Eastern Churches, and if they did not fulfill this, it was because the Gothic invasion of the empire prevented the sending of bishops 73 . But the following year, Presbyter Dorotheos, who was most often sent with letters to the West, informed Basil that Pope Damasus, in a conversation with him, ranked Saints Meletius of Antioch and Eusebius of Samosata among the followers of Arius. After this, nothing good could be expected from relations with the West. Indeed, these were extremely careless words. If nothing else confirmed the Orthodoxy of Meletius and Eusebius, say, together with Basil, then the attacks of the Arians on them alone could serve as solid proof of their rightness. From a letter to St. Basil to the Italian and Gallic bishops, it is clear that before he explained their slowness in assisting their brothers in the East by the ways of Providence. Probably because the punishment was not fulfilled, he wrote, they were not allowed to rise to the rescue. But in a friendly letter to Eusebius, written around this time, he reasoned somewhat differently. Even earlier, he foresaw the futility of recent relations with the West. For when Presbyter Sanctissimus asked him for letters to his compatriots, Vasily refused for a while. And he wrote to Eusebius: “It occurs to me to say in the words of Diomedes: “It is better for you not to ask, because, they say, he is an arrogant man.” If the Lord has mercy on us, then what else should we desire beyond this? And if the wrath of God remains on us, then what help will Western pride be to us? They don’t know the matter and don’t want to know it. I myself would like to write not in the form of a general message to their supreme one and not about church affairs. but in general about the fact that we should not attack people oppressed by temptations, and recognize pride as a virtue, this sin, which alone can make us enemies of God” 74. The latest news from Rome, of course, confirmed St. Vasily in this opinion about the pope. Thus, even in the 4th century, the eastern archpastors had reason to complain about the arrogance of the popes. Only four months before his death, St. Vasily could console himself with the firm hope that the lot of the Orthodox would improve. One can think so on the basis of his last letter to Eusebius of Samosata, who was in captivity; From this letter it is clear that after the death of Emperor Valens, he hoped for the speedy return of this confessor to his diocese. Without a doubt, it was very bitter and regrettable for Vasily to see such lack of compassion of Western bishops towards their fellow believers. But Vasily’s sorrows and exploits were not limited to this; The division of Cappadocia by civil government into two provinces (in 371) and the treachery of his friend Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, brought the Saint of Caesarea a lot of sorrows, worries and labors. Consequences of the division of Cappadocia into two regions. – Attitude towards Basil of Tian by Bishop Anthimus. – Multiplication of dioceses and reconciliation with Anthimus. – Basil’s defense of Eustathius of Sebastia; the treachery of Eustathius; mediation of Eusebius of Samosata in his reconciliation with Basil. – Eustathius’s slander against Vasily. – Vasily’s letters in response to them. – Vasily’s illness and death The news of the division of Cappadocia reached the archbishop at a time when he was absent to survey the diocese and to ordain his brother Gregory as Bishop of Nyssa. The despondency into which the Caesareans fell was so great that, according to Basil, Simonides or Aeschylus were needed to depict the greatness of the disaster. Podand, which was appointed the main city of the newly discovered region, was nothing more than a pitted abyss breathing noxious air. Some were taken here as captives, and this is most of the people famous in the city [Caesarea]; others, in order to get rid of an unpleasant relocation, ran away with their entire family and wandered around villages or completely unknown places, and there were a third of these; Thus, only a third part remained in the city, but those who remained, unable to bear the separation from loved ones and grieving over the transformation of the city into a complete desert, renounced life itself. At night there was no lighting here, the schools were closed, and meetings, speeches and gatherings of learned people in the square ceased. All that was heard was the voice of those who declared a lawsuit, were subjected to penalties and were sentenced to punishment with scourges. Deeply sympathizing with the misfortune of his compatriots, informed by them, Vasily asked in writing people close to the emperor to report to him about the misfortunes of the Caesarea citizens and ask him to cancel his order. But respect for the intercession of the archbishop was shown only in the fact that instead of Podand, the administration was transferred to Tiana. With this, new troubles opened up for Vasily. To concerns about the consolation of Christians, it was necessary to add efforts to ensure that during the disaster that befell Caesarea, the metropolis of Caesarea remained undivided. Bishop Anthimus of Tian wanted to form a special administrative district and become a metropolitan. The bishops, as soon as they began to be called belonging to another region, already thought that they had become foreign and foreign to Vasily, and did not even want to know him, as if they had never made acquaintance and had not spoken a single word with him 75 . The true reason for such alienation, writes St. Gregory the Theologian, was that they did not agree with him in his discussion of faith, and if they agreed, then out of necessity, forced by the multitude (majority); besides this, what was most painful for them (although most ashamed to admit) was that Vasily far exceeded them in fame 76 . The new Metropolitan of Tian, ​​carried away by the lust for power, was no stranger to greed: he distracted from the congress of councils, embezzled income, especially valued income from St. Orestes (whose relics rested in Tiana). Spiritual work, salvation of the soul, work of faith - all this served for him as a cover for insatiability. St. Basil at the same time, according to Gregory the Theologian, was also in difficulty “due to some sophistry and the usual inquisitiveness of those prevailing” 77 . Many, even those around him, managed their affairs through him and fanned the spark of revenge. However, he, let’s also say in the words of St. Gregory the Theologian, came up with a powerful means to stop evil, and used the discord itself to grow the Church and gave the best turn to what happened, namely: he increased the number of bishops in the fatherland. From this, according to the court of Gregory the Theologian, who knew contemporary circumstances very well, three main benefits arose: greater care was taken for souls, each city was given its own rights, and thus hostility was stopped. Reasoning higher than humanly, St. At this very time, Vasily ordained his friend Gregory the Theologian (against his will) as bishop of the town of Sashima, which was located on the border of two metropolises. Although Gregory submitted to this election, others did not cease to condemn Vasily for this dedication, so that after his ordination, the Bishop of Sasim became tired, listening to reproaches to his friend and defending him before people who knew about their mutual relations 78 . Thus, having learned from rumors that Gregory was grieving over his appointment to Sasima, Anthimus, Bishop of Tyana, came to Nazians with some bishops in order to win Gregory to his side. After much inquiring about many things (about parishes, about the Sasima swamps, about ordination), Anthimus caressed, begged, threatened, and asserted his rights, condemned, praised, and with effort proved that the Christians of Sasima and Nazianza should join the new Metropolis of Tyana. But his plans remained without any success. St. Gregory convinced Anthimus to seek reconciliation with Basil, and Basil appointed a time and place 79 for a Council on this matter. Thanks to this mediation, after six months, disagreements between the clergy of the first and second Cappadocia were stopped. In the last years of his life, St. Vasily endured a lot and suffered even more from the slander that his treacherous friend Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, spread about him. As the founder of many monasteries among the Armenians, Paphlogonians and inhabitants of the Pontic 80, Eustathius predisposed many in his favor by the external severity of his life (he wore rough clothes, a belt and shoes made of raw leather). Therefore, Vasily considered him a well-intentioned, even pious man, despite the fact that many distracted him from getting to know him and doubted the purity of his faith. More than once Vasily and Eustathius had debates regarding dogmas, 81 but the end of the disputes led to the conviction that even in the smallest things they did not disagree with each other, that Eustathius also adhered to the right faith. Therefore, jealous of the mutual peace of the bishops, St. Vasily defended him before those who ranked him among the Semi-Arians, especially before the Metropolitan of Armenia Theodotus. This defense cost Vasily dearly: on this occasion he himself was suspected of non-Orthodoxy and, while he was in Nikopol, was not allowed to participate in general evening and morning prayers. Meanwhile, Eustathius, in his absence, assured his students that he did not agree with him on anything. When Vasily was informed about this, he did not want to believe it and, to expose the infidelity of such rumors, pointed to the confession of the Orthodox faith 82, which Eustathius signed in the presence of Fronto, the chorebishop of the North and some other clergy. Some time after this, another Council was convened 83, at which neighboring bishops were supposed to enter into communion with Eustathius as an Orthodox Christian. All the invited bishops, when necessary, came to the Council with joy and zeal. But the one for whom and because of whom the Council was convened did not appear to him even after the second embassy, ​​but only sent a letter to Vasily, in which nothing was said about the conditions of communication with Orthodox bishops established before the Council. The messengers, however, reported that Eustathius’ accomplices did not allow him to go to the Council. In such circumstances, St. Vasily, the chairman of the Council, lost heart and, ashamed, did not know what to answer to those who asked. However, despite such a sad ending to the Council, one could still think that Eustathius was not far from communicating with the Orthodox and that in the present case he was kept from participating in the Council only by his disciples. Therefore St. Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, still tried to reconcile Eustathius with Basil, and at the same time again offered Eustathius simple and clear questions about faith. But the answer was not direct, but ambiguous, with the clear intention of rejecting the proposal. Vasily, according to his own assurance, wanted peace so much that he would gladly be ready to give his life, just to extinguish the flame of hatred, but from the evasiveness of Evstafiev’s answer he saw that there could be no firm hope for legal communication with such a person. Indeed, Eustathius in Cilicia, for some Gelasius, soon wrote such a confession of faith, which would have been fitting for only Arius and his closest disciples to write. At the council in Ancyra, Eustathius signed a curse on the dogma of consubstantiality and became the leader of the Doukhobor heresy 84. Around this time, he wrote a letter to Vasily himself, which contained a direct refusal to communicate with him because Vasily was in correspondence with the heretic Apollinaris and preached a new teaching 85, namely, the equality of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son. In addition, Eustathius sent letters to the most distant countries, filled with all kinds of slander and slander against St. Vasily 86. According to him, St. Vasily is both insidious and deceitful and the cause of the disorder of the Church and the destruction of souls. As proof, Eustathius pointed to a friendly letter to Apollinaris, written twenty years ago, while both were laymen, and in a list written by God knows who 87 . This slander quickly spread in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia and even as far as the Hellespont and could easily have a very harmful effect among gullible people. Eustathius's last letter, received by Vasily after Eustathius's refusal to appear at the Council, greatly outraged him. “My heart became tied,” Vasily wrote to one of the bishops, “my tongue weakened, my hand became numb, I fell into the weakness of an unmanly soul, I almost reached the point of hating mankind; It seemed to me that every character is suspicious, that in human nature there is no good - love...” 88 However, although Vasily was often informed about Eustathius’ various slander against him, he thought that it was necessary to endure all grief in silence, expecting some change for the better from the deeds themselves; He also believed that false rumors about him were spread not out of any malice, but out of ignorance of the truth. “I have one consolation in these disasters,” he wrote in another letter, “the weakness of the flesh, by which I am confident that I will not have much time to remain in this unhappy life” 89 . This is the reason why St. Vasily did not respond to Eustathius’s slander for about three years. But over time, hostility increased, and the Eustathians did not at all repent of their slander against Vasily. This prompted him to finally write several letters to pastors and monks close to him; in these letters he revealed his relationship with Eustathius, his pitiful inconstancy, as well as the pretext for the accusation of communicating with Apollinaris, and after that the shameless slanderers had to remain silent. The troubles and sorrows that Vasily endured from his fellow bishops, from the Arians and from the Eustathians, of course, would have been much more bearable and easier if he had had good health. But even then, when he was in good health, in his own words, he had less strength than people whose lives had already despaired. That there is very little exaggeration in these words is evident from his frequent references to illnesses. When he was elected bishop, as was said before, he was so dangerously ill that he despaired of his life. In 375, the illness tormented him for more than fifty days, despite the fact that he used warm mineral waters and accepted some benefits from doctors 90. Moreover, the long-term illness was so incomprehensible to Vasily himself that, despite all his knowledge of medicine, he could not find words to depict its complexity and diversity. It began, according to the description of the patient himself, with a fever, which, due to a lack of nutrients for it, wrapped itself around dry flesh, like around a burnt lamp, producing tabes and some other slow-moving disease. And then some old wound, having struck the liver, produced in him an aversion to food, drove sleep away from his eyes and kept him on the border between life and death, allowing him to live only to the extent of feeling the troubles of life. A year after this, St. Vasily began to complain even more strongly about his illnesses: “Continuous and severe fevers,” he wrote, “have exhausted my body so much that I seem to myself to be something worse than myself... attacks of four-day fever repeated their cycle more than twenty times. And now, when, apparently, I have freed myself from fevers, I have reached such an exhaustion of strength that in this I am no different from a spider’s web. Therefore, every path is impassable for me, every breath of wind is more dangerous for me than anxiety for swimmers” 91; “Being unhealthy has become something natural for me; for me, illness follows illness” 92 ; “Therefore, from all this, even a child can see that it is absolutely necessary for me to part with this earthly cover” 93. In 373, a rumor about the death of Basil even spread throughout Cappadocia, and many of the bishops gathered in Caesarea to elect his successor. Apparently, their arrival could serve to console the patient. But from a meeting with them about church affairs, he learned that they did not help him in anything most necessary; It happened that in his presence they felt shame and promised what was due, but, having parted, they again returned to their previous disposition. Such grief, according to the judgment of Vasily himself, 94 for the most part prevented the improvement of his health, and grief from others made the illness more serious and painful. Therefore, with all the greatness of the patience of St. Vasily wrote about himself in one letter: “I have become numb from the many sorrows that have surrounded me now, they have made my life very difficult” 95 . All this - and many sorrows, and incessant worries - are, of course, sufficient to assure that it was only by the special mercy and favor of God that the saint, in such poor health, lived to be forty-nine years old. The circumstances of his death were described in detail by St. Gregory the Theologian. When Vasily lay at his last breath, called to stand on high, the whole city was worried around him: the loss was unbearable, they complained about his departure as oppression; they thought to hold his soul, as if they could forcibly stop it with their hands and prayers; everyone, if only it were possible, was ready to give him something from his life. In his dying moments, the sick archpastor ordained some to church degrees, and offered his instructions to others; and finally, with the words “in Your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46), he joyfully gave up his ghost. When they carried him out of the house, each of his flock took care to either take hold of the vestments, or the canopy, or the sacred bed, or touch only his body, or even walk next to those carrying them, or enjoy just the sight. The marketplaces, passages, second and third floors were filled; Thousands of people of all kinds and ages, hitherto unknown, either preceded or accompanied the beds and crowded each other. The psalmody was drowned out by sobs. Even some of the pagans and Jews who were present shed tears. From the cramped aspirations and excitement of the people, a considerable number of people lost their lives, and their death was blessed, because they moved from here with Vasily and became his funeral victims. With such peace and with such love of his flock, the saint of Christ departed from this life. This was in 379, eight years from the beginning of his bishopric, in the fiftieth year of his life. Letters of St. Basil the Great 96 The number of letters from Basil the Great that have survived to us extends to three hundred and thirty-six. Of these, the authenticity of only eleven letters to Livanius seems doubtful to some, but the contents of these letters do not represent anything that would be unworthy of Basil the Great or inconsistent with his circumstances of life. The difference in content gives rise to the division of Vasiliev's letters into dogmatic, canonical, interpretative, apologetic, moral, intercessory, consolatory and welcoming 97. In addition, in letters of this kind, St. Basil more than once had occasion to defend the Nicene Symbol and refute the false teachings of the Eunomians and Apollinaris. Among the canonical letters, the Council of Trullo included four letters to St. Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium, two to the chorebishops, one to Diodorus of Tarsus and one to the presbyter Parigorios. In letters to St. Amphilochius Basil resolves in particular detail his questions about the meaning of baptism performed by heretics and schismatics, about confused marriages, about perjurers, murderers and violators of chastity, and at the same time he defines various church punishments according to the differences in crimes and the circumstances under which they were committed. From letters to chorebishops in one St. Basil, under the threat of deprivation of the priesthood, prohibits simony (the sale of clergy places), and in another order he orders that clergy in the villages be determined only by a strict test of the lives of those elected, and that those elected be reported to the bishop in a timely manner. The letter to Diodorus was written in refutation of an unknown person’s letter about the permissibility of marriage with the sister of his deceased wife. In a letter to Parigoria, under threat of anathema, Basil the Great forbids the seventy-year-old old man to keep a strange woman in his house under the name of sinizakta [i.e. e. a settled virgin]. Of the interpretive letters, the letter to St. is more extensive and therefore more important than the others. Amphilochius 98, which explains in detail and thoroughly the words of the Savior about ignorance of the day and hour of the end of the world, and the letter to Optimus 99, which explains the words “whoever kills Cain will be avenged seven times” (Gen. 4:15) and the words of the righteous Simeon of the Mother of God upon receiving the Infant Jesus in her arms. Of the apologetic letters, the letters written in defense against Eustathius of Sebastia, against the neo-Caesarians to the coastal bishops and forty-seven letters to Bosporius are especially remarkable for information about the then state of the churches. Fifty-eight letters of intercession from Vasily have reached us. From them it is clear that the loving archpastor for everyone who asked him for help - and for noble dignitaries, and for ministers, and for monks, and for clergy, and for those oppressed in the courts, and for those suffering from excessive taxes and taxes, and for those who entered the school of famous sophists - for everyone he interceded with those persons who could give relief to the needy or provide some assistance to those in need of mercy. The number of letters of consolation extends to twenty-five; They were written to those persecuted by heretics, and to those mourning the death of relatives, and to churches that have lost their shepherds.. Being so diverse in their content, many of Vasily’s letters are important in the very sense that they contain information about the state of the Eastern Churches at the time of Vasily, as well as about the circumstances of his own life and his high moral qualities. Thus, from these letters, Basil’s zealous concern for the good of all churches, for the preservation of the true faith and the unanimity of the brethren, and deep compassion for the unfortunate, and wisdom in managing the affairs of the Church, and generosity in the face of his own disasters, and severity towards arrogant criminals (kidnappers of virgins), as well as his non-covetousness, his strict abstinence, peaceful treatment of his enemies and ardor of friendship with people, are clearly revealed to readers. worthy of preference. Let us collect from these letters of Vasily all the features that can draw before the spiritual gaze of his high moral character, and we will supplement this portrait, where possible, with the legend of Gregory the Theologian about Vasily; First, let us say in Vasily’s own words about Basil’s fraternal communication with the bishops of the Universal Church and about his most chosen friends. This is how he himself writes about it: “It will be fair to judge me not by one or two who walk wrongly in the truth, but by the multitude of bishops in the universe who, by the grace of God, remain in unity with me. Let the bishops of Pisidian, Lycaonian, Isaurian, both Phrygians, from the Armenians neighboring with me, Macedonian, Achaian, Illyrian, Gallic, Spanish, all Italy, Sicilian, African, from the Egyptians who observe a sound faith, and the rest of the Syrians be asked - they all write letters to me and receive the same from me” 100. One of the first and closest friends of St. Basil was St. Gregory the Theologian (letters 4, 96), but during his bishopric, Basil most often consulted in discussions about church affairs with Saints Eusebius of Samosata and Amphilochius of Iconium; I found great consolation in their participation, conversations and letters. He “would like, if possible, to inform both of them about everything that happened to him every day” 101, often invited them to the feast of the Caesarea martyrs and for a meeting about what was inconvenient to talk about through letters 102. “For the sake of many necessary things,” he writes, for example, in one of the letters (of which more than twenty have reached us) to Eusebius, “it was necessary to come into contact with your piety and tell you a lot and learn a lot from you. For true love cannot be found here. And even if someone found a very loving person, there is no one who, like your perfect prudence and your experience, could give me advice in the matters at hand” 103. “And I rely so much on your prayers for me,” Vasily wrote in another letter, “that, if necessary, I can even become a young man from an old man, and not just from a weak and weakened man, as I am now, somewhat strong.”104 Amphilochius was younger than Vasily and was taken to the episcopal see from the clergy of Caesarea, and therefore Vasily loved him like a son and resolved many of his perplexities in extensive letters; of course, with all sincerity, he wrote to him: “Every day on which there is a letter from your piety to me is a holiday for me, and the greatest of holidays” 105, and also: “For many reasons I want to see you - and to have you as an adviser in business... and in general so that, seeing you rarely, I can have some consolation in this loss” 106; “Your contemplation will serve as a deliverance for me from all real and expected sorrows” 107. There are seventeen letters in total to Amphilochius. The same spirit of tender love, devotion and affection breathes from Vasily’s letters to St. Meletius of Antioch, and to Ambrose of Milan, and to Epiphanius of Cyprus, and to Ascholius of Thessaloniki 108. From the letters one can see how quickly and accurately St. Vasily is the best of the contemporary church pastors. “Everything is from here,” he wrote to St. Meletius, - is full of illnesses, and I have only one refuge from evil - the thought of your holiness; and this thought is made clearer in me by conversation with you through letters filled with all wisdom and grace. Therefore, when I take your letter in my hands, first of all I look at its measure, and the more abundant it is in size, the more kind it is to me. Moreover, while reading, I rejoice at every word I encounter, but, approaching the end of the letter, I begin to feel upset. So everything you say in a letter is full of kindness” 109. That's why St. Meletia, just like St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Vasily convincingly asked not to leave him with his letters and prayers 110. St. Epiphanius asked Basil about the tribe of the Maguseans who inhabited Cappadocia and descended from the ancient Babylonian settlers. In answering this question, Basil used several expressions that show that St. Epiphanius had a pure and unflattering love for him and, despite the entire breadth of sea and land that separated them, served him with all kinds of care. Basil showed special respect to St. Ambrose by transferring to Mediolan the relics of his predecessor Dionysius, who died in captivity in Armenia or Cappadocia. The fulfillment of this desire was especially difficult because the inhabitants of the country where the relics of Dionysius were preserved revered him as their father and protector and therefore, naturally, did not want to be parted from a treasure so dear to them. But Vasily, despite their abundant tears, sent the relics of Dionysius of Milan to his successor. For the good of the Church, which suffered from the Arians, St. Vasily considered it necessary to maintain acquaintance with secular dignitaries and courtiers, and indeed knew how to derive significant benefit from this acquaintance. Some of these dignitaries informed Vasily about what was happening at court, and especially about the machinations and undertakings of the Arians close to Valens, while others made it an honor to fulfill Vasily’s requests and petitions for innocent sufferers. Of these, Count Terentius, who lived in Antioch, Counts Magninian, Jovinus, Arkady, the former consul Victor, the military leaders Andronicus and Candidian, the heads of the regions Callisthenes, Antipater, Master Sophronius, Trajan, who supported more than a thousand soldiers 111, and even the bishop Modest, are known for their special respect and affection for Vasily. It is clear that these persons were worthy of Vasily’s love, for he writes his letters to all of them with sincere respect. Here, for example, is the beginning of the letter to Candidian: “With special respect, I took your letter in my hands, as if news of some state matter, and while I was breaking the wax seal, I looked with fear as not a single accused Spartan looked at the Lacedomonian scroll” 112. The same is true in the letter to Consul Victor. “The reason for my silence,” he says here, “is very clear: I was afraid to disturb such a husband. If, to your other virtues, you have added the fact that you not only accept the letters we send, but also demand those that were not sent, then I am boldly writing to you and will continue to write, praying to God to reward you for the honor shown to me, and thanking Him for continuing to remember me and, despite any slander, not diminishing your love for me, which, according to the most truth-loving judgment, one day decided to have an affair with me" 113. Vasily was especially respected by Aurgius and Master Sophronius; therefore, the saint turned to them more often than others with his requests. “I interceded for many before your honor,” he says in one of his letters to Augurius, “and was quite useful to the oppressed” 114; and in the letter to Sophronius, among other things, the following words are read: “It is not easy to list those who have benefited me with your generosity, since your dignity has always been pleased to pay attention to me and it seems no small thing to give me pleasure” 115. Iparkh Modest, after receiving healing from his illness through the prayers of Vasily, became his sincere patron. Therefore St. Vasily boldly began letters to him with the following expressions: “By the abundance of honor you show me, I conclude that my many letters will not cause any disturbance to your generosity.” 116 In another letter to Modest, Vasily writes: “Although there is a lot of courage in presenting your requests to such a person in letters, the respect that you previously showed me does not give room for timidity in my heart.” 117 Based on his own letters, the following can be said about the properties of Vasily as an archpastor. On the degree of church St. Vasily elevated only people who were quite experienced and known for the severity of their lives 118. Therefore, the clergy of Caesarea led such a modest and quiet life that St. Vasily had almost no one from his clergy to send letters with letters during his frequent communications with near and distant bishops. “None of my clergy,” he himself said, “is involved in trade, does not like to live on the side; many take up only the arts that require a sedentary life, and thereby earn their daily subsistence” 119. The measures that St. used. Vasily, to admonish and correct the careless about their perfection, were mostly meek. “Often his smile,” says Gregory the Theologian, “served as praise, and his silence as a reprimand, exposing evil to the reproaches of his own conscience” 120. Confirmation of these words of Gregory can be found in Vasily’s own letters, and especially in the cases of Deacon Glyceria and the kidnappers of virgins. One deacon named Glycerius, having gathered several virgins, some of whom came to him voluntarily, and others against their will, promised to be their leader and mentor in spiritual life, and at the same time showed contempt for his presbyter, and for the chorebishop, and for Vasily himself and, of course, aroused confusion, rumors, and gossip in the city with his behavior. The loving archpastor, following the chorebishop, gave the deacon only a small verbal reprimand, but instead of correcting him, the deacon fled at night with the seduced virgins from his village and settled in Nazianza. To cover up the shame, the Bishop of Nazianza gave refuge to the virgins in his house. Having learned about this, Vasily asked his friend Gregory the Theologian to convince the deacon to return with the virgins or at least send the virgins to their homeland, and promised complete forgiveness to the criminal himself. But how the matter ended is unknown 121. From another letter from Vasiliev it is clear that he made it a rule not to hand over those who had done evil to the civil authorities, but also not to deliver those who had been handed over 122. Therefore, he once did not allow the prison warden to try thieves taken from the church, hoping to make them better through his fatherly admonitions. Vasily firmly reprimanded this official even for the fact that he illegally arrogated to himself the right to detain these thieves: “Your business,” he wrote, “is only to report what happened to the committee” 123. An example of legal severity towards those who persist in evil is the spiritual punishment that he inflicted on the kidnapper of one maiden. As soon as rumors of this crime reached the archbishop, he gave a written reprimand to the presbyter for not prosecuting the kidnapper, and ordered him to take the girl away from the predator and return her to her parents, and deprive the predator himself of communication in prayer and declare him excommunicated; he also demanded that all those who contributed to the abduction, with all their families and all residents of the village that hid and kept the kidnapped girl be excommunicated from prayer for three years for three years. In Vasily's letters there is also an indication that he similarly excommunicated three criminals from communion in prayer, since they did not show any correction even after they were exposed before the entire Church 125. Of the other high moral qualities that especially adorned Basil, St. Gregory the Theologian most often mentions his non-covetousness, his strict abstinence, his humility, his philanthropy and pleasantness in society; and to this, based on the Vasilievs’ letters, one can add his loyalty and tenderness in friendship with people worthy of preference. “The wealth of Vasily,” says Gregory the Theologian, “is to have nothing and to live with a single cross, which he considered more valuable to himself than many acquisitions. He had one tunic, one outer shabby robe, and sleeping on the bare ground, vigil, and not using ablutions constituted his adornment; Bread and salt served as the most delicious supper and food; but he ate so little of this meager food that he seemed to eat almost no food and was disembodied” 126. He even considered the snacks sent to him by St. to be an indecent delicacy. Amphilohiem. True, refusing to eat them, for the sake of appearance, he referred to his teeth and wrote: “I am beyond my years to gnaw on your snacks, when my teeth have long been dulled both by time and by illness” 127 ; but the main reason, of course, was strict abstinence from tasty foods. His friend Amphilochius, of course, would not have sent him anything too dry, knowing his illnesses of old age. Vasily discovered some, the most moderate, love of property only in his youth, when one rude man, with several brawlers like himself, burst into his house, beat several women and, breaking down the doors, took everything out of it. Having learned about this, with complete calm, without any annoyance at the kidnapper of St. Vasily asked for protection from his friend, the military leader Candidian, but, in his own words, he asked only so as not to be the last of the weak and not to give the thought that anyone could attack him. “I will be content,” wrote the modest and non-covetous petitioner, “if the culprit is taken by the village commander and imprisoned for a short time, because I am not so much indignant for what I suffered as I have needs for security for the future” 128 . When Vasily was engaged in the establishment of monasteries, part of his family estate went to the monasteries built at his insistence, and he distributed most of it to the benefit of the poor brethren of Christ, especially for the establishment in Caesarea of ​​that country hospice house, which, due to its vastness, beauty and amenities, was called a city. Here both decrepit old age and those suffering from the most serious illnesses found shelter and tranquility. Vasily himself often came to console the sick. Some of Vasily's enemies were not ashamed to call him proud. To justify his friend, Gregory the Theologian wrote the following: “Basily, this noble-born from the noble and shining with glory, did not disdain to honor illness with the kiss of his lips, he embraced the sick as brothers. Is it possible to kiss lepers and boast before the healthy? I think that Vasily’s enemies called the constancy, firmness and steadfastness of his character arrogance” 129. The answer of the archpastor himself to the reproach of one of his former friends that the new rank made him arrogant is remarkable. “Stop,” he wrote to Pergamy, “in short words, lay great blame on me. For forgetting friends and contempt for them as a result of acquired power already contains all the bad things in the aggregate; rest assured that my current position served as a reason for me to be humble. Therefore, will I forget you then when I don’t recognize myself, and you never turn my idle time into a sign of bad behavior and evil behavior” 130. Vasily’s compassion extended not only to the sick, the poor and wanderers, but also to everyone who suffered some kind of misfortune or was burdened with some kind of sorrow. This is most clearly evidenced by the fifty-eight letters of intercession that have come down to us for various sufferers, and twenty-five letters of consolation. And for noble dignitaries, and for those oppressed in the courts, and for those suffering from excessive taxes, and for those who entered the school of famous sophists - for everyone who asked for help, the loving archpastor immediately interceded with those who could provide relief to the needy. And those persecuted by heretics, and those mourning the death of relatives, and those who had lost their shepherds - all soon received written consolation from the saint, if only they were at all familiar to him. For all his good intentions and benevolence, Vasily’s enemies raised the most incredible and offensive slander against him, sometimes even before people who especially respected him, such as Master Sophrony. So, Vasily’s enemies blamed him for his extensive correspondence, and for this they scouted to see if anyone had received any letter from him 131 and when it was. But Vasily, out of a feeling of deep humility and love, not only endured such insults with complacency, but also in letters to those closest to him called the clearly malicious hostility towards himself a misfortune, which he allegedly attracted upon himself with his sins 132. Letters from Vasily himself testify to the fervor and sincerity of Vasilyeva’s love for her friends. Thus, in one of his letters he says about himself: “I cannot place myself lower than anyone who has become famous for their friendship, because I have never been exposed as having sinned against friendship” 133 . In another letter the following words are read: “Some kind of attraction has been revived in me for your sacred and unflattering soul, but I don’t have the comforts I desire, so now, separated from those dear to me, I consider my life pitiful and unbearable” 134 . It should be noted that Vasily spoke this language of tender friendship not only with persons high in rank and dignity, but also with humble monks, priests and fellow students 135 and even simple soldiers. Here are his words, for example, in a letter to the monk Urvicius: “Do not think that you need excuses when you write to me. For I understand myself and know that by nature every person is equal to everyone, and our advantages are not in gender, not in an excess of possessions, but in the primary fear of God. Therefore, you, who fear the Lord more than I, what prevents you from being higher than me in this very thing? So, write to me constantly. Whenever possible, come to me; You will either console me, or give me an idea, or lead me out of troubles, in any case, with your very appearance you will make it easier for me” 136. Even more remarkable is the beginning of the letter to a simple warrior. “During my journey,” says Vasily, “I was rewarded with much from the Lord, for which I must thank Him, but the greatest benefit for me is acquaintance with your honorability. For I recognized in you a person who proves that even in military life one can preserve the perfection of love for God and that a Christian should be distinguished not by the cut of his clothes, but by his spiritual disposition; and therefore, even then, with all my desire, I spent time with you, and now, as soon as I remember you, I enjoy the greatest joy. So, take courage and strength and try to increase your love for God.” 137 That Vasily retained his goodwill towards the good comrades of his childhood and school until the end of his life can be easily judged from his letter to Eusebius. Here, with deep sorrow, already in the last years of his life, he complained that he did not find his comrade Eusebius in some city. Here are his own words: “Having arrived in the city, I was very sad that I did not find you here. For it was dear to me to see and embrace Eusebius, the most excellent in everything, and again to return in memory to my youth and remember those days when we had the same shelter, and the same hearth, and the same mentor, when rest, and occupation, and luxury, and poverty - we shared everything among ourselves. How dearly I valued the fact that I would renew all this in my memory when I met you and, throwing off this heavy old age, would again apparently turn from an old man into a young man! But I am not given the opportunity to enjoy this” 138. With such breadth and ardor of Vasily’s love, no one doubted, of course, that he with all sincerity asked his friends to write long letters to him as often as possible; this request is repeated more than thirty times in his letters, and moreover to many different persons. So, he writes to Philagry: “If there is any benefit from my letters, then do not omit a single opportunity to write to me and encourage me to write. For I myself noticeably become more cheerful when I read letters from sensible men. Therefore, if I had not been distracted by many things, I would not have been able to resist the pleasure of writing incessantly. But you have less worries, so please me with letters as much as possible. They say that wells, if you draw from them, are made better. So, send more letters, and letters as long as possible, because smallness in a letter, almost the same as in a person, is not perfection; write to me about household affairs, and about your physical health, and about whether the state of the Church is calm. Write to me on any occasion, just write in a similar manner, with the same kind disposition and the same pure language. I’m not saying that I myself can acquire a pleasant style, however, naturally, I am somehow captivated by it; you, who enchant with your words, lead us along with you, as you lure bees with calls” 139. Here are more words from Vasily from his letter to another friend: “Desiring to constantly receive letters from your perfection, when I picked up your letter and read it, I was not so much happy with what was written as saddened, thinking about the loss that I suffered during your silence. But since you began to write, do not stop continuing this, for you amuse me more than those who send large amounts of money to lovers of wealth” 140. “I am glad at your reprimands,” writes Vasily to the sophist Leontius, “for the beautiful, as they say, have an admixture of beauty in everything, therefore sadness and anger are appropriate for them” 141. From these, although not entirely clear, hints it is also clear that Vasily wanted extensive correspondence both to satisfy the natural desires of friendship to know about the life and condition of people who are spiritually devoted to us, and also in order to have as much information as possible about the current state of churches and, based on this information, to take certain measures for the improvement of church affairs in the most remote regions from him. At the same time, if sophists, people known for their eloquence, wrote to him, he carefully observed both the perfection of language and the beauty of expression, so as not to be inferior in any way to those who acquired special fame for their eloquence. In this regard, his correspondence with Livanius, for whom he did not cease to have a friendly affection even after he ceased to be his student and surpassed him in success in literature, is especially remarkable; as a sign of the sincerity of this disposition, he sent Lebanon and some gifts, for example, three hundred long beams for some kind of construction. Whoever of his compatriots or acquaintances expressed a desire to study literature, Vasily convinced everyone to take lessons in this science from Livanius and hopefully entrusted these education seekers to the attention and care of Livanius. At the same time, Vasily sometimes asked Livaniya to read his speeches, for which the rumor of this rhetorician was especially glorified. So, he asked Livani to speak about a wayward man, which those who bore the burden of power, those who distinguished themselves in the military lists, those engaged in handicrafts, and even women came to listen to; Moreover, he more than once reprimanded Lebanon for his silence and more than once praised his shortest letters. Here is a witty comparison of Livaniev’s letter with a rose: “Rose hunters, as is typical for lovers of beauty, do not express indignation at the thorns among which the flower grows, but they even say that nature, with prickly thorns, irritates the person who picks the flower with greater lust for it. What does this mention of a rose mean in my letter? Of course, there is no need to interpret this to you, who remembers your own letter. It was like a pink flower, which in its sweet speech unfolded the whole spring before me, but, like needles, it pricked me with some reproaches and accusations. However, I also enjoy the thorns of your letters. They kindle in me a greater desire for your friendship" 142. Vasily complains no less intricately about Livanius’s silence: “It’s not often that I write about your learning,” he says, “fear and ignorance convince me. But what will save you from reproach, who stubbornly remains silent? If anyone realizes that you, having devoted your whole life to literature, are too lazy to write a letter, he will say about you that you have forgotten me. For those who do not have action behind their words have something to write; and whoever possesses this talent and remains silent at the same time obviously does this either out of contempt or out of oblivion. But I reward your silence with greetings" 143. So tender and fiery in friendship, Vasily was a very pleasant interlocutor in society. “But if there was someone,” notes Gregory the Theologian, “taciturn, unjoking, not a fan of meetings, and disliked by many because he does not please everyone, what of this? Would anyone even blame the lion for looking not like a monkey, but menacingly and royally? But if anyone were to look for these qualities in Vasily, then I don’t know who was so pleasant in meetings, who could have a more interesting conversation than him, joke edifyingly, offend without insulting, not lead a reprimand to impudence, praise to the point of indulging, and in both cases avoid inappropriateness. Such was Vasily in his spiritual and moral qualities! And in appearance, he was an old man, exhausted not so much by years as by worries, with early gray hair, with a pale face and overgrown with hair, quiet in his gait, slow in his speech, unusually thoughtful and often delving into himself, but alien to gloominess. There were also such admirers of Vasily who thought, says Gregory the Theologian, to turn his most bodily shortcomings for themselves through imitation into a means to glory, but due to unskillful imitation they became gloomy and became statues that represented only the shadow of Vasily, and one cannot even say that they were an echo of Vasily: with him even the thoughtless was more precious and remarkable than what others did with great effort.” 144. So Vasily was inimitable in everything for his contemporaries. The devotion of his flock to him was boundless. It was clearly revealed, by the way, in the fact that many, according to the testimony of Gregory the Theologian, considered it a great honor for themselves if they happened to be close to Vasily, or to serve him, or to notice in memory something he did and said, sometimes even as a joke. “And I myself,” Gregory says about himself, “have repeatedly boasted about this” 145. But the love of his flock for Vasily and the readiness to sacrifice their well-being for him while defending him before the head of the Pontic region were even more clearly expressed. It is not known in what year of Vasily’s life this event happened, but its circumstances are worth mentioning, especially since they were told by Gregory the Theologian 146. Some noble and powerful man also pursued a noble widow and forced her to marry him. The unfortunate woman, firm in her determination not to enter into a second marriage, rushed to the church in the hope of exercising her right of asylum. Vasily, of course, foresaw what would come of this, but, both for faith and for the fulfillment of works of love for mankind, he was always ready to sacrifice himself. Therefore, as a guardian of church rights, he declared the young woman under his protection. The head of the region demanded her to come to him, but the valiant archpastor did not agree to hand her over. The first one lost his temper. Finally, in order to disgrace Vasily, he sent several officials to search his bedchamber and, after the search, demanded that he himself be interrogated as one of the convicts. Vasily appeared, and the head of the region presided, filled with anger and arrogance. He ordered Vasily to take off his robe. The saint said: “If you want, I will throw off my tunic in front of you.” He threatened the archpastor with beatings, and Vasily was already bowing his neck. One threatened to whittle with his claws. The other answered: “With such torment you will do me a great service, for you will heal my liver, which bothers me a lot.” The matter was public. The whole city learned about the misfortunes of the noble widow, felt compassion, was indignant at the prefect and praised Vasily. When they heard that the archbishop was threatened with torture, everyone was inspired by one feeling of anger, the whole city became agitated and, like a swarm of bees, alarmed by smoke, came running from different places; all classes and all ages, and especially the armorers and royal weavers, immediately appeared for protection. Everything has become a weapon for everyone. Some have torches in their hands, some have raised stones, some have raised sticks; everyone has one direction, one voice and a common jealousy. With such an ignition of minds, women did not remain unarmed: their weaving reeds served instead of spears, and their jealousy turned them into men. To put it briefly, concludes St. Gregory, he was considered more pious by them, who would be the first to lay his hand on someone who intended insolence against Vasily. After this, the strict and impudent judge became a pitiful, poor and most humble petitioner. And only Vasily’s petition and the power of his moral influence on the people could save the life and well-being of the arrogant offender. So sincere and ardent was the love of the Caesarea people for Saint Basil. Reprinted from: Soulful Reading. 1864. I. No. 1. P. 15–54; No. 2. pp. 113–143; No. 3. pp. 223–260. Links to pages of works of St. Basil the Great here and further in the book are given according to the edition: St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Creations: In 2 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2008–2009. (Complete collection of the works of the holy fathers of the Church and church writers in Russian translation; vol. 3, 4). (Hereinafter - St. Basil the Great. Creations). – Ed. Here is a review of some of them. Gregory the Theologian wrote about himself that he knew Vasily better than anyone; he calls him the leader of life, the teacher of dogmas, the eye of the universe, the chamber of learning and everything that is beautiful no matter who says (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 58 // St. Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople. Works: In 2 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2007. T. 2. P. 454; further - St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations.) In another place he says that everyone excels in something of his own, and some in several of the many types of virtues; Vasily improved so much in everything that he became, as it were, an exemplary work of nature. This was precisely the man to whom the words of the apostle can be applied: I have become all things to all, that I might save at least some (1 Cor. 9:22). Gregory emphasizes even more the importance and significance of Vasily when he adds that this was a husband - “the only spark of truth and life force almost left to us” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 58 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 456). Григорий уверяет еще, что все слова Василия с неимоверной быстротой делались известными во всем мире. Вот собственные выражения Григория, писавшего еще в то время, когда сам был пресвитером: «Я стою не на виду, многим неизвестен, иные почти и не знают, что мною бывает сказано и даже говорю ли я. О нем же [Василии] много речей, как о человеке, который известен и сам по себе, и по Церкви. Everything he said becomes common knowledge” (Ibid. p. 456). St. also had high respect for Vasily. Athanasius the Great. Love St. Athanasius to St. Василию так была известна и несомненна, что Василий с уверенностью напоминал о ней преемнику Афанасия (см.: Свт. Василий Великий. Письмо 133. К Петру, архиепископу Александрийскому // Свт. Василий Великий. Творения. Т. 2. С. 642). А пять дошедших до нас писем Василия к Афанасию (61, 66, 67, 69, 80) показывают еще, что Василий с доверчивостью предлагал Афанасию иногда свои советы для устроения дел церковных и видел одобрительное внимание к своим предложениям. Ephraim the Syrian also considered it an indispensable duty to announce the merits of Vasily to his compatriots and in his Eulogy he calls him by the most respectful names in relation to the spirit of Eastern eloquence, namely: he calls him the foundation of virtues, a book of praise, a life of miracles, a precious bow of the spiritual casket, delighting the region of the holy Angels, and a manger of dogmas; In addition, Ephraim says that since Basil always reclined on the Scriptures, rested in the apostolic pastures, his word flowed like a river, and his speeches were like roses and lilies, saffron and cinnamon, that he sat in the hives of virtues and produced the honey of the Divine and impeccable faith (Venerable Ephraim the Syrian. Eulogy to those among the saints to our father Vasily the Great // Works of our holy father Ephraim the Syrian. 5th ed. Part 2. Sergiev Posad, 1908. pp. 308–317). St. Sophronius of Jerusalem called Basil the glory and beauty of the Church, Blessed. Theodoret [Cyrus] is the luminary of the universe, Socrates [Scholasticus] is the support of truth. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 537–538. Maximin Daia (Daza) - Roman emperor-co-ruler (died 313); persecuted Christians with particular cruelty. – Ed. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 513. – Ed. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 204. To the Neo-Caesareans // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 751. St. Basil the Great. Letter 236. To Amphilochius // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 821–822. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 223. Against Eustathius of Sebastia // Ibid. P. 793. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 517. – Ed. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 517. Libanius (Libanius) (314 - about 393) - pagan rhetorician who lived in Antioch, a famous representative of the so-called second sophistry. – Ed. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 522–523. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 521. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 1. To Eustathius, philosopher // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 441. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 1. To Basil the Great // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 417. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 223. Against Eustathius of Sebastia // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 791. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 14. To Gregory, friend // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 474. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 2. To Gregory the Theologian // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 442. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 4. To Basil the Great // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 419. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 6. To him [To Basil the Great] // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. pp. 420–421. Julian the Apostate (331–363) – Roman emperor in 361–363. He received a Christian upbringing, but, having become emperor, declared himself a supporter of paganism; issued edicts against Christians. – Ed. See: Ermiy Sozomen. Ecclesiastical history V, 4. – Ed. Valens (c. 328–378) - Emperor of the eastern part of the Roman Empire from 364 - Ed. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 8. To Basil the Great // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. pp. 422–423. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 526. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 527. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 527–528. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 8 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 932–933. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 223. Against Eustathius of Sebastia // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 794. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 41. To the bishops on behalf of the father // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 444. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 42. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, on behalf of his father // Ibid. T. 2. P. 445. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 530. St. Basil the Great. Letter 237. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 826. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 251. To the Hivites // Ibid. T. 2. P. 850. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 30. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 495. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 59. To Gregory, uncle // Ibid. P. 550. We are talking about the so-called simony. – Ed. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 60. To Gregory, uncle // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 551–552. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 58. To Gregory, brother // Ibid. pp. 547–548. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 532. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 18 // Ibid. P. 242. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 81. To Innocent, Bishop // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 578. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 102. To the citizens of Satal // Ibid. P. 608. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 217. To Amphilochius about the rules // Ibid. P. 773. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 532. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 92. To the Italian and Gallic bishops // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 591–592. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 535. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 68. To Meletius, Archbishop of Alexandria // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 560. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 533. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 70. Unwritten // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 564. The council was against Auxentius of Milan (see: Hermias Sozomen. Church history IV, 23; Blessed Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Church history II, 22). See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 89. To Meletius, Archbishop of Alexandria // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 586. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 92. To the Italian and Gallic bishops // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 591–593. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 138. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 648. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 129. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 638. See: Blzh. Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Ecclesiastical history V, 32. – Ed. Gregory of Nyssa in the 1st book against Eunomius writes: “Which of the inhabitants of the East, who of those inhabiting the very edges of our universe, did not know Basil’s struggle for the truth with those prevailing?” (St. Gregory of Nyssa. Refutation of Eunomius I, 12 // St. Gregory of Nyssa. Creations. Part 5. M., 1863. P. 58–59). Although Gregory of Nyssa also speaks about this, but in more general terms; Gregory the Theologian conveys the matter more thoroughly, which is why we use his words. See: St. Gregory of Nyssa. Refutation of Eunomius I, 12 // St. Gregory of Nyssa. Creations. Part 5. M., 1863. P. 64. Compare: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 535–536. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 535–536. See: Blzh. Theodoret of Cyrus. Ecclesiastical history IV, 19. See: Ermiy Sozomen. Ecclesiastical history VI, 16. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 537. St. Basil the Great. Letter 203. To the coastal bishops // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 743. St. Basil the Great. Letter 222. To the Chalcidians // Ibid. P. 788. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 237. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 826. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 239. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. pp. 828–829. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 213. Without an inscription, to a pious husband // Ibid. P. 768. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 239. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 828. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letters 242–243 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 832–836. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 263. To the Western // Ibid. P. 872. See: Message of the Council of Aquileia to Emperor Gratian // St. Ambrose of Milan. Letter 12. St. Basil the Great. Letter 239. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 829. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 98. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 601. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 539. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 47. To him [To Basil the Great] // Ibid. T. 2. P. 448. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 48. To him [To Basil the Great] // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. pp. 448–449. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 50 // Ibid. P. 450. See: Ermiy Sozomen 3, 14. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 223. Against Eustathius of Sebastia // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 789. The confession was compiled at the Council of Nicopolis and, in addition to the Symbol of Nicea, contained an additional teaching about the deity of the Holy Spirit and a refutation of the false teachings of Marcellus and Sabellius (see: St. Basil the Great. Letter 125. List of confession of faith... // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 630). See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 252. To the bishops of the Diocese of Pontus // Ibid. P. 853. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 263. To the Western // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 873. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 226. To the ascetics under his jurisdiction // Ibid. P. 801. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 130. To Theodotus, Bishop of Nikopol // Ibid. P. 640. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 224. To Genetlius, presbyter // Ibid. P. 798. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 244. To Patrophilus // Ibid. P. 841. St. Basil the Great. Letter 212. To Hilary // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 767. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 137. To Antipater // Ibid. P. 646. St. Basil the Great. Letter 193. To Meletius // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 721. See also: Letter 162. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 677. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 200. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium // Ibid. P. 740. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 136. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 645. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 141. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 653. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 260. To Optimus, Bishop // Ibid. P. 862. To the biography of St. Basil the Great, the author has included a review of all his creations. Not finding it convenient to place this review in its entirety in our publication, we give space to an article about the letters of Basil the Great, because it complements the biographical information about him. – Ed. Of Basil’s dogmatic letters, especially remarkable are the letter approved by the Council of Chalcedon to Brother Gregory on the difference between essence and hypostasis and the letter to Caesarea, which approves the daily communion of the Holy Mysteries (see: St. Basil the Great. Letter 93 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. Vol. 2. P. 594) St. Basil the Great. Letter 236 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 819–822 St. Basil the Great. Letter 260. To Optimus, Bishop // Ibid. pp. 862–868 St. Basil the Great. Letter 204. To the Neo-Caesareans // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 751 See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 237. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 826; Letter 242 // Ibid. P. 832. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 137. To Antipater // Ibid. P. 647. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 138. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 648. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 162. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 677. St. Basil the Great. Letter 232. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium // Ibid. P. 812. St. Basil the Great. Letter 201. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium // Ibid. P. 741. St. Basil the Great. Letter 231. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium // Ibid. P. 812. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 154. To Ascholius, Bishop of Thessalonica // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 664. St. Basil the Great. Letter 57. To Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch // Ibid. P. 547. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 80. To Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria // Ibid. P. 577. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 3. To Candidian // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 448. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 3. To Candidian // Ibid. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 152. To Victor, military leader // Ibid. P. 663. St. Basil the Great. Letter 178. To Aurgius // Ibid. P. 689. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 180. To Sophronius, master, for Eumathy // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 691. St. Basil the Great. Letter 279. To Modest, prefect // Ibid. P. 893. St. Basil the Great. Letter 280. To Modest, prefect // Ibid. P. 894. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 169. To Gregory the Theologian // Ibid. pp. 682–683. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 198. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata // Ibid. P. 727. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 544 See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 169. To Gregory the Theologian // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. pp. 682–683. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 289. Without inscription. About one oppressed woman // Ibid. S. 900. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 286. To the superintendent of prisons // Ibid. P. 897. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 270. Without inscription. About the kidnapping of a girl // Ibid. P. 886. One of them put an inscription on the church porch with unfair accusations against a pious virgin (see: St. Basil the Great. Letter 289. Without an inscription. About one oppressed woman // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 899). Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 541–542. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 232. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 813. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 3. To Candidian // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 449. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 543. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 56. To Pergamum // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 546. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 174. To the widow // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 687. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 59. To Gregory, uncle // Ibid. P. 549. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 272. To Sophronius, Master // Ibid. P. 889. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 124. To Theodore // Ibid. P. 630. See, for example: St. Basil the Great. Letter 342. To Lebanon // Ibid. P. 936. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 262. To Urvicius, monk // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 870. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 106. To the warrior // Ibid. P. 612. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 271. To Eusebius // Ibid. T. 2. P. 887. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 323. To Philagry of Arkin // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 924. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 134. To Presbyter Paeonius // Ibid. P. 643. St. Basil the Great. Letter 21. To him [To Leontius, sophist] // Ibid. P. 481. Wed: St. Basil the Great. Letter 342. To Lebanon // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 936. St. Basil the Great. Letter 344. To Lebanon // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 937. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 544, 550. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 550. See: Ibid. pp. 538 ff.