Basil of Caesarea

Next year will be a good one for all those interested in St. Basil the Great. In April, Routledge is publishing Nicu Dumitrascu's Basil the Great: Faith, Mission and Diplomacy in the Shaping of Christian Doctrine (2018), 272pp.

About this forthcoming book the publisher tells us:

Regarded as one of the three hierarchs or pillars of orthodoxy along with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, Basil is a key figure in the formative process of Christianity in the fourth century. While his role in establishing Trinitarian terminology, as well as his function in shaping monasticism, his social thought and even his contribution to the evolution of liturgical forms have been the focus of research for many years, there are few studies which centre on his political thought. Basil played a major role in the political and religious life between Cappadocia and Armenia and was a key figure in the tumultuous relationship between Church and State in Late Antiquity. He was a great religious leader and a gifted diplomat, and developed a ’special relationship’ with Emperor Valens and other high imperial officials.

And a few weeks before that, with an official mid-March release date, Routledge is also publishing Basil of Caesarea (2018), 238pp, written by Stephen Hildebrand, who has authored and translated other works by and about Basil. In the latter category, we have On the Holy Spirit: St. Basil the Great, in the Popular Patristics series from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. In the former category, Hildebrand first emerged with his 2009 book The Trinitarian Theology of Basil of Caesarea: A Synthesis of Greek Thought and Biblical Truth. More recently he has authored Basil of Caesarea in the series Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality published by Baker Academic.

This new book, then, comes from the hand of a respected scholar of Basil. As the publisher tells us, the book

examines the life and thought of Basil of Caesarea. This unique volume brings together a lengthy introduction to his life and thought with a selection of extracts from his diverse works in new translations, with each extract accompanied by an introduction and notes. This format allows students to better understand this significant figure in the Early Church by providing an accessible representative selection of his works in one concise volume, making this an invaluable resource for students of early Christianity.