Elements of the

Christian Worldview
in Works by, and
Attributed to, St Basil
the Great

Revd Dr Doru Costache

St Andrew’s Patristic Symposium
9 September 2009
Elements of the Christian
Worldview

The World as • Homilies on the

a Hexaemeron
Theological • On the Origin of
School Humankind

The World as • Homilies on the

an Hexaemeron
Interactive • On the Holy Spirit
Framework
The world as a theological
school

 Homilies on the Hexaemeron

 Weaknesses: the scientific information
upon which the homilies are based has
become obsolete
 Strengths: the theological vision of reality
remains valid from an ecclesial viewpoint
Homilies on the
Hexaemeron – their validity

Scientific
data belong Theological
to the past vision belongs
to the Church
The world as a theological
school
 Homilies on the Hexaemeron
 Valid aspects that are non-theological in
nature
 Creation is in itself changing and mortal
 The fine-tuning of the universe’s
parameters
 Ethical paradigms illustrated by animal
behaviours
 The anthropic principle
The world as a theological
school
 Theological worldview can peacefully
and creatively coexist with any scientific
cosmology
 Scientific cosmology is descriptive
 Theological worldview is interpretive
The world as a theological
school

 The world as a teaching ground (διδασκαλείον
καὶ


παιδευτήριον; Hexaemeron 1.5)  learning of
God’s wisdom and the meaning of life
 An Alexandrian theme, drawn from Origen and
St Athanasius the Great
St Athanasius, Against the
Pagans 34.4

 The knowledge of God (τὴν
περὶ
τοῦ
Θεοῦ
γνῶσιν)

can be further reached from the visible things
(ἀπὸ
τῶν
φαινομένων), since creation, through its
order and harmony (διὰ
τῆς
τάξεως
καὶ
ἁρμονίας),
signals and loudly declares its Lord and Creator,
as though through letters (ὥσπερ
γράμμασι)
The world as a theological
school

 Challenges
 The Manichaean myth of creation
 The atheism intrinsic to many ancient
cosmologies
 A positive approach to creation
 St Basil, Hexaemeron 1.6

 …the cosmos has not been conceived vainly

and without reason given that it is assembled
for some beneficial purpose and the great
use of all beings. Thus, since it truly is a
teaching ground for the reasoning souls
(ψυχῶν
λογικῶν
διδασκαλεῖον) and a school of
divine knowledge (θεογνωσίας
παιδευτήριον),
through the guidance (διὰ
χειραγωγίαν) of the
visible and sensible things the mind is led to
the contemplation of the invisible.
The world as a theological
school

 Genesis as an interpretation of reality

from the viewpoint of God’s intention
and creative work
St Basil, Hexaemeron 1.1

 The creation (ποίησις) of the heavens and

earth must be conveyed not as having
happened spontaneously (αὐτομάτως), as
some have imagined, but as having its
cause (αἰτίαν) from God.
The world as a theological
school

 The scriptural narrative in Genesis 1 is

 Not concerned with chronology, the
dimensions or the structure of creation
 Interested in highlighting God’s work as
active and efficient throughout the
history of the universe
The world as a theological
school

 Theology
 Is not interested in the anatomy of the
world
 Interprets the beauty of the world as
indicative to the wisdom of the Creator 
prerequisite for a holistic worldview
The world as a theological
school

 Theology inspires awe for the

 Greatness of creation
 Majesty of the Creator
 Meaningfulness of life
 St Basil, Hexaemeron 1.11
 Let us glorify the Master Craftsman (τὸν
ἀριστοτέχνην)
for all that wisely and artistically (σοφῶς
καὶ
ἐντέχνως)
has been accomplished. From the beauty of the
visible things (τοῦ
κάλλους
τῶν
ὁρωμένων) let us form an
idea of the one that is supremely beautiful (τὸν

ὑπέρκαλον), and from the majesty of these limited
bodies that are accessible through senses (τῶν

αἰσθητῶν
τούτων
καὶ
περιγραπτῶν
σωμάτων) let us make
an analogy for him who is infinite, supremely
grandiose (τὸν
ἄπειρον
καὶ
ὑπερμεγέθη) and who
surpasses all understanding by the fullness of his power
The world as a theological
school

 A message of hope for a

disoriented society
 The school functions: everyone
can learn the path of virtue
What has a beginning has also an end  creation
is mortal

Building on St Athanasius the Great’s teaching on

the transitory character of the world

The world as an
interactive framework
Beyond St Athanasius: supported
by the Logos, creation is also
endowed with a natural
generative power

The world as an
interactive framework
 Divine
energy

Cosmic
energy
[The earth] was in painful labours
(ὠδίνουσα) with the generation of all
things through the power stored in it
(ἐναποτεθεῖσαν
…
δύναμιν) by the
Demiurge, waiting for the auspicious
times (καθήκοντας
χρόνους) when, by
divine call, it would bring on to the
open (προαγάγῃ
…
εἰς
φανερὸν) the
things conceived (τὰ
κυήματα) within it.

St Basil, Hexaemeron 2.3

God given, the generative
potential of matter cannot
activate of itself, without God’s
energy

The world as an
interactive framework
 St Basil, Hexaemeron 2.6

[The Holy Spirit] thoroughly warmed up

(συνέθαλπε) and vivified the nature of the
waters (ἐζωογόνει
τὴν
τῶν
ὑδάτων
φύσιν), like in
the image of a bird hatching the eggs,
endowing them with some sort of living power
(ζωτικήν
τινα
δύναμιν)
Potentiality Synergy Continuity
Genesis: not a narrative concerning
past events but a prophecy of things
that still happen and will happen

The world as an
interactive framework
 St Basil, Hexaemeron 9.2

Think of the word of God running through

creation (διὰ
τῆς
κτίσεως
τρέχον), still active
(ἐνεργοῦν) now as it has been from the
beginning (ἀρξάμενον), and efficient until
the end in order to bring the world to
fulfilment (ἕως
ἂν
ὁ
κόσμος
συμπληρωθῇ).
God works through the potential of matter
The cosmos exists and thrives only sustained
by God’s creative power

The world as an
interactive framework
The treatise On the Holy Spirit – a new approach to
the topic of creation’s dependence on God

Nothing exists and thrives without the support of the

Spirit

The world as an
interactive framework
On the Holy Spirit 9.22
 [All things are] watered by his breath and helped on
to reach their proper and natural purpose (τὸ
οἰκεῖον

καὶ
κατὰ
φύσιν
τέλος). Perfecting all other things
(τελειωτικόν
τῶν
ἂλλων), […] he is the giver of life (ζωῆς

χορηγόν) […] and is omnipresent (πανταχοῦ
ὂν). […] By
nature unapproachable (ἀπρόσιτον
τῇ
φύσει), he is
apprehended through goodness (χωρητόν

δι᾽ἀγαθότητα), filling all things with his power (πάντα

πληροῦν
τῇ
δυνάμει), […] in essence simple (ἁπλοῦν
τῇ

οὐσίᾳ), in powers various (ποικίλον
ταῖς
δυνάμεσιν),
wholly present in each (ὃλον
ἑκάστῳ
παρόν) and
wholly everywhere (ὃλον
ἀπανταχοῦ
ὂν).
Conclusive remarks
 The capacity of ecclesial worldview to
coexist with any cosmological paradigm
 The relevance of ecclesial worldview to
contemporary existential disorientation
 Ecclesial worldview corresponds to our
Christology  correction to
contemporary one-sided interpretations
of reality