Saint Basil the Great is best known as the organiser of the Church’s life in its worldly aspects. His writings addressed to monks contain teachings which would later be developed in detail in the Philokalia. Our study examines, within the writings of the Archbishop of Cappadocia, four defining elements of the spiritual life of every Christian throughout the ages, regardless of their place within the Church: living in the presence of the Lord, a mind free from distraction, remembrance of God, and gratitude. These four elements represent the culmination of an inner process, the result of a spiritual development and growth through the experience of the inner struggle against all that opposes the fulfilment of Christ’s word.
In what follows, I shall summarise the way in which Saint Basil the Great addresses these four fundamental aspects of the spiritual life, taking his own life as the main framework, with its principal stages, each characterised by a particular way of practising Christian asceticism and the teaching of the Gospel.
We can distinguish three major stages in the life of St Basil the Great: 1. before Baptism, 2. as a hermit and monastic ascetic, and 3. as a bishop and man of the Church. By closely examining the biography and Basil’s writings corresponding to these three stages, we shall readily discover that the common element which gives unity and identity to the biography of Saint Basil is his concern for the inner state of the mind and the heart. Using a technical term later established in the Philokalic writings, this concern was termed ‘vigilance’. It constitutes a single inner work of the mind and the heart, of the will and the emotions, of the body and the soul; yet its cultivation involves several stages.
Below, we trace the development of the practice of vigilance in the life of Saint Basil, whilst he was still outside the Church, as a monk and as a bishop.
Before examining the development of Saint Basil’s conception of vigilance, in accordance with the three major stages mentioned, it is necessary to clarify some of the elements of his conception of ascetic anthropology.
In response to questions posed by his disciple Amphilochius of Iconium, Saint Basil offers important ascetic insights into the nature and workings of the human mind. Here we find ‘the image of the Creator’, the mind having been fashioned by God as a good work, in ceaseless motion (ἀεικίνητος) 1 Before the Fall, the human mind directed this movement solely towards God, utilising its ‘natural superiority’2, and moving only towards Him.
In the present state following the Fall, ‘two powers are present in the human mind: one evil and demonic, capable of drawing us towards the Fall, and the other divine and good, capable of raising us up to the likeness of God’3.
For this reason, the mind must be constantly directed ‘towards divine things and towards receiving the gifts of the Spirit’, provided that man understands the revealed divine truths 4.
The mind, depending on the activity it carries out by habit or by will, can find itself in three situations: 1. evil deeds and movements; 2. spiritual deeds and good movements of the mind; 3. neutral actions.
The aim of the ascetic is, according to Saint Basil, ‘to unite his mind with the divinity of the Spirit’ (ὁ τῇ θεότητι τοῦ πνεύματος ἀνακραθείς νοῦς) and, in this state, ‘to behold and penetrate the great contemplations and to behold the divine beauties, to the extent that grace reveals them to him and his own created nature permits’5 From this state springs not only communion with God, but also the capacity for sound theological reflection. When the mind is troubled by the devil, it falls into idolatry; yet, with the help of the Holy Spirit, it will come to know the truth and God (6).
Consequently, for Saint Basil, vigilance means communion with the Holy Spirit and the assimilation of Him, a work for which the mind was created.
I. The first stage of the work of vigilance: outside the Church
In this first stage of cultivating vigilance, Saint Basil emphasises the preparatory effort to form a complete and harmonious person, by developing psychological structures that will support, in the subsequent stages, the higher forms of vigilance.
In the preparatory stage for the Christian life, Saint Basil states that the work of vigilance aims to guard against sin and to combat the passions. At this stage, it is above all a guarding of the mind, ‘because we sin easily with the mind and, for this reason, God asks us to take greater care of it and guard it’. The mind, writes Saint Basil, ‘gives rise to thoughts in an instant and carries them out tirelessly, whilst thoughts grow unhindered and are suited to any time’7). At this stage of the work of vigilance, outside the Church and before baptism, Saint Basil observed that there are several elements.
a) Guarding the mind against sin
The first is the protection of the mind from sin by keeping the eye of the soul watchful: ‘Examine yourself in every respect. Let the eye of your soul remain watchful for your own protection’8. Saint Basil teaches the young person—whether unbaptised, or even baptised but not yet spiritually formed—to practise the constant vigilance of the thoughts. ‘God has given us this great commandment that we should guard against those things which harm us’, achieving this ‘through vigilance and a constant watch over our thoughts’9 so that we may keep the commandments given by God by fleeing from sin.
b) The practice of discernment
Keeping the mind free from sin—which is absolutely essential for its concentration—requires the exercise of discernment. In the pre-Christian phase or during one’s schooling, this discernment is practised by identifying the valuable elements in the writings of pagan authors, as well as those that must be set aside.
c) The struggle with the imagination
The third element is the struggle with the imagination, which consists in the effort to grasp concrete reality and to remain within it. For this reason, Saint Basil urges young people in formation to be vigilant, not to allow themselves to be carried hither and thither by the frivolity of the mind, and to banish the empty fictions of the mind: ‘Do not imagine things that do not exist, and make use of what is for your own benefit.’10
d) Examining one’s conscience in the light of Scripture
The fourth element in learning the practice of vigilance, which must be practised in the early stages of the spiritual life—if possible even before Baptism, or, in any case, for those who have been baptised, in their youth, is the examination of one’s own sins, passions and shortcomings.
In this way, vigilance begins to be linked both to repentance and to the fulfilment of God’s word: ‘turn the eye of your soul towards the examination of your own faults… Do not, therefore, cease to examine yourself, to see whether your life is in accordance with the Lord’s commandments… whether you have sinned in thought, or whether your tongue has slipped, getting ahead of your mind’11
e) Self-knowledge
Finally, the fifth element of vigilance in the preparatory stage is the beginning of the knowledge of God, acquired through ‘paying attention to and carefully examining one’s own self’, so that ‘you may contemplate within yourself, as in a microcosm, the great wisdom of your Creator’12.
Both the body and the soul provide an opportunity for the contemplative ascent of the mind towards God. Having reached this point in the work of vigilance, the unbaptised youth or the novice Christian is prepared to move on to a higher stage of the work of vigilance. In the case of Saint Basil, this stage is represented by baptism and the monastic life.
Both the body and the soul provide an opportunity for the contemplative ascent of the mind towards God. Having reached this point in the work of vigilance, the unbaptised young person or the novice Christian is ready to move on to a higher stage of the work of vigilance.
f) Classical education and ascetic training
The separation of Christians from the world did not entail a severing of ties with the classical school 13; indeed, an intimate connection was established between Christianity and Greco-Roman classicism. Christianity ‘took on its own form within Greco-Roman civilisation, from which it received an indelible imprint: even when preached in China or among the Bantu, the Gospel cannot forget that it was originally written in Greek’14.
Like other Church Fathers, Saint Basil does not condemn ancient culture except ‘as an independent ideal, a rival to Christian revelation’15). The line of thought followed by Saint Basil continued well into the Byzantine period, where ‘the ancient school never came to an end, continuing classical education without interruption, nor even a distinction between the civilisation of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Middle Ages’16”. By placing this entire classical education at the foundation of the upbringing of the young man who would later become a Christian—whether active in society or entering a monastic community—Saint Basil makes the Western Christian a follower of the classics 17.
The ennoblement of the human being through the study of the classics must go hand in hand with the practice of discernment, which, in this period, means choosing what is to be accepted and rejecting what is to be avoided. The criterion for this discernment and this vigilance is the teaching of the Church. The first stage of gathering the mind involves learning a lesson for the rest of one’s life: to know to whom to entrust the ‘rudder of the mind’ and to choose from all things that which is useful 18.
Thus, in order to benefit ‘in the cultivation of the soul’ and ‘if we wish the glory of goodness to remain with us at all times, let us heed the holy and mystical [Christian, n.n.] teachings, having first been initiated into secular literature’19.
A Christian feature of mastering the art of gathering the mind at this stage is an openness to the eschaton. In this way, Christian vigilance differs from philosophical spiritual exercises.
Consequently, the first step towards the fullness of vigilance is linked to intellectual formation, representing the preparation of the eye of the soul through seeing ‘as in a shadow and in a riddle’, so that later it may behold the true light 20. Conversing with poets, orators and philosophers is a means of cultivating the soul, but also an effort to grasp the spirit of pagan writings. Their beauty must not lead young people who wish to become Christians or monks to accept false teachings as well 21. From their writings, we receive everything that praises virtue and condemns vice 21, whilst the great deeds of the philosophers prepare us for the rigour of fulfilling the Gospel commandments 22.
At this stage, the young person learns to keep their mind focused on a framework of moral values such as: purity of soul, heroism, striving for an ideal, contempt for the passions, the struggle for virtue, and the superiority of the spirit over matter 23.
The approach followed by Saint Basil in practising the concentration of the mind and vigilance during the pre-Christian stage is in complete harmony with classical Hellenistic education; consequently, nobility is an absolutely essential foundation of the personality of the future Christian or monk.
Saint Basil does not advocate a Hellenisation of Christianity, but follows the path laid down by the early apologists, who established the link between classical Greek paideia and the life of the Church 24. This is evident from his criterion for studying ‘external’ wisdom: ‘Let us overlook those things which do not aim at that [eternal] life, as being of no value’18 On the basis of this principle, it can be said that the study of secular authors is a preparation for the coming struggle, a gradual accustoming of the eye to the reflection of the sun in water, so that one may one day gaze upon its light as well 21. The virtues and vices extolled in the writings of secular authors prepare the tender soul for the Christian life, which is a life of struggle. For Saint Basil, the competitive spirit of ancient Greek culture is the best preparation for ‘Christian competition’25
Nevertheless, the teachings on virtue by secular authors are merely a ‘sketch of Christian virtue’26, their greatest shortcoming being that ‘they have confined the benefit of virtue solely to this earthly life’27, whilst the horizon of eternity, salvation and communion with God remains an exclusively Christian feature.
Consequently, rising to another ontological level, Saint Basil considers that openness to the eschaton is a quintessentially Christian trait in the practice of the art of gathering the mind at this stage. In this way, Christian vigilance differs from philosophical spiritual exercises.
2. The second stage of the work of vigilance: the hermit and the monastic ascetic
Just as the Jews separated themselves from foreigners so that they might confess their sins (Nehemiah 9:2), so too, in the second major stage of Saint Basil’s life, in order to progress in the practice of vigilance, he separated himself from everything that had prepared him to reach this point. That is to say, he separated himself from external wisdom, which now reveals its preparatory and training role in view of the true spiritual struggle.
Whilst in the first stage we witnessed the preparation for the struggle, now the true struggle begins. In the previous stage, vigilance meant choosing the correct teachings and rejecting the erroneous ones. Now that the mind has acquired the faculty of discernment, it can gather itself within and, in this way, be filled with God.
Now that the mind has acquired the faculty of discernment, it can turn inwards and, in this way, be filled with God.
The inner man’s being filled with God 28 is also accompanied by the vision of God with the eyes of the soul 29, so that vigilance now takes on a contemplative character, involving the vision of God in various ways, degrees and intensities.
The struggle to gather the mind passes through several phases:
a) Keeping the mind within the body
St Basil teaches that the monk must, first of all, train his mind to remain within the body. The body thus becomes, for St Basil, the place where the mind practises remembering Him. In this way, the monk himself becomes a monastery: ‘for the true philosopher, having the body as a place of meditation and as a safe haven for the soul… he settles into his natural retreat, gathering his mind within and philosophising on [those things] that are fitting for him, being full of vigilance, as in the wilderness, directing [his attention] solely towards himself and towards God’30”.
b) Gathering the mind within itself
Once he has learnt to keep his mind within his body, Saint Basil advises the monk to stand before God and to gather his mind within itself: ‘If you cannot pray without your mind wandering, then, as far as you are able, force yourself and strive to stand before God with your mind directed towards Him and gathered within itself’31.
c) Gradual contemplation
Through the two practices mentioned—gathering the mind within the body and within itself—the groundwork is laid for beholding God with the eyes of the soul 32. Contemplation, in turn, has varying degrees of intensity. At the outset, there is the ceaseless meditation on the words of Scripture, which give rise to prayers within the soul. “At the outset, it is necessary to exercise control over the rational part through the vigilant supervision of the mind, so that the soul is not allowed to yield to thoughtless impulses and to the body’s attempts to pull us in the opposite direction’33.
c) Some practical methods for maintaining mental focus and vigilance
The most important practice, emphasised time and again by Saint Basil, is meditation on God’s economy, on what is read in Scripture. From this springs an awareness of our duties towards God, followed by gratitude 34. Thus, according to Saint Basil, there are three elements that prevent the mind from being distracted in the presence of God:
– directing the ceaseless movement of the mind towards God. The most important element for this is the reading, meditation and assimilation of Scripture: θεία ἀνάγνωσις, lectio divina;
– the recognition and confession of one’s own obligations towards God, whether these be sins or His blessings upon us;
– gratitude.
Reading and memorising passages from Scripture helps the mind ‘to enter, through contemplation, into a dialogue with God’35, and teaches it to glorify God through the words of Scripture 36.
For Saint Basil, the state of undistractedness of the mind corresponds to the natural state of the mind, whilst the state of distraction is not only the consequence of sin, but is itself a sin 37.
The study of the Scriptures is the most important practical means of discovering the saving truth, which is in harmony with true prayer 38, represented by ‘keeping God firmly in one’s thoughts’. Only then do we become temples of the Spirit, when our steadfast focus on Him is no longer interrupted by earthly cares and when our mind is not disturbed by fleeting passions’39. The aim of the gathering of the mind and of all the ascetic practices that serve it is that our whole life may become a time of prayer40.
3. Vigilance as a bishop
The entire spiritual experience of Saint Basil, gained before his Baptism and subsequently as a monk, was placed by him at the service of the Church upon his ordination as a bishop. From this point onwards, the fruits of his ascetic and vigilant labour extended not only to himself, but to the entire flock under his care, and indeed to the whole Church.
a) Vigilance and ecclesial unity
As a bishop, Saint Basil elevated his work of vigilance to the level of living in communion with the entire body of the Church.
The unity among the members of the ecclesial body, says Saint Basil, is not due to our common human nature, but to a principle more stable than nature itself, being thus sustained by the bond of the Holy Spirit 41. From this flows the synergy and theandric nature of the ascetic work of gathering the mind and maintaining vigilance, as well as the unity which the Holy Spirit brings about, or seeks to bring about, amongst Christians.
If we do not pay attention to the bond that the Holy Spirit establishes between us as human beings and between us and Christ, then vigilance risks becoming self-centred, concerned only with attaining states of spiritual comfort or, worse still, with acquiring charisms.
If we do not pay attention to the bond that the Holy Spirit forges between us as human beings and between us and Christ, then vigilance risks becoming self-centred…
How many such attempts by the Holy Spirit remain unproductive precisely because of our failure to cooperate through the ascetic practice of vigilance?
b) Vigilance and the causes of the fragmentation of the person
Through sin, human nature has been torn apart and broken into countless pieces. The purpose of Christ’s economy in the flesh was, for this reason, ‘to gather human nature both to itself and to Him, and to restore the unity that existed from the beginning once [this] evil rupture has been removed’42). Consequently, division is not merely the consequence of sin, but is itself a sin. Division is a sign that we have not fully assimilated into our personal lives the perfect fruits brought about by Christ’s economy, and every Christian must repent for this incomplete assimilation. As long as divisions exist, this repentance is the duty of each and every one of us.
According to Saint Basil, the main causes of separation from the body of the Church are:
– lack of self-control over the passions,
– neglect of ascetic practice,
– instability of mind (43).
As a bishop, Saint Basil observed that the passions, especially the love of power, are the cause of division. There is also a ‘demonic vigilance’, a lack of mental clarity resulting from keeping the mind fixed on passions and thoughts that ‘ignore the economy of the Holy Spirit’44 in order to achieve one’s own ends. ‘Because of this love of domination, a terrifying anarchy reigns even amongst nations’. In the case of this false vigilance, Saint Basil says that ‘neither the Scripture inspired by God nor the traditions of the apostles are sufficient to reconcile [people]’45
Therefore, academic, conceptual theology is not sufficient to maintain or restore unity; rather, the unifying practice of vigilance, carried out in accordance with the teachings of the ascetic and Philocalic traditions, is required.
c) The Restoration of Unity
Saint Basil was a man of ecclesial unity and suffered deeply because of the various schisms and heresies that were tearing the body of the Church apart.
His communion with bishops from across the Christian world of that time is a fine example of the Church’s ecumenicity, transcending the cultural or liturgical differences that characterised the various ecclesiastical centres to which he referred.
We have seen that St Basil the Great’s teaching on vigilance influences his conception of and sensitivity towards the Church. For example, we know that in his time there was functional diversity, with each of the major Christian centres having its own expression of the common apostolic tradition. Just as Saint Paul knew how to contextualise the same Gospel message in different situations and amongst different peoples, so too do we see that Saint Basil knew how to foster unity beyond the diversity of forms that ecclesiastical life takes. How? By fixing his mind solely on Christ within us (cf. Col. 1:27), on the presence of the Lord in every Christian and on His image in every person.
This is clearly evident from a letter written by Saint Basil less than four years before his death, in which he expresses unity of faith with ‘the multitude of bishops throughout Christendom’: from regions such as Pisidia, Lycaonia, Isauria, Phrygia, Armenia, Macedonia, Achaea, Illyria, Gaul, Spain, ‘all those in Italy’, Sicily, Africa, Egypt, Syria46
Saint Basil, this man who lived from his youth before God, united with himself and with Christ through vigilance and an undistracted mind, felt with sorrow the division amongst Christians and amongst the Churches. Faced with the evil of these divisions, he testifies: ‘When I groan and weep within myself over the wickedness of the present age, at the thought that, for no reason, the greatest Churches, which had lived amongst themselves as true sisters from the very earliest times, are now at odds… It would be better for us all to disappear and for our Churches to live in mutual understanding, than to see our childish and petty quarrels causing such great harm to the peoples of God! Ask your parents and they will tell you that, even though the communities once seemed geographically separate, they were one in the same sentiments, guided by a single mind. The bonds between the peoples were unbroken, and the clergy frequently visited one another. The pastors themselves were so inspired by love for one another that each regarded his colleague as a teacher and guide in the service of Christ”47
The bond between the members of the Body of Christ is not abstract, but the result of synergy, of man’s collaboration with the Holy Spirit through the ascetic practice of vigilance, of keeping the mind undistracted, of remembrance of God, of gratitude and of joy. All of this, says Saint Basil, is summed up in a single word: love. ‘Love binds together the things above; love has also brought these [people, ed.] into harmony with one another’48).
According to Saint Basil, we can speak of two stages in the restoration of personal and communal unity:
• The turning of nature towards itself, which corresponds to the personal stage of repentance for oneself. The deeper this personal repentance becomes, the more it begins to include other people, so that the entire state of division is felt with sorrow.
• The turning towards Christ, understood as an effort to formulate the revealed truth correctly and to remove that which does not correspond to revelation or expresses it in terms alien to the ancient tradition of the Church.
The path towards preserving unity – whether that of a monastic community, the reintegration into the community of those who have broken away from it, or the restoration of ecclesial unity – therefore necessarily passes through the heart of each individual. It requires the effort of repentance for one’s own inner division, but also for that between Christians in general.
Conclusions
The following conclusions emerge from the above presentation:
1. St Basil’s teaching on the undistracted mind and the remembrance of God is based on a biblical and ascetic anthropology. The human mind was created to be in ceaseless movement within God; however, this movement has been diverted by sin and passions away from God towards the world, and man has become fragmented within himself.
2. The reunification of the mind and of the human person is possible thanks to Christ’s economy, by first directing the mind inwards towards the body, and then towards itself. First, man learns to keep his mind within the body, then to turn it towards itself, and then towards God, through the remembrance of Him. Through the remembrance of God, the ascetic practice of gathering the mind is also a gradual union with God. The result of the gathering of the mind and the remembrance of God is a spiritual state of joy and gratitude towards Him. As a communal radiance, this inner state becomes a sense of unity with the Church and with all humanity.
3. The ascetic practice of vigilance involves three stages: preparation; intensive practice, particularly within a monastic setting; followed, in the case of Saint Basil, by the outpouring of its fruits upon the Body of the Church. These stages correspond to the three main stages of Saint Basil’s life: before baptism, as a monk in the desert and in a monastic community, and as a bishop of the Church.
4. The undistracted mind, remembrance of God and gratitude thus define the spiritual state of the person unified by grace from the fragmentation caused by sin and the passions. United with himself and with God, he feels with sorrow the division amongst his fellow human beings, amongst Christian communities and amongst Churches. That is why Saint Basil cries out to God in the Liturgy he composed: ‘Put an end to the divisions amongst the Churches!’
5. The experience of inner unity and union with Christ becomes an active factor of unity for the Church, so that the unifying work of the mind, through vigilance and the remembrance of God, is an element that sustains and fosters unity amongst Christians and helps to restore it.
Thus, the unifying work of the mind through vigilance and the remembrance of God constitutes the necessary element that preserves and creates true unity amongst monks, amongst Christians and, starting with them, amongst the Churches, and in the event of a breach in unity, the inner work of vigilance is essential and indispensable for the restoration of unity.
- 1
Saint Basil the Great, Epistle 233, In reply to Amphilochius’s question, in Basil the Great (Part E), edited by Kimon G. Papachristopoulos (BEPES 55), Published by the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, Athens, 1977, p. 281, lines 28–29; in Romanian, see St Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit. Correspondence (Epistles), Writings, Part Three, translation, introduction, notes and indices by Rev. Prof. Dr. Constantin Corniţescu and Rev. Prof. Dr Teodor Bodogae (PSB 12), EIBMBOR, Bucharest, 1988, p. 480.
- 2
On the Origin of Man, Basil of Caesarea, On the Origin of Man I, 7, introduction, critical text, translation and notes by Alexis Smets and Michel van Esbroeck (SC 160), Les Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 1970, p. 183; in Romanian, see Saint Basil the Great, On the Origin of Man, in Dogmatic and Exegetical Writings, Romanian trans. by Hieromonk Policarp Pîrvuloiu (PSB 4 [new series]), Ed. Basilica, Bucharest, 2013, p. 300.
- 3
St Basil the Great, Letter 233 (PSB 12), p. 480.
- 4
See ibid. (ΒΕΠΕΣ 55), p. 282, lines 2–4.
- 5
Ibid. (ΒΕΠΕΣ 55), p. 282, lines 15–19.
- 6
See ibid. (ΒΕΠΕΣ 55), p. 282, lines 34–37.
- 7
Ibid., Take Heed to Thyself 1, in St Basil the Great, Homilies on the Hexaemeron, Homilies on the Psalms, Homilies and Orations, Writings, Part One, translation, introduction, notes and indices by Fr. D. Fecioru (PSB 17), EIBMBOR, Bucharest, p. 366.
- 8
Ibid. 2 (PSB 17), p. 367: ‘He keeps watch over himself from all sides. Let the eye of the soul remain ever vigilant in guarding itself’ (Basil the Great [Part IV], edited by Kimon G. Papachristopoulos [BEPES 54], Published by the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, Athens, 1976, p. 30, lines 8–9).
- 9
Ibid. 2 (PSB 17), p. 366.
- 10
Ibid., vol. 5, p. 370.
- 11
Ibid., vol. 6, p. 371.
- 12
Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 373–374.
- 13
Henri-Irenée Marrou, A History of Education in Antiquity, Vol. 2, Romanian translation by Stella Petecel, Meridiane Publishers, Bucharest, 1997, p. 133.
- 14
Ibid., p. 136.
- 15
Ibid., p. 139.
- 16
Ibid., p. 167.
- 17
Ibid., p. 182.
- 18a18b
St Basil the Great, Homily to Young People 2 (PSB 17), p. 567.
- 19
Ibid., vol. 2, p. 568.
- 20
Ibid., p. 567.
- 21a21b21c
Ibid., p. 568.
- 22
Ibid., vol. 5, p. 574.
- 23
Ibid., vol. 6, p. 576.
- 24
See Werner Jaeger, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 35.
- 25
Ibid., vol. 6, p. 577.
- 26
Ibid., vol. 8, p. 581.
- 27
Ibid., vol. 8, p. 582.
- 28
See Ibid., Minor Rules 201, in St Basil the Great, Moral and Ascetic Writings, Romanian translation by Laura Enache (PSB 5 [new series]), Basilica Publishing, Bucharest, 2013, pp. 427–428.
- 29
See Ibid., Ascetic Constitutions 2, 1, in St Basil the Great, Moral and Ascetic Writings, Romanian trans. by Deacon Nicolae Mogage (PSB 5 [new series]), Basilica Publishers, Bucharest, 2013, p. 595.
- 30
Ibid. 5, p. 612; ‘For the true philosopher, having the body as a training ground and the origin of the soul secure… is established within the natural monastery, gathering his mind within and philosophising on what is fitting for him… and remaining sober, as though in the wilderness, turning inwards towards himself and towards God alone” (Basil the Great [Part VII], edited by Kimon G. Papachristopoulos [BEPES 57], Published by the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, Athens, 1978, p. 32, lines 12–16).
- 31
Ibid. 1, 4 (ΒΕΠΕΣ 57), p. 20, lines 28–31.
- 32
Ibid. 2, 1 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 595.
- 33
Ibid. 2, 1 (ΒΕΠΕΣ 57), pp. 22–23, lines 37–38, 1–2: Firstly, then, one must maintain one’s train of thought in every respect, keeping the mind’s scrutiny clear-headed, so that the soul may not readily yield to thoughtless impulses towards the things of thebody.
- 34
See Ibid., Regulile mici 202 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 428.
- 35
Ibid., Ascetic Constitutions 1, 2 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 587.
- 36
Ibid., vol. 1, no. 3, p. 588.
- 37
Ibid., vol. 1, no. 4, p. 591.
- 38
See St Basil the Great, Epistle 2, 3 (PSB 12), p. 119.
- 39
Ibid., vol. 2, no. 4, p. 120.
- 40
Ibid., The Small Rules 306 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 488.
- 41
Ibid., Ascetic Constitutions 18, 4 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 633.
- 42
Ibid. 18, 3, p. 633.
- 43
Ibid. 21, 5, p. 645.
- 44
St Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit 30, PG 32, 216A.
- 45
Ibid. 30, 213C.
- 46
Ibid., Ep. 204, 7 (PSB 12), p. 421.
- 47
Ibid., pp. 421–422.
- 48
Ibid., Ascetic Constitutions 18, 4 (PSB 5 [new series]), p. 634.