Vasya Great Biography

Born about a year in Caesarea of ​​Cappadocian, died on January 1 in the same place. With the city of Vasily the Great, he belonged to those circles of the East Roman nobility, which unconditionally joined orthodox Christianity. Seeking the consolidation of the forces of Christianity, opposed Arianism, preached asceticism, and supported monasticism. He defended the independence of the church from the emperor.

He considered the “useful use” in the interests of Christianity of ancient culture a preaching “to youth”. The main works of Vasily the Great: “Dobra love”, compiled together with Grigory the Theologian, a collection of extracts from the works of Origen, “Against Eunomy” a refutation of the Arian teachings, the treatise “On the Holy Spirit”, including “six -day”, which sets out the principles of Christian cosmogony.

In his works, he actually appeared to be the creator of the Byzantine Orthodox Theological Terminology, laid the foundation of dogmatic thought, sharing and determining the concepts of hypostasis and the intensity of essence. The works of Vasily the Great served as the basis for Orthodox Christology of the fourth, fifth and sixth Ecumenical Councils. In the Middle Ages, they introduced readers to the works of ancient thinkers who were cited abundantly in them.

The letters of Vasily the Great, written near G. In the memory of the Byzantines, Vasily remained as one of the three most important saints of the Eastern Church - along with Grigory Nazianzin and John Chrysostom. The Byzantine Dictionary: in 2 t. Vasily the Great one of the fathers of the Church, the author of numerous theological treatises, letters and conversations. Of the 21 sermons on the difference in the topic, the most is known to “exhortation to young people on how to benefit from reading pagan authors”, where it proves the need to study ancient Greek philosophy and speaks of the benefits of secular education.

Solving the task of “churching” necessary for his time, the Christianization of Greek culture, Vasily the Great interprets Christianity in the concepts and categories of philosophy, thereby trying to achieve the synthesis of faith and sophisticated intellectualism of Plato and Aristotle. Proving that Greek thought is quite compatible with biblical revelation and there are no contradictions between them, he refers to the ideas of Plato in the “Timae” and Stoic of Posidonius in the teaching of the world of cosmology, gives a symbolic interpretation of the seven days of the god of our world.

Numerical symbolism allows him to interpret the concepts of time and eternity within the framework of the ideas and speculations of Greek philosophy. Trying to comprehend natural phenomena, he uses arguments from the Aristotelian “physics” and comments of neoplatonists. When discussing the issue of the creation of man, Vasily the Great develops the doctrine of “image and likeness”: a person appears as a theocentric being, whose being is intended to actively strive for the perfection of divine life here, on earth, since he is created in the image and likeness of God.

At the same time, a person is a “microcosm”. He, as it were, collects, focuses in patristic terminology - “recapilees” the whole creature world, the center of which he is designed to be. The works of Vasily the Great had a huge impact on the subsequent development of Christian anthropological teaching. His theological merits consist in overcoming the heretical doctrine of Aria, in streamlining the rules of monastic life and creating a monastery charter.

Vasily the Great had a significant impact on the development of the Eastern Orthodox rite of Christianity. Kirilenko G. Brief Philosophical Dictionary. One of the most prominent representatives of the patrician, the head of the so -called Cappadocian circle. Since the year, the bishop of the city of Caesarea, the organizer of the orthodox opposition officially planted Arianism during this period.

Experienced the effect of Platonism, partly non -Platonism of the motif of the dam in the treatise "On the Holy Spirit"; However, on the whole, it is characterized by an appeal to the popular, public layers of the ancient cultural tradition of the doctrine of Posidonius about the sympathy of all things, and charming moralism. His interpretations on the story of the biblical book of Genesis about six days of creation founded the rich tradition of medieval “six -day” and influenced the common cosmological and natural science representation of subsequent centuries in particular among the Slavic peoples.

In the Orthodox tradition - one of the three main "saints" of the Eastern Church along with Grigory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. Ilyichev, P. Fedoseev, S. Kovalev, V. Works: MIGNE PL, t. Vasily Caesarean belonged to those circles of the East Roman nobility, which unconditionally joined orthodox Christianity. He strove for the consolidation of the forces of Christianity on the basis of the principles of the Nicene Cathedral: he opposed the Arianstic, preached asceticism, and imposed monasticism.

He used the traditions of ancient rhetoric for the needs of Christian propaganda.The most important essays: “Any Music” - compiled together with Grigory the Theologian, the anthology of Origen's composition “against Eunomy” - a refutation of the Arian teachings; near the letters; Conversations, including the “six -day” interpretation of the biblical myth about six days of creation of the world in order to adapt natural science to the provisions of the Bible.

His writings especially “ANYTHING” and “SHETODNEV” had an impact on the development of Slavic literature “six -day” by Vasily Kesaresky, the basis of the “six -day” Bulgarian exarch John and served as a source for acquaintance with antique thinkers. Vasily Caesarean is one of the founders of scholasticism.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. Volume 2. Editions: MIGNE J. Courtonne, v. Literature: E. Basil The Great as Revealed in His Works, Wash. Born in a pious Christian family. He studied first in Caesarea, in Constantinople, then studied philosophy in Athens. Upon returning near the brief period, rhetoric was baptized and decided to devote himself to asceticism.

With several friends, he founded a monastic community near neocese on Ponte. To study the monastic life, he took a trip to Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Upon returning with Grigory the Theologian, he compiled the “Philokalya” - the anthology of Origen's works - and the monastic “rules”. He accepted the priestly dignity, and in became a bishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappadocian, which at the same time gave him the rank of Metropolitan Cappadokia and Exarch Pontus.

He was distinguished by the breadth of his pastoral and charitable activities, but his struggle against the Arianstism, supported by Emperor Valent and the official circles of Constantinople, was especially important. Its church and theological strategy is the desire to unite against Arianism, on the one hand, Semaarian, on the other hand, supporters of the Old native party with the help of a reconciliation definition of the Divine Trinity: "Three Hypostasi in the same essence." The first to distinguish between the terms “essence” and “hypostasis”, previously used synonymically to designate the unity of God: he used the term “hypostasis” to refer to the trinity of persons, and the term “essence” - to refer to divine unity.

Thus, he escaped two extremes: the Savelian merging of faces and the Arian separation of them. The theological and literary activity of Vasily the Great was largely defined by his practical interests as a shepherd and church leader. In his cosmology, the influence of the Platonic tradition of the commentary of Posidonius on the Platonic Timaeus is traced, in Trinitarian theology, he uses the means of Aristotelian logic, and finally, his description of the actions of the Holy Spirit is closely connected with the ideas of the dams about the world soul.

The polemic treatise “Against Eunomy” is directed against the extreme Arian Anoomes and protects the divinity and consumption of his son to the Father. If Eunomius believed that the essence of God can be recognized through the concept of his unborn, unlike the world he created and the Born Son, God does not have the beginning and the source of his existence, then Vasily emphasizes that we can only know God by his manifestations, but his essence remains transcendental.

The birth of a son does not mean his emergence from non -being, but his eternal birth with his father. Along with Athanasius, Alexandria, Vasily the Great, laid the foundation for theology of the Holy Spirit - before that the theological tradition was limited only to mention of Him. In the vast dogmatic message “On the Holy Spirit”, he affirms the divinity of the Holy Spirit, however, without using the words “consubstantial father” and “God” to avoid a strict reaction from Arian.

The monastic “rules”, which came to us in two editions - brief and lengthy, and other ascetic works of Vasily the Great accumulate the experience acquired by him during his life in the community, on trips through the centers of oriental monasticism and during observation of the monasteries of Cappadocia. He prefers the general form of monasticism, since only in Kinovia can the commandment of fraternal love be carried out.

Vasily, preserved Homilia and speech, are devoted mainly to ethical and social issues. The outstanding place among them is occupied by nine great -abstract Homilia on the six -day story about six days of creation according to the book of Genesis, in which a strictly creatist understanding of the cosmogony is combined with popular cosmological and natural science ideas of antiquity. The message “to young men” about the benefits of reading pagan literature: although the Greek classical literature is inferior to the scripture, however, it is useful in education, and it should be taken from it should be taken from it all that contributes to this; This representation significantly influenced the position of the church in relation to the ancient cultural heritage.

Ivanchenko new philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. Stepin, A. Huseynov, G. Next, read:.