The Cappadocian Fathers

The Cappadocian Fathers, Saint Basil the Great, (Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας - 330–389 AD): Bishop of Caesarea. Gregory of Nyssa, (Greek: Γρηγόριος Νύσσης - 335–394 AD): younger brother of Basil, Bishop of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus, (Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός - 330–389 AD), Patriarch of Constantinople and close friend of Basil and his brother, Gregory, were three important and influential fourth-century, Byzantine Christian prelates, theologians, and monks who played a major role in shaping:
Early Christianity
The Eastern Orthodox Church traces its roots to the Early Christian Church that maintained a direct line of succession from the Apostles.
The Early Christian communities of the Eastern Roman Empire were essentially Greek - they were heir to Classical Greek antiquity which have had a lasting influence on Western civilization.
The Apostles
The Apostles travelled extensively, spreading the Message of Jesus Christ that had a lasting impact on the development and growth of Christianity to shape its core doctrines and practices.
They established the first churches in Asia Minor after Jesus Christ's Great Commission (33 AD); a pivotal moment in Christian history.
The famous Seven Churches of Revelation were established and over forty such Christian communities were flourishing by the year 100 AD.
By the 4th century, Christianity became the dominant religion throughout Asia Minor.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Saint Basil was "the man of action", Saint Gregory of Nazianzus "the orator" and Saint Gregory of Nyssa "the thinker".
They were guided by the Holy Spirit to preserve the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well as the teachings and writings of the Apostles that were passed on to the Early Church.
Through their theological research and interpretations from the Scriptures and writing in Greek, they built upon the theological work of the earlier, Apostolic Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch (Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας) and Polycarp of Smyrna (Greek: Πολύκαρπος - AD 69 – 155) who had already begun to interpret the Bible and to define Christian doctrine that shaped the early development of Christian thought and practice.
Defining Trinitarian Orthodoxy
Fathers of the Trinity
The Cappadochian Fathers laid the groundwork to Christian faith and theological thought regarding the nature of God and the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that had a lasting impact on both Eastern and Western Christianity.
Trinitarian Orthodoxy asserts that God is One Being in Three Distinct Persons:
1. The Father
2. The Son (Jesus Christ)
3. Holy Spirit
The Three are considered Equal in essence and power, working together inseparably, yet with distinct roles and manifestations.
Clarifying Semi-Arianism
Semi-Arianism was a 4th-century Christian doctrine that was considered heretical because it did not fully embrace the Nicene Creed's affirmation of the Son's co-equality with the Father - Arianism denied the Divinity of Christ.
The Cappadocian Fathers defended the Nicene Creed, which affirmed the Doctrine of the Trinity through their writings and teachings to establish Trinitarian Orthodoxy within the Church.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire shaped Eastern Orthodox Christianity through its influence on theological development, missionary expansion, distinct liturgical traditions and artistic expressions through the veneration of icons.
Monastic Tradition
Anthony the Great (Greek: Ἀντώνιος ὁ Μέγας: 12 January 251 – 17 January 356) was a Christian monk from Egypt who is revered as a Saint.
He was one of the earliest Desert Fathers and is referred to as "Father of Monasticism" in Christianity.
He organized his disciples into a community and was the inspiration for similar communities throughout Egypt and beyond.
Monasticism developed in the Middle Byzantine Era, guided the course of theology, the veneration of icons and the piety and religious practices of the Byzantines with emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and needy.
Mount Athos in northeastern Greece was the international center of Orthodox Christianity.

The Cappadocian Fathers

Asia Minor (Greek: (Μικρὰ Ἀσία)
Jerusalem is the cradle of Christianity and a sacred city for Christians due to its association with the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
After Jerusalem, Biblical Asia Minor, played a huge role in the early spread of Christianity.
The establishment of Christianity in Asia Minor served as a foundation for its further expansion into other parts of the Roman Empire and beyond.
The first and most important Christian Empire, the Byzantine Empire was located here.
Here also, was the birthplace of many Saints which included Saint Paul (a Jew from Tarsus) Saint George, Saint Nicholas Saint Helene (the mother of Constantine the Great) and of course, the Three Cappadochian Fathers to name just a few.
Saint Andrew the Apostle
Saint Andrew (Greek:, Άγιος Ανδρέας), ordained Stachys (Greek: Στάχυς: - one of the Seventy Disciples) as the first bishop of Byzantium (later Constantinople) - he served as bishop for 16 years, from 38 to 54 AD.
This established an unbroken line of patriarchs in Constantinople, which has been recognized as the patron saint of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Antioch
Antioch served as a central point for sending missionaries to the gentiles after the Great Commission.
Antioch was also the birthplace of John Chrysostom, a prominent Christian father who died in 407 AD.
The School of Antioch was a Christian theological institution that emerged around the 3rd century AD.
The First Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea, Asia Minor, in 325 AD was a pivotal event in the history of Christianity.

Cappadocia

The Cappadocian Fathers
The Cappadocian Greeks (Greek: Έλληνες Καππαδόκες) are an ethnic Greek community native to the geographical region of fairy chimneys and its religious heritage of Early Christianity in central-eastern Anatolia.
Cappadocia (Greek: Καππαδοκία) is a historical region with a Christian religious heritage evidenced by hundreds of medieval churches and monasteries carved into the caves and rocks (such as those of Göreme and Ihlara).
Underground cities were dug to offer protection during periods of persecution from the Roman Empire and later, the Ottoman Turks.
Christianity arrived in Cappadocia in the first century AD, soon after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Saint Paul established the first Christian colony which remained a significant Christian center throughout the Byzantine Era (330 to 1453 AD).
Alexander of Jerusalem (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Ιεροσολύμων (died 251 AD during the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius) was the first bishop of the province in the early to mid-third century.
Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian (Greek: Ὅσιος Ἀρσένιος ὁ Καππαδόκης; 1840 – November 10, 1924), born in Kephalochori, Cappadocia (Greek: Κεφαλοχώρι) was a Greek dean and the spiritual father of Paisios of Mount Athos.
Saint Emmelia (Greek: Ἐμμέλεια - 375 AD) is often called “the mother of Saints”.
Five of her children are also commemorated as Saints on the Church calendar: Sts. Macrina, Basil the Great, Peter of Sebaste, Gregory of Nyssa, and Theosebia, a deaconess.
Cappadocian bishops were among those at the First Council of Nicaea.
During the late fourth century, there were around fifty rural bishops (χωρεπίσκοποι) that were appointed to support the Bishop of Caesarea, Asia Minor.
John of Cappadocia (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Καππαδόκης), Patriarch of Constantinople from 517 to 520 lead the first commission on Emperor Justinian's new legal code, the Corpus Juris Civilis and became Justinian's chief legal advisor.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Macrina the Younger
Macrina the Younger (Greek: Μακρίνα - 327 – 19 July 379) was an early Christian consecrated virgin and deaconess who was the elder sister of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nyssa was a spiritual guide for the family who influenced their Christian faith and practice.
She was an early champion of women's monasticism - she converted the family's estate into a monastic community.
Macrina also contributed to her brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa's writings and his belief that virginity reflected the "radiant purity of God".
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος: died 23 April 303), of Lydda, was an early Cappadochian Greek, Christian martyr who is venerated as a Saint in Christianity.
He served as a soldier in the Roman army and became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian.
Saint George was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith and became one of the most venerated Saints, heroes, and megalomartyrs in Christianity. He has been venerated as a military Saint since the Crusades.

Saint Basil the Great

Saint Basil's Day (Ayios Vasilios) - January 1
Saint Basil the Great (Greek: Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας: 330 – 1 January 379 AD) - Archbishop of Caesaria, Asia Minor
Basil, together with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, are referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers.
He is a Saint of both Eastern and Western Christianity.
The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, the title of Great Hierarch (the most highly regarded and influential members).
He is recognized as a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church.
He is referred to by the epithet Ouranophantor (Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ), "revealer of heavenly mysteries".
Saint Basil studied in Caesaria and Constantinople in Asia Minor as well as Athens and was ordained a priest in 370 AD.
He was one of the great theologians of the Early Christian Church who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379.
He supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea.
Father of Eastern Monasicism
Saint Basil is one of the most influential figures in the development of Christian monasticism.
He is recognized as the Father of Eastern monasticism.
His legacy extends also to the Western church because of his influence on Saint Benedict.
Saint Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor.
He influenced the development of Eastern monastic tradition through his writings that included the Longer Rule and Shorter Rule which became foundational texts emphasizing community life, prayer, service, Bible study and confession.
His Longer Rule and Shorter Rule, provided a framework for monastic life, spiritual practices, and relationships within the community.
Saint Basil contributed greatly to the establishment and order of the Liturgy, wrote numerous prayers, sermons, epistles as well as commentaries on Sacred Scripture and the treatise of the Holy Spirit.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Feast Day - January 1 (St Basil's Day)
In Greece, New Year's Day coincides with the festival of Saint Basil (Ayios Vasilios).
In Greek tradition, Saint Basil brings gifts to children every 1st of January on St Basil's Day.
Vasilopita Cake
Saint Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged.
Basil, being born into a wealthy family, gave away all his possessions to the poor, the underprivileged, those in need, and children.
The traditional vasilopita with a coin inside is served.
The vasilopita cake is traditionally cut by the head of the family in the presence of all family members.
One slice of the cake is always cut for Jesus Christ, one for Saint Basil and the next for the house.
A slice is then cut for the father, the mother and the children in order of age.
A slice is also cut for any absent family members.
The person who finds the coin in his or her slice is considered the luckiest member of the family for that year.
If the coin is found in the slice of cake for Jesus or Saint Basil, it goes to the church.
The tradition is attributed to St. Basil, who wanted to distribute money to the poor.
He arranged for women from his congregation to bake sweetened bread, in which he placed gold coins.
Thus, the families were pleasantly surprised when they cut their vasiliopita cake, found the coins.
It is also customary on Saint Basil's Feast Day to visit the homes of friends, relatives and neighbors to sing New Year's Carols.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa

The Cappadocian Fathers
Gregory of Nyssa (Greek: Γρηγόριος Νύσσης - 335 – 394) a Cappadocian Greek from Neocaesarea, Pontus, Asia Minor, served as Bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394 is venerated as a Saint in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism.
Gregory of Nyssa was primarily a scholar who made significant contributions through his writings regarding the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed.
He wrote Basil’s Hexaëmeron (“Six Days”), sermons on the days of the Creation, with The Creation of Man, and he outlined Orthodox theology in his Great Catechesis (or Address on Religious Instruction).
He also authored a balanced synthesis of Hellenic (Greek) and Christian traditions that were intertwined each other and had a significant role in shaping early Christianity.
Origen of Alexandria
Gregory of Nyssa was a philosophical theologian and mystic whose writings were influenced by Origen of Alexandria (185 – 253), a leader of Orthodoxy in the 4th-century who wrote over 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality and monastic works in which he balanced Platonic and Christian traditions.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Early Life
His family was aristocratic and Christian; his father was a rhetorician and among his eight siblings, included St. Macrina the Younger, St. Naucratius, St. Peter of Sebaste and St. Basil of Caesarea - his paternal grandmother, Macrina the Elder is also revered as a Saint.
His maternal grandfather was a martyr who was "killed by Imperial wrath" under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Maximinus II.
Gregory's temperament is said to have been quiet and meek, in contrast to his brother Basil who was known to be much more outspoken.
Learned in classical literature, philosophy, medicine, and rhetoric, Gregory’s writing leaned toward Christian mysticism.
While his brothers Basil and Naucratius lived as hermits from 355, Gregory initially pursued a non-ecclesiastical career as a rhetorician then was ordained as a lector (reader) proclaiming the readings from Sacred Scripture.
Gregory was also drawn to monastic life, desiring to live a quiet, contemplative life.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa stated: "The Son who exists always in the Father can never be separated from him, nor can the Spirit ever be divided from the Son who through the Spirit works all things. He who receives the Father also receives at the same time the Son and the Spirit".

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus

The "Trinitarian Theologian"
Gregory of Nazianzus (Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, 329 – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian was an early Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 380 to 381 is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the Patristic Age.
The Patristic Age is the historical period in Christianity from approximately the late 1st century to the 8th century that was characterized by the writings and influence of the Church Fathers, early Christian theologians and writers who established the foundations of Christian belief and doctrine.
Gregory of Nazianzus was a classically trained orator and philosopher who infused Hellenism into the early Church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials that continues to influence, especially regarding the Trinity among both Greek and Latin-speaking theologians.
He is a Saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus.
In the Catholic Church he is numbered among the Doctors of the Church.
He is also one of only three men in the life of the Orthodox Church who have been officially designated "Theologian" by epithet, the other two being John of Patmos (the Evangelist), and Symeon the New Theologian.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Pneumatology
Gregory of Nazianzus is especially noted for his contributions to the field of pneumatology — theology concerning the nature of the Holy Spirit.
Pneumatology comes from two Greek words: πνεῦμα (pneuma, spirit) and λόγος (logos, teaching about) which includes study of the person of the Holy Spirit, and the works of the Holy Spirit.
He is also well known for his writings - the epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues.
Early Life
Gregory was born to Greek parents in the family estate of Karbala outside the village of Arianzus, near Nazianzus, in southwest Cappadocia.
His parents were wealthy land-owners.
His father, Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, was ordained as bishop of Nazianzus in 328 or 329.
Gregory and his brother, Caesarius of Nazianzus, first studied at home with their uncle Amphylokhios then went to study advanced rhetoric and philosophy in Nazianzus, Caesarea, Alexandria, and Athens where he studied under the famous rhetoricians Himerius and Proaeresius.
While at Athens, he developed a close friendship with his fellow student Basil of Caesarea.
Emperor Julian
Gregory of Nazianzus also made the acquaintance of Flavius Claudius Julianus, who would later become the Roman emperor, Julian.
As Emperor Julian, he declared himself in opposition to Christianity.
In response to the emperor's rejection of Christian faith, Gregory composed his Invectives Against Julian between 362 and 363 that asserted that Christianity will overcome rulers such as Julian through love and patience.
When emperor Julian died, Gregory and the Eastern churches were no longer under the threat of persecution, as the new Roman emperor Jovian was a supporter of the Christian church.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Gregory at Constantinople
In 379, the Antioch synod and its archbishop, Meletius, asked Gregory to go to Constantinople to lead a theological campaign to win over that city to Nicene Orthodoxy.
His cousin Theodosia offered him a villa for his residence in which he transformed into a church, naming it Anastasia - "a scene for the resurrection of the faith".
From this church he delivered five powerful discussions on Nicene doctrine, explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead.
Relics
Following his death, Gregory was buried at Nazianzus, Asia Minor.
His relics were transferred to Constantinople in 950 AD, into the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Part of the relics were taken from Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade, in 1204 and taken to Rome.
On 27 November 2004, those relics, along with those of Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος: 347 – 14 September 407 AD), were returned to Istanbul (Constantinople) by Pope John Paul II and are now enshrined in the Patriarchal Saint George's Cathedral, Istanbul Constantinople in the Fanar.
The Vatican kept a small portion of both Saints.

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