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ST BASIL

St Basil (called the Basil the Great) was one of the Greek fathers. He was was born in 329 and died in 379. In 370 he was made Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. He was distinguished by his efforts for the regulation of clerical discipline, and above all, his endeavours for the promotion of monastic life. The Greek Church honours him as one of its most illustrious saints, and celebrates his festival on January the 1st. The vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty framed by St Basil are essentially the rules of all the orders of Christendom, although he is particularly the father of the eastern, as St Benedict is the patriarch of the western orders.
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