Basil, St Cappadocian monk, known as `the
Great', founder of the Basilian monks.
Elected bishop of Caesarea 370, Basil opposed
the heresy of Arianism. He wrote many
theological works and composed the `Liturgy
of St Basil', in use in the Eastern Orthodox
Church. Feast day 2 Jan. Born in Caesarea,
Anatolia, he studied in Constantinople and
Athens, and visited the hermit saints of the
Egyptian desert; he entered a monastery in
Anatolia about 358, and developed a monastic
rule based on community life, work, and
prayer. These ideas form the basis of
monasticism in the Greek Orthodox church, and
influenced the foundation of similar
monasteries by St Benedict.