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  1. #11
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    Predefinito Dalle opere di san Basilio Magno, vescovo

    Esamerone, 3,10

    Dio, che ha creato cose tanto grandi, vi conceda in tutto la comprensione della sua verità affinché, attraverso la realtà visibile, conosciate l’invisibile, nutrendo così, grazie alla grandezza e bellezza delle creature, un’adeguata concezione del nostro Creatore. Infatti, le cose invisibili di lui, essendo riconoscibili nelle sue opere, possono essere contemplate dalle creature del mondo: sia la sua eterna potenza che la divinità (Rm 1,20). Accadrà così che, nell’osservare la terra, l’aria, il cielo, l’acqua, la notte, il giorno e ogni altra cosa visibile, distintamente ci rammenteremo di colui che ci ha beneficato.

    Soltanto se Dio abiterà dentro di noi attraverso il nostro costante ricordo di lui, non daremo esca al peccato né faremo posto al nemico nei nostri cuori. A lui ogni gloria e adorazione, ora e sempre, nei secoli dei secoli.

  2. #12
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    Predefinito Dalle opere di san Basilio Magno, vescovo

    Esamerone, 4, 6-7

    E Dio vide che era bello". La Scrittura non intende affermare che il mare abbia offerto agli occhi di Dio uno spettacolo affascinante. Il Creatore, infatti, non contempla con gli occhi la bellezza della creazione, ma osserva i fenomeni con la sua ineffabile sapienza.

    È davvero uno spettacolo magnifico quello offerto dalla distesa del mare biancheggiante di spuma, mentre vi regna una calma sovrana; ovvero quando la superficie delle acque, increspata da un venticello leggero, mostra a chi guarda un colore purpureo o azzurro. Gradevole è anche contemplare il mare, non quando flagella con violenza la terra vicina, ma quando l’abbraccia con pacifici amplessi.

    Ciò nondimeno, non è da ritenersi, secondo quanto afferma la Scrittura, che la vista del mare fu per Dio bella e gradevole: lì, invece, il mare è giudicato bello in rapporto all’insieme della creazione. Anzitutto perché l’acqua del mare costituisce la fonte e l’origine di tutta l’umidità della terra... Essa, infatti, riscaldata dai raggi del sole, si trasforma in vapore acqueo che, levandosi sempre più in alto e raffreddandosi quando manchi la rifrazione dei raggi dal suolo, producendo nello stesso tempo la fresca ombra delle nubi, genera la pioggia e rende più fertile la terra. Di ciò, nessuno che abbia visto riscaldare dei recipienti, può dubitare. Questi infatti, in origine pieni di liquido, spesso rimangono vuoti quando tutto ciò che veniva riscaldato si sia dissolto sotto forma di vapore. Anzi, si può anche vedere come l’acqua del mare venga bollita dai marinai che, raccogliendone il vapore a mezzo di spugne, provvedono in qualche modo, ove fosse necessario, alla carenza d’acqua.

    Il mare è anche bello (ma in modo diverso secondo il punto di vista di Dio) perché circonda le isole, offrendo loro ornamento e sicurezza; e perché congiunge terre assai distanti fornendo ai naviganti spostamenti veloci. Dalla loro bocca ci fa conoscere storie di avvenimenti, prima ignorati, procura ricchezze ai mercanti, facilmente rimedia alle necessità della vita: infatti, a coloro che posseggono in sovrabbondanza una quantità di cose, offre la possibilità di esportare quelle superflue in un altro luogo; per coloro che, invece, ne scarseggiano, fa sì che possano procurarsi ciò che manca loro.

    Donde proviene a me la possibilità di ammirare attentamente tutta la bellezza del mare, quale si manifestò in origine all’occhio del Creatore? D’altronde, se al cospetto di Dio il mare è bello e gradevole quanto gli apparirà più bella questa assemblea in cui la voce confusa di uomini, di donne e di fanciulli, simile a quella dell’onda che s’infrange sulla riva, si rivolge a Dio nelle nostre preghiere?

    Una tranquillità profonda la conserva nella pace non potendo gli spiriti della malizia turbarlo con le loro dottrine eretiche. Diventate dunque, degni della approvazione del Signore, osservando rigorosamente questa disciplina, nel nostro Signore Gesù Cristo.

  3. #13
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    Predefinito Dalle opere di san Basilio Magno, vescovo

    Esamerone, 2, 7

    E Dio disse: «Sia la luce» (Gen 1,3)! La prima parola di Dio creò la luce, dissipò le tenebre, allontanò la tristezza, illuminò il cosmo, rivestì ogni cosa di un aspetto gradevole e giocondo.

    Apparve, infatti anche il cielo, prima nascosto nelle tenebre; apparve la sua bellezza, tanto grande come anche adesso gli occhi possono testimoniare. L’aria stessa brillava, o meglio tratteneva in sé tutta la luce, inviandone grandiose inondazioni per tutta la sua estensione. Attraverso l’aria, infatti, la luce giunse, in alto, sino all’etere e al cielo; in latitudine, illuminò tutte le regioni del mondo: da quella boreale a quella australe, dall’oriente all’occidente; tutto nel breve spazio di un momento.

    L’atmosfera, infatti, è così sottile e trasparente che la luce, per attraversarla non ha bisogno di alcun intervallo di tempo. Come il nostro sguardo percepisce immediatamente gli oggetti sui quali si posa, con altrettanta rapidità, in un tempo che nessuno potrebbe immaginarsi più breve, l’atmosfera accoglie dappertutto i raggi della luce.

    Dopo l’apparizione della luce, anche il cielo divenne più giocondo e le acque più limpide, non soltanto accogliendo la luce, ma anche riflettendola in ogni punto con innumerevoli scintillii.

    La parola divina donò ad ogni cosa un aspetto bellissimo e piacevolissimo. Come coloro che, immergendosi, versano dell’olio in fondo all’acqua, per rischiarare quel punto; allo stesso modo il Creatore, non appena ebbe parlato, subito recò al mondo la grazia della luce.

    «Sia la luce». E il comando era subito attuato, così fu creato qualcosa di cui la mente umana non può immaginare nulla di più giocondo e di più bello.

    Quando poi parliamo della voce o della parola o del comando di Dio, non intendiamo affermare che la parola divina costituisca un suono emesso attraverso le corde vocali né una quantità d’aria regolata dalla lingua; riteniamo, invece, che, in modo più comprensibile per coloro che vengono istruiti, essa rappresenti l’impulso della volontà divina, significato sotto la forma del comando.

    E Dio vide che la luce era bella (Gen 1,4). Quali lodi potremmo noi mai pronunciare, che siano degne della luce, dal momento che il Creatore stesso l’ha riconosciuta bella fin dal principio?

  4. #14
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    Predefinito

    St. Basil the Great

    Bishop of Caesarea, and one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church. Born probably 329; died 1 January, 379. He ranks after Athanasius as a defender of the Oriental Church against the heresies of the fourth century. With his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, he makes up the trio known as "The Three Cappadocians", far outclassing the other two in practical genius and actual achievement.

    LIFE

    St. Basil the Elder, father of St. Basil the Great, was the son of a Christian of good birth and his wife, Macrina (Acta SS., January, II), both of whom suffered for the faith during the persecution of Maximinus Galerius (305-314), spending several years of hardship in the wild mountains of Pontus. St. Basil the Elder was noted for his virtue (Acta SS, May, VII) and also won considerable reputation as a teacher in Caesarea. He was not a priest (Cf. Cave, Hist. Lit., I, 239). He married Emmelia, the daughter of a martyr and became the father of ten children. Three of these, Macrina, Basil, and Gregory are honoured as saints; and of the sons, Peter, Gregory, and Basil attained the dignity of the episcopate.

    Under the care of his father and his grandmother, the elder Macrina, who preserved the traditions of their countryman, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213-275) Basil was formed in habits of piety and study. He was still young when his father died and the family moved to the estate of the elder Macrina at Annesi in Pontus, on the banks of the Iris. As a boy, he was sent to school at Caesarea, then "a metropolis of letters", and conceived a fervent admiration for the local bishop, Dianius. Later, he went to Constantinople, at that time "distinguished for its teachers of philosophy and rhetoric", and thence to Athens. Here he became the inseparable companion of Gregory of Nazianzus, who, in his famous panegyric on Basil (Or. xliii), gives a most interesting description of their academic experiences. According to him, Basil was already distinguished for brilliancy of mind and seriousness of character and associated only with the most earnest students. He was able, grave, industrious, and well advanced in rhetoric, grammar, philosophy, astronomy, geometry, and medicine. (As to his not knowing Latin, see Fialon, Etude historique et littéraire sur St. Basile, Paris, 1869). We know the names of two of Basil's teachers at Athens — Prohaeresius, possibly a Christian, and Himerius, a pagan. It has been affirmed, though probably incorrectly, that Basil spent some time under Libanius. He tells us himself that he endeavoured without success to attach himself as a pupil to Eustathius (Ep., I). At the end of his sojourn at Athens, Basil being laden, says St. Gregory of Nazianzus "with all the learning attainable by the nature of man", was well equipped to be a teacher. Caesarea took possession of him gladly "as a founder and second patron" (Or. xliii), and as he tells us (ccx), he refused the splendid offers of the citizens of Neo-Caesarea, who wished him to undertake the education of the youth of their city.

    To the successful student and distinguished professor, "there now remained", says Gregory (Or. xliii), "no other need than that of spiritual perfection". Gregory of Nyssa, in his life of Macrina, gives us to understand that Basil's brilliant success both as a university student and a professor had left traces of worldliness and self-sufficiency on the soul of the young man. Fortunately, Basil came again in contact with Dianius, Bishop of Caesarea, the object of his boyish affection, and Dianius seems to have baptized him, and ordained him Reader soon after his return to Caesarea. It was at the same time also that he fell under the influence of that very remarkable woman, his sister Macrina, who had meanwhile founded a religious community on the family estate at Annesi. Basil himself tells us how, like a man roused from deep sleep, he turned his eyes to the marvellous truth of the Gospel, wept many tears over his miserable life, and prayed for guidance from God: "Then I read the Gospel, and saw there that a great means of reaching perfection was the selling of one's goods, the sharing of them with the poor, the giving up of all care for this life, and the refusal to allow the soul to be turned by any sympathy towards things of earth" (Ep. ccxxiii). To learn the ways of perfection, Basil now visited the monasteries of Egypt, Palestine, Coele-Syria, and Mesopotamia. He returned, filled with admiration for the austerity and piety of the monks, and founded a monastery in his native Pontus, on the banks of the Iris, nearly opposite Annesi. (Cf. Ramsay, Hist. Geog. of Asia Minor, London, 1890, p. 326). Eustathius of Sebaste had already introduced the eremitical life into Asia Minor; Basil added the cenobitic or community form, and the new feature was imitated by many companies of men and women. (Cf. Sozomen, Hist. Eccl., VI, xxvii; Epiphanius, Haer., lxxv, 1; Basil, Ep. ccxxiii; Tillemont, Mém., IX, Art. XXI, and note XXVI.) Basil became known as the father of Oriental monasticism, the forerunner of St. Benedict. How well he deserved the title, how seriously and in what spirit he undertook the systematizing of the religious life, may be seen by the study of his Rule. He seems to have read Origen's writings very systematically about this time, for in union with Gregory of Nazianzus, he published a selection of them called the "Philocalia".

    Basil was drawn from his retreat into the area of theological controversy in 360 when he accompanied two delegates from Seleucia to the emperor at Constantinople, and supported his namesake of Ancyra. There is some dispute as to his courage and his perfect orthodoxy on this occasion (cf. Philostorgius, Hist. Eccl., IV, xii; answered by Gregory of Nyssa, In Eunom., I, and Maran, Proleg., vii; Tillemont, Mém., note XVIII). A little later, however, both qualities seem to have been sufficiently in evidence, as Basil forsook Dianius for having signed the heretical creed of Rimini. To this time (c. 361) may be referred the "Moralia"; and a little later came two books against Eunomius (363) and some correspondence with Athanasius. It is possible, also, that Basil wrote his monastic rules in the briefer forms while in Pontus, and enlarged them later at Caesarea. There is an account of an invitation from Julian for Basil to present himself a court and of Basil's refusal, coupled with an admonition that angered the emperor and endangered Basil's safety. Both incident and correspondence however are questioned by some critics.

    Basil still retained considerable influence in Caesarea, and it is regarded as fairly probable that he had a hand in the election of the successor of Dianius who died in 362, after having been reconciled to Basil. In any case the new bishop, Eusebius, was practically placed in his office by the elder Gregory of Nazianzus. Eusebius having persuaded the reluctant Basil to be ordained priest, gave him a prominent place in the administration of the diocese (363). In ability for the management of affairs Basil so far eclipsed the bishop that ill-feeling rose between the two. "All the more eminent and wiser portion of the church was roused against the bishop" (Greg. Naz., Or. xliii; Ep. x), and to avoid trouble Basil again withdrew into the solitude of Pontus. A little later (365) when the attempt of Valens to impose Arianism on the clergy and the people necessitated the presence of a strong personality, Basil was restored to his former position, being reconciled to the bishop by St. Gregory of Nazianzus. There seems to have been no further disagreement between Eusebius and Basil and the latter soon became the real head of the diocese. "The one", says Gregory of Nazianzus (Or. xliii), "led the people the other led their leader". During the five years spent in this most important office, Basil gave evidence of being a man of very unusual powers. He laid down the law to the leading citizens and the imperial governors, settled disputes with wisdom and finality, assisted the spiritually needy, looked after "the support of the poor, the entertainment of strangers, the care of maidens, legislation written and unwritten for the monastic life, arrangements of prayers, (liturgy?), adornment of the sanctuary" (op. cit.). In time of famine, he was the saviour of the poor.

    In 370 Basil succeeded to the See of Caesarea, being consecrated according to tradition on 14 June. Caesarea was then a powerful and wealthy city (Soz., Hist. Eccl., V, v). Its bishop was Metropolitan of Cappadocia and Exarch of Pontus which embraced more than half of Asia Minor and comprised eleven provinces. The see of Caesarea ranked with Ephesus immediately after the patriarchal sees in the councils, and the bishop was the superior of fifty chorepiscopi (Baert). Basil's actual influence, says Jackson (Prolegomena, XXXII) covered the whole stretch of country "from the Balkans to the Mediterranean and from the Aegean to the Euphrates". The need of a man like Basil in such a see as Caesarea was most pressing, and he must have known this well. Some think that he set about procuring his own election; others (e.g. Maran, Baronius, Ceillier) say that he made no attempt on his own behalf. In any event, he became Bishop of Caesarea largely by the influence of the elder Gregory of Nazianzus. His election, says the younger Gregory (loc. cit.), was followed by disaffection on the part of several suffragan bishops "on whose side were found the greatest scoundrels in the city". During his previous administration of the diocese Basil had so clearly defined his ideas of discipline and orthodoxy, that no one could doubt the direction and the vigour of his policy. St. Athanasius was greatly pleased at Basil's election (Ad Pallad., 953; Ad Joann. et Ant., 951); but the Arianizing Emperor Valens, displayed considerably annoyance and the defeated minority of bishops became consistently hostile to the new metropolitan. By years of tactful conduct, however, "blending his correction with consideration and his gentleness with firmness" (Greg. Naz., Or. xliii), he finally overcame most of his opponents.

    Basil's letters tell the story of his tremendous and varied activity; how he worked for the exclusion of unfit candidates from the sacred ministry and the deliverance of the bishops from the temptation of simony; how he required exact discipline and the faithful observance of the canons from both laymen and clerics; how he rebuked the sinful, followed up the offending, and held out hope of pardon to the penitent. (Cf. Epp. xliv, xlv, and xlvi, the beautiful letter to a fallen virgin, as well as Epp. liii, liv, lv, clxxxviii, cxcix, ccxvii, and Ep. clxix, on the strange incident of Glycerius, whose story is well filled out by Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, New York, 1893, p. 443 sqq.) If on the one hand he strenuously defended clerical rights and immunities (Ep. civ), on the other he trained his clergy so strictly that they grew famous as the type of all that a priest should be (Epp. cii, ciii). Basil did not confine his activity to diocesan affairs, but threw himself vigorously into the troublesome theological disputes then rending the unity of Christendom. He drew up a summary of the orthodox faith; he attacked by word of mouth the heretics near at hand and wrote tellingly against those afar. His correspondence shows that he paid visits, sent messages, gave interviews, instructed, reproved, rebuked, threatened, reproached, undertook the protection of nations, cities, individuals great and small. There was very little chance of opposing him successfully, for he was a cool, persistent, fearless fighter in defence both of doctrine and of principles. His bold stand against Valens parallels the meeting of Ambrose with Theodosius. The emperor was dumbfounded at the archbishop's calm indifference to his presence and his wishes. The incident, as narrated by Gregory of Nazianzus, not only tells much concerning Basil's character but throws a clear light on the type of Christian bishop with which the emperors had to deal and goes far to explain why Arianism, with little court behind it, could make so little impression on the ultimate history of Catholicism.

    While assisting Eusebius in the care of his diocese, Basil had shown a marked interest in the poor and afflicted; that interest now displayed itself in the erection of a magnificent institution, the Ptochoptopheion, or Basileiad, 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 with the name of he kaine polis or "Newtown". 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. It may be mentioned here that the social obligations of the wealthy were so plainly and forcibly preached by St. Basil that modern sociologists have ventured to claim him as one of their own, though with no more foundation than would exist in the case of any other consistent teacher of the principles of Catholic ethics. The truth is that 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.

    In the midst of his labours, Basil underwent suffering of many kinds. Athanasius died in 373 and the elder Gregory in 374, both of them leaving gaps never to be filled. In 373 began the painful estrangement from Gregory of Nazianzus. Anthimus, Bishop of Tyana, became an open enemy, Apollinaris "a cause of sorrow to the churches" (Ep. cclxiii), Eustathius of Sebaste a traitor to the Faith and a personal foe as well. Eusebius of Samosata was banished, Gregory of Nyssa condemned and deposed. When Emperor Valentinian died and the Arians recovered their influence, all Basil's efforts must have seemed in vain. His health was breaking, the Goths were at the door of the empire, Antioch was in schism, Rome doubted his sincerity, the bishops refused to be brought together as he wished. "The notes of the church were obscured in his part of Christendom, and he had to fare on as best he might,--admiring, courting, yet coldly treated by the Latin world, desiring the friendship of Rome, yet wounded by her reserve,--suspected of heresy by Damasus, and accused by Jerome of pride" (Newman, The Church of the Fathers). Had he lived a little longer and attended the Council of Constantinople (381), he would have seen the death of its first president, his friend Meletius, and the forced resignation of its second, Gregory of Nazianzus. Basil died 1 January, 379. His death was regarded as a public bereavement; Jews, pagans, and foreigners vied with his own flock in doing him honour. The earlier Latin martyrologies (Hieronymian and Bede) make no mention of a feast of St. Basil. The first mention is by Usuard and Ado who place it on 14 June, the supposed date of Basil's consecration to the episcopate. In the Greek "Menaea" he is commemorated on 1 January, the day of his death. In 1081, John, Patriarch of Constantinople, in consequence of a vision, established a feast in common honour of St. Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom, to be celebrated on 30 January. The Bollandists give an account of the origin of this feast; they also record as worthy of note that no relics of St. Basil are mentioned before the twelfth century, at which time parts of his body, together with some other very extraordinary relics were reputed to have been brought to Bruges by a returning Crusader. Baronius (c. 1599) gave to the Naples Oratory a relic of St. Basil sent from Constantinople to the pope. The Bollandists and Baronius print descriptions of Basil's personal appearance and the former reproduce two icons, the older copied from a codex presented to Basil, Emperor of the East (877-886).

    By common consent, Basil ranks among the greatest figures in church history and the rather extravagant panegyric by Gregory of Nazianzus has been all but equalled by a host of other eulogists. Physically delicate and occupying his exalted position but a few years, Basil did magnificent and enduring work in an age of more violent world convulsions than Christianity has since experienced. (Cf. Newman, The Church of the Fathers). By personal virtue he attained distinction in an age of saints; and his purity, his monastic fervour, his stern simplicity, his friendship for the poor became traditional in the history of Christian asceticism. In fact, the impress of his genius was stamped indelibly on the Oriental conception of religious life. In his hands the great metropolitan see of Caesarea took shape as the sort of model of the Christian diocese; there was hardly any detail of episcopal activity in which he failed to mark out guiding lines and to give splendid example. Not the least of his glories is the fact that toward the officials of the State he maintained that fearless dignity and independence which later history has shown to be an indispensable condition of healthy life in the Catholic episcopate.

    Some difficulty has arisen out of the correspondence of St. Basil with the Roman See. That he was in communion with the Western bishops and that he wrote repeatedly to Rome asking that steps be taken to assist the Eastern Church in her struggle with schismatics and heretics is undoubted; but the disappointing result of his appeals drew from him certain words which require explanation. Evidently he was deeply chagrined that Pope Damasus on the one hand hesitated to condemn Marcellus and the Eustathians, and on the other preferred Paulinus to Meletius in whose right to the See of Antioch St. Basil most firmly believed. At the best it must be admitted that St. Basil criticized the pope freely in a private letter to Eusebius of Samosata (Ep. ccxxxix) and that he was indignant as well as hurt at the failure of his attempt to obtain help from the West. Later on, however, he must have recognized that in some respects he had been hasty; in any event, his strong emphasis of the influence which the Roman See could exercise over the Eastern bishops, and his abstaining from a charge of anything like usurpation are great facts that stand out obviously in the story of the disagreement. With regard to the question of his association with the Semi-Arians, Philostorgius speaks of him as championing the Semi-Arian cause, and Newman says he seems unavoidably to have Arianized the first thirty years of his life. The explanation of this, as well as of the disagreement with the Holy See, must be sought in a careful study of the times, with due reference to the unsettled and changeable condition of theological distinctions, the lack of anything like a final pronouncement by the Church's defining power, the "lingering imperfections of the Saints" (Newman), the substantial orthodoxy of many of the so-called Semi-Arians, and above all the great plan which Basil was steadily pursuing of effecting unity in a disturbed and divided Christendom.

    WRITINGS

    Dogmatic


    Of the five books against Eunomius (c. 364) the last two are classed as spurious by some critics. The work assails the equivalent Arianism of Eunomius and defends the Divinity of the Three Persons of the Trinity; it is well summarized by Jackson (Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Series II, VIII). The work "De Spiritu Sancto", or treatise on the Holy Spirit (c. 375) was evoked in part by the Macedonian denial of the Divinity of the Third Person and in part by charges that Basil himself had "slurred over the Spirit" (Gregory Naz., Ep. lviii), that he had advocated communion with all such a should admit simply that the Holy Ghost was not a creature (Basil, Ep. cxiii), and that he had sanctioned the use of a novel doxology, namely, "Glory be to the Father with the Son together with the Holy Ghost" (De Sp. S., I, i) The treatise teaches the doctrine of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, while avoiding the phrase "God, the Holy Ghost" for prudential reasons (Greg. Naz., Or. xliii). Wuilcknis and Swete affirm the necessity of some such reticence on Basil's part. (Cf. Jackson, op. cit., p. XXIII, note.) With regard to Basil's teaching on the Third Person, as expressed in his work against Eunomius (III, i), a controversy arose at the Council of Florence between the Latins and the Greeks; but strong arguments both external and internal, availed to place Basil on the side of the "Filioque". The dogmatic writings were edited separately by Goldhorn, in his "S. Basilii Opera Dogmatica Selecta" (Leipzig, 1854). The "De Spiritu Sancto", was translated into English by Johnston (Oxford, 1892); by Lewis in the Christian Classic Series (1888); and by Jackson (op. cit.).

    Exegetical

    These include nine homilies "On the Hexaemeron" and thirteen (Maran) genuine homilies on particular Psalms. A lengthy commentary on the first sixteen chapters of Isaias is of doubtful authenticity (Jackson), though by a contemporary hand. A commentary on Job has disappeared. "The Hexaemeron" was highly admired by Gregory of Nazianzus (Or. xliii, no. 67). It is translated entire by Jackson (op. cit.). The homilies on the Psalms are moral and hortatory rather than strictly exegetical. In interpreting the Scripture, Basil uses both the literal and the allegorical methods, but favours the literal system of Antioch. His second homily contains a denunciation of usury which has become famous.

    Homiletical

    Twenty-four sermons, doctrinal, moral, and panegyrical in character, are looked upon as generally genuine, certain critical difficulties, however, remaining still unsolved. Eight of these sermons were translated into Latin by Rufinus. The discourses place Basil among the very greatest of Christian preachers and evince his special gift for preaching upon the responsibilities of wealth. The most noteworthy in the collection are the homilies on the rich (vi and vii) copied by St. Ambrose (De Nabuthe Jez., v, 21-24), and the homily (xxii) on the study of pagan literature. The latter was edited by Fremion (Paris, 1819, with French translation), Sommer (Paris, 1894), Bach (Münster, 1900), and Maloney (New York, 1901). With regard to Basil's style and his success as a preacher much has been written. (Cf. Villemain, "Tableau d'éloq. Chrét. au IVe siècle", Paris, 1891; Fialon, "Etude Litt. sur St. B.", Paris, 1861); Roux, "Etude sur la prédication de B. le Grand", Strasburg, 1867; Croiset, "Hist. de la litt. Grecque", Paris, 1899.)

    Moral and Ascetical

    This group contains much of spurious or doubtful origin. Probably authentic are the latter two of the three prefatory treatises, and the five treatises: "Morals", "On the Judgment of God", "On Faith", "The Longer Monastic Rules", "The Shorter Monastic Rules". The twenty-four sermons on morals are a cento of extracts from the writings of Basil made by Simeon Metaphrastes. Concerning the authenticity of the Rules there has been a good deal of discussion. As is plain from these treatises and from the homilies that touch upon ascetical or moral subjects, St. Basil was particularly felicitous in the field of spiritual instruction.

    Correspondence

    The extant letters of Basil are 366 in number, two-thirds of them belonging to the period of his episcopate. The so-called "Canonical Epistles" have been assailed as spurious, but are almost surely genuine. The correspondence with Julian and with Libanius is probably apocryphal; the correspondence with Apollinarus is uncertain. All of the 366 letters are translated in the "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers". Some of the letters are really dogmatic treatises, and others are apologetic replies to personal attacks. In general they are very useful for their revelation of the saint's character and for the pictures of his age which they offer.

    Liturgical

    A so-called "Liturgy of St. Basil" exists in Greek and in Coptic. It goes back at least to the sixth century, but its connexion with Basil has been a matter of critical discussion (Brightman, "Liturgies, Eastern and Western", Oxford, 1896, I; Probst, "Die Liturgie des vierten Jahrhunderts und deren Reform", Münster, 1893, 377-412).

    EDITIONS OF ST. BASIL

    The editio princeps of the original text of the extant works of Basil appeared at Basle, 1551, and the first complete Latin translation at Rome, 1515 (autograph manuscript in the British Museum). The best edition is that of the Maurist Benedictines, Garnier and Maran (Paris, 1721-30), republished with appendixes by Migne (P. G., XXIX-XXXII). For fragments attributed to Basil with more or less certainty, and edited by Matthaei, Mai, Pitra, and others, see Bardenhewer, "Patrologie" (Freiburg, 1901), 247. Portions of letters recently discovered in Egyptian papyri were published by H. Landwehr, "Grieschische Handschriften aus Fayûm", in "Philologus", XLIII (1884).

    Bibliography

    GREG. NAZ., Prationes, especially xliii; IDEM, Epistolae; Carm. de vitá suâ; GREG. NYSS., Vita Macrinae; IDEM, Or. in laudem fratris Basilii; IDEM, In Eunom., I; SOCRATES, Hist. Eccl., IV, xxvi; VI, iii; SOZOMON, Hist. Eccl., VI, xxvi; VI, xv, xvi, xvii, xxii; RUFINUS, Hist. Eccl., II, ix; THEODORET, Hist. Eccl., IV, xix; PHILOSTORGIUS, Hist. Eccl., VIII, xi-xiii; EPHILEM SYRUS, Encomium in Bas., ap. COTELIER, Mon. Eccl. Gr., II; JEROME, De Vir. Illust., cxvi. The Vita Basilii by AMPHILOCHIUS is a forgery of about the ninth century. NEWMAN, Church of the Fathers, I-III

    Fonte: The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. II, New York, 1907

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    Liturgy of St. Basil

    Several Oriental liturgies, or at least several anaphoras, have been attributed to the great St. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia from 370 to 379. That St. Basil composed a liturgy, or rather reformed an existing liturgy, is beyond doubt, since besides the constant tradition of the Byzantine Church there are many testimonies in ancient writings to establish the fact. In a treatise on the tradition of the Divine liturgy attributed to St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (434-466), it is stated that when St. Basil noticed the slothfulness and degeneracy of men, how they were wearied by the length of the liturgy, he shortened it in order to cure their sloth (P.G., LXV, 849). More certain testimony to the existence of a liturgical text which went under the name of St. Basil is given in a letter of Peter the Deacon, one of the Scythian monks sent to Rome to settle certain dogmatic questions. Writing about the year 520 to the African bishops in exile in Sardinia, Peter, an Oriental, mentions a Liturgy of St. Basil, which was known and used throughout the entire East, and even quotes a passage from it: "Hence, also, Blessed Basil, Bishop of Cæsaria, in a prayer of the holy altar, with which almost the entire East is familiar, says among other things: Grant us, O Lord, Thy strength and protection; make the evil good and preserve the just in their righteousness. For Thou canst do all things and there is no one who may oppose Thee; for when Thou desirest, Thou savest, and no one resists Thy will." (P.L., LXV, 449.)

    Leontius of Byzantium, writing about the middle of the sixth century, censures Theodore of Mopsuestia because he was not content with the liturgies handed down by the Fathers to the churches, but composed a Mass of his own, showing, thereby, no reverence either for that of the Apostles, or for that composed in the same spirit by the great St. Basil (P.G., LXXXVI, 1368). The Quinisext, or Trullan Council (692), in its thirty-second canon draws an argument from the written liturgy of the archbishop of the church of the Cæsareans, St. Basil, whose glory has spread through the whole world (Mansi, Coll. Conc., XI, 958). Finally, in the Barberini library there is a manuscript of the latter part of the eighth, or the early part of the ninth, century which contains a Greek liturgy entitled the "Liturgy of St. Basil".

    It is not known precisely just what the nature of the Basilian reform was, nor what liturgy served as the basis of the saint's work. Very probably he shortened and changed somewhat the liturgy of his own diocese, which was akin to the Liturgy of St. James. In later times it underwent some development, so that with our present knowledge of its history it would be almost impossible to reconstruct it as it came from the pen of the Bishop of Cæsarea. According to the tradition of the Greek Orthodox Church, their liturgy is practically the work of St. Basil, due allowance being made for changes and amelioration in the course of time. This is older than either of the other two Byzantine liturgies, and is mentioned under the name of St. Basil in ancient times as if it were then the normal liturgy. Of the anaphoras attributed to St. Basil the Syriac and Armenian are probably derived from the Byzantine Greek with some modifications. The Abyssinian is a translation of the Coptic, while the Coptic, Arabic, and Greek Egyptian liturgies are substantially the same. These Egyptian anaphoras of St. Basil are different from the Cæsarean or Byzantine liturgy, and do not possess all the characteristics of the Alexandrian Rite, but appear rather to be modelled on the Syrian type, so they are probably an importation into Egypt. The Greek Egyptian contains several prayers (identical with those in the Byzantine liturgy) expressly ascribed to St. Basil, and from these it may derive its title.

    The Cæsarean or Byzantine Liturgy is used in the countries which were evangelized from Constantinople, or which came under its influence for any considerable period. It is used, for example, by the Orthodox and Uniat Greek churches in the Orient, as well as by the Greek communities in Italy and Sicily. Translated into the Old Slavonic it is used by Orthodox and Uniat Catholics in Russia and in some parts of the Austrian Empire; translated into Georgian and Rumanian it is used respectively in Georgia and Rumania. It has also been translated into several other languages and dialects for use in the Russian dependencies and where the Russian Church has missions, as well as into Arabic for use in Syria. Since the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom has become the normal liturgy of the Greek Church, that of St. Basil is now used only on the Sundays of Lent with the exception of Palm Sunday, on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, on the vigils of Christmas and of the Epiphany, and on the feast of St. Basil, which in the Greek calendar occurs on the first day of January.

    The liturgy may be divided into the Mass of the catechumens and the Mass of the faithful. The first contains the prayers of the prothesis, of the antiphons, of the little entrance, and of the trisagion, the lessons, and the prayers of the ectenes and of the catechumens. The Mass of the faithful begins with the two prayers of the faithful, and contains the prayer of the great entrance, the prayers of the Offertory, which is expressly ascribed to St. Basil, the kiss of peace, the Creed, and the Anaphora. The Anaphora proper, starting with the Eucharistic Preface followed by the Sanctus, embraces the preparatory prayers for the Consecration, the Consecration itself, the Epiclesis or invocation of the Holy Ghost, the Great Intercession for the living and the dead, the Lord's Prayer, the inclination, Elevation, Communion, thanksgiving, and dismissal.

    Bibliography

    GOAR,Eùchológion, sive rituale græcorum (Venice, 1730); BRIGHTMAN, Liturgies Eastern and Western (Oxford, 1906) I, prints the Barberini MS., p. 308, the prayers of the modern liturgy, p. 400. Tr. will be found in: BRETT, A Collection of the Principal Liturgies (London, 1838), and SWANSON, The Greek Liturgies (Cambridge, 1884); NEALE, History of the Holy Eastern Church (London, 1850); PROBST, Liturgie des vierten Jahrhunderts und deren Reform (Münster, 1893); RENAUDOT, Liturgiarum orientalium collectio (Frankfort, 1847).

    Fonte: The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. II, New York, 1907

  6. #16
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    Rule of St. Basil

    I.


    Under the name of Basilians are included all the religious who follow the Rule of St. Basil. The monasteries of such religious have never possessed the hierarchical organization which ordinarily exists in the houses of an order properly so called. Only a few houses were formerly grouped into congregations or are today so combined. St. Basil drew up his Rule for the members of the monastery he founded about 356 on the banks of the Iris in Cappadocia. Before forming this community St. Basil visited Egypt, Palestine, Coelesyria, and Mesopotamia in order to see for himself the manner of life led by the monks in these countries. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, who shared the retreat, aided Basil by his advice and experience. The Rule of Basil is divided into two parts: the "Greater Monastic Rules" (Regulae fusius tractatae, Migne, P.G., XXXI, 889-1052), and the "Lesser Rules" (Regulae brevius tractatae, ibid., 1051-1306). Rufinus who translated them into Latin united the two into a single Rule under the name of "Regulae sancti Basilii episcopi Cappadociae ad monachos" (P.L., CIII, 483-554); this Rule was followed by some western monasteries. For a long time the Bishop of Caesarea was wrongly held to be the author of a work on monasticism called "Contitutiones monasticae" (P.G., XXXI, 1315-1428). In his Rule St. Basil follows a catechetical method; the disciple asks a question to which the master replies. He limits himself to laying down indisputable principles which will guide the superiors and monks in their conduct. He sends his monks to the Sacred Scriptures; in his eyes the Bible is the basis of all monastic legislation, the true Rule. The questions refer generally to the virtues which the monks should practice and the vices they should avoid. The greater number of the replies contain a verse or several verses of the Bible accompanied by a comment which defines the meaning. The most striking qualities of the Basilian Rule are its prudence and its wisdom. It leaves to the superiors the care of settling the many details of local, individual, and daily life; it does not determine the material exercise of the observance or the administrative regulations of the monastery. Poverty, obedience, renunciation, and self-abnegation are the virtues which St. Basil makes the foundation of the monastic life.

    As he gave it, the Rule could not suffice for anyone who wished to organize a monastery, for it takes this work as an accomplished fact. The life of the Cappadocian monks could not be reconstructed from his references to the nature and number of the meals and to the garb of the inmates. The superiors had for guide a tradition accepted by all the monks. This tradition was enriched as time went on by the decisions of councils, by the ordinances of the Emperors of Constantinople, and by the regulations of a number of revered abbots. Thus there arose a body of law by which the monasteries were regulated. Some of these laws were accepted by all, others were observed only by the houses of some one country, while there were regulations which applied only to certain communities. In this regard Oriental monasticism bears much resemblance to that of the West; a great variety of observances is noticeable. The existence of the Rule of St. Basil formed a principle of unity.

    II. THE MONASTERIES OF THE EAST

    The monasteries of Cappadocia were the first to accept the Rule of St. Basil; it afterwards spread gradually to all the monasteries of the East. Those of Armenia, Chaldea, and of the Syrian countries in general preferred instead of the Rule of St. Basil those observances which were known among them as the Rule of St. Anthony. Neither the ecclesiastical nor the imperial authority was exerted to make conformity to the Basilian Rule universal. It is therefore impossible to tell the epoch at which it acquired the supremacy in the religious communities of the Greek world; but the date is probably an early one. The development of monasticism was, in short, the cause of its diffusion. Protected by the emperors and patriarchs the monasteries increased rapidly in number. In 536 the Diocese of Constantinople contained no less than sixty-eight, that of Chalcedon forty, and these numbers continually increased. Although monasticism was not able to spread in all parts of the empire with equal rapidity, yet what it probably must have been may be inferred from these figures. These monks took an active part in the ecclesiastical life of their time; they had a share in all the quarrels, both theological and other, and were associated with all the works of charity. Their monasteries were places of refuge for studious men. Many of the bishops and patriarchs were chosen from their ranks. Their history is interwoven, therefore, with that of the Oriental Churches. They gave to the preaching of the Gospel its greatest apostles. As a result monastic life gained a footing at the same time as Christianity among all the races won to the Faith. The position of the monks in the empire was one of great power, and their wealth helped to increase their influence. Thus their development ran a course parallel to that of their Western brethren. The monks, as a rule, followed the theological vicissitudes of the emperors and patriarchs, and they showed no notable independence except during the iconoclastic persecution; the stand they took in this aroused the anger of the imperial controversialists. The Faith had its martyrs among them; many of them were condemned to exile, and some took advantage of this condemnation to reorganize their religious life in Italy.

    Of all the monasteries of this period the most celebrated was that of St. John the Baptist of Studium, founded at Constantinople in the fifth century. It acquired its fame in the time of the iconoclastic persecution while it was under the government of the saintly Hegumenos (abbot) Theodore, called the Studite. Nowhere did the heretical emperors meet with more courageous resistance. At the same time the monastery was an active center of intellectual and artistic life and a model which exercised considerable influence on monastic observances in the East. Further details may be found in "Prescriptio constitutionis monasterii Studii" (Migne, P.G., XCIX, 1703-20), and the monastery's "Canones de confessione et pro peccatis satisfactione" (ibid., 1721-30). Theodore attributed the observances followed by his monks to his uncle, the saintly Abbot Plato, who first introduced them in his monastery of Saccudium. The other monasteries, one after another adopted them, and they are still followed by the monks of Mount Athos. The monastery of Mount Athos was founded towards the close of the tenth century through the aid of the Emperor Basil the Macedonian and became the largest and most celebrated of all the monasteries of the Orient; it is in reality a monastic province. The monastery of Mount Olympus in Bithynia should also be mentioned, although it was never as important as the other. The monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, which goes back to the early days of monasticism, had a great fame and is still occupied by monks. Reference to Oriental monks must here be limited to those who have left a mark upon ecclesiastical literature: Leontius of Byzantium (d. 543), author of a treatise against the Nestorians and Eutychians; St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, one of the most vigorous adversaries of the Monothelite heresy (P.G., LXXXVII, 3147-4014); St. Maximus the Confessor, Abbot of Chrysopolis (d. 662), the most brilliant representative of Byzantine monasticism in the seventh century; in his writings and letters St. Maximus steadily combated the partisans of the erroneous doctrines of Monothelitism (ibid., XC and XCI); St. John Damascene, who may perhaps be included among the Basilians; St Theodore the Studite (d. 829), the defender of the veneration of sacred images; his works include theological, ascetic, hagiographical, liturgical, and historical writings (P.G., XCIX). The Byzantine monasteries furnish a long line of historians who were also monks: John Malalas, whose "Monographia" (P.G., XCVII, 9-190) served as a model for Eastern chroniclers Georgius Syncellus, who wrote a "Selected Chronographia"; his friend and disciple Theophanes (d. 817), Abbot of the "Great Field" near Cyzicus, the author of another "Chronographia" (P.G., CVIII); the Patriarch Nicephorus, who wrote (815-829) an historical "Breviarium" (a Byzantine history), and an "Abridged Chronographia" (P.G., C, 879-991); George the Monk, whose Chronicle stops at A. D. 842 (P.G. CX). There were, besides, a large number of monks, hagiographers, hymnologists, and poets who had a large share in the development of the Greek Liturgy. Among the authors of hymns may be mentioned: St. Maximus the Confessor; St. Theodore the Studite; St.Romanus the Melodist; St. Andrew of Crete; St. John Damascene; Cosmas of Jerusalem, and St. Joseph the Hymnographer. Fine penmanship and the copying of manuscripts were held in honor among the Basilians. Among the monasteries which excelled in the art of copying were the Studium, Mount Athos, the monastery of the Isle of Patmos and that of Rossano in Sicily; the tradition was continued later by the monastery of Grottaferrata near Rome. These monasteries, and others as well, were studios of religious art where the monks toiled to produce miniatures in the manuscripts, paintings, and goldsmith work. The triumph of orthodoxy over the iconoclastic heresy infused an extraordinary enthusiasm into this branch of their labors.

    From the beginning the Oriental Churches often took their patriarchs and bishops from the monasteries. Later, when the secular clergy was recruited largely from among married men, this custom became almost universal, for, as the episcopal office could not be conferred upon men who were married, it developed, in a way, into a privilege of the religious who had taken the vow of celibacy. Owing to this the monks formed a class apart, corresponding to the upper clergy of the Western Churches; this gave and still gives a preponderating influence to the monasteries themselves. In some of them theological instruction is given both to clerics and to laymen. As long as the spirit of proselytism existed in the East the monasteries furnished the Church with all its missionaries. The names of two have been inscribed by Rome in its calendar of annual feasts, namely, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs. The Byzantine schism did not change sensibly the position of the Basilian monks and monasteries. Their sufferings arose through the Mohammedan conquest. To a large number of them this conquest brought complete ruin, especially to those monasteries in what is now Turkey in Asia and the region around Constantinople. In the East the convents for women adopted the Rule of St. Basil and had constitutions copied from those of the Basilian monks.

    III. SCHISMATIC BASILIANS

    The two best known monasteries of the schismatic Basilians are those of Mount Athos and of Mount Sinai. Besides these there are still many monasteries in Turkey in Asia, of which 10 are in Jerusalem alone, 1 at Bethlehem, and 4 at Jericho. They are also numerous on the islands of the Aegean Sea: Chios 3, Samos 6, Crete about 50, Cyprus 11. In Old Cairo is the monastery of St. George. In Greece where there were formerly 400 monasteries, there were, in 1832, only 82, which by 1904 had increased to 169; 9 Basilian convents for women are now in existence in Greece. In Rumania there are 22 monasteries; in Servia 44, with only about 118 monks; in Bulgaria 78, with 193 inmates. Montenegro has 11 monasteries and about 15 monks; Bosnia 3 and Herzegovina 11. In Dalmatia are 11 monasteries and in Bukowina 3. Hungary has 25 monasteries and 5 branch houses. The schismatic monks are much more numerous in Russia; in this country, besides, they have the most influence and possess the richest monasteries. Nowhere else has the monastic life been so closely interwoven with the national existence. The most celebrated monasteries are Pescherskoi at Kieff and Troïtsa at Moscow; mention may also be made of the monasteries of Solovesk, Novgorod, Pskof, Tver, and Vladmir. Russia has about 9,000 monks and 429 monasteries. There is no diocese which has not at least one religious house. The monasteries are divided into those having state subventions and monasteries which do not receive such aid.

    IV. CATHOLIC BASILIANS

    A certain number of Basilian monasteries were always in communion with the Holy See. Among these were the houses founded in Sicily and Italy. The monastery of Rossano, founded by St. Nilus the Younger, remained for a long time faithful to the best literary traditions of Constantinople. The monasteries of San Salvatore of Messina and San Salvatore of Otranto may be mentioned; the monastery of Grottaferrata was also celebrated. The emigration of the Greeks to the West after the fall of Constantinople and the union with Rome, concluded at the Council of Florence, gave a certain prestige to these communities. Cardinal Bessarion, who was Abbot of Grottaferrata, sought to stimulate the intellectual life of the Basilians by means of the literary treasures which their libraries contained.

    A number of Catholic communities continued to exist in the East. The Holy See caused them to be united into congregations, namely: St. Savior founded in 1715, which includes 8 monasteries and 21 hospices with about 250 monks; the congregation of Aleppo with 4 monasteries and 2 hospices; that of the Baladites (Valadites) with 4 monasteries and 3 hospices. These last two congregations have their houses in the district of Mount Lebanon. St. Josaphat and Father Rutski, who labored to bring back the Ruthenian Churches into Catholic unity, reformed the Basilians of Lithuania. They began with the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Vilna (1607). The monastery of Byten, founded in 1613, was the citadel of the union in Lithuania. Other houses adopted the reform or were founded by the reformed monks. On 19 July, 1617, the reformed monasteries were organized into a congregation under a proto-archimandrite, and known as the congregation of the Holy Trinity, or of Lithuania. The congregation increased with the growth of the union itself. The number of houses had risen to thirty at the time of the general chapter of 1636. After the Council of Zamosc the monasteries outside of Lithuania which had not joined the congregation of the Holy Trinity formed themselves into a congregation bearing the title of "Patrocinium [Protection] B.M.V." (1739). Benedict XIV desired (1744) to form one congregation out of these two, giving the new organization the name of the Ruthenian Order of St. Basil and dividing it into the two provinces of Lithuania and Courland. After the suppression of the Society of Jesus these religious took charge of the Jesuit colleges. The overthrow of Poland and the persecution instituted by the Russians against the Uniat Greeks was very unfavorable to the growth of the congregation, and the number of these Basilian monasteries greatly diminished. Leo XIII, by his Encyclical "Singulare praesidium" of 12 May, 1881, ordained a reform of the Ruthenian Basilians of Galicia. This reform began in the monastery of Dabromil; its members have gradually replaced the non-reformed in the monasteries of the region. They devote themselves, in connection with the Uniat clergy, to the various labors of the apostolate which the moral condition or the different races in this district demands.

    V. LATIN BASILIANS

    In the sixteenth century the Italian monasteries of this order were in the last stages of decay. Urged by Cardinal Sirlet, Pope Gregory XIII ordained (1573) their union in a congregation under the control of a superior general. Use was made of the opportunity to separate the revenues of the abbeys from those of the monasteries. The houses of the Italian Basilians were divided into the three provinces of Sicily, Calabria, and Rome. Although the monks remained faithful in principle to the Greek Liturgy they showed an inclination towards the use of the Latin Liturgy; some monasteries have adopted the latter altogether. In Spain there was a Basilian congregation which had no traditional connection with Oriental Basilians; the members followed the Latin Liturgy. Father Bernardo de la Cruz and the hermits of Santa Maria de Oviedo in the Diocese of Jaén formed the nucleus of the congregation. Pope Pius VI added them to the followers of St. Basil and they were affiliated with the monastery of Grottaferrata (1561). The monasteries of Turdon and of Valle de Guillos, founded by Father Mateo de la Fuente, were for a time united with this congregation but they withdrew later in order to form a separate congregation (1603) which increased very little, having only four monasteries and a hospice at Seville. The other Basilians, who followed a less rigorous observance, showed more growth; their monasteries were formed into the two provinces of Castile and Andalusia. They were governed by a vicar general and were under the control, at least nominally, of a superior general of the order. Each of their provinces had its college or scholasticate at Salamanca and Seville. They did not abstain from wine. Like their brethren in Italy they wore a cowl similar to that of the Benedictines; this led to recriminations and processes, but they were authorized by Rome to continue the use of this attire. Several writers are to be found among them, as: Alfonso Clavel, the historiographer of the order; Diego Niceno, who has left sermons and ascetic writings; Luis de los Angelos, who issued a work on, "Instructions for Novices" (Seville, 1615), and also translated into Spanish Cardinal Bessarion's exposition of the Rule of St. Basil; Felipe de la Cruz. who wrote a treatise on money loaned at interest, that was published at Madrid in 1637, and one on tithes, published at Madrid in 1634. The Spanish Basilians were suppressed with the other orders in 1833 and have not been re-established. At Annonay in France a religious community of men was formed (1822) under the Rule of St. Basil, which has a branch at Toronto, Canada (See BASILIANS, PRIESTS OF THE COMMUNITY OF ST. BASIL.)

    Bibliography

    BESSE, Les moines d'Orient (Paris, 1900); MARTIN, Les moines de Constantinople (Paris, 1897), GUÉPIN, Un apótre de l'union des églises au XVIIe siècle, St. Josaphat (Paris, 1897); LEROY-BEAULIEU La religion in L'empire des Tsars et les Rusees (Paris, 1889) III; CLAVEL, Antigüedad de la religión y regla de san Basilio (Madrid, 1645); HÉLYOT, Histoire des ordres monastiques, I; HEIMBUCHER, Die Orden and Kongregationen, I, 44-47; MINIASI, San Nilo (Naples, 1892); RODOTÀ, Origine, progresso e stato attuale del rito greco in Italia (Rome, 1755); SILBERNAGL-SCHNITZER, Verfassung, etc., in Kirchen des Orients (Munich, 1905); MILASCH-PESSIC, Kirchenrecht d. morgene. Kirche (2nd ed., Mostar, 1905).

    Fonte: The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. II, New York, 1907

  7. #17
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    Basilians

    (Priests of the Community of St. Basil)

    During the French Revolution, Mgr. D'Aviau, the last Archbishop of Vienne, saw his clergy diminish so rapidly through persecution, that only about one-third of them remained, with no recruits to replace them. It was impossible to maintain a college or a seminary, so in 1800 he founded a school in the almost inaccessible little village of St. Symphorien de Mahun, in the mountains of the Vivarais. This institution was placed in the charge of Father Lapierre, who had managed to take care of the parish of St. Symphorien during this period of persecution. His assistant was Father Marie Joseph Actorie, who had been professor of philosophy in the seminary of Die before the Revolution. In spite of its humble beginning and the many dangers to which it was exposed, the school prospered. In 1802, the state of the country had improved to such an extent that concealment was no longer necessary, and Father Picansel, parish priest of Annonay, and vicar general of the diocese, succeeded in obtaining from the municipal authorities of that town the lease of a former Franciscan monastery, to which the school was transferred. For many years the school performed the work which the bishop had expected from it, but the long fight against poverty and the persecution of so-called liberals threatened at last to be too much for those in charge. Some other method had to be tried, and in 1822, the professors asked to be permitted to found a religious community, with the college at Annonay for its mother-house. The bishop of Viviers, in whose diocese the town of Annonay was included, granted the necessary permission, and appointed a commission to draw up a rule for the new society. On 21 November, 1822, the ten members who were at the time the teaching staff of the college, made the promise which bound them temporarily to the work. They were, Fathers Lapierre, Duret, Vallon, Polly, Tourvieille, Tracol, Martin�che, Fayolle, Payan, and Pages.

    In 1837 a constitution was drawn up and sent to Rome for approval. By this the members of the society were to be bound by the simple vows of poverty, obedience, chastity, and stability. The vow of poverty, however, was limited. Each member of the community could retain all his own property and his Mass intentions, and was to receive a small salary from the community. By this vow he could not accumulate and increase his possessions, but had to spend all his salary and the annual income from his property, and this included the prohibition of speculation or any other worldly moneymaking. This community was to be under the direction of a superior general, residing at Annonay, the Diocese of Viviers, France. The aim of the society was to be the education of Catholic youth, especially of such as intended to become priests. This constitution was signed by several French bishops, all of whom had been able to appreciate the work done by the community, and to testify to the piety and zeal of its members. The Holy See was pleased to declare the society worthy of praise, and in 1863 Pius IX confirmed this decree, granting at the same time certain privileges and imposing certain restrictions on the possessions of the community. A few years ago, the constitutions were again sent to Rome, but the Holy See wished to make some changes in the administration of the community, and these are now being tested with a view to their final approval. When the recent decree banishing religious orders from France was put in force, the Basilians had colleges in Annonay, Périgueux, Aubenas, Privas, and Vernoux, in France; Blidah and Bone in Algiers; and Plymouth in England. All these, with the exception of he last, were transfered to seculars or confiscated, and the religious obliged to scatter until more favourable times.

    In 1852, Mgr. De Charbonnel, Bishop of Toronto, Canada, requested the Basilians to found a college in his diocese. Accordingly, a small number were sent there, and opened a school which has developed into the present St. Michael's College, the headquarters of the Basilians in America. It was opened in a small house, but was soon moved to a wing of the bishop's palace which had been built for the purpose. In September, 1855, the cornerstone of the present building was laid. Since then various additions have been made, and the college is now able to accommodate a large number of students. The first superior was Father Soulerin, who managed the college from 1852 to 1865, when he was elected superior general of his community. St. Michael's is federated with the University of Toronto, its president is ex officio a member of the Senate of the university and of the university council, and it also appoints two other representatives to the senate. There are three courses of study open to its students, the commercial, the classical, and the philosophical. Among the more prominent of those who made their studies, either partially or entirely, at St. Michael's were the Archbishop of Toronto and the Bishops of Hamilton, Peterborough, London, and Sault Ste. Marie in Canada and Albany and Columbus in the United States.

    The American Province includes four other colleges and numerous parishes. The colleges are Assumption college, Sandwich, Canada; St. Basil's College, Waco; St. Thomas's College, Houston, and St. Mary's Seminary, La Porte, in Texas. Of the parishes in charge of the Basilians, the most important are St. Basil's and the Holy Rosary, Toronto, Sandwich, Amherstburg, and Owen Sound in Canada, and St. Anne's, Detroit. The noviciate of the community and the scholasticate are in Toronto. The novitiate lasts for one year, after which the members remain under temporal vows for three years. As no one can enter the society who does not intend to become a priest, the final vows are not taken until the subdiaconate, so that, if, at the end of three years the scholastic is not ready for Holy orders, he renews his temporal vows. St. Basil's College, Waco, Texas, was founded in 1889. The course of studies includes both the commercial and classical departments. St. Thomas's College, Houston, Texas, was founded in 1900. It is a day school. St. Mary's Seminary, La Porte, Texas, was opened in October, 1901, by the Rt. Rev. N.A. Gallagher, Bishop of Galveston. Its primary object is the education of young men for the priesthood, but there is also maintained in connection with the seminary a college in which boys and young men are prepared for any of the learned professions. It is under the direct supervision of the Bishop of Galveston.

    Fonte: The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. II, New York, 1907

  8. #18
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    BENEDETTO XVI

    UDIENZA GENERALE


    Aula Paolo VI
    Mercoledì, 4 luglio 2007

    San Basilio (Vita e scritti) (1)

    Cari fratelli e sorelle!

    Oggi vogliamo ricordare uno dei grandi Padri della Chiesa, san Basilio, definito dai testi liturgici bizantini un «luminare della Chiesa». Fu un grande Vescovo del IV secolo, a cui guarda con ammirazione tanto la Chiesa d’Oriente quanto quella d’Occidente per la santità della vita, per l'eccellenza della dottrina e per la sintesi armonica di doti speculative e pratiche. Egli nacque attorno al 330 in una famiglia di santi, "vera Chiesa domestica", che viveva in un clima di profonda fede. Compì i propri studi presso i migliori maestri di Atene e di Costantinopoli. Insoddisfatto dei suoi successi mondani, e accortosi di aver sciupato molto tempo nelle vanità, egli stesso confessa: «Un giorno, come svegliandomi da un sonno profondo, mi rivolsi alla mirabile luce della verità del Vangelo..., e piansi sulla mia miserabile vita» (cfr Ep. 223: PG 32,824a). Attirato da Cristo, cominciò a guardare verso di Lui e ad ascoltare Lui solo (cfr Moralia 80,1: PG 31,860bc). Con determinazione si dedicò alla vita monastica nella preghiera, nella meditazione delle Sacre Scritture e degli scritti dei Padri della Chiesa, e nell'esercizio della carità (cfr Epp. 2 e 22), seguendo anche l'esempio della sorella, santa Macrina, che già viveva nell'ascetismo monacale. Fu poi ordinato sacerdote e infine, nel 370, Vescovo di Cesarea di Cappadocia, nell'attuale Turchia.

    Mediante la predicazione e gli scritti svolse un’intensa attività pastorale, teologica e letteraria. Con saggio equilibrio seppe unire insieme il servizio alle anime e la dedizione alla preghiera e alla meditazione nella solitudine. Avvalendosi della sua personale esperienza, favorì la fondazione di molte "fraternità" o comunità di cristiani consacrati a Dio, che visitava frequentemente (cfr Gregorio Nazianzeno, Oratio 43,29 in laudem Basilii: PG 36,536b). Con la parola e con gli scritti, molti dei quali sono giunti fino a noi (cfr Regulae brevius tractatae, Proemio: PG 31,1080ab), li esortava a vivere e a progredire nella perfezione. Alle sue opere hanno attinto anche vari legislatori del monachesimo antico, tra cui san Benedetto, che considerava Basilio come il suo maestro (cfr Regula 73,5). In realtà, san Basilio ha creato un monachesimo molto particolare: non chiuso alla comunità della Chiesa locale, ma ad essa aperto. I suoi monaci facevano parte della Chiesa locale, ne erano il nucleo animatore che, precedendo gli altri fedeli nella sequela di Cristo e non solo nella fede, mostrava la ferma adesione a Lui — l'amore per Lui — soprattutto in opere di carità. Questi monaci, che avevano scuole ed ospedali, erano al servizio dei poveri ed hanno così mostrato la vita cristiana nella sua completezza. Il Servo di Dio Giovanni Paolo II, parlando del monachesimo, ha scritto: «Si ritiene da molti che quella struttura capitale della vita della Chiesa che è il monachesimo sia stata posta, per tutti i secoli, principalmente da san Basilio; o che, almeno, non sia stata definita nella sua natura più propria senza il suo decisivo contributo» (Lettera Apostolica Patres Ecclesiae 2).

    Come Vescovo e Pastore della sua vasta Diocesi, Basilio si preoccupò costantemente delle difficili condizioni materiali in cui vivevano i fedeli; denunciò con fermezza i mali; si impegnò a favore dei più poveri ed emarginati; intervenne anche presso i governanti per alleviare le sofferenze della popolazione, soprattutto in momenti di calamità; vigilò per la libertà della Chiesa, contrapponendosi anche ai potenti per difendere il diritto di professare la vera fede (cfr Gregorio Nazianzeno, Oratio 43,48-51 in laudem Basilii: PG 36,557c-561c). A Dio, che è amore e carità, Basilio rese una valida testimonianza con la costruzione di vari ospizi per i bisognosi (cfr Basilio, Ep. 94: PG 32,488bc), quasi una città della misericordia, che da lui prese il nome di Basiliade (cfr Sozomeno, Historia Eccl. 6,34: PG 67,1397a). Essa sta alle origini delle moderne istituzioni ospedaliere di ricovero e cura dei malati.

    Consapevole che «la liturgia è il culmine verso cui tende l'azione della Chiesa, e insieme la fonte da cui promana tutta la sua virtù» (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10), Basilio, pur preoccupato di realizzare la carità che è il contrassegno della fede, fu anche un sapiente «riformatore liturgico» (cfr Gregorio Nazianzeno, Oratio 43,34 in laudem Basilii: PG 36,541c). Ci ha lasciato infatti una grande preghiera eucaristica [o anafora] che da lui prende nome, e ha dato un ordinamento fondamentale alla preghiera e alla salmodia: per suo impulso il popolo amò e conobbe i Salmi, e si recava a pregarli anche nella notte (cfr Basilio, In Psalmum 1,1-2: PG 29,212a-213c). E così vediamo come liturgia, adorazione, preghiera vadano insieme con la carità, si condizionino reciprocamente.

    Con zelo e coraggio Basilio seppe opporsi agli eretici, i quali negavano che Gesù Cristo fosse Dio come il Padre (cfr Basilio, Ep. 9,3: PG 32,272a; Ep. 52,1-3: PG 32,392b-396a; Adv. Eunomium 1,20: PG 29,556c). Similmente, contro coloro che non accettavano la divinità dello Spirito Santo, egli sostenne che anche lo Spirito è Dio, e «deve essere con il Padre e il Figlio connumerato e conglorificato» (cfr. De Spiritu Sancto: SC 17bis, 348). Per questo Basilio è uno dei grandi Padri che hanno formulato la dottrina sulla Trinità: l'unico Dio, proprio perchè è Amore, è un Dio in tre Persone, le quali formano l'unità più profonda che esista, l'unità divina.

    Nel suo amore per Cristo e per il suo Vangelo, il grande Cappadoce si impegnò anche a ricomporre le divisioni all'interno della Chiesa (cfr Epp. 70 e 243), adoperandosi perché tutti si convertissero a Cristo e alla sua Parola (cfr De iudicio 4: PG 31,660b-661a), forza unificante, alla quale tutti i credenti devono ubbidire (cfr ibid. 1-3: PG 31,653a-656c).

    In conclusione, Basilio si spese completamente nel fedele servizio alla Chiesa e nel multiforme esercizio del ministero episcopale. Secondo il programma da lui stesso tracciato, egli divenne «apostolo e ministro di Cristo, dispensatore dei misteri di Dio, araldo del regno, modello e regola di pietà, occhio del corpo della Chiesa, pastore delle pecore di Cristo, medico pietoso, padre e nutrice, cooperatore di Dio, agricoltore di Dio, costruttore del tempio di Dio» (cfr Moralia 80,11-20: PG 31,864b-868b).

    E’ questo il programma che il santo Vescovo consegna agli annunciatori della Parola – ieri come oggi –, un programma che egli stesso si impegnò generosamente a mettere in pratica. Nel 379 Basilio, non ancora cinquantenne, consumato dalle fatiche e dall'ascesi, ritornò a Dio, «nella speranza della vita eterna, attraverso Gesù Cristo Signore nostro» (De Baptismo 1,2,9). Egli fu un uomo che visse veramente con lo sguardo fisso a Cristo, un uomo dell'amore per il prossimo. Pieno della speranza e della gioia della fede, Basilio ci mostra come essere realmente cristiani.

  9. #19
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    BENEDETTO XVI

    UDIENZA GENERALE


    Aula Paolo VI
    Mercoledì, 1° agosto 2007

    San Basilio (2)

    Cari fratelli e sorelle!

    Dalla vita e dagli scritti di san Basilio – era questo l’argomento della nostra precedente catechesi – possiamo ricavare alcuni messaggi importanti e validi anche per noi oggi.

    Anzitutto il richiamo al mistero di Dio, che resta il riferimento più significativo e vitale per l'uomo. Il Padre è «il principio di tutto e la causa dell'essere di ciò che esiste, la radice dei viventi» (Hom. 15,2 de fide: PG 31,465c), e soprattutto è «il Padre del nostro Signore Gesù Cristo» (Anaphora sancti Basilii). Risalendo a Dio attraverso le creature, noi «prendiamo coscienza della sua bontà e della sua saggezza» (Basilio, Contra Eunomium 1,14: PG 29,544b). Il Figlio è l'«immagine della bontà del Padre e sigillo di forma a lui uguale» (cfr Anaphora sancti Basilii). Con la sua obbedienza e la sua passione il Verbo incarnato ha realizzato la missione di Redentore dell’uomo (cfr Basilio, In Psalmum 48,8: PG 29,452ab; cfr anche De Baptismo 1,2: SC 357,158).

    Nell’insegnamento di Basilio trova ampio rilevo l’opera dello Spirito Santo. «Da lui, il Cristo, rifulse lo Spirito Santo: lo Spirito della verità, il dono dell'adozione filiale, il pegno dell'eredità futura, la primizia dei beni eterni, la potenza vivificante, la sorgente della santificazione» (cfr Anaphora sancti Basilii). Lo Spirito anima la Chiesa, la riempie dei suoi doni, la rende santa. La luce splendida del mistero divino si riverbera sull'uomo, immagine di Dio, e ne innalza la dignità. Guardando a Cristo, si capisce appieno la dignità dell’uomo. Basilio esclama: «[Uomo], renditi conto della tua grandezza considerando il prezzo versato per te: guarda il prezzo del tuo riscatto, e comprendi la tua dignità!» (In Psalmum 48,8: PG 29, 452b). In particolare il cristiano, vivendo in conformità al Vangelo, riconosce che gli uomini sono tutti fratelli tra di loro; che la vita è un'amministrazione dei beni ricevuti da Dio, per cui ognuno è responsabile di fronte agli altri, e chi è ricco deve essere come un «esecutore degli ordini di Dio benefattore» (Hom. 6 de avaritia: PG 32,1181-1196). Tutti dobbiamo aiutarci, e cooperare come le membra di un corpo (Ep. 203,3).

    Le opere di carità sono necessarie per manifestare la propria fede: per mezzo di esse gli uomini servono Dio stesso (cfr Moralia 5,2). A questo proposito, alcuni testi delle omelie basiliane restano anche oggi coraggiosi ed esemplari: «"Vendi quello che hai e dallo ai poveri" (Mt 19, 22)…: perché, anche se non hai ucciso o commesso adulterio o rubato o detto falsa testimonianza, non ti serve a nulla se non fai anche il resto: solo in tale modo potrai entrare nel regno di Dio» (Hom. in divites: PG 31,280b-281a). Chi infatti, secondo il comandamento di Dio, vuole amare il prossimo come se stesso, «non deve possedere niente di più di quello che possiede il suo prossimo» (Hom. in divites: PG 31,281b).

    In tempo di carestie e di calamità, con parole appassionate il santo Vescovo esortava i fedeli a «non mostrarsi più crudeli delle bestie..., appropriandosi di ciò che è comune, e possedendo da soli ciò che è di tutti» (Hom. tempore famis: PG 31,325a). Il pensiero profondo di Basilio appare bene in questa frase suggestiva: «Tutti i bisognosi guardano le nostre mani, come noi stessi guardiamo quelle di Dio, quando siamo nel bisogno». Ben meritato è dunque l'elogio fatto da Gregorio di Nazianzo: «Basilio ci persuase che noi, essendo uomini, non dobbiamo disprezzare gli uomini, né oltraggiare Cristo, capo comune di tutti, con la nostra disumanità verso gli uomini; piuttosto, nelle disgrazie degli altri, dobbiamo beneficare noi stessi, e fare prestito a Dio della nostra misericordia, perché abbiamo bisogno di misericordia» (Gregorio Nazianzeno, Oratio 43,63: PG 36,580b). Parole molto attuali. Vediamo come san Basilio è realmente uno dei Padri della Dottrina sociale della Chiesa.

    Basilio, inoltre, ci ricorda che per tenere vivo in noi l'amore verso Dio e verso gli uomini è necessaria l'Eucaristia, cibo adeguato per i battezzati, capace di alimentare le nuove energie derivanti dal Battesimo (cfr De Baptismo 1,3: SC 357,192). E’ motivo di immensa gioia poter partecipare all'Eucaristia (Moralia 21,3: PG 31,741a), istituita «per custodire incessantemente il ricordo di colui che è morto e risorto per noi» (Moralia 80,22: PG 31,869b). L'Eucaristia, immenso dono di Dio, tutela in ciascuno di noi il ricordo del sigillo battesimale, e consente di vivere in pienezza e fedeltà la grazia del Battesimo. Per questo il santo Vescovo raccomanda la comunione frequente, anche quotidiana: «Comunicare anche ogni giorno ricevendo il santo corpo e sangue di Cristo è cosa buona e utile; poiché egli stesso dice chiaramente: "Chi mangia la mia carne e beve il mio sangue ha la vita eterna" (Gv 6,54). Chi dunque dubiterà che comunicare continuamente alla vita non sia vivere in pienezza?» (Ep. 93: PG 32,484b). L'Eucaristia, in una parola, ci è necessaria per accogliere in noi la vera vita, la vita eterna (cfr Moralia 21,1: PG 31,737c).

    Infine, Basilio si interessò naturalmente anche di quella porzione eletta del popolo di Dio che sono i giovani, il futuro della società. A loro indirizzò un Discorso sul modo di trarre profitto dalla cultura pagana del tempo. Con molto equilibrio e apertura, egli riconosce che nella letteratura classica, greca e latina, si trovano esempi di vita retta. Questi esempi possono essere utili per il giovane cristiano alla ricerca della verità, del retto modo di vivere (cfr Ad Adolescentes 3). Pertanto bisogna prendere dai testi degli autori classici quanto è conveniente e conforme alla verità: così con atteggiamento critico e aperto – si tratta infatti di un vero e proprio “discernimento” – i giovani crescono nella libertà. Con la celebre immagine delle api, che colgono dai fiori solo ciò che serve per il miele, Basilio raccomanda: «Come le api sanno trarre dai fiori il miele, a differenza degli altri animali che si limitano al godimento del profumo e del colore dei fiori, così anche da questi scritti… si può ricavare qualche giovamento per lo spirito. Dobbiamo utilizzare quei libri seguendo in tutto l'esempio delle api. Esse non vanno indistintamente su tutti i fiori, e neppure cercano di portar via tutto da quelli sui quali si posano, ma ne traggono solo quanto serve alla lavorazione del miele, e tralasciano il resto. E noi, se siamo saggi, prenderemo da quegli scritti quanto si adatta a noi, ed è conforme alla verità, e lasceremo andare il resto» (Ad Adolescentes 4). Basilio, soprattutto, raccomanda ai giovani di crescere nelle virtù: «Mentre gli altri beni… passano da questo a quello come nel gioco dei dadi, soltanto la virtù è un bene inalienabile, e rimane durante la vita e dopo la morte» (Ad Adolescentes 5).

    Cari fratelli e sorelle, mi sembra si possa dire che questo Padre di un tempo lontano parla anche a noi e ci dice delle cose importanti. Anzitutto, questa partecipazione attenta, critica e creativa alla cultura di oggi. Poi, la responsabilità sociale: questo è un tempo nel quale, in un mondo globalizzato, anche i popoli geograficamente distanti sono il nostro prossimo realmente. Quindi, l’amicizia con Cristo, il Dio dal volto umano. E, infine, la conoscenza e la riconoscenza verso il Dio Creatore, Padre di noi tutti: solo aperti a questo Dio, Padre comune, possiamo costruire un mondo giusto e fraterno.

  10. #20
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    Da dom Prosper Guéranger, L’Année Liturgique - Le Temps après la Pentecôte, Paris-Poitiers, 1903, IX ediz., t. III, p. 188-207

    LE XIV JUIN.

    SAINT BASILE LE GRAND, ÉVEQUE ET DOCTEUR DE L'ÉGLISE.


    Le quaternaire sacré des Docteurs qui font la gloire de l'Eglise grecque, se complète aujourd'hui sur le Cycle. Jean Chrysostome, le premier, parut au ciel dans les jours de l'enfance du Sauveur; la glorieuse Pâque vit se lever, comme deux astres radieux, Athanase et Grégoire de Nazianze; Basile le Grand réservait ses rayons pour illustrer les temps du règne de l'Esprit-Saint. Une telle place lui fut méritée par les grands combats, où sa doctrine éminente prépara le triomphe du Paraclet sur les blasphèmes d'une secte impie. Macédonius reprenait contre la troisième personne de l'auguste et consubstantielle Trinité les arguments de l'arianisme expirant; il déniait au Saint-Esprit la divinité qu'Arius son chef avait vainement prétendu enlever au Verbe. Le concile de Constantinople, achevant l'œuvre du concile de Nicée, formula la foi des Eglises en Celui qui procède du Père non moins que le Verbe lui-même, qui est adoré et glorifié conjointement avec le Père et le Fils (1). Basile n'assistait pas à la victoire; prématurément épuisé d'austérités et de travaux, il reposait dans la paix depuis deux ans déjà, quand la définition fut rendue. Mais son enseignement inspirait l'assemblée conciliaire; il demeure comme l'expression splendide de la tradition sur cet Esprit de Dieu, aimant universel vers qui se précipite tout ce qui aspire à la sainteté, souffle puissant soulevant les âmes, perfection de toute chose. De même que nous avons entendu Grégoire de Nazianze, au jour de sa fête, parler magnifiquement du mystère de la Pâque, écoutons son illustre ami nous expliquer le mystère du temps présent, qui est celui de la sanctification dans les âmes.

    «L'union de l'Esprit et de l'âme se fait par l'éloignement des passions qui, étant survenues a dans l'âme, l'avaient séparée de Dieu. Si quelqu'un donc se dégage de la difformité provenant du vice et revient à la beauté qu'il tenait de son Créateur, s'il restaure en lui les traits primitifs de l'esquisse royale et divine, alors, et alors seulement, il se rapproche du Paraclet. Mais alors aussi, comme le soleil qui, rencontrant un œil non souillé, l'illumine, le Paraclet révèle à cet homme l'image de celui qu'on ne peut voir; et dans la bienheureuse contemplation de cette image, il aperçoit l'ineffable beauté du principe, modèle de tout. Dans cette ascension des cœurs, dont les débuts chancelants et la croissante consommation sont également son œuvre, l'Esprit rend spirituels ceux qui sont absous de toute tache, en vertu de la participation où il les met de lui-même. Les corps limpides et diaphanes, pénétrés du rayon lumineux, deviennent resplendissants et répandent autour d'eux la lumière; ainsi les âmes portant l'Esprit-Saint resplendissent de lui, et, devenues esprit elles-mêmes, répandent sur les autres la grâce. De là l'intelligence supérieure des élus et leur conversation dans les cieux; de là tous les dons; de là ta ressemblance avec Dieu; de là vient, ô sublimité! que toi-même tu es dieu (2). C'est donc proprement et en toute vérité par l'illumination de l'Esprit-Saint, que nous contemplons la splendeur de la gloire de Dieu; c'est par le caractère de ressemblance qu'il imprime en nos « âmes, que nous sommes élevés jusqu'à la hauteur de celui dont il porte avec lui, cachet divin, la pleine similitude (3). Esprit de sagesse, il nous révèle, non comme du dehors, mais en lui-même, le Christ Sagesse de Dieu. La voie de la contemplation conduit de l'Esprit par le Fils au Père; concurremment, la bonté, la sainteté, la royale dignité des élus vient du Père par le Fils à l'Esprit-Saint (4) dont ils sont les temples, et qui les remplit de sa propre gloire, illuminant leur front par la vue de Dieu comme celui de Moïse (5). Ainsi fit-il pour l'humanité du Sauveur; ainsi fait-il pour les séraphins qui ne peuvent dire qu'en lui leur triple Sanctus, pour tous les choeurs des anges dont il règle le concert et produit les chants (6). Mais l'homme charnel, qui n'a jamais exercé son âme à la contemplation, qui la retient captive dans le bourbier des sens, ne peut élever les yeux vers la lumière spirituelle; l'Esprit n'est point pour lui» (7).

    L'action du Paraclct dépasse la puissance de toute créature; en rappelant ainsi les opérations de l'Esprit d'amour, l'évêque de Césarée voulait amener ses adversaires à confesser d'eux-mêmes sa divinité. D'autre part, qui ne reconnaîtrait à cette exposition chaleureuse de la doctrine, non seulement l'invincible théologien vengeur du dogme, mais encore le guide exercé des âmes, l'ascète sublime chargé par Dieu de mettre à la portée de tous les merveilles de sainteté qu'Antoine et Pacôme avaient fait éclore au désert?

    Comme l'abeille butinant parmi les fleurs évite les épines et sait se garder des sucs dangereux, nombreux sur sa route, ainsi Basile en son adolescence avait traversé les écoles de Constantinople et d'Athènes sans se souiller à leurs poisons; selon le conseil qu'il adressait plus tard aux jeunes gens dans un célèbre discours (8), sa vive intelligence, restée pure des passions où s'étiolent pour tant d'autres les plus beaux dons, avait su néanmoins dérober aux rhéteurs et aux poètes tout ce qui pouvait, en l'ornant, la développer encore et la discipliner pour les luttes de la vie. Le monde souriait au jeune orateur, dont la diction si pure et la persuasive éloquence rappelaient le beau temps de la Grèce littéraire; mais les plus nobles gloires que le monde puisse offrir, restaient au-dessous de l'ambition dont son âme s'était éprise à la lecture des Ecritures sacrées. La lutte de la vie se présentait à ses yeux comme un combat pour la vérité. Mais c'est en lui que devait triompher d'abord cette divine vérité, par la défaite de la nature et la victoire de l'Esprit-Saint créant l'homme nouveau. Sans donc se soucier de connaître avant l'heure si l'Esprit se réserve de remporter par lui d'autres triomphes, sans voir les multitudes qui bientôt s'attacheront à sa suite et réclameront ses lois, il vient demander aux solitudes du Pont l'oubli des hommes et la sainteté. La vue des misères de son temps ne le fait point tomber dans la faute si commune de nos jours, et qui consiste à vouloir se dévouer poulies autres avant d'avoir soi-même réglé son âme. Tel n'est point l'ordre de la charité, reine des vertus; telle n'est point la conduite des saints. C'est toi-même que Dieu veut de toi tout d'abord; quand tu seras à lui dans la mesure qu'il l'entend, il saura bien te donner aux autres, s'il ne préfère, à ton grand avantage, te garder pour lui seul. Mais il n'aime point, il bénit peu les utilités hâtives qui s'imposent de la sorte à sa providence. Antoine de Padoue le montrait hier; la leçon nous revient aujourd'hui: ce qui importe à l'extension de la gloire du Seigneur n'est point le temps donné aux œuvres, mais la sainteté de l'ouvrier.

    Selon une coutume fréquente en ce siècle où l'on craignait d'exposer la grâce du baptême à de tristes naufrages, Basile était resté simple catéchumène jusqu'aux derniers temps de son adolescence. Sa vie de baptisé compte treize années de vie monastique, et neuf ans d'épiscopat. A cinquante ans il meurt; mais, loin de finir avec lui, sous l'impulsion de l'Esprit-Saint son œuvre apparaît plus féconde et s'en va grandissant dans la suite des âges.

    Humble moine, sur les bords de l'Iris où l'avaient précédé sa mère et sa sœur, il était venu sauver son âme (9) du jugement de Dieu (10), s'exercer à courir généreusement dans la voie qui conduit aux éternelles récompenses (11). D'autres ensuite l'ayant prié de les former eux-mêmes à la milice du Christ roi (12) dans la simplicité de la foi et des Ecritures (13), notre saint ne voulut point pour eux de la vie des ascètes solitaires, trop isolée pour n'être pas dangereuse au grand nombre; mais il préféra joindre à la bienheureuse contemplation de ces derniers le complément et le rempart de la vie commune, où s'exercent la charité et l'humilité (14) sous la conduite d'un chef se regardant lui-même comme serviteur de tous (15). Encore n'admettait-il personne en ses monastères, sans une épreuve sérieuse et prolongée, suivie du solennel engagement de persévérer dans cette vie nouvelle (16).

    Au souvenir de ce qu'il avait admiré chez les solitaires d'Egypte et de Syrie, Basile se comparait, lui et ses disciples, à des enfants qui cherchent dans leur petite mesure à imiter les forts, aux commençants restés aux prises avec les premiers éléments et à peine introduits sur la route de la piété (17). Cependant le temps vient où ces géants de la solitude, où les législateurs du désert verront leurs héroïques coutumes et leurs codes monastiques céder la place aux discours familiers, aux réponses sans apprêt que Basile adressait à ses moines pour résoudre leurs difficultés et les former à la pratique des divins conseils. Bientôt l'Orient tout entier s'est rangé sous sa Règle. En Occident, Benoît l'appelle son père (18). Pépinière féconde de saints moines et de vierges, d'évêques, de docteurs et de martyrs, son Ordre a peuplé les cieux; il fut longtemps pour Bysance le boulevard de la foi; jusque en nos jours, sous la sauvage persécution du tout-puissant tsar des Russies, malgré les désastres du schisme, on a vu ses tronçons fidèles donner sans compter à l'Eglise mère le témoignage du sang et de la souffrance.

    Noble descendance, couronne de Basile au ciel! mais combien aussi rejaillit sur les enfants la gloire personnelle du père (19)! Petit-fils des martyrs, fils et frère de six saints ou saintes, lui-même était bien le noble rejeton d'une souche glorieuse entre toutes. Il compte, lui septième, au catalogue des bienheureux, comme le plus illustre membre de cette race qu'avait élevée dans l'indomptable amour du Christ Dieu Macrine l'ancienne, revenue des forêts où sans abri, sept années durant, elle avait enduré, sous la persécution de Maximin, la faim et les frimas. Saluons ici la femme forte à qui l'Eglise doit en toute vérité la grandeur de Basile. Echappée aux bourreaux, miraculeusement soutenue durant son terrible exil, Dieu l'avait gardée pour infuser dans l'âme de son petit-fils la foi ferme et pure qu'elle tenait de Grégoire le Thaumaturge. Tel était, jusque dans le tombeau, l'ascendant que la vaillante orthodoxie de cette femme avait conservé sur les peuples, qu'on verra, dans les afflictions de ses dernières années, Basile l'évêque, le docteur, le patriarche des moines, en appeler, comme garantie de sa propre foi devant l'Eglise de Dieu, à l'éducation qu'il avait reçue tout enfant de sa vénérable aïeule (20).

    C'est qu'en effet on était arrivé à l'un de ces temps douloureux, temps d'exception, pleins de naufrages et d'angoisses, où l'obscurité, mal suprême des intelligences, prévaut jusque sur les fils de lumière (21); où de trop nombreuses défaillances se produisant parmi les chefs du troupeau sur le terrain des croyances essentielles ou de l'union au successeur de Pierre, lés peuples inquiets se retournent vers les saints qui sont dans leurs rangs, pour retrouver quelque assurance en marchant après eux dans la nuit que ne savent plus dissiper les pasteurs. On venait de traverser les années lamentables, où la perfidie de quelques évêques et la faiblesse de presque tous avaient souscrit la condamnation de la foi de Nicée; où, selon le mot de saint Jérôme, l'univers gémissant s'étonna d'être arien (22). Basile, à coup sûr, n'était point de ces pasteurs perfides, insuffisants ou lâches, qui n'éclairent pas le troupeau confié à leurs soins: sentinelles qui ne voient plus, chiens muets qui ne savent ou ne peuvent aboyer (23). Dans l'année même où se tint la fatale assemblée de Rimini, on l'avait vu, simple Lecteur encore, se séparer de son évêque engagé dans les filets des ariens, et donner ainsi aux fidèles l'exemple qu'ils avaient à suivre, en même temps que le signal du danger. Plus tard, évêque à son tour, sollicité d'accorder pour le bien de la paix quelque trêve aux ariens, supplié, menacé vainement de confiscation, de mort ou d'exil, on avait entendu sa fière réplique au préfet Modestus s'exclamant que personne ne lui avait jamais parlé avec une telle liberté: «C'est qu'apparemment, répondit Basile, vous n'avez jamais rencontré un évêque». Mais sa grande âme, qui ne soupçonnait point la duplicité, s'était laissée prendre un jour aux apparentes austérités d'un faux moine, d'un évêque hypocrite, Eustathe de Sébaste, dont la fourberie retint longtemps captive l'amitié de Basile, ignorante de ses trahisons: faute inconsciente, que Dieu permit pour augmenter encore la sainteté de son serviteur; car elle devait remplir la fin de sa vie d'amertume, et lui valut la plus dure épreuve qui pût l'atteindre, en attirant sur sa foi la défiance de plusieurs.

    Basile en appela de la calomnie au jugement de ses frères les évêques (24); mais il ne dédaigna point de se justifier lui-même près du peuple fidèle (25). Car il savait que le premier trésor d'une église est la sûreté de la foi du pasteur et sa plénitude de doctrine. Le chef des grands combats de la première moitié de ce siècle, le vainqueur d'Arius et de l'empereur Constance, Athanase n'était plus; il venait de rejoindre dans le repos bien mérité de la vraie patrie ses vaillants compagnons, Eusèbe de Verceil et Hilaire de Poitiers. Dans la confusion qu'avait ramenée sur l'Orient la persécution de Valens, les saints mêmes ne savaient plus tenir tête à l'orage; on les voyait passer de l'effacement d'une prudence excessive aux démarches fausses d'un zèle indiscret. Basile seul était de taille à porter la tempête. Son noble cœur, froissé dans ses sentiments les plus délicats, avait épuisé la lie du calice; mais, fortifié par le divin agonisant de Gethsémani, l'épreuve ne l'abattit pas. L'âme brisée, le corps anéanti par la recrudescence d'infirmités de vieille date, mourant déjà (26), il se roidit contre la mort et fit face aux flots en furie. Du navire en détresse auquel il comparait l'Eglise d'Orient heurtée dans la nuit à tous les écueils (27), s'élevèrent pressants ses appels à l'heureux Occident assis dans la paix de son indéfectible lumière (28), à cette Rome de qui seule le salut pouvait venir, et dont la sage lenteur en vint à le désespérer presque un jour. En attendant l'intervention du successeur de Pierre, il modérait près de lui les ardeurs intempestives, n'exigeant des faibles dans la foi que l'indispensable (29); comme, dans une autre circonstance, il avait dû reprendre sévèrement Grégoire de Nysse son frère, dont la simplicité se laissait entraîner par amour de la paix à des mesures inconsidérées (30).

    La paix, Basile la désirait plus que personne (31). Mais cette paix pour laquelle il eût donné sa vie, c'était, disait-il, la vraie paix laissée par le Seigneur à son Eglise (32). Ses exigences sur le terrain de la foi ne provenaient que de son amour pour cette paix véritable (33). C'était pour elle, déclarait-il encore, qu'il refusait d'entrer en communion avec ces hommes de juste milieu qui ne redoutent rien tant que la claire et simple expression du dogme; leurs insaisissables faux-fuyants, leurs formules captieuses, ne sont à ses yeux que le fait d'hypocrites avec lesquels il refuse de marcher à l'autel de Dieu (34). Quant à ceux qui ne sont qu'égarés, «qu'on leur propose en toute tendresse et charité la foi des Pères: s'ils donnent à cette foi leur assentiment, recevons-les dans notre société; autrement demeurons entre nous, sans regarder au nombre, écartant ces âmes équivoques qui n'ont rien de la simplicité sans dol, caractère de quiconque au commencement de l'Evangile accédait à la foi. Les croyants, est-il dit, n'avaient qu'un cœur et qu'une âme (Act. IV, 32). Pour ceux-là donc qui nous reprochent de ne point vouloir d'apaisement, qu'on les corrige, et ce sera parfait; sinon, qu'on reconnaisse où sont les auteurs de la guerre, et qu'on ne nous parle plus de réconciliation» (35).

    «A toutes les raisons, dit-il ailleurs, qui sembleraient nous conseiller le silence, nous opposons la charité qui ne tient compte ni de son propre intérêt, ni de la difficulté des temps. Lors même que personne ne nous imiterait, en devons-nous moins quant à nous faire notre devoir? Dans la fournaise, les enfants de Babylone chantaient au Seigneur, sans calculer la multitude de ceux qui laissaient de côté la vérité: ils se suffisaient à eux-mêmes, trois qu'ils étaient» (36).

    Et à ses moines, traqués par un gouvernement qui se défendait d'être persécuteur, il écrivait: «Beaucoup d'honnêtes gens, tout en trouvant qu'on vous poursuit sans justice, n'estiment point à confession les souffrances que vous endurez pour la vérité; mais il n'est pas nécessaire d'être païen pour faire des martyrs. Nos ennemis du jour ne nous détestent pas moins que ne faisaient les adorateurs des idoles; s'ils trompent la multitude sur le motif de leur haine, c'est afin de vous enlever, croient-ils, la gloire dont on entourait les anciens confesseurs. Mais soyez-en convaincus: devant le juste juge, votre confession n'en subsiste pas moins. Ayez donc bon courage; sous la tourmente renouvelez-vous dans l'amour; ajoutez chaque jour à votre zèle, sachant qu'en vous doivent se conserver les restes de la piété que le Seigneur à son avènement trouvera sur la terre. Ne vous troublez pas des trahisons, d'où qu'elles viennent: ce furent les princes des prêtres, les scribes et les anciens, qui dressèrent les embûches où notre Maître voulut succomber. N'ayez égard aux pensées de la foule, que le moindre souffle agite en divers sens comme l'eau des mers. N'y en eût-il qu'un seul à faire son salut comme Loth à Sodome, il ne doit pas dévier de la rectitude parce que lui seul a raison, mais maintenir immuable son espérance en Jésus-Christ» (37).

    Lui-même, de son lit de souffrances, donnait l'exemple à tous. Mais quelles n'étaient pas les angoisses de son âme, en constatant le peu de correspondance à ses efforts qu'il trouvait dans les chefs des diocèses! Il s'étonnait douloureusement à la vue de ces hommes dont l'ambition n'était pas éteinte par l'état lamentable des églises; n'écoutant que leurs susceptibilités jalouses, lorsque déjà le vaisseau coulait bas, ils se disputaient à qui commanderait sur ce navire en perdition (38). D'autres, et des meilleurs, se tenaient à l'écart, espérant se faire oublier dans le silence de leur inertie (39), ne comprenant pas que, lorsque les intérêts généraux sont engagés, ce n'est point un éloignement égoïste de la lutte qui sauve les 'particuliers ou les absout du crime de trahison (40). Un jour, et il est curieux d'entendre notre saint raconter le fait à son ami Eusèbe de Samosate, le futur martyr, un jour se répandit le bruit de la mort de Basile; tous ces évêques aussitôt d'accourir à Césarée pour lui donner un successeur. «Mais, dit Basile, comme il plut à Dieu qu'ils me trouvassent vivant, je les prêchai d'importance. Peine inutile malheureusement! Moi présent, ils me craignent et promettent tout; à peine retirés, ils se retrouvent les mêmes» (41). Cependant la persécution grandissait sans cesse, et pour tous arrivait tôt ou tard le moment de choisir entre l'hérésie flagrante ou le bannissement. Plusieurs alors consommaient leur apostasie; d'autres, ouvrant enfin les yeux, prenaient la route de l'exil, où ils pouvaient méditer à loisir sur les avantages de leur politique d'effacement, et, ce qui valait mieux, réparer leur faiblesse passée par l'héroïsme avec lequel ils souffraient désormais pour la foi.

    La vertu de Basile en imposait aux persécuteurs, et Dieu le gardait par des prodiges, si bien que lui, qui s'était exposé plus que personne au danger, restait presque seul à la tête de son Eglise. Il en profita pour faire jouir cette Eglise fortunée des bienfaits d'un enseignement et d'une administration, dont les résultats merveilleux eussent semblé réclamer tous l'exclusive attention d'un évêque et la paix la plus grande. Césarée le payait de retour. Sa parole excitait une telle avidité dans toutes les classes du peuple, que le troupeau ne pouvait se passer du pasteur et qu'on l'attendait des journées entières dans les églises où il devait prêcher (42); lui-même, un jour qu'exténué, l'ardeur de son insatiable auditoire ne lui permettait pas le repos, se compare à la mère épuisée qui ne laisse pas de donner le sein à son enfant, moins pour le nourrir que pour apaiser ses cris (43). Quelle délicieuse entente dans ces réunions! Lorsque l'orateur laissait inexpliqué par mégarde un verset de l'Ecriture, les signes discrets, les muettes réclamations des fils rappelaient au père le passage dont on prétendait bien ne pas lui faire grâce (44); Basile alors se répandait en excuses charmantes et s'exécutait, mais il était fier de son peuple. Expliquant parmi les merveilles de l'œuvre des six jours les splendeurs du vaste Océan, il s'arrête, et, promenant sur la multitude rangée autour de sa chaire un regard d'ineffable complaisance: «Si la mer est belle et digne de louange devant Dieu, reprend-il, combien plus belle n'est pas cette immense assemblée! où, mieux que les ondes venant mourir au rivage, la voix mêlée des hommes, des femmes et des enfants porte jusqu'à Dieu nos prières; calme océan, gardant la paix dans ses profondeurs, parce que le souffle mauvais de l'hérésie reste impuissant à soulever ses flots» (45).

    Heureux peuple, formé par Basile à l'intelligence des Ecritures, des Psaumes surtout, dont il sut inspirer aux fidèles un si grand amour, que tous contractèrent l'habitude de se rendre la nuit à la maison de Dieu, pour y répandre leur âme dans une prière commune et la solennelle louange de la psalmodie alternative (46)! Cette communauté de la prière était un des fruits de son ministère que Basile, en véritable moine, estimait le plus; l'importance qu'il y attachait fit de lui l'un des principaux Pères de la Liturgie grecque. «Ne me parlez pas, s'écriait-il, de maisons privées, d'assemblées particulières. Adorez le Seigneur en sa cour sainte, dit le Psalmiste; l'adoration requise ici est celle qui se fait, non pas en dehors de l'église, mais à la cour, à l'unique cour de Dieu» (47).

    Le temps nous manque pour suivre notre saint dans les détails de cette grande et vraie vie de famille avec tout un peuple, qui fit la consolation de son existence par delà si orageuse. Il faudrait le montrer se faisant tout à tous dans les douleurs et la joie, avec cette simplicité qui s'alliait si bien chez lui à la grandeur; répondant aux plus humbles consultations, comme s'il n'eût pas eu d'occupation plus urgente que de satisfaire le moindre de ses fils; réclamant, jusqu'à pleine satisfaction, contre toute injustice atteignant l'un des siens; et enfin, avec l'appui de sa fidèle Césarée soulevée tout entière pour la défense de son évêque, faisant de sa personne un infranchissable rempart aux vierges et aux veuves contre les brutales poursuites des puissants. Pauvre et dénué de tout, depuis qu'en embrassant la vie monastique il a distribué aux pauvres les grands biens qu'il tenait de sa famille, il n'en trouve pas moins le secret d'élever dans sa ville épiscopale un établissement immense, refuge assuré des pèlerins et des pauvres, asile ouvert dans un ordre parfait à toutes les souffrances, à tous les besoins des divers âges: véritable cité nouvelle à côté de la grande ville, et que la reconnaissance des peuples appela du nom de son fondateur. Prêt à la fois pour toutes les luttes, on le vit maintenir intrépidement les droits d'exarchat que possédait son siège sur les onze provinces composant la vaste division administrative, connue par les Romains d'alors sous le nom générique de diocèse du Pont. Infatigable zélateur des saints canons, en même temps qu'il défendait ses clercs contre les atteintes portées à leurs immunités, il réforma les abus qui s'étaient introduits en des temps moins troublés que les siens; et sous l'effort même de la tempête, il sut ramener la discipline sacrée à l'exacte perfection des plus beaux jours.

    Cependant le temps vint où les intérêts majeurs de la foi, qui semblaient avoir suspendu pour son corps épuisé la loi de toute chair, ne réclamèrent plus aussi impérieusement sa présence. Le 9 août 378, la flèche des Goths faisait justice de Valens; bientôt l'édit de Gratien rappelait d'exil les confesseurs, et Théodose paraissait en Orient. Dès le 1er janvier 379, libre enfin, Basile s'endormait dans le Seigneur.

    L'Eglise grecque fête la mémoire du grand évêque une première fois le jour même de cette mort, conjointement avec la Circoncision du Verbe fait chair; le 30 du même mois elle l'unit dans une nouvelle solennité à ses deux autres Docteurs, Grégoire de Nazianze et Jean Chrysostome, accumulant les magnificences de sa Liturgie pour chanter dignement ce trentième jour de janvier, qu'un triple soleil illumine ainsi de ses splendeurs concordantes à la gloire de la Trinité sainte (48).

    L'Eglise latine a choisi, pour célébrer Basile, la date du 14juin comme étant celle de son ordination.

    Voici la notice qu'elle lui consacre:

    Basile était d'une noble famille de Cappadoce. Après avoir étudié dans Athènes les lettres profanes en compagnie de son intime ami Grégoire de Nazianze, il s'adonna dans la vie monastique à la science sacrée; en peu de temps sa doctrine et sa sainteté furent telles, qu'on lui donna le surnom de Grand. Appelé à prêcher l'Evangile dans le Pont, il ramena dans la voie du salut cette province qui s'était éloignée des habitudes chrétiennes. Eusèbe, évoque de Césarée, le choisit bientôt comme aide pour instruire le peuple de la ville, et Basile lui succéda sur ce siège. Il se montra l'ardent défenseur de la consubstantialité du Père et du Fils; l'empereur Valens, irrité contre lui, fut vaincu dételle sorte par ses miracles, qu'en dépit de sa volonté bien arrêtée de le jeter en exil, il dut abandonner son projet.

    Car sur le point de porter le décret de bannissement contre Basile, son siège se brisa; de trois roseaux qu'il prit pour l'écrire, aucun ne rendit d'encre; et comme néanmoins il persistait dans la résolution de rédiger ce décret impie, sa main droite, saisie d'un tremblement dans tous les muscles, refusa d'obéir. Valens effrayé mit en pièces de ses deux mains la charte fatale. Dans la nuit qu'on avait donnée à Basile pour délibérer, l'impératrice fut prise de douleurs mystérieuses, etson fils unique tomba gravement malade. Terrifié, l'empereur, reconnaissant sa faute, appela Basile; en sa présence, l'enfantcommença d'aller mieux; mais Valens ayant invité ensuite les hérétiques à voir le petit malade, il mourut peu après.

    L'abstinence de Basile et sa continence furent admirables; il se contentait d'une seule tunique, et gardait un jeûne rigoureux; assidu à la prière, il y employait souvent toute la nuit. Sa virginité ne connut point d'ombre. Dans les monastères qu'il fonda, il régla de telle sorte la vie des moines, qu'elle réunit parfaitement les avantages de la solitude et de l'action. La science remplit ses nombreux écrits, et personne, au témoignage de Grégoire de Nazianze, n'expliqua les Livres saints avec plus d'abondance ou de vérité. Sa mort arriva le 1er janvier; n'ayant vécu que par l'esprit, il semblait ne garder de son corps que les os et la peau.

    N'est-ce pas vous avoir assez loué, grand Pontife, que d'avoir seulement énoncé vos œuvres? Puissent-elles, ces œuvres, trouver de nos temps des imitateurs! car, l'histoire le montre clairement, ce sont les saints de votre taille qui font la grandeur d'une époque et son salut. Le peuple le plus éprouvé, le plus abandonné en apparence, n'a besoin que d'un chef docile en tout, docile jusqu'à l'héroïsme aux inspirations de l'Esprit toujours présent dans l'Eglise, et ce peuple portera la tempête, et il vaincra enfin; tandis que lorsque le sel de la terre est affadi (49), la société se dissout, sans qu'il soit même besoin d'un Julien ou d'un Valons pour la mener à sa perte. Obtenez donc, ô Basile, des chefs tels que vous à notre société si malade; que l'étonnement de Modestus se reproduise en nos jours; que les successeurs des préfets de Valens rencontrent partout un évêque à la tête des églises: et leur étonnement sera pour nous le signal du triomphe; car un évêque n'est jamais vaincu, dût-il passer par l'exil ou la mort. En même temps que vous maintiendrez les pasteurs des Eglises à la hauteur de cet état de perfection Où les veut l'onction sainte, élevez aussi le troupeau jusqu'aux voies de la sainteté que son christianisme suppose. Ce n'est pas aux moines seulement qu'il a été dit: Le royaume des cieux est en vous (50). Vous nous apprenez (51) que ce royaume des cieux, cette béatitude qui déjà peut être la nôtre, est la contemplation qui nous est accessible ici-bas des réalités éternelles, non par la claire et directe vision, mais dans le miroir dont parle l'Apôtre. Quelle absurdité, ainsi que vous le dites, de ne cultiver, de ne nourrir dans l'homme que les sens affamés de matière, et de refuser au seul esprit son libre jeu et sa pâture! L'esprit ne s'élance-t-il pas de lui-même vers les régions de l'intelligible pour lequel il est fait? Si son essor est laborieux, c'est que les sens ont prévalu contre lui. Apprenez-nous à le guérir par la foi et l'amour, qui lui rendront l'agilité du cerf et relèveront sur les montagnes. Répétez aux hommes de notre temps qui pourraient l'oublier, que le souci d'une foi droite n'est pas moins nécessaire à cette fin que la rectitude de la vie. Hélas! vos fils en trop grand nombre ont oublié que tout vrai moine, tout vrai chrétien, déteste l'hérétique (52). Bénissez d'autant mieux ceux que tant d'épreuves continues n'ont pu ébranler; multipliez les retours; hâtez le jour heureux où l'Orient, secouant le double joug du schisme et de l'Islam, reprendra dans le bercail unique de l'unique pasteur une place qui fut si glorieuse.

    Pour nous qui sommes en ce moment prosternés à vos pieds, ô Docteur de l'Esprit-Saint, défenseur du Verbe consubstantiel au Père, faites que comme vous nous vivions toujours à la gloire de la Trinité sainte. Vous l'exprimiez dans une admirable formule: «Etre baptisé dans la Trinité, croire conformément à son baptême, glorifier Dieu selon sa foi », c'était pour vous l'essentielle base de ce que doit être le moine (53); mais n'est-ce pas aussi tout le chrétien? Faites-le comprendre à tous, et bénissez-nous.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOTE

    1. Symb. Constantinop.

    2. Basil. Lib. de Sp. S. IX.

    3. Ibid. XXVI.

    4. Ibid. XVIII.

    5. Ibid. XXI.

    6. Ibid. XVI.

    7. Ibid. XXII.

    8. De legend. libris gentil.

    9. Sermo ascetic.

    10. Proem. de judicio Dei.

    11. Praevia instit. ascetica.

    12. Praevia Instit. ascetica.

    13. De fide; Moralia.

    14. Reg. brev. tractatae 160 etc., 114 etc.

    15. Reg. fus. tract. 30.

    16. Reg. fus. tract. 10; Epist. 23, al. 383; Epist. 199, al. 2, can. XVm, XIX.

    17. Epist. 207, al. 63.

    18. S. P. Bened. Reg. cap. LXXIII.

    19. Prov. XVII, 6.

    20. Epist. 204, al. 15; Epist. 223, al. 79.

    21. I Thess. V, 5.

    22. Hieron. Dial. cont. Lucif.

    23. Isai. LVI, 10.

    24. Epist. 203, al. 77.

    25. Epist. 204, al. 75, etc.

    26. Epist. 136, al. 257.

    27. Lib. de Sp. S. XXX.

    28. Epist. 91, al. 324; 92, al. 69; etc.

    29. Epist. 113, al. 203.

    30. Epist. 58, al. 44.

    31. Epist. 259, al. 184.

    32. Epist. 128, al. 365.

    33. Ibid.

    34. Ibid.

    35. Epist. 138, al. 365.

    36. Lib. de Sp. S. XXX.

    37. Epist. 257, al. 303.

    38. Lib. de Sp. S. XXX.

    39. Epist. 141, al. 262.

    40. Epist. 136, al. 257.

    41. Epist. 141, al. 262.

    42. Homil. in Ps. CXIV.

    43. In Ps. LIX.

    44. Hom. VIII in Hexaemeron.

    45. In Hexaem. IV.

    46. Epist. 207, al. 63.

    47. In Ps. XXVIII.

    48. Acoluthia triplicis festi.

    49. Matth. V, 13.

    50. Luc. XVII, 21.

    51. Basil. Epist. 8, al. III.

    52. Sermo de ascetic. discipl. Quomodo monachum ornari oporteat.

    53. Ibid.

 

 
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