On the Holy Spirit (Popular Patristics Series)

by Basil of Caesarea

Publisher:

St Vladimir’s Seminary Press

, 2011

Overview

In his funeral oration for St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus calls him a “standard of virtue,” a “noble champion of the truth,” and a “second Joseph” for feeding the hungry in a time of famine. The centuries-long dissemination and study of Basil’s works has only confirmed Gregory’s appraisal of Basil’s great personal holiness, his profound insight into the eloquent defense of the Christian faith, his self-effacing generosity toward the poor and the needy, and his wise and expert guidance for those who sought along with him a deeper union with the Lord through the ascetic life. On the Holy Spirit is a classic expression of the Church’s faith in the Spirit and a lasting testimony to Basil’s Christian erudition. Again in the words of Gregory, Basil’s treatise was “written by a pen borrowed from the Spirit’s store.”

Contents

Top Highlights

“Through the Holy Spirit comes the restoration to paradise, the ascent to the kingdom of heaven, the return to adopted sonship, the freedom to call God our Father and to become a companion of the grace of Christ, to be called a child of light, to participate in eternal glory, and generally, to have all fullness of blessing in this age and the age to come.” (Page 68)

“Such a person is bereft of true worship, for he cannot worship the Son except in the Holy Spirit, and he cannot call upon the Father, except in the Spirit of adopted sonship.” (Page 58)

“These are not the words of someone who is making a law, but rather of someone who distinguishes the persons.⁶ For the Apostle speaks thus not to introduce a difference in nature but to establish the unconfused conception of the Father and the Son.” (Pages 33–34)

“For now a great many people listen to and question us to find fault, but it is most difficult to find a soul that loves learning and seeks the truth as a remedy for ignorance.” (Page 27)

“Our God and Savior’s plan for man is his restoration from the fall and his return from the alienation of disobedience to kinship with God.” (Page 66)

Product Details

• Title: On the Holy Spirit
• Author: Basil of Caesarea
• Series: Popular Patristics Series
• Volume: 42
• Publisher: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press
• Print Publication Date: 2011
• Logos Release Date: 2018
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Holy Spirit
• ISBNs: 9780881418767, 15555755, 0881418765
• Resource ID: LLS:HLYSPRTSTBSLGRT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:59:32Z

About Basil of Caesarea

Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great, (330 – January 1, 379) was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He was an influential 4th century Christian theologian and monastic. Theologically, Basil was a supporter of the Nicene faction of the church, in opposition to Arianism on one side and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea on the other.