This unique volume examines the life and thought of Basil of Caesarea. Stephen M. Hildebrand brings together a lengthy introduction to his life and thought with a selection of extracts from his diverse works in new translations, with each extract accompanied by an introduction and notes. This format allows students to better understand this significant figure in the Early Church by providing an accessible representative selection of his works in one concise volume, making this an invaluable resource for students of Early Christianity.
Acknowledgements
Preface
Abbreviations
Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1: Life and Times
Background and Early Life
The Ascetic Turn
Episcopate
Further Reading
Chapter 2: Vision
Scripture
The Physical World
The Human Person
The Moral and Ascetic Life
God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Further Reading
Part 2: Texts
Chapter 3: Churchman and Statesman
Section 1: Suffragan Bishops and Presbyters
Section 2: Engagement with a Wider Circle of Bishops
Section 3: Patronage
Section 4: Canons
Section 5: Consolation
Chapter 4: Preacher
First Homily on Creation
First Homily on the Creation of Man
Homily on Psalm 59
Homily on "I will tear down my barns"
Homily on the Martyr Julitta
Chapter 5: Polemicist
Ep. 9, To Maximus the Philosopher
Ep. 261, To the Sozopolitans (against Apollinaris)
Excerpts from Against Eunomius
Excerpts from On the Holy Spiriit
Chapter 6: Ascetic
Section 1: Letters
Section 2: Excerpts from the Small Asceticon and the Great Asceticon
Chapter 7: Excerpts from To Young Men on How They Would Profit from Greek Literature
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Stephen M. Hildebrand is Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, USA.
"In this volume Stephen Hildebrand gives a succinct yet insightful overview of the life and thought of Basil of Caesarea, informed by the latest scholarship, and offers a well-chosen selection of texts drawn from various genres and written for various purposes that illuminate different facets of the Cappadocian bishop’s activities and theology. Basil is presented as a complex figure who pioneered new Christian paths as a churchman, preacher, theologian, and ascetic while at the same time being deeply embedded in late-ancient Roman society. This book will prepare readers to delve into the broad secondary literature on this Cappadocian Father, and more importantly to read extensively the writings of St. Basil the Great himself."
Mark DelCogliano, University of St. Thomas, USA
