#St. Basil of Caesarea

[apesoformythoughts]

“Our distresses are notorious, even though we leave them untold, for now their sound has gone out into all the world. The doctrines of the Fathers are despised; apostolic traditions are set at nought; the devices of innovators are in vogue in the Churches; now men are rather contrivers of cunning systems than theologians; the wisdom of this world wins the highest prizes and has rejected the glory of the cross. Shepherds are banished, and in their places are introduced grievous wolves hurrying the flock of Christ. Houses of prayer have none to assemble in them; desert places are full of lamenting crowds. The elders lament when they compare the present with the past. The younger are yet more to be compassionated, for they do not know of what they have been deprived.”

— St. Basil of Caesarea: Letter 90

[portraitsofsaints]

St Basil the Great Doctor of the Church 330-379 Feast Day: January 2 Patronage: hospital administrators, monks, reformers, Cappadocia, Russia

Saint Basil was born in Caesarea, one of 10 children of a saintly family. He was a brilliant student, orator, and lawyer before becoming a monk and writing the rule for Eastern monasticism. He also was a companion of St. Gregory Nazianzen. Basil is responsible for the victory of the Nicene orthodoxy over Arianism, which was denounced at the Council of Constantinople. His zeal for justice and orthodoxy was shown by his fight against simony, clerical abuse, and evil where he saw it. He was an accomplished statesman with great personal holiness. He’s represented carrying a book referring to his influential writings.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[bonmonjour]

Just 1 ticket to the MET Gala costs $75,000 apparently. With that kind of money, just one (1) person could fund 15 Palestinians' passage to Egypt.

These people are straight up murderers. They are as disgusting, vile, and cruel as the IOF soldiers who occupy and bomb Gaza.

In the 400s, when a drought passed through the land, there was a famine in Caesarea. St Basil rightly saw that the cause of the famine was, not in fact the drought but, human decisions to withhold food from the afflicted. In his sermon, after describing at great length the horrifying ways in which hunger and starvation kills the body, he specifically calls out those who can help and choose not to.

[anastpaul]

Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – St Basil the Great

Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church. “Let listening to worldly newsbe BITTER FOOD for youand let the words ofSaintly menbe as combsfilled with honey.” “He seems to demand of usthe most entire renunciation …So, if we keep back for ourselves,any earthly goods or any perishable supplies,our minds will remain…

[mysticbisexualxtian]

The idea of biblical inerrancy is completely modern. The vast majority of Christians prior to the 19th century did not believe in biblical inerrancy in any way. This goes all the way back to Orgen of Alexandria and the Cappadocian Fathers (St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. Basil of Caesarea) with mystical and symbolic readings of the Old Testament.

If you take a brief look at the history of Christian Theology and Biblical methodology, you can clearly see that the majority of Christian theologians didn't care if the stories in the Old Testament were actual real events. The mystical and allegorical interpretation was what took precedent.

Judaism (as we know it today) and Christianity came into existence in the same period of Graeco-Roman culture, and both reflect the religious thinking of their time. Neither was ever literalist in the way modern fundamentalists are. The only ancient Christian figure whom we can reliably say to have read the Bible in the manner of modern fundamentalists was the heretic Marcion of Sinope. And even he exhibited far greater insight than modern fundamentalists, however, in that he recognized that the god described in the Hebrew Bible—if taken in the mythic terms provided there—is something of a monster and hence obviously not the Christian God. Happily, his literalism was an aberration.

Much of the Judaism of the first century, like the Christianity of the apostolic age, presumed that a spiritual or allegorical reading of the Hebrew texts was the correct one. Philo of Alexandria was a perfectly faithful Jewish intellectual of his age, as was Paul, and both rarely interpreted scripture in any but allegorical ways. Even when, in the New Testament, the history of God’s dealings with Israel is united to the saving work of Christ—as in Acts or Hebrews—it is in the thoroughly reinterpreted and intenerated form that one finds also in the book of Wisdom (a worked audibly echoed in Romans, incidentally).

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 2)

St. Basil, one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church and Bishop of Caesarea, was likely born in 329 and died on 1 January 379.

He ranks after Athanasius as a defender of the Oriental Church against the heresies of the fourth century, especially Arianism, which denied the divine nature of Jesus Christ. 

He was a strong supporter of the Nicene Creed.

With his friend, Gregory of Nazianzus and his brother, Gregory of Nyssa, he is part of the trio known as "The Three Cappadocians," of which he was the most important in practical genius and theological writings.

Basil resisted the pressure from Emperor Valens, an Arian himself, who wanted to keep him in silence and admit the heretics to communion. 

No wonder, when the great St. Athanasius died, the responsibility of being the defender of the faith against Aryanism fell upon Basil.

Seventy-two years after his death, the Council of Chalcedon described him as “the great Basil, minister of grace who has expounded the truth to the whole earth.”

[andijaart]

+++🙏🏻God Bless🕊️+++

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (Cappadocia)

andcrossartstore.etsy.com

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (Cappadocia)

Your voice went through the whole earth, for she accepted your word: with it you expounded the truths of faith with God, explained the nature of all that exists, and beautified human customs, royal priest, reverend father, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.

💫 International Orthodox Art Corporation Andcross

May the blessing of the Lord be upon you!

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (Cappadocia)

[thesynaxarium]

Today we celebrate our Venerable Father Gregory of Nazianzus, the Theologian. Saint Gregory received the best education available, at the University of Athens, where St Basil, his lifelong friend, and Julian, the future emperor, were fellow-students. In 359 AD he left Athens and became a monk, living a solitary life with St Basil at Pontus. After two years, St Gregory returned home to help his aging father manage his diocese. Against his wishes he was ordained a priest and then fled to St Basil for 10 weeks. He returned to his new duties and wrote an apologia, titled “Defence of the Flight to Pontos”, saying that no one can undertake to shepherd the spiritual flock without becoming a temple of the living God, “a habitation of Christ in the Spirit”. He also said, “It is necessary first to be purified, then to purify; to be made wise, then to make wise; to become light, then to enlighten; to approach God, then to bring others to Him; to be sanctified, then to sanctify”. This treatise became a classic on the nature and duties of the priesthood. After St Basil became Archbishop of Caesarea, he had St Gregory consecrated Bishop of Sasima, but St Gregory continued to help his father with his duties. Following the death of his father in 374 AD, St Gregory lived a solitary life in Seleucia until about 380 AD. After the death of the persecuting emperor Valens, peace returned to the Church, but Constantinople was dominated by Arians. Neighbouring Bishops sent for St Gregory to restore Constantinople’s Christian community. Protesting, he moved to Constantinople, where he preached his famous sermons on the Trinity. His reputation spread and his audience increased, but the Arians attacked him by slander, insults, and violence. He persisted in preaching the faith and doctrine of Nicea. In 381 AD, the Council of Constantinople proclaimed the conclusions of Nicea as authentic Christian doctrine. During the council, St Gregory was appointed Bishop of Constantinople and installed in the basilica of St Sophia. Opposition to him, however, continued. He resigned for the sake of peace after restoring Orthodoxy in the capital. (Continued) (at Cappadocia, Turkey) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn0GviEBJKR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[luxetaqua]

Christian Cosmology through Plants: A Late Antique Interpretation of Botticelli's Annunciation Paintings

Sandro Boticelli, Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala, Uffizi.

Introduction

It was a busy day in the Uffizi Museum, Florence, on Thanksgiving morning. While visitors all around the globe swarmed around Primavera and The Birth of Venus in the hall of Botticelli, I stood in front of Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala, completely awestruck.

Time froze. In that tenuous moment, the radiating sunlight, filtered by the mirky skylight, turned into gentle rays, caressing the mural. Right across the hall hung the Madonna of the Pomegranate, in which the little Jesus holds the crimson fruit in his palm. His mother, surrounded by angelic youths, glances over the spectators while her golden hair flickers in our gazes. It is my long-held opinion that among all the great Italian painters, Sandro Botticelli captures the Queen of Heaven the best. Under his brush, she is sensitive, tangible, feminine, a liminal presence that encapsulates the beauty of both classical and renaissance paradigms of beauty. While Raphael and DaVinci may manage to illustrate the Virgin Mary's sense of authority as the Vessel of the Immaculate Conception and the mother of Christ, Botticelli's Madonna is the emblem of humanity, vulnerability, courage, and nature. Through examining the natural landscape and identifying any lingering influence of Late Antiquity traditions in several Annunciation paintings by Sandro Botticelli, this short essay aims to reinterpret Mary as the token of nature and paradise. We will notice common tropes, themes, and imagery that are reminiscent of the theological works from Late Antiquity, with a special focus on Ephrem the Syrian's Hymns on Paradise and Hymns on Virginity. Paying special attention to the spaces and landscapes that Botticelli constructs in these paintings, the readers will be able to have a glimpse of early Christianity's lasting influence on people's understanding of the Creation and afterlife.

Nature in Annunciation

When examining the original biblical narrative of the Annunciation in Luke 1:26 - 27, the readers can perceive an obvious absence of nature and a lack of indication of seasonality.

26 In the sixth month, Gabriel (the angel) was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,  27 to a virgin engaged to a man called Joseph, from the family of David. The virgin was called Mary.

However, this confusion was resolved by late antique theologians such as St. Athanasius and St. Augustine, who expounded on the occasion of the Annunciation to be nine months before the Nativity, marking its date as the spring equinox. The feast of the Annunciation thus showcases an intricate relationship between nature and the divine on both corporeal and cosmic levels: through Christ, the Word becomes flesh, and through God, the world was born. Instances where the divine becomes the token of nature are prevalent in late antique theological works. Besides homilies written in specific care to the Creation, such as Basil of Caesarea's Hexaemeron, texts dedicated to saints and martyrs are filled with imagery showing the intimate relationship between holiness and nature. In Paulinus of Nola's poem on Saint Felix's birthday, the bishop depicts the festive atmosphere in the city and exclaims:

Let winter breathe forth the brightness of spring, and the year be in blossom before its time; let nature yield to the holy day, for you, too, earth, owe garlands to the martyr's tomb. But he is flower-decked with the twin garlands of war and peace, and is enshrined in the holy glory of heaven's threshold. --- The Poems of St. Paulinus of Nola, Poem 14, p.81.

In Paulinus' hortatory verses, nature thus becomes reflective of festivity and the prayers of the faithful, testifying to St.Felix's glory. It is obvious that the late antiquity conception of nature and the divine percolates through time. Echoing this divine interplay, Sandro Botticelli's portrayal in the San Barnaba altarpiece illustrates how natural elements can symbolize and celebrate spiritual resurrection. In the painting, the Resurrection of Christ is accompanied by the resurgence of nature, expressed through the surrounding trees, whose branches burst forth under the vast expanse as Jesus rises above his tomb. As the savior returns, nature regains its vitality, signaling the reawakening of the natural world.

Sandro Boticelli, Cristo in Pieta, Predella della Pala di San Barnaba Firenzi, Uffizi Returning to Botticelli's Annunciation paintings, however, nature seems much more ordered and constrained. Since the biblical text does not provide the Renaissance painter much material in portraying the sensory details of the story, Botticelli relies on the spatial construct and the inclusion/omission of natural elements to encapsulate the Annunciation's spiritual complexity. While his famous mythological works such as Primavera and The Birth of Venus are marked by countless varieties of flowers and plants, in his portrayal of the Annunciation, Boticelli shows the infiniteness of nature and divine power through a limited, confined space.

The Delineation of Space: Virgin Mary's Garden and Paradise

Hortus Conclusus, Unknown German Masters, c.1410

The trope of hortus conclusus is a long-living tradition in medieval and Renaissance art, and a testament to Marian worship. Originating from Song of Songs, the garden of the Virgin Mary is a paradisal space where the divine, humans, and nature live in concord --- a depiction that resembles the Garden of Eden.

It is easy to see the deep connection between the Virgin Mary's walled enclosure with the heavenly garden. Emphrem in his Hymns on Paradise uses vivid language to describe Eden, a world before the Fall:

At its boundary I saw figs, growing in a sheltered place, from which crowns were made that adorned the brows of the guilty pair, while their leaves blushed, as it were, for him who was stripped naked: their leaves required for those two who had lost their garments; although they covered Adam, still they made him blush with shame and repent, because in a place of such splendor, a man who is naked is filled with shame. --- Emphrem, The Hymns on Paradise, p.87.

In the bishop's description, Eden, inaccessible to outsiders, is the token of virtue and utmost beauty. This sheltered and secretive place is filled with vegetation, reflective of its wonders.

While the literary source of heavenly gardens is explicit in their lush and unblemished beauty, Botticelli's interpretation takes a more subtle approach. Instead of exposing the garden in full, as in many late medieval paintings, Botticelli's hortus is largely concealed from the viewer. In Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala, the intricately designed columns and luxurious interior block much of the garden's view from our sight, and in Annunciation of Cestello, the garden and the town view are only visible through the narrow window.

Sandro Botticelli, Annunciation of Cestello, Uffizi

Regardless of the size of nature these paintings showcase, the viewers can clearly perceive the serenity and the order of the landscape. In San Martino alla Scala, as their sights pass through the arch, the viewers are greeted by a very curated view. Right beside the spotless granite pavement, bushes with fine delineation stay within the boundary of the parterre. Right beside the terracotta wall, smaller trees grow side by side, with none of them trespassing the height of the enclosure. Even the hills at far and the palm trees outside the enclosure sit in absolute stillness, with no sign of disturbance.

Particular of Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala

The sense of orderliness showcased in Botticelli's hortus conclusus is also echoed in Ephrem's description of Eden:

Who is capable of gazing upon the Garden's splendor, seeing how glorious it is in all its design, how harmonious in its proportions, how spacious for those who dwell there, its fountains delight with their fragrance... --- The Hymns on Paradise, p.88.

The emphasis on the harmony and proportions of the creations within the Garden in Ephrem's text is a reflection of the divine beauty promoted in many Genesis homilies. While Botticelli conveys the utter sense of peace and order in Virgin's garden through colors and textures, Ephrem engages with his reader's olfactory sense and sight to depict an enlarging space that is filled with glorious wonders.

Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, Uffizi

However, just like Ephrem, Botticelli also does not intend to delineate a conclusive space. Although the landscape in San Martino alla Scala invokes the hortus conclusus trope, Botticelli's perception of the Annunciation story is placed in a grander context. Unlike in Primavera, where the artist took the laborious task of depicting over fifty kinds of plants, either real or imaginary, in San Martino alla Scala Botticelli focuses on the lily held in Gabriel's hands. Often perceived as a symbol of Mary's chastity in the artistic medium, however, the connotation of lily is complicated in Ephrem's hymns. When writing about the immaculate conception, speaking through Mary's voice, Ephrem turns the lily into the symbol of Christ:

The blossom lost its scent, for the fragrance of the Glorious Lily was strong. The Treasure of Perfumes had no need of flower or of its fragrances. The flesh stayed away, for it saw in the womb of conception of the Spirit. --- Ephrem, The Hymns On the Nativity, 16, p.151.

The verses in "On the Nativity" create another possibility for the interpretation of Botticelli's Annunciation paintings. In San Martino alla Scala, the artist boldly discards the traditional iconographic portrayal of the kneeling Virgin in Annunciation. Instead, Mary's hands are poised as if cradling an infant, which mirrors Ephrem's lyrical transformation of the lily into a symbol of Christ's conception. Through this powerful depiction, the artist unites the Annunciation's complex symbols, with the enclosed garden becoming a nurturing environment for the nascent divinity, as the Virgin herself becomes a vessel for the divine incarnation. The strong recognition of Christ's duality and the affirmation of the Nicene Creed percolates through this interpretation, celebrating both the Creator and the mother of Christ. In this moment, Mary becomes one with nature and Nature.

The Immaculate Conception: Corporeality and Plants

Particular of the oak tree in Annunciation of Cestello, Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi

Although plants are not prominent in San Martino alla Scala, they occupy a unique narrative space in other Botticelli's Annunciation paintings and works dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In Annunciation of Cestello, a tall oak tree, a common symbol of Christ, is placed at the center of the painting behind Gabriel, dividing the curated urban and natural landscape in half [we can clearly see the overt artificiality of this urban landscape, and we can directly link this to St.Augustine's City of God in terms of theology and Ausonius' epyllion Moselle in the realm of literary art, but since this is a discussion on nature instead of the Creation as a whole, let's continue ]. The same motif also occurs in the Annunciation painting exhibited in Glasgow, where three tall trees occupy the view of the river and hills behind, which may be an intentional bow to the Trinity.

Sandro Botticelli, Annunciation, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

While modern viewers may not direct their attention to a certain plant in the painting, the Renaissance crowd should be familiar with all the botanic symbols. Although it will be a big temporal leap to attribute Renaissance Italians' sensitivity to late antiquity theology, it is important to highlight the thinking that remains unwavering in the foundation of Christian understanding and may influence Botticelli's composition.

In Homily V of St. Basil of Caesarea's Hexaemeron, the theologian, when discussing the third day of Genesis, expounds on the variety of trees that God brings forth and implores his listeners to look at the details of the created:

But, may you, whenever you see cultivated plants or wild ones, water plants or land plants, flowering or flowerless, recognize grandeur in the tiniest thing, continue always in your admiration, and increase, I pray you, your love for the creator. Ponder how He made some trees evergreens and other deciduous, and of the evergreens, how He made some which lose their leaves and others which always keep them. --- Basil of Caesarea, On the Hexaemeron, Homily V, p.81.

While Basil manages to sensitize the faithful to the idea that every natural element is part of the cosmic fabric, Ephrem in Hymns on Paradise further highlights the divine nature of the creations:

For feeble eyes, cannot gaze upon the dazzling sight of its celestial beauties; it has clothed its trees with the names of the trees we know; its figs are called by the same name as our figs, its leaves, which are spiritual, have taken on bodily form; they have been changed so that their vesture may resemble ours. --- Ephrem, Hymns On Paradise, p.156.

Though he is describing objects that exist in heaven, Ephrem makes an insoluble connection between what we see on earth and in paradise. The mimicry or the uncanny resemblance between the earthly and heavenly plants morphs the boundary between the divine and the mortal, and such ambiguity is employed by Botticelli in the visual medium when creating landscapes and botanical spaces.

In Madonna of the Magnificat, behind the Queen of Heaven's blue silk robe and the angelic youth surrounding her, the artist depicts a river valley scene. In the painting, the winding water is split into two under the radiating heavenly light that shines on both the landscape and the holy mother and child, corresponding to a verse with Genesis allusion that Ephrem employs in his paradisal hymn "... from that land/ a river should flow forth/ and divide itself..." (The Hymns on Paradise, p.157). In front of this liminal landscape, Botticelli breaks from the usual mode of Iconography and poses the Virgin Mary as if she just finished writing "The Canticle of Mary" in Luke on the vellum held by the angels - "Magnificat anima mea Dominum..." In doing so, the artist shows the Madonna as a powerful force that drives the biblical narrative. Through her womb, the Word is composed and realized, and the landscape behind her further solidifies her liminal presence as a bridge between man and God [Though this post is analytical and does not touch on research, I do want to express my strong disagreement (or even aversion) with the "rhetoric of impossibility" or "feminist" interpretations of Madonna's gesture in this painting's Wikipedia page. In my opinion, both interpretations miss the highly allegorical nature of this painting ].

Sandro Botticelli, Madonna of the Magnificat, Uffizi When viewers examine the Madonna of the Magnificat, they may also be drawn to the pomegranate that baby Jesus holds in his hand. Sandro Botticelli employs the same motif in the Madonna of the Pomegranate as a symbol for the Passion, where the fruit is placed in a prominent position.

Sandro Botticelli, Madonna of the Pomegranate, Uffizi

Compared to Madonna of the Magnificat, the Madonna of the Pomegranate is a much more somber painting. The solemn atmosphere, expressed through Mary's and baby Jesus's doleful faces, contrasts the bright colors created by the massive application of gold leaf in the Virgin's hairs and the divine rays above. In this instance, the pomegranate, depicted in bright red, bridges Christ and Mary's experience. Putting both their hands on the fruit, Botticelli means to elucidate the nuances in the Passion as a story that conveys two layers of sorrow: the suffering of the savior and the suffering of a mother. Noteworthy, though, is also the pomegranate's bountiful nature. Filled with seeds, pomegranate is often considered a symbol of fertility and everlasting life in the Middle Ages, with a famous example being the Unicorn In Captivity tapestry in the Met Cloister, where the juice of the pomegranate dyed the fur of the unicorn red. The pomegranate trope employed in Madonna painting thus can also be interpreted as a promise of resurrection and paradisal afterlife.

The Unicorn in Captivity, the Met Cloister

In the Madonna of the Pomegranate, besides the red bountiful fruit held in baby Jesus' palm, the roses in the arms of Archangel Raphael are another hint of the presence of the divine. In Homily V of Basil's Hexaemeron, the theologian describes the creation of "garland plants" and mentions rose bush in specific:

Only at that time the rose bush was without thorns; later, the thorn was added to the beauty of the flower so that we might keep pain closely associated with enjoyment of pleasure and remind ourselves of the sin for which the earth was condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles for us. --- Basil of Caesarea, Homily V, On the Hexaemeron

Whether this interpretation of the pre-fall rose persists through the century requires further research. However, in the Renaissance artist's portrayal, the rose garlands are wrapped in the lower hem of the Archangel's shirt without any visible thistles. If Botticelli's depiction of the flower is intentional rather than stylistic, it is possible to assume that the rose in Madonna of the Pomegranate is another instance of the artist's effort to express the heavenly space that his subjects situate through botanical details.

Particular of Madonna of the Pomegranate Conclusion

Traversing through the symbolic depth of Botticelli's Annunciations, we find echoes of Ephrem's hymns, Basil's homilies, and the rich theological discourse of Late Antiquity within the canvas confines. Depicting ordered serenity in gardens, the Italian Renaissance artist unfolds a sacred story that interlaces spiritual significance with the grace of the natural world. Against the resonating backdrop of early Christian theological teaching, Botticelli's Annunciation turns from an event to a theological ecosystem, marrying the corporeal with the spiritual in a narrative rich with meaning. His judicious inclusion of botanical motifs and the deliberate delineation of spatial dimensions reveal a nuanced comprehension of the sacred subject. In these works, the Madonna emerges as both the Queen of Heaven and the embodiment of the Garden of Eden, personifying the convergence of nature and the divine.

[troybeecham]

Today, the Church remembers St. Basil the Great.

Ora pro nobis.

Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c. 329 AD – January 1 or 2, 379 AD), was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies in the early Christian Church, through voluminous writing, teaching, and preaching against the errors of both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to his work as a theologian and bishop, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged, especially after a great famine arose during which he sold all that he had, distributed it to the poor, built a hospital, and personally cared for the plague victims. The hospital, called the Basileiad, was a house for the care of friendless strangers, the medical treatment of the sick poor, and the industrial training of the unskilled. Built in the suburbs, it attained such importance as to become practically the centre of a new city. It was the motherhouse of like institutions erected in other dioceses and stood as a constant reminder to the rich of their privilege of spending wealth in a truly Christian way. He lived and preached the social obligations of the wealthy so plainly and forcibly. St. Basil was a practical lover of Christian poverty, and even in his exalted position preserved that simplicity in food and clothing and that austerity of life for which he had been remarked at his first renunciation of the world.

Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius, he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity, and his writings were referenced by St. Benedict, the father of Western communal monasticism, in his monastic Rule.

Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, the title of Great Hierarch. He is recognised as a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church. He is sometimes referred to by the epithet Ouranophantor (Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ), "revealer of heavenly mysteries".

St. Basil died before the struggles to define catholic, orthodox Christianity were settled, due largely to the strictness of his ascetical manner of life, his tireless work in preaching, teaching, and writing, and from his ceaseless care for the poor.

Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Basil of Caesarea, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God; for you live and reign forever and ever.

Amen.

[religious-extremist]

Yesterday (September 27) was the commemoration of St. Sigebehrt, King of East Anglia, who established the nucleus of Cambridge University sometime in the 7th century (mid-600s), which was a monastic school at its core and later on became the university that it is today.

On the 19th of October, St. Frideswide (or St. Frithuswith) is commemorated. She’s a nun from the 7th century, daughter of King Didan of Eynsham, and she established the monastery which later on became Oxford University.

Why don’t more people talk about the origins of these great institutions? To deny these facts is erasure of the Christian heritage of modern society. It is thanks to the Christian faith that humanity has advanced this far.

"The human being is an animal who has received the vocation to become God."

+ St. Basil of Caesarea

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINTS BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY NAZIANZEN Bishops Who Have Holy Friendship Goals Feast Day: January 2

The patriarch of the Eastern Monks, Basil the Great, was born in Caesarea, Cappadocia, Byzantine Empire (now present-day Turkey) in the year 330 AD.

Basil's studies in Athens were gladdened by his friendship with Gregory Nazianzen. According to tradition, they knew only the roads leading to the church and to the school, and their greatest honor was to bear the name of Christians. After some years of teaching, Basil withdrew into the desert, and was soon followed by a great number of disciples. In 370 AD, he was appointed bishop of Caesarea, where he fought against Arianism and the abuses of the clergy. In the time of famine, he could be seen wearing an apron and serving food to the hungry. He was called 'the Great' on account of his brilliant writings and homilies.

To the rich he said: 'Look at that ring shining on your finger. How many debtors could be released from prison with one of those rings? How many poor people could be clothed from only one of your robes?'

The Bishop of Constantinople, Gregory Nazianzen, was born in 329 AD in Arianzum, Cappadocia. His father, Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, was for 45 years as bishop of Nazianzus.

Following the example of his best friend Basil, Gregory abandoned a promising teaching career to embrace the monastic and priestly life. In 375 AD, he was elected bishop of Constantinople, a city dominated for more than forty years (four decades) by the Arians. When he made his entrance into the city, Gregory was badly received by the people, because he was poorly dressed and bald. Later however, his brilliant sermons aroused their greatest admiration, and won for him the title of Theologian.

Worn by their austerities and hard work, Basil died in 379 AD at the age of 48, while Gregory died in 390 AD at the age of 60.

Many of St. Basil's writings and sermons, specifically on the topics on money and possessions, continue to challenge Christians today. Both Basil and Gregory, are both Doctors of the Church, Basil however, is the patron saint of monks, hospital administrators, poets and Russia.

[portraitsofsaints]

St Basil the Great Doctor of the Church 330-379 Feast Day: January 2 Patronage: hospital administrators, monks, reformers, Cappadocia, Russia

Saint Basil was born in Caesarea, one of 10 children of a saintly family. He was a brilliant student, orator, and lawyer before becoming a monk and writing the rule for Eastern monasticism. He also was a companion of St. Gregory Nazianzen. Basil is responsible for the victory of the Nicene orthodoxy over Arianism, which was denounced at the Council of Constantinople. His zeal for justice and orthodoxy was shown by his fight against simony, clerical abuse, and evil where he saw it. He was an accomplished statesman with great personal holiness. He’s represented carrying a book referring to his influential writings. {website}

[brookston]

Holidays 6.14

Holidays

Baltic Freedom Day

Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day

Blood Type Awareness Day

Caldecott Day (Literature)

Congressional Baseball Massacre Day

Day of Memory for Repressed People (Armenia)

Day of Mourning and Commemoration (Estonia)

Family History Day

Flag Day (US)

Freedom Day (Malawi)

Green for Grenfell Day (UK)

Hydranencephaly Awareness Day

International Bath Day

International Steampunk Day

Jasmine Day (French Republic)

John McCain Day

Kiss Day (South Korea)

Leinapev (Day of Mourning  and Commemoration; Estonia)

Liberation Day (Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands)

Lunes Siguiente a la Festividad de San Antonio (Ceuta, Spain)

Magic Circles Day

Monkey Around Day

Mourning and Hope Day (Lithuania)

National Hoe Day

National New Mexico Day

National Skunk Day

National YWCA Greater Los Angeles Unsung Heroes Day

No Mailing Children Day

Obama Day (a.k.a. Obama Appreciation Day)

Own Your Share of America Day [Weekday closest to 6.14]

Pahaliraja (a.k.a. Pahili Day; India)

Pause for the Pledge Day [7 PM EDT]

Pig Callers’ Day

Pop Goes the Weasel Day

Queen’s Birthday (Anguilla, Australia, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands)

Raja (India)

Sandpaper Day

U.S. Army Birthday

Women's Day (Iraq)

World Blood Donor Day (UN)

Yesterday and Today Recall Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chicken Marengo Day

National Bourbon Day

National Strawberry Shortcake Day

World Cucumber Day

2nd Wednesday in June

National Time Out Day [2nd Wednesday]

Worshipful Company of Vintners of the City of London Annual Procession [2nd Wednesday]

Independence Days

Kopernik (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Arthur Davis (Artology)

Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (Christian; Saint)

Bourbon Day (Pastafarian)

Burchard of Meissen (Christian; Saint)

Castora Gabrielli (Christian; Saint)

Caomhán of Inisheer (Christian; Saint)

Docmael (a.k.a. Toel; Christian; Saint)

Elisha the Prophet (Roman Catholic and Lutheran)

Fag Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Fortunatus of Naples (Roman Catholic)

Francisca de Paula de Jesus (Nhá Chica; Christian; Blessed)

Harry Nilsson (Humanism; Saint)

Joseph the Hymnographer (Roman Catholic: Orthodox April 3)

Louisey (Muppetism)

Media Ver VIII (Pagan)

Methodios I of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Muse’s Nativity Day (Celebrating their mother, Mnemosyne; Ancient Greece)

Nennus (a.k.a. Nehemias; Christian; Saint)

Nicolas Bentley (Artology)

Psalmodius (Christian; Saint)

Quintian of Rodez (a.k.a. Rodez; Christian; Saint)

Richard Baxter (Church of England)

Rufinus and Valerius (Christian; Martyrs)

Valerius and Rufinus (Christian; Saint)

Vidar (Norse festival to the Son of Odin)

St. Vincent de Paul (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 27 of 60)

Premieres

Bosky the Sheep-Herder (WB LT Cartoon; 1933)

The Bourne Identity (Film; 2002)

Daydream Believer, recorded by The Monkees (Song; 1967)

The Dragons of Eden, by Carl Saran (Science Book; 1977)

1st entry in The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (Diary; 1942)

Flags of Our Fathers, by James Bradley with Ron Powers (History Book; 2000)

Fort Apache (Film; 1948)

The Gong Show (TV Game Show; 1976)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Film; 1950)

King Tweety (WB Animated Film; 2022)

The Last of Us (Video Game; 2013)

Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane recorded (1923) [1st country music hit]

The Massacre at Fall Creek, by Jessamyn West (Novel; 1975)

Man of Steel (Film; 2013)

Men in Black: International (Film; 2019)

Murder Mystery (Film; 2019)

The Parallax View (Film; 1974)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Film; 1991)

Scooby-Doo (Film; 2002)

Shaft (Film; 2019)

She, by Elvis Costello (Song; 1999)

Stealing Beauty (Film; 1996)

Tarkus, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Album; 1971)

Tibetan Peach Pie, by Tom Robbins (Novel; 2014)

That Touch of Mink (Film; 1962)

Wallace and Grommit Festival (Animated Film; 1996)

Wild in the Country (Film; 1961)

Workingman’s Dead, by The Grateful Dead (Album; 1970)

Today’s Name Days

Hartwig, Meinrad (Austria)

Elizej, Rufin, Valerije, Zlatko (Croatia)

Roland (Czech Republic)

Rufinus (Denmark)

Leina, Leine, Leini (Estonia)

Kielo, Pihla (Finland)

Élisée, Valère (France)

Hartwig, Meinrad (Germany)

Elissaios, Nefon (Greece)

Vazul (Hungary)

Eliseo, Valerio (Italy)

Kitija, Klitija, Saiva, Sentis, Tija (Latvia)

Almina, Bazilijus, Digna, Labvardas (Lithuania)

Erland, Erlend (Norway)

Bazylid, Bazylis, Eliza, Justyn, Justyna, Ninogniew, Walerian, Waleriana (Poland)

Elisei (România)

Vasil (Slovakia)

Anastasio, Digna, Eliseo, Félix, Metodio (Spain)

Håkan, Hakon (Sweden)

Vladyslav (Ukraine)

Basil, Basilia, Jaren, Jaron, Jarron, Vasily (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 165 of 2024; 200 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 24 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ding-Si), Day 27 (Gui-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 25 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 15 Sol; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 1 June 2023

Moon: 13%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 25 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Vincent de Paul]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 86 of 92)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 24 of 32)

Calendar Changes

June (a.k.a. Iunius; Julian Calendar) [Month 6 of 12]

[anastpaul]

The Octave Day of the Sacred Heart, Notre-Dame de la Treille / Our Lady of the Trellis, France (1234), St Basil the Great and the Saints for 14 June

The Octave Day of the Sacred Heart Notre-Dame de la Treille / Our Lady of the Trellis, Lille, Nord, Flandres, France (1234) – 14 June:HERE:https://anastpaul.com/2021/06/14/notre-dame-de-la-treille-our-lady-of-the-trellis-lille-nord-flandres-france-1234-and-memorials-of-the-saints-14-june/ St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church. From the 13th…

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.14

Holidays

Baltic Freedom Day

Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day

Blood Type Awareness Day

Caldecott Day (Literature)

Congressional Baseball Massacre Day

Day of Memory for Repressed People (Armenia)

Day of Mourning and Commemoration (Estonia)

Family History Day

Flag Day (US)

Freedom Day (Malawi)

Green for Grenfell Day (UK)

Hydranencephaly Awareness Day

International Bath Day

International Steampunk Day

Jasmine Day (French Republic)

John McCain Day

Kiss Day (South Korea)

Leinapev (Day of Mourning  and Commemoration; Estonia)

Liberation Day (Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands)

Lunes Siguiente a la Festividad de San Antonio (Ceuta, Spain)

Magic Circles Day

Monkey Around Day

Mourning and Hope Day (Lithuania)

National Hoe Day

National New Mexico Day

National Skunk Day

National YWCA Greater Los Angeles Unsung Heroes Day

No Mailing Children Day

Obama Day (a.k.a. Obama Appreciation Day)

Own Your Share of America Day [Weekday closest to 6.14]

Pahaliraja (a.k.a. Pahili Day; India)

Pause for the Pledge Day [7 PM EDT]

Pig Callers’ Day

Pop Goes the Weasel Day

Queen’s Birthday (Anguilla, Australia, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands)

Raja (India)

Sandpaper Day

U.S. Army Birthday

Women's Day (Iraq)

World Blood Donor Day (UN)

Yesterday and Today Recall Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chicken Marengo Day

National Bourbon Day

National Strawberry Shortcake Day

World Cucumber Day

2nd Wednesday in June

National Time Out Day [2nd Wednesday]

Worshipful Company of Vintners of the City of London Annual Procession [2nd Wednesday]

Independence Days

Kopernik (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Arthur Davis (Artology)

Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (Christian; Saint)

Bourbon Day (Pastafarian)

Burchard of Meissen (Christian; Saint)

Castora Gabrielli (Christian; Saint)

Caomhán of Inisheer (Christian; Saint)

Docmael (a.k.a. Toel; Christian; Saint)

Elisha the Prophet (Roman Catholic and Lutheran)

Fag Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Fortunatus of Naples (Roman Catholic)

Francisca de Paula de Jesus (Nhá Chica; Christian; Blessed)

Harry Nilsson (Humanism; Saint)

Joseph the Hymnographer (Roman Catholic: Orthodox April 3)

Louisey (Muppetism)

Media Ver VIII (Pagan)

Methodios I of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Muse’s Nativity Day (Celebrating their mother, Mnemosyne; Ancient Greece)

Nennus (a.k.a. Nehemias; Christian; Saint)

Nicolas Bentley (Artology)

Psalmodius (Christian; Saint)

Quintian of Rodez (a.k.a. Rodez; Christian; Saint)

Richard Baxter (Church of England)

Rufinus and Valerius (Christian; Martyrs)

Valerius and Rufinus (Christian; Saint)

Vidar (Norse festival to the Son of Odin)

St. Vincent de Paul (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 27 of 60)

Premieres

Bosky the Sheep-Herder (WB LT Cartoon; 1933)

The Bourne Identity (Film; 2002)

Daydream Believer, recorded by The Monkees (Song; 1967)

The Dragons of Eden, by Carl Saran (Science Book; 1977)

1st entry in The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (Diary; 1942)

Flags of Our Fathers, by James Bradley with Ron Powers (History Book; 2000)

Fort Apache (Film; 1948)

The Gong Show (TV Game Show; 1976)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Film; 1950)

King Tweety (WB Animated Film; 2022)

The Last of Us (Video Game; 2013)

Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane recorded (1923) [1st country music hit]

The Massacre at Fall Creek, by Jessamyn West (Novel; 1975)

Man of Steel (Film; 2013)

Men in Black: International (Film; 2019)

Murder Mystery (Film; 2019)

The Parallax View (Film; 1974)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Film; 1991)

Scooby-Doo (Film; 2002)

Shaft (Film; 2019)

She, by Elvis Costello (Song; 1999)

Stealing Beauty (Film; 1996)

Tarkus, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Album; 1971)

Tibetan Peach Pie, by Tom Robbins (Novel; 2014)

That Touch of Mink (Film; 1962)

Wallace and Grommit Festival (Animated Film; 1996)

Wild in the Country (Film; 1961)

Workingman’s Dead, by The Grateful Dead (Album; 1970)

Today’s Name Days

Hartwig, Meinrad (Austria)

Elizej, Rufin, Valerije, Zlatko (Croatia)

Roland (Czech Republic)

Rufinus (Denmark)

Leina, Leine, Leini (Estonia)

Kielo, Pihla (Finland)

Élisée, Valère (France)

Hartwig, Meinrad (Germany)

Elissaios, Nefon (Greece)

Vazul (Hungary)

Eliseo, Valerio (Italy)

Kitija, Klitija, Saiva, Sentis, Tija (Latvia)

Almina, Bazilijus, Digna, Labvardas (Lithuania)

Erland, Erlend (Norway)

Bazylid, Bazylis, Eliza, Justyn, Justyna, Ninogniew, Walerian, Waleriana (Poland)

Elisei (România)

Vasil (Slovakia)

Anastasio, Digna, Eliseo, Félix, Metodio (Spain)

Håkan, Hakon (Sweden)

Vladyslav (Ukraine)

Basil, Basilia, Jaren, Jaron, Jarron, Vasily (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 165 of 2024; 200 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 24 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ding-Si), Day 27 (Gui-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 25 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 15 Sol; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 1 June 2023

Moon: 13%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 25 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Vincent de Paul]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 86 of 92)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 24 of 32)

Calendar Changes

June (a.k.a. Iunius; Julian Calendar) [Month 6 of 12]