The Trinitarian Theology of Basil of Caesarea: A Synthesis of Greek Thought And Biblical Truth

by Stephen M. Hildebrand

Basil of Caesarea, the Great, has drawn the admiration of many for centuries. He was a father of eastern coenobitic monasticism, though Benedict of Nursia revered him as well; an author of orthodox Trinitarian theology and eloquent defender of the Spirit; a model of social virtue and concern for the poor; and an erudite preacher and able bishop. This book explores Basil's Trinitarian thought as the meeting place of the worlds within which he lived, that of ancient Greek culture and learning, and that of Christian faith lived in the liturgy and expressed in the Scripture. His work as a bishop, theologian, and preacher was in large part an effort to make these two worlds one. Basil showed that Christianity had the strength and power to take to itself whatever was good among the Greeks, ennobling their culture with the name of Christ and yet remaining true to itself. He did this not standing outside of Greek culture, but within it. In spite of his enduring insistence upon the transcendence and simplicity of God, Basil developed a precise Trinitarian vocabulary, which he thought effectively refuted two basic errors in thinking about the denial of the divinity of the Son and the Spirit; and the denial of their true and real distinction from the Father. He maintained that the right thinking about God is more than just the right use of words; it is also the right interpretation of the Word, the Scriptures. This book also, then, seeks to explain the scriptural foundations of Basil's Trinitarian theology, which themselves testify to his artful synthesis of Greek culture and Christian truth.

254 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hildebrand attempts to do quite a bit in this book and he does most of it very well. For him, Basil's theology is a synthesis between Greek learning and Christian truth, with scriptural interpretation serving as this theological building's foundation. He does a fine job tracing the development of Basil's trinitarian theology across four important phases, culminating in the unique and paradigm-shifting theological grammar demonstrated in On The Holy Spirit. Hildebrand concludes the book with a few chapters that investigate the classical background to Basil's hermeneutics. Probably could have been a bit more expansive in building out Basil's Greco-Roman/Christian rhetorical context, though this is being slightly nitpicky. Overall, a very fine book on a very important Church Father.

[Ryan Jankowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Letham's, "The Holy Trinity" and O'Collins, "The Tripersonal God" recently, I was left with a desire to further explore the Cappadocian contribution to the history of trinitarian understanding and dogmatic formulations of the Trinity. If you've not yet read either of those books, I would recommend reading them (or something along those lines) prior to embarking on Hildebrand's work as it is much more narrow and detailed in scope (it originates from his dissertation). The Cappadocians play a very important role in the development of trinitarian understanding, particularly as it relates in the communication of trinitarian ideas through the adoption and modification of key terms. Hildrebrand addresses important issues and criticisms that arise in the development of this new vocabulary.

I suspect most of us take for granted the available terms we have today in discussing matters of profound theological importance. Hildebrand sheds light on just how hard that task would be when those words simply did not exist. This is where the Cappadocians went beyond Athanasisus. They developed a language of three co-equal/co-eternal persons (hypostaseis), within one divine ousia (essence/being/substance).

If you are interested in the development and formalization of trinitarianism and the sources of authority Basil of Caesarea appealed to in that formulation, then this book comes highly recommended. However, it should be important to note that this book is incredibly difficult to obtain (at least that was my experience). I purchased the book on Amazon only to later discover that it was not available from numerous vendors (though they initially claimed to the contrary).