CrucisSt. Basil the Great
St. Basil the Great was born around 330 at Caesarea in Cappadocia (in modern Turkey), into a remarkable family that produced several saints — including his grandmother St. Macrina the Elder, his sister St. Macrina the Younger, and his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa. Well educated in Athens, where he befriended St. Gregory of Nazianzus, he embraced the ascetic life before being made bishop of Caesarea. He is honored as one of the three Cappadocian Fathers.
A vigorous defender of the Nicene faith against Arianism, he did much to clarify the Church's teaching on the Holy Trinity, especially the divinity of the Holy Spirit. His monastic rules became the foundation of Eastern monasticism and influenced St. Benedict in the West, and his tireless charity built the 'Basiliad,' a vast complex of hospitals and shelters for the poor outside Caesarea. He is venerated as a Father and Doctor of the Church.
Selected quotes
“The emperor may threaten my exile, my death, my possessions — but he cannot threaten what I actually have, which is God, and God cannot be confiscated.”
“The Basiliad stands as witness that faith without works is hollow — a bishop who preaches mercy and builds no refuge for the suffering has not yet understood his own sermon.”
“Three Persons, one God — not three gods nor one Person wearing three masks, but a Trinity of perfect love in which each Person is wholly given to the others.”