From Monachos.net
'When you have become God's in the measure He desires, then He Himself will bestow you upon others; unless, to your greater glory, He choose to keep you all to Himself.' —St Basil the Great
Hymns for Our Father Basil:
(see also hymns for the Three Hierarchs)
Troparion, Tone I:
Throughout the world thy teaching spread, / setting forth the doctrines of faith. / Thou expoundeth for us the nature of the world around us, / ennobling the ethics and morals of men. / O holy Basil, gracious father and royal priest, / beg Christ, our God, to save our souls.
Kontakion, Tone IV:
As one of the unshakeable foundation stones of the Church of Christ, / thou bestowed on us all a legacy that cannot be taken from us, / and thou sealest the bequest with thy teaching, O Basil, holy father.
| The Writings of St Basil: | Studies & Information on St Basil: |
| Oration On the Holy Spirit - The Saint's lengthy and important treatise on the Holy Spirit. Essential reading for a proper understanding of the Spirit within the Orthodox Tradition. | A Sketch of the Life and Works of St Basil An outline of his life, with information on his works; includes dates, places, and connections to relevant historical materials. |
| Homily 1: 'In the Beginning God Made the Heaven and the Earth' - A sermon on the beginning movements of creation. | Life of St Basil from the website of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, DC; includes notes. |
| Homily 5: 'The Germination of the Earth' - On the creation of plant life and its place in the divine purpose. A wonderful work of ecological theology. | Another Life of St Basil from the ROCOR website. Still a Shorter Life of St Basil which is quite condensed, also available. |
| Epistle 2: A Letter to St Gregory the Theologian - On humility, inner stillness, prayer, and proper Christian mannerisms. | Eulogy for St Basil Delivered by his brother, St Gregory of Nyssa, on 1 January 381 (two years after St Basil's death in 379). |
| Epistle 8: To the Caesareans - An extremely important, if not essential, work on the nature of the Holy Trinity in Orthodox theology. | Entry on St Basil in the Ecole Online Church History Encyclopedia; brief, with links to definitions of major items associated with the Saint's life. |
| Epistle 38: On the Distinction Between ousia and hypostasis - A new translation of this foundational text in Cappadocian Trinitarian theory. | A Prayer to St Basil from an Akathist printed by the Synodal Printery in Moscow, 1912. |
| St Basil's Prayer at the Ninth Hour - Read at the end of the Ninth Hour, at the commemoration of Christ's Passion, imploring is compassion upon undeserving sinners. | |
| A Prayer of St Basil - The famous prayer of St Basil, invoking the graciousness and clemency of God upon a weak and humble humanity. |