Basil of Caesarea was a...
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Basil of Caesarea was a bishop of the church in the fourth century A.D. He brought a spiritual discipline of humility and service to the community that garnered much respect from the people for the office of bishop.
One day, Basil was summoned to appear before the Roman prefect, Modestus. The prefect put pressure on Basil to accept the Arian notions, circulating in Christian circles, that Jesus was not the divine Son of God, but only an adopted human form to do God's bidding. Basil believed this to be heresy. He argued confidently and freely with the prefect about what was true and what was false according to the teachings of the Bible. Modestus was not accustomed to being refuted. He became quite perplexed and he sputtered, "No one has ever spoken in such a manner and with such boldness to me." Basil replied, "Perhaps you have never before met a bishop." (Christian History, Issue 64, p. 350)
One day, Basil was summoned to appear before the Roman prefect, Modestus. The prefect put pressure on Basil to accept the Arian notions, circulating in Christian circles, that Jesus was not the divine Son of God, but only an adopted human form to do God's bidding. Basil believed this to be heresy. He argued confidently and freely with the prefect about what was true and what was false according to the teachings of the Bible. Modestus was not accustomed to being refuted. He became quite perplexed and he sputtered, "No one has ever spoken in such a manner and with such boldness to me." Basil replied, "Perhaps you have never before met a bishop." (Christian History, Issue 64, p. 350)
