January 2 St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen lived in the latter half of the 4th century. After a respectable Christian upbringing, these men studied in Athens and afterwards began to follow a monastic way of life. As Bishop of Caesarea, St. Basil wrote rules for monks and integrated social programs into monasteries. St. Gregory, Bishop of Constantinople, defended the Church against the Arian conspiracies, clarified the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and presided in the Council of Constantinople. Together, they preached fervently, wrote extensively, and are beloved as the Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Gregory of Nyssa. [2][3]
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:35:02 +0000