Feast of the Ecumenical Teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom
Categories: feast-days
Date: 29 January 2009 22:40:57
January 30 is the Feast Day of the Ecumenical Teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom. This page from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America explains the feast, and an icon of the feast, in detail. In brief, during the eleventh century disputes raged in Constantinople about which of these three hierarchs was the greatest. In 1084 the three hierarchs appeared to St John the Bishop of Euchaita and said that they were equal before God: "There are no divisions among us, and no opposition to one another." They ordered that the disputes should stop, and that their common commemoration should be celebrated on a single day. Bishop John chose January 30 for their joint Feast.
I must confess to a smile in pondering people of the time forming factions and saying, though I am sure in more learned and reverent words, "My saint is better than yours!" Thanks be to God through His Love, Grace and Mercy that a decision was reached in a most miraculous manner.
I confess to knowing very little about these three great Teachers, save for some basics on their lives and what they taught. By the grace of God I may rectify this by some reading today.
A blessed Feast Day to all!
Troparion - Tone 1:
Let us who love their words gather together
and honour with hymns the three great torch-bearers of the triune Godhead:
Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.
These men have enlightened the world with the rays of their divine doctrines.
They are sweetly-flowing rivers of wisdom
filling all creation with springs of heavenly knowledge.
Ceaselessly they intercede for us before the Holy Trinity!
Kontakion - Tone 2:
O Lord, You have taken up to eternal rest
and to the enjoyment of Your blessings
the divinely-inspired heralds, the greatest of Your teachers,
for You have accepted their labours and deaths as a sweet-smelling sacrifice,
for You alone are glorified in Your saints!