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Basil was born about 330 at Caesarea in Cappadocia.
He came from a wealthy and pious family which gave a number of saints, including his mother Saint [[Emily]] (also styled Emilia or Emmelia), grandmother Saint [[Macrina the Elder]], sister Saint [[Macrina the Younger]] and brothers Saints [[Gregory of Nyssa]] and [[Peter of Sebaste]].
It is also a widely held tradition that Saint [[Theosebia the Deaconess|Theosebia]] was his youngest sister, who is also a saint in the Church.
While still a child, the family moved to Pontus; but he soon returned to Cappadocia to live with his mother's relations, and seems to have been brought up by his grandmother Macrina. Eager to learn, he went to Constantinople and spent four or five years there and at Athens, where he had the future emperor [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] for a fellow student and became friends with [[Gregory the Theologian]]. Both Basil and Gregory were deeply influenced by [[Origen]] and compiled an anthology of uncondemned writings of Origen known as the ''Philokalia'' (not to be confused with the [[Philokalia|later compilation of the same name]]).
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:4th-century bishops]]
[[Category:Church Fathers]]
[[Category:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine Saints]]
[[Category:4th-century saints]]
[[fr:Basile le Grand]]
[[ro:Vasile cel Mare]]
