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111-542: Stavrovouni Monastery ( Greek : Ιερά Μονή Σταυροβουνίου ) is a Greek Orthodox monastery which stands on the top of a hill called Stavrovouni (Greek: Σταυροβούνι) in Cyprus ; it is sometimes simply known as Stavrovouni. The monastery is one of the few places where one can see a piece of the Holy Cross . Stavrovouni Monastery was founded by Saint Helena and Saint Constantine c.  AD 327–329 . The monastery

222-650: A Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church . He is sometimes referred to by the epithet Ouranophantor (Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ ), "revealer of heavenly mysteries". Basil was born into the wealthy Cappadocian Greek family of Basil the Elder , and Emmelia of Caesarea , in Cappadocia , around 330. He was one of ten children, and his parents were known for their piety. His maternal grandfather

333-470: A soup kitchen and distributed food to the poor during a famine following a drought. His letters show that he actively worked to reform thieves and prostitutes. They also show him encouraging his clergy not to be tempted by wealth or the comparatively easy life of a priest, and that he personally took care in selecting worthy candidates for holy orders . He also had the courage to criticize public officials who failed in their duty of administering justice. At

444-473: A Trinitarian debate. Basil recognizes that no human is "a slave by nature". This principle countered Aristotle 's conviction and was consistent with Gregory of Nyssa view and with that of many other patristic thinkers; even Augustine and Theodoret conceded this. Basil, indeed, viewed slavery as a result of the Fall, a principle that was shared by Augustine, Theodoret, and many other Fathers. Sometimes slavery

555-577: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,

666-617: A bishop." Modestus reported back to Valens that he believed nothing short of violence would avail against Basil. Valens was apparently unwilling to engage in violence. He did however issue orders banishing Basil repeatedly, none of which succeeded. Valens came himself to attend when Basil celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Theophany (Epiphany), and at that time was so impressed by Basil that he donated to him some land for

777-474: A charismatic bishop and ascetic. Abandoning his legal and teaching career, Basil devoted his life to God. In a letter he described his spiritual awakening: I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labours, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized

888-752: A collection of Origen 's works. Gregory decided to return to his family in Nazianzus. Basil attended the Council of Constantinople (360) . He at first sided with Eustathius and the Homoiousians , a semi-Arian faction who taught that the Son was of like substance with the Father, neither the same ( one substance) nor different from him. The Homoiousians opposed the Arianism of Eunomius but refused to join with

999-558: A fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes , a limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in

1110-560: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on

1221-540: A foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near

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1332-608: A liturgy, or rather reformed an existing liturgy, is beyond doubt, since besides the constant tradition of the Byzantine Church there are many testimonies in ancient writings to establish the fact. Basil's liturgical influence is well attested in early sources. Most of the liturgies bearing the name of Basil are not entirely his work in their present form, but they nevertheless preserve a recollection of Basil's activity in this field in formularizing liturgical prayers and promoting church-song. Patristics scholars conclude that

1443-445: A noteworthy moderation in the austere practices which were previously characteristic of monastic life. He is also credited with coordinating the duties of work and prayer to ensure a proper balance between the two. Basil is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the development of Christian monasticism . Not only is Basil recognized as the father of Eastern monasticism; historians recognize that his legacy extends also to

1554-461: A powerful advocate for the Nicene position. In 362, Bishop Meletius of Antioch ordained Basil as a deacon . Eusebius then summoned Basil to Caesarea and ordained him as presbyter of the Church there in 365. Eusebius needed him as an assistant because of his intellectual gifts. Ecclesiastical entreaties rather than Basil's desires thus altered his career path. Basil and Gregory Nazianzus spent

1665-476: Is a boon to the enslaved person, Basil maintained (in Moral Rules 75 he recommended, that Christian slaves work harder than non-Christian slaves). This view is opposed to Gregory of Nyssa, and is reminiscent of Aristotle's argument and of Theodoret's. It is in the ethical manuals and moral sermons that the practical aspects of his theoretical theology are illustrated. So, for example, it is in his Sermon to

1776-804: Is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout

1887-479: Is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During

1998-492: Is generally considered doubtful. He was a famous preacher, and many of his homilies, including a series of Lenten lectures on the Hexaemeron (also Hexaëmeros , "Six Days of Creation"; Latin : Hexameron ), and an exposition of the psalter , have been preserved. Some, like that against usury and that on the famine in 368, are valuable for the history of morals; others illustrate the honor paid to martyrs and relics ;

2109-622: Is honoured as the chief architect of monastic life in the Greek Church. Most of his extant works, and a few spuriously attributed to him, are available in the Patrologia Graeca , which includes Latin translations of varying quality. Several of Basil's works have appeared in the late twentieth century in the Sources Chrétiennes collection. A famous quote of Basil is the below: The bread you store belongs to

2220-508: Is like a meteorite , it is not supported in the ground, because the Holy Ghost holds it in the empty space. I, unworthy man, knelt down before this holy, mysterious object and have seen with my own, sinful eyes the inherent holy grace present in this place." After its foundation, Stavrovouni was occupied by Orthodox monks living according to the rule of St. Basil . We obtain further historical information from Western visitors to Cyprus in

2331-675: Is located on the peak of the mountain of the same name (Stavrovouni) in the District of Larnaca . The mountain in earlier times had been known under the name of Olympus, but nowadays the highest point of the Troodos Mountains further to the west bears that name. Stavrovouni, as the name already indicates, is dedicated to the Holy Cross; it can be derived from two words 'stavros' (Greek: Σταυρός) for cross and 'vouno' (βουνό) for mountain , so that it basically means "the mountain of

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2442-466: Is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki ,

2553-519: Is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to

2664-492: Is said to have left one of these crosses in Cyprus during an involuntary visit caused by shipwreck. Religious history says that the Holy Cross was transferred by a miracle to the peak of a high hill overnight and that a strong light was coming out of that peak. After several unsuccessful attempts to get the Holy Cross out of that mountain, Helena decided to leave a piece there, and built a small chapel to accompany it. Stavrovouni

2775-1108: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Basil of Caesarea Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: Basil of Caesarea , also called Saint Basil

2886-763: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,

2997-548: Is the earliest documented monastery on the island. The oldest written reference dates from the Byzantine period , and it proves that Stavrovouni had been an important religious centre since the 4th century. The relevant information can be found in the memoirs of a Russian traveler, Abbot Daniel , who stayed on Cyprus in 1106. He recorded that the Holy Cross was located on Mount Olympus with the objective of "warding off evil spirits and curing any illness", and he noted, "This cross

3108-416: Is therefore considered to be one of the oldest monasteries in the world; other ancient monasteries include Saint Athanasius (344), Saint Anthony (356), Saint Macarius (360), Saint Gabriel (Mor Gabriel) (397), Saint Euthymius (460), Saint Sabbas (Mar Saba) (483) and Saint Catherine, Sinai (565). The most significant relic that Stavrovouni Monastery possesses is a piece of the Holy Cross , left at

3219-674: The Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from

3330-624: The Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are

3441-627: The Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute the objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of

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3552-495: The Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to a lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It

3663-659: The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates his feast day together with that of the Feast of the Circumcision on that day. This was also the day on which the General Roman Calendar celebrated it at first; but in the 13th-century it was moved to 14 June, a date believed to be that of his ordination as bishop , and it remained on that date until the 1969 revision of the calendar, which moved it to 2 January, rather than 1 January, because

3774-516: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as

3885-502: The Lesser Asketikon . According to Orosius , Basil taught apocatastasis entailing the restoration of all sinners to Christ after purification. This doctrine is most evident in his Commentary on Isaiah , however there is some scholarly dispute about this commentary and if it should truly be attributed to Basil. On the other hand, he vehemently opposed the view that hell has an end in his short Regulae , even claiming that

3996-657: The Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of

4107-419: The address to young men on the study of classical literature shows that Basil was influenced by his own education, which taught him to appreciate the propaedeutic importance of the classics. In one of his Homilies, he describes, in one of the earliest descriptions of desalination , how sailors in his time obtain fresh water by hanging sponges over a vessel with boiling seawater and collecting and condensing

4218-492: The nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by the genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in

4329-697: The 13th century. Willibrandi de Oldenburg, for example, visited Stavrovouni in 1211 and wrote, "The cross of the Good Thief is on the highest mountain in Cyprus" – which was incorrect, as Stavrovouni is not as high as the Troodos peak. Ludolph von Suchen noted in 1305, "The mountain is like the Mount Tabor on which the Benedictine monks live. From its peak one can see the Lebanon." This is true, but

4440-591: The 16th and the 19th century, a time when the Turks ruled the island. The monastery was abandoned from 1571; however, some hermits continued to live there. This fact was mentioned by Russian monk and pilgrim, Vasil Grigorovich-Barsky in the first half of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, Elder Dionysios A' moved to Stavrovouni from Mount Athos in 1889, and the monastery was in operation again. In 1890, three more Cypriot monks, again from Mount Athos, joined him at Stavrovouni: Fathers Varnavas – who would become

4551-659: The Church in the Western Church for his contributions to the debate initiated by the Arian controversy regarding the nature of the Trinity, and especially the question of the divinity of the Holy Spirit . Basil was responsible for defining the terms " ousia " (essence/substance) and " hypostasis " (person/reality), and for defining the classic formulation of three Persons in one Nature. His single greatest contribution

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4662-454: The Church. Basil next took on functional administration of the city of Caesarea. Eusebius is reported as becoming jealous of the reputation and influence which Basil quickly developed, and allowed Basil to return to his earlier solitude. Later, however, Gregory persuaded Basil to return. Basil did so, and became the administrator for the Diocese of Caesarea. In 370, Eusebius died, and Basil

4773-468: The Cross and the life of St. Helena. In this manner, Stavrovouni is continuing the deeply rooted Byzantine painting tradition. Stavrovouni has a long tradition in icon painting and frescoes , and its most famous icon painter monk is Father Kallinikos. Even the first Abbot Dionysios A' was an icon painter, and there are several pieces of work by monks from Stavrovouni in the island. Apart from icon painting,

4884-722: The Cross". According to religious tradition, the monastery was founded by St. Helena and Roman Emperor Constantine the Great . According to the 15th-century Cypriot chronicler Leontios Makhairas , after the end of the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea (325), Helena went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land when she discovered the three crosses on which Jesus and the two thieves had been crucified. She had them excavated and wanted to bring them to Constantinople , but she

4995-618: The Cypriot martyr , member of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, is one such important monk who started his monastic life at Stavrovouni. On the 16/29 November 1979, he died violently as a martyr at Jacob's Well , where he served as Superior. His twin brother Archimandrite Elpidios started his monastic life at Stavrovouni, as well. The Hieromonk Kyprianos († 1955) is another significant figure who lived at Stavrovouni; he

5106-502: The Great ( Koinē Greek : Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας , Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas ; Coptic : Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ , Piagios Basílios ; 330 – 1 or 2 January 378), was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 378. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church, fighting against both Arianism and

5217-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit

5328-442: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in

5439-629: The Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of the syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow

5550-685: The Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in the country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community

5661-645: The Holy Spirit , an appeal to Scripture and early Christian tradition to prove the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and his Refutation of the Apology of the Impious Eunomius , which was written about in 364 and comprised three books against Eunomius of Cyzicus , the chief exponent of Anomoian Arianism . The first three books of the Refutation are his work; his authorship of the fourth and fifth books

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5772-465: The Lazicans that we find Basil explaining how it is our common nature that obliges us to treat our neighbor's natural needs (e.g., hunger, thirst) as our own, even though he is a separate individual. Basil's three hundred letters reveal his character. They show his observant nature, which, despite the troubles of ill-health and ecclesiastical unrest, remained optimistic, tender and even playful. Basil

5883-462: The Liturgy of Saint Basil "bears, unmistakably, the personal hand, pen, mind and heart of St. Basil the Great". One liturgy that can be attributed to him is The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great , a liturgy that is somewhat longer than the more commonly used Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom . The difference between the two is primarily in the silent prayers said by the priest, and in

5994-483: The Monastery of Panagia Trooditissa in Troodos and created a new group. Other monks attempted to move to, and revive, the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Mesa Potamos in Limassol. Elder Dionysios A' served as the first Abbot until 1902, and then Elder Varnavas took over. The most recent Abbots are: Stavrouvouni Monastery has been a center of spirituality and worship in Cyprus over the last century, as many spiritual monks made their homes there. Saint Filoumenos

6105-446: The Western church, largely due to his influence on Saint Benedict . Patristic scholars such as Meredith assert that Benedict himself recognized this when he wrote in the epilogue to his Rule that his monks, in addition to the Bible, should read "the confessions of the Fathers and their institutes and their lives and the Rule of our Holy Father, Basil. Basil's teachings on monasticism, as encoded in works such as his Small Asketikon ,

6216-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),

6327-402: The ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in the earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of

6438-399: The building of the Basiliad. This interaction helped to define the limits of governmental power over the church. Basil then had to face the growing spread of Arianism . This belief system, which denied that Christ was consubstantial with the Father, was quickly gaining adherents and was seen by many, particularly those in Alexandria most familiar with it, as posing a threat to the unity of

6549-405: The church, the iconostasis , and the monks' cells in Stavrovouni were almost completely destroyed during a great fire in 1888. The only relic which has been preserved down to the present is a silver cross in which a minute piece of the Holy Cross is inserted, the only major reliquary which is still kept in Stavrovouni. The records suggest that the monastery had no monks for a period roughly between

6660-454: The church. Basil entered into connections with the West, and with the help of Athanasius , he tried to overcome its distrustful attitude toward the Homoiousians. The difficulties had been enhanced by bringing in the question as to the essence of the Holy Spirit . Although Basil advocated objectively the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son , he belonged to those, who, faithful to Eastern tradition, would not allow

6771-404: The complete equality of both genders, deriving from the same human 'lump' (φύραμα), both in the image of God, endowed with the same honour and dignity (ὁμοτίμως), in perfect equality (ἐξ ἴσου). Men even risk being inferior in piety (Homily on Julitta 241B). Likewise, in Homilies on Psalms 1, PG 29.216–17, he insists on the Socratic and Stoic tenet, here Christianized, that man and woman have 'one and

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6882-541: The confluence of the Iris and Lycos rivers ). His widowed mother Emmelia, sister Macrina, and several other women, joined Basil and devoted themselves to pious lives of prayer and charitable works (some claim Macrina founded this community). Here Basil wrote about monastic communal life. His writings became pivotal in developing monastic traditions of the Eastern Church . In 358, Basil invited his friend Gregory of Nazianzus to join him in Annesi. When Gregory eventually arrived, they collaborated on Origen's Philocalia ,

6993-468: The current Abbot is Elder Dionysios. Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized :  Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized :  Hellēnikḗ ) is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of

7104-429: The exact date Basil died. The great institute before the gates of Caesarea, the Ptochoptopheion, or "Basileiad", which was used as poorhouse, hospital, and hospice became a lasting monument of Basil's episcopal care for the poor. Many of St. Basil's writings and sermons, specifically on the topics of money and possessions, continue to influence modern Christianity. The principal theological writings of Basil are his On

7215-439: The families in cutting the bread were pleasantly surprised to find the coins. It is customary on his feast day to visit the homes of friends and relatives, to sing New Year's carols , and to set an extra place at the table for Saint Basil. Basil, being born into a wealthy family, gave away all his possessions to the poor, the underprivileged, those in need, and children. According to some sources, Basil died on 1 January, and

7326-400: The followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea . In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor. Together with Pachomius , he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by

7437-407: The foundation is recorded in these pictures: St. Helena in a brilliant red garment and the Finding of the True Cross in Jerusalem. (As an aside, the emperor's mother recognised that she had the true Holy Cross by the miraculous healing of a woman). Colourful, but also not without the skull painted beneath Christ's Cross for centuries is the Deposition. The majority of the frescoes in the church refer to

7548-442: The hungry. The clothes you accumulate belong to the naked. The shoes that you have in your closet are for the barefoot. The money you bury deep into the ground to keep it safe, belongs to the poor. You were unfair to as many people as you could have helped and you did not. Basil of Caesarea holds a very important place in the history of Christian liturgy , coming as he did at the end of the age of persecution . That St. Basil composed

7659-439: The infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of the dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn

7770-408: The interpreters of dreams who explain visions in sleep to make them serve their own end." His ascetic tendencies are exhibited in the Moralia and Asketika (sometimes mistranslated as Rules of St. Basil ), ethical manuals for use in the world and the cloister, respectively. There has been a good deal of discussion concerning the authenticity of the two works known as the Greater Asketikon and

7881-414: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write

7992-561: The lectures of Libanius . The two later met again in Athens and became fast friends. There they met a fellow student who would become the emperor Julian the Apostate . Basil left Athens in 356, and after travels in Egypt and Syria, he returned to Caesarea . For around a year he practiced law and taught rhetoric. Basil's life changed radically after he encountered Eustathius of Sebaste ,

8103-524: The many people who hold it are deceived by the devil . However, the notion of a finite hell was also espoused by his siblings Macrina and Gregory of Nyssa and potentially by his dear friend Gregory of Nazianzus. It is probable that the relevant passage in Regulae was interpolated. The passage also seems to include ideas that could be considered in opposition to ideas in Basil's undisputed writings, for example

8214-576: The membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in the regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek

8325-441: The modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and

8436-652: The monastery by Saint Helena. There are references which report that the Holy Cross used to stand in the air unsupported. Today, the remaining piece of the Cross is kept within a large, silver, cross-shaped reliquary . Other relics left at the monastery by Helena include the Cross of the Good Thief , one of the Holy Nails , and what is believed to be part of the rope that had bound Jesus to the Cross. In addition, visitors will find two small chains which were worn by Saint Panaretos, Bishop of Paphos , during his life, and which were in direct contact with his body. Stavrovouni

8547-416: The monks work in a number of other services, such as agriculture and production of aromatics for the church . Moreover, locals visit the monastery, especially on feast days, and follow the monks in their worship programme – in liturgy , vespers , etc. Metochia or Dependencies (Greek: Μετόχια) are small monasteries or chapels that belong to a main monastery. Stavrovouni has a number of metochia, of which

8658-465: The most well-known is Agia Varvara at the foot of Stavrovouni hill. Until some decades ago, most of the monks used to stay at this metochi as there was no water and electricity at the top of the hill, and only two or three monks would stay at the top. Other metochia are Panagia Stazousa and Agios Modestos, which are located between the villages of Pyrga and Klavdia . Today, monks at Agia Varvara work as icon painters and in agriculture, whereas monks at

8769-413: The next Abbot – and his two brothers Kallinikos and Gregorios. Following that, new monks entered the monastery, which grew larger and larger and soon became the spiritual center of the island of Cyprus. The monastery grew so much during the mid-20th century that it was in a position where it was able to send monks to other ruined monasteries to help their growth. For example, monks from Stavrovouni moved to

8880-480: The next few years combatting the Arian heresy , which threatened to divide Cappadocia's Christians. In close fraternal co-operation, they agreed to a great rhetorical contest with accomplished Arian theologians and rhetors. In the subsequent public debates, presided over by agents of Valens , Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant. This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in administration of

8991-471: The nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world. After his baptism, Basil traveled in 357 to Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia to study ascetics and monasticism. He distributed his fortunes among the poor, and went briefly into solitude near Neocaesarea of Pontus (modern Niksar ) on the Iris River . Basil eventually realized that while he respected the ascetics' piety and prayerfulness,

9102-507: The notion of physical punishments in hell and of hell itself as a physical place with different locations. As well as potentially being in contradiction to most of Basil's linguistic use. In his book De Spiritu Sancto , Basil lists some who for him are illustrious men of the church and quotes them; these are Irenaeus of Lyon , Clement of Rome , Dionysius of Rome , Dionysius of Alexandria , Eusebius , Julius Africanus , Gregory Thaumaturgus , Firmilian and Origen . Basil also stresses

9213-399: The noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However, the morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks

9324-706: The older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as

9435-466: The other two metochia concentrate more on prayers and live more closely to a hermitic life. At present, monks in Stavrovouni live a very strict form of monastic life, similar to that of the monks on Mount Athos . The rule of their first abbot, Dionysios I, forms the basis of this. Women are not allowed to enter the main part of the monastery, but they are allowed to visit the chapel out of it on

9546-667: The predicate homoousios to the former; for this he was reproached as early as 371 by the Orthodox zealots among the monks, and Athanasius defended him. Basil corresponded with Pope Damasus in the hope of having his aid and encouragement against triumphant Arianism; the pope, however, cherished some degree of suspicion against the Cappadocian Doctor. Basil died before the factional disturbances ended. He suffered from liver disease; excessive ascetic practices also contributed to his early demise. Historians disagree about

9657-604: The predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation

9768-471: The sake of peace and charity he was content to waive the use of orthodox terminology when it could be surrendered without a sacrifice of truth. The Emperor Valens , who was an adherent of the Arian philosophy, sent his prefect Modestus to at least agree to a compromise with the Arian faction. Basil's adamant negative response prompted Modestus to say that no one had ever spoken to him in that way before. Basil replied, "Perhaps you have never yet had to deal with

9879-512: The same time he was against the wild allegories of some contemporaries. Concerning this, he wrote: "I know the laws of allegory, though less by myself than from the works of others. There are those, truly, who do not admit the common sense of the Scriptures, for whom water is not water, but some other nature, who see in a plant, in a fish, what their fancy wishes, who change the nature of reptiles and of wild beasts to suit their allegories, like

9990-461: The same time, he preached every morning and evening in his own church to large congregations. In addition to all the above, he built a large complex just outside Caesarea, called the Basiliad , which included a poorhouse, hospice, and hospital, and was compared by Gregory of Nazianzus to the wonders of the world . His zeal for orthodoxy did not blind him to what was good in an opponent; and for

10101-520: The same virtue' and 'one and the same nature' (φύσις). Their common creation was of equal honour and dignity (ὁμότιμος); they have the same capacity and activity (ἐνέργεια), and will be given the same reward. Similarly, in Letter to Amphilochius 188, Basil again uses ἐξ ἴσου in reference to the equality of women and men. Basil faced the slavery issue in De Spiritu Sancto 20 in the context of

10212-446: The solitary life did not call him. Eustathius of Sebaste , a prominent anchorite near Pontus, had mentored Basil. However, they also eventually differed over dogma . Basil instead felt drawn toward communal religious life, and by 358 he was gathering around him a group of like-minded disciples , including his brother Peter. Together they founded a monastic settlement on his family's estate near Annesi (modern Sonusa or Uluköy, near

10323-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of

10434-499: The supporters of the Nicene Creed , who professed that the members of the Trinity were of one substance (" homoousios "). However, Basil's bishop, Dianius of Caesarea, had subscribed only to the earlier Nicene form of agreement. Basil eventually abandoned the Homoiousians, and emerged instead as a strong supporter of the Nicene Creed . His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil

10545-654: The top of the hill. They are also allowed to visit the Metochi Agia Varvara at the foot of the hill only on Sundays. This rule is called avato (Greek: άβατο , meaning: entry is prohibited), and it is analogous to the strict life of monks in Mount Athos where women are not allowed to enter. This rule is applied in order to keep the monks isolated and living a stricter way of life. Today, there are over 30 monks in Stavrovouni Monastery, and

10656-469: The traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity . Basil, together with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus , are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers . The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom , the title of Great Hierarch . He is recognized as

10767-635: The use of the hymn to the Theotokos , All of Creation , instead of the Axion Estin of John Chrysostom's Liturgy. The Eastern Churches preserve numerous other prayers attributed to Basil, including three prayers of exorcism , several morning and evening prayers, and the "Prayer of the Hours" which is read at each service of the Daily Office . Through his examples and teachings, Basil effected

10878-447: The various stages of the Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than

10989-529: The vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in the early 19th century that was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between

11100-415: The water vapor. In his exegesis Basil was an admirer of Origen and the need for the spiritual interpretation of Scripture. In his work on the Holy Spirit , he asserts that "to take the literal sense and stop there, is to have the heart covered by the veil of Jewish literalism. Lamps are useless when the sun is shining." He frequently stresses the need for Reserve in doctrinal and sacramental matters. At

11211-471: The weather must be very clear in order to verify this. In its long history, Stavrovouni went through times of great poverty and hardship caused by the numerous invasions by foreigners on the island. Nowadays, the Holy Cross is no longer there and nobody knows what has happened to it. In 1598, the Bohemian nobleman Krystof Harant noted, "Nobody knows what the Turks have done with the Holy Cross." The walls,

11322-744: Was a Christian martyr , executed in the years prior to Constantine I 's conversion. His pious paternal grandmother, Macrina , a follower of Gregory Thaumaturgus (who had founded the nearby church of Neocaesarea ), raised Basil and four of his siblings who also are now venerated as saints: Macrina the Younger , Naucratius , Peter of Sebaste , and Gregory of Nyssa . Basil received more formal education in Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (modern Kayseri ) around 350–51. There he met Gregory of Nazianzus . Gregory went to Alexandria, while Basil went to Constantinople for further studies, including

11433-574: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or

11544-568: Was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of

11655-557: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe

11766-436: Was chosen to succeed him, and was consecrated as a bishop on 14 June 370. His new post as Bishop of Caesarea also gave him the powers of exarch of Pontus and metropolitan of five suffragan bishops , many of whom had opposed him in the election for Eusebius's successor. It was then that his great powers were called into action. Hot-blooded and somewhat imperious, Basil was also generous and sympathetic. He personally organized

11877-496: Was his insistence on the divinity and consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. In Greek tradition, Basil brings gifts to children every 1 January (St Basil's Day). It is traditional on St Basil's Day to serve vasilopita , a rich bread baked with a coin inside. The tradition is attributed to St. Basil, who when a bishop, wanted to distribute money to the poor and commissioned some women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins. Thus

11988-422: Was known for his strict way of life and his helpful advice to the people of Cyprus. Archbishop Leontios of Cyprus (1896–1947) was staying at Stavrovouni for some period and was closely related with Hieromonk Kyprianos. Recently, the monastery underwent a complete renovation. Its small church was restored again with frescoes and icons by the well-known painter, Fr. Kallinikos, a monk from Stavrovouni. The legend of

12099-679: Was transmitted to the west via Rufinus during the late 4th century. As a result of Basil's influence, numerous religious orders in Eastern Christianity bear his name. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Basilian Fathers, also known as the Congregation of St. Basil , an international order of priests and students studying for the priesthood, is named after him. Basil was given the title Doctor of

12210-580: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect

12321-673: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage

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