SOURCE: "Christian Society" in The Life and Times of St. Basil the Great as Revealed in His Works, The Catholic University of America Press, 1939, pp. 137-65.

In the essay reprinted here, Fox surveys the customs and practices of the Caesarean church during Basil's episcopate. Using information derived from his letters, she discusses Basil's innovative establishment of charitable institutions, his veneration of martyrs and their relics, and his relations with congregants as well as clergy.

Gi; a Bishop and His Congregation =~ Sa Bishop and His Congregation

Numerous references reveal the informality that existed between St. Basil and the vast congregation that filled the great church of Caesarea, and also the intimate union that was established between the pastor and his flock. St. Basil tells us that his congregation at Caesarea included, besides the rich, artisans and workmen, some of whom were scarcely able to eke out an existence by...