On Fasting and Feasts (St Basil the Great)

Item No. 000443

by Saint Basil the Great

translated by Dr. Mark DelCogliano and Dr. Susan Homan

One volume in the Popular Patristics series

Saint Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-378/9 CE) was a monk, bishop, preacher, theologian, and social activist who had very down-to-earth views about eating, drinking, fasting, and feasts in honor  of local martyrs. In this new collection of sermon translations—most offered here in English for the first time— Basil addresses such issues as drunkenness, hesitations over baptism, community benefits of fasting, how to be thankful when facing loss and disaster, and the mystery of the incarnation. Also included are three sermons on local martyrs Julitta, Mamas, and Barlaam. This small volume of elegant translations will be a vital and valued resource for anyone interested in religion and the body, early Christian spiritual disciplines, and their application to the Church today.

About the Translators:

Dr Mark DelCogliano teaches at the University of St Thomas in St Paul, Minnesota. In addition to his scholarship on the fourth-century Trinitarian controversies, he has published numerous translations of patristic works, including eleven of Basil’s Moral Homilies in On Christian Doctrine and Practice.

Dr Susan R. Holman is author of over thirty publications, including four books, in the areas of patristic studies, the history of poverty, and medicine. She is Senior Writer at the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Author: Saint Basil the Great

Paperback: 141 pages

Dimensions: 5 X 7.1 inches