Basil of Caesarea

Basil served as Bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia from 370 until his death on January 1 or 2, 379. He spent those years defending the Nicene Creed against Arianism and Apollinarianism, theological disputes that threatened to fracture the early church. But his most concrete legacy was the Basileias, believed to be one of the earliest Christian hospitals for the poor, and a set of monastic guidelines emphasizing community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius, he became known as a father of communal monasticism in the East. The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Cath…