Bonovox

On the Holy Spirit

- By St. Basil the Great

The Church had survived the onslaught of the Arians, who had tried to subordinate The Son until He was a mere creature. Now at the end of the fourth century, it was the pneumatomachoi or “spirit fighters” who threatened orthodox doctrine. This Arianizing element believed that by undermining the place of the Holy Spirit, they could shatter the hold of the orthodox. This treatise by St. Basil from his see in Ceasarea was in response to this threat. He realized that by making a case for the equality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, he could solidify the position of orthodoxy against the attack of the heretical forces. Therefore his chief aim was to clear up the picture, using Holy Scripture and Tradition to deflate the claims of the pneumatomachoi.

St. Basil was uniquely qualified for this task by virtue of his being trained in the best schools of Athens in the fields of logic and rhetoric. He easily spotted the pagan influence of many of his opponents arguments. He skillfully avoided use of untraditional, general and unprecedented statements. Instead, by presenting the evidence and letting the reader see for himself the obviousness of it, he kept the heretics from being able to extend the conflict.

In the book, St. Basil makes very clear the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, while as we saw, avoiding unprecedented statements. For example, he never makes the statement, “ The Holy Spirit is God.” Rather he says, ”The Holy Spirit partakes of the fullness of divinity.” (para. 46) And for every statement that he makes, he gives excruciatingly detailed evidence to back it up, from the Scriptures or the worshipping Tradition of the Church. Because his opponents had made so much use of technical definitions to “support” their heresy, he also spends a good deal of time making distinctions and drawing comparisons. He says in paragraph 2:

Those who are idle in the pursuit of righteousness count theological terminology as secondary, together with attempts to search out the hidden meaning in this phrase or that syllable, but those conscious of the goal of our calling realize that we are to become like God, as far as this is possible for human nature. But we cannot become like God unless we have knowledge of Him, and without lessons there will be no knowledge. Instruction begins with the proper use of speech, and syllables and words are the elements of speech… what theological term is so insignificant that it will not greatly upset the balance of the scales unless it is used correctly? We are told that “not one jot or tittle shall pass away from the law;” how then can we safely bypass even the smallest point? (para. 2)

St. Basil is steadfast in his support in the orthodox teaching o the Holy Trinity. He says, “There is One God and Father, one Only-Begotten son, and One Holy Spirit. We declare each person to be unique, and if we must use numbers, we will not let a stupid arithmetic lead us astray to the idea of many gods.” (para 44) For St. Basil, the persons of the Trinity are One, but unique. The power is not divided, nor the glory separated. For St. Basil like St. Paul, the Father and Son are united. He says in paragraph 14, “True religion teaches us to conceive of the Son with the Father.” In 16 he says (in speaking of the Father, and the Son), “One demands the existence of the other, and both are inseparably joined in name and nature.” In fact he goes to great length to show that the evidence is overwhelmingly in support of the Son being indissolubly joined to the Father in both will, and glory.

Then of course, in the main thrust of the work, finally discusses the place of the Holy Spirit within the Godhead. He speaks of His titles, “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father” and of course “Holy Spirit. These show Him to be above the creation. The things the Spirit does also point to His nature. He breathes life, and fulfills; He perfects, and in Himself lacks nothing; He fills with power. He is present everywhere and in everything. He is divided but remains whole. Basil shows how the baptismal formula also points to the Spirit’s union with the Father and the Son. He makes no bones about it. “The Lord has delivered to us a necessary and saving dogma: the Holy Spirit is to be ranked w/ the Father.” (par. 25) “ I exhort them to keep the faith inviolate until the day of Christ’s coming: they must not divide the Spirit from the Father and the Son, but must preserve in the profession of faith and in the doxology the teaching they received at their baptism.” (par. 26)

The Holy Spirit’s position is important because, “It is impossible to believe in the Father and the Son except in the Holy Spirit; it is impossible to call upon the Father except in the spirit of adoption.” (par. 27) St. Basil’s theology was key in securing orthodoxy against the winds of heresy. We modern Christians can only benefit by a return to our patristic roots. This is so true of the west, where the Holy Spirit often seems to have been neglected, in the cold dead formalism of the mainline churches. The Charismatic movement, which in response to this has emphasized the Holy Spirit, is often lacking in firm doctrinal theology, so that the Spirit is often reduced to one’s “personal tool” towards achieving health, prosperity, power, etc., not the One God of the universe whom we serve.

St. Basil’s book is a great work, and is throroughly enjoyable for those who seek to know true doctrine. To the seeker St. Basil says, “If anything is unclear, do not hesitate to seek an answer; you will add to your knowledge by asking questions while avoiding strife. Either through me or through others the Lord will provide a full answer for any remaining questions, since He gives knowledge to those He has chosen, by the Holy Spirit.” (par. 79)