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In Basilium fratrem

ENCOMIUM OF SAINT GREGORY BISHOP OF NYSSA ON SAINT BASIL ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA IN CAPPADOCIA HIS

BROTHER

1 God has set a good order to these our annual feasts, which through a certain ordained succession during these days we have already celebrated and celebrate again. And the order for us of the spiritual festivals is the one which the great Paul also taught, having knowledge of such things from above. For he says that in the first place are set the apostles and the prophets, and after them the pastors and teachers. Therefore the order of the year's festivals corresponds to this apostolic succession. But the first one I do not number with the others. For the grace at the Theophany of the only-begotten Son, revealed to the world through the birth from the Virgin, is not simply a holy festival, but a holy of holies and a festival of festivals. Therefore let us number those after it. First for us, apostles and prophets have begun the spiritual choir-leading. For the two gifts are certainly about the same people, both the apostolic spirit and that of prophecy. and these are: Stephen, Peter, James, John, Paul; then after these, keeping his own rank, the pastor and teacher leads our present festival. Who is this?

Shall I say the name, or is the grace sufficient instead of the name to show the man? For having heard "teacher and pastor" after the apostles, you have surely understood the pastor and teacher after the apostles. I mean this man, the chosen vessel, the one lofty in both life and word, Basil, the one pleasing to God from birth, the one venerable in character from his youth, the one educated indeed according to Moses in all the wisdom of the secular disciplines, but nourished and grown and flourished with the sacred letters from infancy even to perfection, whence teaching every man in all wisdom, both divine and secular. like some ambidextrous champion, through both kinds of education arming himself against his opponents, he overcame through both those who wrestled against him, excelling in each those thinking to have some strength against the truth in the other, refuting with the Scriptures those from heresy who put forward the Scriptures, and confounding the Hellenes through their own education. And the victory against his adversaries did not cause a fall for the vanquished, but a resurrection. for those vanquished by the truth became victors and crowned champions against error and falsehood. 2 This one, then, we also have now, the one arranging for us the 2 present festival, the true interpreter of the Spirit, the noble soldier of Christ, the loud-voiced herald of the saving proclamation, the champion and defender of boldness for Christ, to whom time alone gives second place after the apostles. for if Basil had shared in human life at the same time as Paul, he would surely have been ranked with Paul like Silvanus and Timothy; and that I do not conjecture thus outside the truth, let us consider the argument. Let it be set aside that the saints have precedence in time. for the nature of time in the past and in the future relates equally to virtue and to vice, being neither this nor the other; for the good is in choice, not in time. but let faith be examined against faith and word against word. for he who rightly examines the wonders side by side will find one grace in both coming from the same Spirit in each one according to the

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In Basilium fratrem

ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΓΚΩΜΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΓΙΟΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΝ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΠΠΑ∆ΟΚΙΑΣ ΤΟΝ

Α∆ΕΛΦΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΥ

1 Καλὴν ἐπέθηκεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν τάξιν ταῖς ἐτησίοις ταύταις ἡμῶν ἑορταῖς, ἃς διά τινος τεταγμένης ἀκολουθίας κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ταύτας ἤδη τε ἠγάγομεν καὶ πάλιν ἄγομεν. ἡ δὲ τάξις ἡμῖν ἐστι τῶν πνευματικῶν πανηγύρεων ἣν καὶ ὁ μέγας Παῦλος ἐδίδαξεν, ἄνωθεν τῶν τοιούτων τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων. φησὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐν πρώτοις μὲν τοὺς ἀποστόλους τε καὶ τοὺς προφήτας τετάχθαι, μετ' ἐκείνους δὲ τοὺς ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους. συμβαίνει τοίνυν τῇ ἀποστολικῇ ταύτῃ ἀκολουθίᾳ ἡ τάξις τῶν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ πανηγύρεων. ἀλλὰ τὴν πρώτην οὐ συναριθμῶ ταῖς ἄλλαις. ἡ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ θεοφανείᾳ τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ χάρις, ἡ διὰ τῆς ἐκ Παρθένου γεννήσεως ἀναδειχθεῖσα τῷ κόσμῳ, οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐστιν ἁγία πανήγυρις, ἀλλ' ἁγία ἁγίων καὶ πανήγυρις πανηγύρεων. οὐκοῦν τὰς μετ' αὐτὴν ἀριθμήσωμεν. πρῶτον ἡμῖν ἀπόστολοί τε καὶ προφῆται τῆς πνευματικῆς χοροστασίας κατήρξαντο. τὰ δύο γὰρ πάντως περὶ τοὺς αὐτούς ἐστι χαρίσματα, τό τε ἀποστολικὸν πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ τῆς προφητείας. εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι· Στέφανος, Πέτρος, Ἰάκωβος, Ἰωάννης, Παῦλος· εἶτα μετὰ τούτους φυλάξας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ τάξιν ἐξάρχει τῆς παρούσης ἡμῖν πανηγύρεως ὁ ποιμὴν καὶ διδάσκαλος. τίς οὗτος;

Εἴπω τὸ ὄνομα, ἢ ἀρκεῖ ἡ χάρις ἀντὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος δεῖξαι τὸν ἄνδρα; διδάσκαλον γὰρ καὶ ποιμένα μετὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἀκούσας, ἐνόησας πάντως τὸν μετὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ποιμένα τε καὶ διδάσκαλον. τοῦτον λέγω, τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς, τὸν ὑψηλὸν βίῳ τε καὶ λόγῳ, Βασίλειον, τὸν ἀστεῖον τῷ Θεῷ ἐκ γεννήσεως, τὸν τοῖς ἤθεσι πολιὸν ἐκ νεότητος, τὸν παιδευθέντα μὲν κατὰ Μωϋσέα πάσῃ σοφίᾳ τῶν ἔξωθεν λόγων, τοῖς δὲ ἱεροῖς γράμμασιν ἐκ βρέφους καὶ μέχρι τῆς τελειώσεως συντραφέντα καὶ συναυξηθέντα καὶ συνακμάσαντα, ὅθεν διδάσκων πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ τῇ θείᾳ τε καὶ τῇ ἔξωθεν. οἷόν τις ἀριστεὺς περιδέξιος δι' ἑκατέρας παιδεύσεως τοῖς ἀντιτεταγμένοις ἑαυτὸν ἀνθοπλίζων ᾕρει δι' ἀμφοτέρων τοὺς προσπαλαίοντας, ὑπερέχων ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τοὺς ἐν θατέρῳ τινὰ κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἰσχὺν ἔχειν νομίζοντας, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῆς αἱρέσεως τὰς Γραφὰς προβαλλομένους ταῖς Γραφαῖς ἀνατρέπων, Ἕλληνας δὲ διὰ τῆς ἰδίας αὐτῶν συμποδίζων παιδεύσεως. ἡ δὲ κατὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων νίκη οὐ πτῶσιν ἐποίει τῶν ἡττημέ νων, ἀλλ' ἀνάστασιν. οἱ γὰρ ἡττώμενοι τῆς ἀληθείας νικηταὶ καὶ στεφανῖται κατὰ τῆς πλάνης καὶ τοῦ ψεύδους ἐγίνοντο. 2 Τοῦτον οὖν ἔχομεν καὶ ἡμεῖς νῦν τὸν διατιθέντα ἡμῖν τὴν 2 παροῦσαν πανήγυριν, τὸν γνήσιον ὑποφήτην τοῦ Πνεύματος, τὸν γενναῖον τοῦ Χριστοῦ στρατιώτην, τὸν μεγαλόφωνον κήρυκα τοῦ σωτηρίου κηρύγματος, τὸν ἀγωνιστήν τε καὶ πρόμαχον τῆς ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ παρρησίας, ᾧ τὰ δεύτερα μετὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ὁ χρόνος δίδωσι μόνος. εἰ γὰρ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τῷ Παύλῳ χρόνον μετέσχεν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου Βασίλειος, οὕτως ἂν πάντως συνεγράφη τῷ Παύλῳ ὡς Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος· καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἔξω τῆς ἀληθείας στοχάζομαι οὑτωσί, τὸν λόγον κατανοήσωμεν. παρείσθω τὸ προτερεύειν τοὺς ἁγίους τῷ χρόνῳ. ἡ γὰρ τοῦ χρόνου φύσις ἐν τῷ παρῳχηκότι καὶ τῷ μέλλοντι πρὸς ἀρετήν τε καὶ κακίαν ὁμοίως ἔχει, οὔτε τοῦτο οὖσα, οὔτε τὸ ἕτερον· ἐν γὰρ προαιρέσει τὸ ἀγαθόν, οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ. ἀλλ' ἐξεταζέσθω πρὸς τὴν πίστιν ἡ πίστις καὶ πρὸς τὸν λόγον ὁ λόγος. εὑρήσει γὰρ ὅ γε δικαίως ἐκ παραλλήλου ἀντεξετάζων τὰ θαύματα, μίαν ἐπ' ἀμφοτέρων τὴν χάριν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος ἐγγινομένην ἐν ἑκατέρῳ κατὰ τὴν