IN COMMUNION
Basil’s social doctrine is grounded in the conviction that all people are equal and share the same human nature. The poor, the rich and the emperor are all companions in slavery, that is, they are all dependent on God. Moreover, human beings are social creatures and communal life and interaction with one another require a generosity that can alleviate the needs of the destitute. The scriptural command to “Give to anyone who asks” calls us to a sharing and a mutual love that are characteristic of human nature. The Acts of the Apostles teaches us how this is to be put into practice. In the first ecclesial community of Jerusalem, the Christians sold their goods and gave the money to apostles to distribute to those who needed it.
Basil encouraged the faithful Christians of his time to respond to the Gospel injunction to “sell your possessions and give to those in need.” He had long ago responded to this call and committed himself with all his heart to a life of voluntary poverty. In the Acts of the Apostles, the giving away of one’s possessions is presented as a free choice, and in the Gospel it is seen as a condition of perfection. However, Basil became even more radical and saw it as a rule of life for all Christians. Moved by the extreme social needs of the population, and enlightened by the Scriptures, Basil insisted that the produce of the earth was intended for all. While God the Creator had indeed distributed it unevenly, he had done this with the intention that the rich should share with the poor.
ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA
BASIL THE GREAT (Orthodox Wiki)
Our father among the saints Basil the Great (ca. 330 - January 1, 379), was bishop of Caesarea, a leading churchman in the 4th century. The Church considers him a saint and one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Saints Gregory the Theologian(Gregory Nazianzus) and John Chrysostom. Basil, Gregory the Theologian, and Basil's brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa are called theCappadocian Fathers. The Roman Catholic Church also considers him a saint and calls him a Doctor of the Church.
Basil's memory is celebrated on January 1; he is also remembered on January 30 with the Three Holy Hierarchs. In Greek tradition, he is supposed to visit children and give presents every January 1. This festival is also marked by the baking of Saint Basil's bread(Gr. Vasilópita), a sweetbread with a coin hidden inside.
He should not be confused with Saint Basil the Blessed, Fool-for-Christ, a Russian saint, after whom St. Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square in Moscow, is named.
He also should not be confused with Saint Basil of Ostrog, a Serbian saint, who built the Ostrog Monastery which is caved in and stands on a very high hill between Danilovgrad and Niksic.
Icon of St. Basil the Great from the
St. Sophia Cathedral of Kiev | |
| Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church; Great Hierarch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 329 or 330 Caesarea, Cappadocia, |
| Died | January 1 or 2, 379 Caesarea, Cappadocia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodoxy Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Lutheranism |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Feast |
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| Attributes | vested as bishop, wearingomophorion, holding a Gospel Book or scroll. St. Basil is depicted in icons as thin and ascetic with a long, tapering black beard. |
| Patronage | Russia, Cappadocia, Hospitaladministrators, Reformers,Monks, Education, Exorcism,Liturgists |
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (Greek: Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ágios Basíleios o Még
Share everything with your brother. Do not say, ‘It is private property.’ If you share what is everlasting, you should be that much more willing to share things which do not last.” – The Didache, c. 90 AD, (Did. 4:8)
ReplyDeleteproperty is theft- St basil
I attack the rich because they constantly attack the poor -St John chrysostom.
“Private property is the fruit of iniquity. I know that God has given us the use of goods, but only as far as is necessary; and he has determined that the use shall be common. The use of all things that are found in this world ought to be common to all men. Only the most manifest iniquity makes one say to another, ‘This belongs to me, that to you.’ Hence the origin of contention among men.” – Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 AD (Paedagogus, 2)
t is absurd and disgraceful for one to live magnificently and luxuriously when so many are hungry…If one who takes the clothing off another is a thief, why give any other name to one who can clothe the naked and refuses to do so?The bread that you store up belongs to the hungry; the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked; the gold that you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor.” … “How can I make you realize the misery of the poor? How can I make you understand that your wealth comes from their weeping?” – Basil the Great, 320-379 AD
ReplyDelete“All things belong to God, who is our Father and Father of all things. We are all the same family: all of us are brothers and sisters. And among brethren it is best and most equal that all inherit equal portions.” – Gregory of Nyssa, 330-395 AD
“Nature has poured forth all things for the common use of all people. And God has ordained that all things should be produced that there might be food in common for all, and that the earth should be the common possession of all. Nature created common rights, but usurpation has transformed them into private rights…God gave the same earth to be cultivated by all.” –Ambrose, 340-397 AD
“The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally.”
“Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs.”
“When you are weary of praying and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him.”
“The dispersion of property is the cause of greater expenditure and so of poverty. Consider a household with husband and wife and ten children. She does weaving and he goes to the market to make a living; will they need more if they live in a single house or when they live separately? Clearly, when they live separately. If the ten sons each go his own way, they need ten houses, ten tables, ten servants and everything else in proportion… Dispersion regularly leads to waste, bringing together leads to economy.” – John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD
“Seek as much as God has given you, and from that take as much as is necessary; the superfluities of the rich are the necessaries of the poor. Those who possess superfluities, possess the goods of others…Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies. For what are robberies themselves, but little kingdoms.” –Augustine, 354-430 AD
You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are
ReplyDeletegiving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are
meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone,
not to the rich.
- St. Ambrose
You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are
ReplyDeletegiving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are
meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone,
not to the rich.
- St. Ambrose