born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia
died Jan. 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1
Early church father.
Born into a Christian family in Cappadocia, he studied at Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens and later established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi. He opposed Arianism , which was supported by the emperor Valens and his own bishop Dianius, and organized resistance to it after 365. He succeeded Canonical Epistles have become part of canon law in {{link=Eastern Orthodoxy">Eastern Orthodoxy .
St. Basil, detail of a mosaic, 12th century; in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Alinari
Art Resource