Basil the Great: On the Holy Spirit
St. Basil’s refutation of the Arians’ charge against his teaching as innovative initiated his writing On the Holy Spirit. His great work demonstrates the frivolity of their arguments. Without a doubt, the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit’s position in the Godhead are one of the distinct tenets of Christianity. A proper discernment of the Holy Spirit is crucial to understanding the Holy Trinity. His relationship with the Father and Son is significant to understanding his position in the Godhead. Therefore, not only is he equated with divine essence (οὐσία), but there is relationship between each person (ὑπόστᾰσις) and ultimately with the spiritual life of humankind.
“[T]he Lord will finish what is left, either though us or through others, according to the knowledge furnished to those who are worthy of him by the Spirit.” – Basil the Great
Reviewed by Cletus Hull
Notes
[1] St. Basil the Great. Popular Patristics Series. trans. (trans. Stephen Hildebrand. Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011), 30.
[2] Ibid., 30.
[3] Ibid., 92-93.
[4] Ibid., 45.
[5] Ibid., 78.
[6] Ibid., 73.
[7] Ibid., 52-53.
[8] Ibid., 75.
[9] Ibid., 51.
[10] The Spirit-fighters or pneumatomachians, confer decreasing essence to the Holy Spirit, as the Arians granted to the Son. See St. Basil’s scrutiny of their opinions in On the Holy Spirit, 57-58.
[11] Ibid., 112.
[12] Ibid., 122.
Category: In Depth, Summer 2016