St. Basil the Great
Patron of hospital administrators
Died: 379
St. Basil the Great was born at Caesarea of Cappadocia in 330. He was one of ten children of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. Several of his brothers and sisters are honored among the saints. He attended school in Caesarea, as well as Constantinople and Athens, where he became acquainted with St. Gregory Nazianzen in 352. A little later, he opened a school of oratory in Caesarea and practiced law. Eventually he decided to become a monk and found a monastery in Pontus which he directed for five years. He wrote a famous monastic rule which has proved the most lasting of those in the East. After founding several other monasteries, he was ordained and, in 370, made bishop of Caesaria. In this post until his death in 379, he continued to be a man of vast learning and constant activity, genuine eloquence and immense charity. This earned for him the title of "Great" during his life and Doctor of the Church after his death. Basil was one of the giants of the early Church. He was responsible for the victory of Nicene orthodoxy over Arianism in the Byzantine East, and the denunciation of Arianism at the Council of Constantinople in 381-82 was in large measure due to his efforts. Basil fought simony, aided the victims of drought and famine, strove for a better clergy, insisted on a rigid clerical discipline, fearlessly denounced evil wherever he detected it, and excommunicated those involved in the widespread prostitution traffic in Cappadocia. He was learned, accomplished in statesmanship, a man of great personal holiness, and one of the great orators of Christianity. His feast day is January 2.
Previous Saint
< St. Basilides
Next Saint
St. Basileus and Companions >
Rate This Saint
Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All
Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested
1 - 20 of 25 Comments
Leave a Comment
Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.
Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.
This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.
We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.
We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.
Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample
Previous Saint
< St. Basilides
Next Saint
St. Basileus and Companions >
Find Saints
Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.
| Browse Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Patron Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Videos
St. Francis of Assisi 78,494 views View Video
Padre Pio 47,011 views View Video
Black Saints Vol I 30,328 views View Video
Black Saints Vol II 26,944 views View Video
Most Popular
Editorial: Is the Scandal Ridden Obama Administration Becoming a House of Cards? Read More
Did God make junk? Scientists say 98 percent of human genome is junk Read More
There's the problem! Americans are out of touch with scientific consensus on climate change Read More
Courageous Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley Will Not Attend Boston College Commencement Read More
Sex In Uniform: Why the Increase in Sexual Assaults in the Military? Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
On our arrival in Rome Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 11:4, 5, 7
Yahweh in his holy temple! Yahweh, his throne is in heaven; his ... Read More
Gospel, John 21:20-25
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Pope John I
May 18: St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Feast day - May 18) A native of ... Read More
Latest Videos
Pope to Pontifical Missionary Works: Your work is still relevant View Video
Pope rails against dictatorship of the economy View Video
May Crowning of the Virgin Mary - St Philip The Apostle Catholic Church View Video
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Visit to Ogwen Cottage May 2013 View Video
May 17 - Homily: St. Paschal, Profound Love For The Eucharist View Video
Marketplace
The Catholic Warrior
“The Catholic Warrior is a brilliant treatise on spiritual warfare ... Read More
Fertility Necklace. St Ann. Catholic Jewelry. Gift Idea. Read More




















St. Basil the Great, please pray for me.
To Sharon . I feel for you and hope everything works out for the best . I will pray to St Bazil for you. Janet .
Please pray for me health and happiness and so on etc..And that me and my man get back together.So I can get out my depression I'm in.I can't even sleep or sometimes I can't get out of bed days.I just want to be along.please forgive St.Basil for all my sin's.And I'm so sorry for ever I did wrong.Please pray for me.Thank you very much.
Catholics do worship the saints .I for one certainly do . Wish people would get their facts right before posting it .( Chris )
St.Basil the great please help me and pray for me and my family
god bless you
Amen
i ike basil please send me fullstory
2nd dec 2012:st basil pray fo us.
happy feast day St. Basil the Great. i hope to visit your church again in LA. please help me to be accepted into a medical residency hospital. thank you
i think this saint must have been very wise! hes a Capricorn like me :)
St Basil the Great, we honour you for your committed leadership in combating arianism, and for affirming the truths of our Faith as contained in the Nicene creed, which we recite during Holy Mass. Pray for the pilgrim Church on earth. We know that Jesus restores His church, we are the church. Help us to be like you St. Basil, in leadership within family, church and work situations. Not all of have the this rare gift, but teach and inspire us to speak up more thoughtfully and wisely, patiently and lovingly. Often we are quick to be reactive in responding to comments. Help us with discernment and discretion, send us these gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that we benefit from these special attributes as we begin the New Year 2012. Amen.
how great to understand the life of all the saints, their works and holy life are of great and good examples for to read and to learn and to follow their good works. thank you so much for this wonderful article.
Basil The Great! Yes...He is a role model for our Church, its leaders, adherent Catholics, and our times of struggle today. Pow! What a "great" movie it would be--"The Greatness of Basil!"
Dear St. Basil, You are a beacon of the Eastern Church. Please pray for me.
Catholics believe in the "community of saints". Many times you'll hear a pastor or preacher of other Christian denominations ask for prayers, "pray for me". If we can ask our fellow brothers and sisters who are sinners to pray us to God for help, then why not ask those who by the example of their beautiful lives have gone to heaven to interceed for us.
Catholics do not worship the saints - we ask for their help. Its part of our faith. Also, for those who are Christian but not catholic - I have 2 names for you/ Cardinal John Newman and Scott Han. Two of the biggested converts to the Catholic faith. read about them.
He was outstanding in learning and Viture, Bishop of Caesarea. He combated the Arian herasy, wrote many books, and wrote the monastic rules and hound outstanding in helping the poor. May he help us to learn god's truth with humility and practice it in faith and love.
Hi, my name is Rob Heyen and I love St. Basil the Great. I met him once...he was pretty cool.
I was informed Basil is also very good in leadership, getting his point across warring faction and bringing them together to his way of thinking and making people work together effectively. Catholics honor them because these saints worked so hard to reach holiness and we all need to reach holiness just like them.I thought saints had to perform some documented miracle to become a saint, but I could be wrong as i am not catholic and we do not worship saints.
this is to Jason...Catholics DO NOT worship saints.. Catholics honor them because these saints worked so hard to reach holiness and we all need to reach holiness just like them..... Not all Saints perfomed miracles.. Some are known for being humble.. they are all different and each of them have their own stories.
I thought saints had to perform some documented miracle to become a saint, but I could be wrong as i am not catholic and we do not worship saints.
maybe i missed it in the article , but it looks like he was just a learned monk.
Yeah Man, Basil is wicked awesome. ;;]