In both families there were many saints. Saint Basil, born in Caesarea in 329, received from his father the foundations of Christian doctrine. His sister Macrina and his brothers Peter, bishop of Sebaste, and Gregory of Nyssa, were also raised on the altars. Gregory of Nazianzus also had a sister, Gorgon, and a brother, Caesarius, saints.
Basil travels across Pontus, then Egypt, Palestine and Syria, attracted by the life of monks and hermits: he aspires to a life of silence, solitude and prayer. Returning to Pontus, he found a former classmate he had known in Athens, Gregory of Nazianzus, with whom he founded a small monastic community. He then left his retirement to settle in Caesarea, where he was ordained priest and then bishop.
His fight against Arianism developed in doctrine and charity. Against the Arians who defended their property, Basil maintained that if everyone was content with what was necessary and gave what was superfluous to others, there would be no more poor people. As for Gregory, Emperor Theodosius sent him to Constantinople (formerly Byzantium, today Istanbul) to fight the Arian heresy. Thanks to his exemplary doctrine and life, the city returned to orthodoxy. They are known as the Cappadocian Fathers.
The authorFrancisco Otamendi
Belgium
