Basil of Cęsarea (Transformation of the Classical Heritage) - Hardcover

Rousseau, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520082389 ISBN 13: 9780520082380

Publisher: University of California Press, 1995

Synopsis

Basil of Caesarea is thought of most often as an opponent of heresy and a pioneer of monastic life in the eastern church. In this new biographical study, however, controversy is no longer seen as the central preoccupation of his life nor are his ascetic initiatives viewed as separable from his pastoral concern for all Christians. Basil's letters, sermons, and theological treatises, together with the testimonies of his relatives and friends, reveal a man beset by doubt. He demanded loyalty, but gave it also, and made it a central feature of his church. In Rousseau's portrait, Basil's understanding of human nature emerges as his major legacy.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"In this new portrait of Basil of Caesarea, which will certainly win acceptance as the standard work in English, erudition does not blunt perceptiveness: we are brought close to the heart of a man who struggled to reconcile the high calling of his faith with the appalling demands that a fast- changing world imposed on its leaders. This book takes another long stride towards what all Rousseau's earlier work has aimed at (an undogmatic and sympathetic understanding of the fourth-century Church, and the presentation of its great spiritual leaders to new, often unsuspecting audiences." (Garth Fowden, National Hellenic Research Foundation)

About the Author:

Philip Rousseau is Associate Professor of History at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Pachomius: The Making of a Community in Fourth-Century Egypt (California, 1985).

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0520082389
• ISBN 13: 9780520082380
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432