The first book on the Rule of St. Basil to appear in English in seventy years. St. Basil's Rule is usually considered one of the earliest monastic Rules, preceding St. Benedict's Rule by a century and inspiring it in countless ways. Part One of Holmes' study recounts St. Basil's life and the background of his Rule. Part Two surveys the main principles of St. Basil's spirituality. Part Three consists of a commentary of eleven specific ''questions and answers,'' the format in which St. Basil's Rule was written. Since St. Basil's Rule is currently nowhere in print in English, this book is all the more valuable as a means by which this wellspring of spiritual life can be accessed. New copy, but has suffered rough handling in Publisher warehouse. Very minor crease near bottom edge of rear cover. Text pristine. Remainder mark on bottom textblock edge adjacent to spine.
An Eighth Day View:
Basil the Great (330-379) is one of the most important figures in Christian history and a theologian and spiritual teacher of ecumenical significance. At a time when the sources of their riche spiritual heritage are being re-appropriated by Christians of many traditions, it is strange that little attention has so far been given to Basilian spirituality. A Life Pleasing to God tells the story of Basil's own spiritual development in the theologically turbulent fourth-century. Its core is a study of those passages of the Asceticon which illustrate his understanding of the foundation of the Christian life and lay out the possibilities, and problems, of Christian community.
