The Ecclesiology of St. Basil the Great

A Trinitarian Approach to the Life of the Church

Olga Druzhinina

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781498237864
  9781498237888
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498237871
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

In this book Olga Druzhinina analyzes St. Basil's understanding of the church, paying special attention to his Trinitarian approach to its life. Although the role of God the Trinity in the life of the church occupies a considerable place in St. Basil's thought, as Druzhinina demonstrates, it is a subject that has not previously been addressed by scholars. The analysis offered here of the life of the church as grounded in Trinitarian philanthropy provides fresh insights into St. Basil's understanding of the worldwide fellowship of believers. Druzhinina also brings into focus another neglected aspect of St. Basil's ecclesiology--his perception of the church as a two-dimensional, heaven-and-earth mystical reality with a strong bond between both parts (the heavenly and the earthly).

Chapter 1

Introduction

St. Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea, is recognized by many Christian writers as an outstanding organizer and administrator, although he never wrote any specific document on the church.1 His writings do not contain discussions on the nature and the structure of the Christian church, but rather show to varying degrees his assumptions about the subject. Even his two sets of rules for monastic communities present only partly his understanding of life in the Christian community. Therefore, to write about the ecclesiology of St. Basil is to attempt to draw out from his multitudinous writings something that he only discusses quite allusively or in connection with other matters. This is probably one of the reasons his ecclesiology has not received much scholarly attention to date. Although there are important scholarly studies of St. Basil’s trinitarian thought, and researches concerning his ideas of monasticism, as well as excellent biographical studies, there is a significant lack of secondary source material on St. Basil’s view of the church. The fact that only one book concerning St. Basil’s ecclesiology was published in English2 shows that a fuller and more nuanced research in this area of his thought is necessary.

The objective of this book is to produce an account of the teaching of St. Basil on the church, and to consider the relation of his ecclesiology to his understanding of the Triune God, including divine plans for humanity and God’s actions in the history of the world.

St. Basil’s written material consists of many letters addressed to different types of people, homilies composed to deal with many situations, and treatises that introduce us to his point of view on several important spiritual issues. Many of these works are devoted to exploring trinitarian doctrine and the role of the Holy Spirit in particular. Consequently, traces of thoughts relevant to his understanding of the church can be found among his works initially written in connection with trinitarian discussions. Collecting the ideas from St. Basil’s separate sayings about the church, the author of this book attempts to accomplish two things: (1) to show that St. Basil’s approach to the church is indeed trinitarian, and (2) to explore how he perceives the relation of this special community to the Trinity.

St. Basil’s theology in recent scholarship

As mentioned above, in recent scholarship rather insufficient attention has been paid to the ecclesiology of St. Basil the Great. Published in 1979, the book The Church and the Charisma of Leadership in Basil of Caesarea by Fedwick remains the only book in English, which discusses his ecclesiology. Using mostly a pneumatological approach, the author produces an account of St. Basil’s understanding of leadership in the church, which is empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit. However, the relationship of the other two Persons of the Trinity to the life of the church were not treated in detail.

Two more books concerning St. Basil’s understanding of the church were published in German. The first book, written by Lukas Vischer, Basilius der Große: Untersuchungen zu einem Kirchenvater des vierten Jahrhunderts, briefly discusses different themes. It includes his views on the unity of the church (chapters 3–5), which the author presents as constituted by the agreements of the bishops united by the confession of the same faith, the relation of the church and the state (chapter 7), and an overview of St. Basil’s social work (chapter 8). The second and more recent book, Spuren der Alten Liebe: Studien zum Kirchenbergriff des Basilius von Caesarea, which was published in 1991 by Klaus Koschorke, introduces St. Basil’s vision of the church as the body of Christ, which is in the process of declining from its previous state of “old love” and peace. Koschorke’s study also covers various aspects of St. Basil’s ecclesiology: the life of his monastic communities, the sacraments, the relation of the church and the state, the unity of the church, St. Basil’s attitude toward the church of Rome, and the role of councils.

What has not yet received sufficient investigation and critique in research3 is the role of God the Trinity in the life of the church, which occupies a considerable place in St. Basil’s thought. The authors of these books provide a great deal of insight into St. Basil’s understanding of the present situation in the church, but they do not discuss the eschatological perspective, which reflects the involvement of all Persons of God in creation of this special community and in the maintaining of its life while leading all believers to the ultimate goal. Scholars also do not take into account St. Basil’s view of the church as a two-dimensional mystical reality that exists in heaven and on earth at the same time with the strong bond between these two parts.

Although there are outstanding studies that discuss St. Basil’s trinitarian ideas, they do not consider his ecclesiology.4 For example, in 1996, Volker Henning Drecoll published in German a chronological study, which presents the development of St. Basil’s trinitarian theology from his earliest through his latest writings.5 In 2007, Stephen M. Hildebrand produced a book that became the first English monograph to describe St. Basil’s trinitarian thought.6 However, no one has yet addressed St. Basil’s ecclesiology in relation to his trinitarian theology.

Defining the essential aspects of St. Basil’s ecclesiology

Ecclesiology is the area of Christian theology, which deals with the doctrine of the church. Usually the following aspects are discussed: origins of the church, its biblical images, its relationship with God, its destiny, its role in salvation, its membership, its leadership and governance, hierarchy, its structure, authority,7 its sacraments and discipline, its ministry, and its role in the world.8

Although St. Basil does not provide any systematic explanation or definition of the church, these elements of ecclesiology are present in his writings to some extent.9 Usually, the most important themes from his point of view are di...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Trinitarian God and the Human Community
• Chapter 3: Trinitarian Communion, φιλανθρωπία, and the Concept of the Church
• Chapter 4: Persons of the Trinity and the Metaphors of the Church
• Chapter 5: Inward Life of the Church
• Chapter 6: Unity of the Church and Trinitarian Confession
• Chapter 7: Trinitarian Philanthropy as a Basis for Ministry of the Church
• Chapter 8: Monastic Communities as Practical Realization of an Ideal Community
• Final Conclusions
• Bibliography