De Spiritu Sancto
Caesarea (Cappadocia) · 379
B
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea
330 CE–379 CE · Caesarea (Cappadocia)
Basil of Caesarea (c. 329–379), known as Basil the Great, was bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and one of the three Cappadocian Fathers who shaped Nicene Christianity. Educated in Athens alongside Gregory of Nazianzus, he toured the desert monasteries of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia before founding his own ascetic community in Pontus. As bishop he defended Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism, wrote foundational monastic rules still used in Eastern Christianity, and organized charity on an unprecedented scale.
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Stop 1 of 6330–348Birthplace, Early Schooling
Caesarea (Cappadocia)Turkey
What they did here
Born c. 330 at Caesarea in Cappadocia into a prominent Christian family; spent part of his childhood on the family estates in Pontus and began his schooling at Caesarea, where he first met Gregory of Nazianzus.
About Caesarea (Cappadocia)
Caesarea in Cappadocia (ancient Mazaca, modern Kayseri, central Turkey). Basil the Great was its bishop (370-379), making it a great centre of 4th-century theology and charity (his 'Basiliad' poorhouse-hospital).
In the same place & time
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Sages whose lives overlapped with Basil of Caesarea’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
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The world in their lifetime
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Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Basil of Caesarea’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Works(3)
The Letters
Caesarea (Cappadocia) · 379
The Hexæmeron
Caesarea (Cappadocia) · 379