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[[Image:Meister der Sophien-Kathedrale von Ohrid 001.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Fresco]] of Basil the Great in the [[cathedral]] of [[Ohrid]]. The saint is shown [[consecration|consecrating]] the [[Sacred Mysteries|Gifts]] during the [[Divine Liturgy]] which bears his name.]]
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==Testimonies==
That St. Basil composed a Liturgy, or rather reformed an existing Liturgy, is beyond doubt, since besides the constant tradition of the Byzantine Church there are many testimonies in ancient writings to establish the fact. In a treatise on the tradition of the Divine liturgy attributed to [[Proclus of Constantinople|St. Proclus]], [[Archbishop of Constantinople]] (434-446), it is stated that when St. Basil noticed the slothfulness and degeneracy of men, how they were wearied by the length of the liturgy, he shortened it in order to cure their sloth<ref>''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'', LXV, 849.</ref>. More certain testimony to the existence of a liturgical text which went under the name of St. Basil is given in a letter of [[Petrus Diaconus|Peter the Deacon]], one of the Scythian [[monk]]s sent to Rome to settle certain dogmatic questions. Writing about the year 520 to the African bishops in exile in Sardinia, Peter, an Oriental, mentions a Liturgy of St. Basil, which was known and used throughout the entire East, and even quotes a passage from it: "Hence, also, Blessed Basil, Bishop of Cæsaria, in a prayer of the holy altar, with which almost the entire East is familiar, says among other things: Grant us, O Lord, Thy strength and protection; make the evil good and preserve the just in their righteousness. For Thou canst do all things and there is no one who may oppose Thee; for when Thou desirest, Thou savest, and no one resists Thy will."<ref>''Patrologia Latina'', LXV, 449.</ref>
[[Leontius of Byzantium]], writing about the middle of the sixth century, censures [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] because he was not content with the liturgies handed down by the Fathers to the churches, but composed a Liturgy of his own, showing thereby no reverence either for that of the Apostles, or for that composed in the same spirit by St. Basil<ref>''Patrologia Graecae'', LXXXVI, 1368.</ref>. The [[Quinisext Council]], or "Council ''In Trullo''" (692), in its thirty-second [[canon law|canon]] draws an argument from the written Liturgy of the archbishop of the church of the Cæsareans, St. Basil, whose glory has spread through the whole world<ref>Mansi, Coll. Conc., XI, 958</ref>. Finally, in the Barberini library there is a manuscript of the latter part of the eighth, or the early part of the ninth, century which contains a Greek Liturgy entitled the "Liturgy of St. Basil".
==History and use==
It is not known precisely just what the nature of Basil's reform was, nor what liturgy served as the basis of his work. Very probably he shortened and changed somewhat the liturgy of his own [[diocese]], which would have been akin to the [[Liturgy of St. James]]. In later times it underwent further development, so that with our present knowledge of its history it would be almost impossible to reconstruct it as it came from the pen of the Bishop of Cæsarea.
Over time, of crucial parts of the [[anaphora (liturgy)|anaphora]] were expanded by inserting credal statements. In particular in the prayer after the [[Sanctus]], but also in the expansion of the [[Anamnesis]], which was influenced by the [[Christology|Christological debates]] of that period. These changes appear to have been influenced by the [[dogma]]tic definitions of the [[Synod]]s of Antioch in 341 and 345.<ref>{{Citation
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The Byzantine Liturgy is used in the countries which were evangelized from Constantinople, or which came under its influence for any considerable period. Since the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom has become the normal liturgy of the Byzantine Church, that of St. Basil is now used only ten times a year:
*The five Sundays of [[Great Lent]]
*On [[Holy Week|Holy Thursday]] and [[Holy Saturday]]
*On the Eves of [[Nativity]] (Christmas) and [[Theophany]]. However, if the [[Great Feasts]] of Nativity or Theophany fall on a Sunday or Monday, the Liturgy of St. Basil is celebrated on the day of the feast, and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated on the Eve.
*On the [[feast day]] of St. Basil, which in the Byzantine calendar occurs on the first of January (for those churches which follow the traditional [[Julian Calendar]], January 1 falls on January 14 of the [[Gregorian Calendar]]).
While the actual Words of Institution themselves are the same for both Chrysostom and Basil, Saint Basil precedes each exclamation with the [[ekphonesis]]: "He gave it to His holy [[disciples]] and [[apostles]], saying".
The [[Epiclesis]] (invocation of the [[Holy Spirit]] to perfect the [[Consecration]] of the Gifts) differs in that Chrysostom says "''Make'' this bread the precious [[Body of Christ|Body]] of Thy Christ" and "''Make'' that which is in this [[chalice]] the precious [[Blood of Christ|Blood]] of Thy Christ", while Basil says "This bread ''is'' in very truth the precious Body of our Lord, and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ" and "This chalice ''is'' in very truth the precious Blood of our Lord, and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ … which was poured out for the life of the world." So for Saint John Chrysostom, the transformation is taking place in the present, whereas for Saint Basil it is already an accomplished fact.
The Great [[Intercession]] for the living and the dead is much longer in St. Basil.
[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Services]]