“The Church is celebrating today the distinguished feast of the three Teachers, for they strengthened the Church by their divine dogmas.”
(Sessional of the Matins service of the Feast)
On the 30th of January, we celebrate the memory of three great and very outstanding bishops, teachers, preachers and Fathers of the Eastern Church: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. Among our people, this feast is known as the feast of the “Three Saints”. These three hierarchs-bishops were giants of faith, courage, holiness and learning. They handed down to us the pure faith of the Council of Nicea; they expounded the dogmas of the Holy Trinity, Christ’s divinity and the Holy Eucharist. Because of their great merits, in her liturgy our Eastern Church calls them peers of the Apostles, instruments of the Holy Spirit, pillars of the Church and universal teachers of the whole world. All three lived in the fourth century – the golden age of the Christian faith. St. Basil and St. Gregory were sons of Cappodocia in Asia Minor, intimate friends of approximately the same age. St. John Chrysostom, an Antiochian, was younger than the other two by twenty years. Apostolic zeal for the holy faith and salvation of souls united them.
Outstanding Features of the Three Hierarchs
St. Basil the Great (329-279)
The parents and grandparents of St. Basil the Great were distinguished patricians, influential and fearless champions of the holy faith. Basil’s singular abilities and unusually keen mind, his insatiable desire for learning and his ample financial means, gave him access to the finest schools of learning and the most renowned professors of his time. The British historian, F. Farrar, describes St. Basil in this way: “His features and bearing, his slender form, his pale countenance, his keen eye, and grave manner bore witness to his noble birth. The natural excellence of his character rendered his enemies shy, but attracted his friends. He was a born leader who by Christian humility overcame, with difficulty, his natural consciousness of his own superiority.” (Lives of the Fathers, Vol. II)
The Servant of God Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., in his introduction to the “Ascetical Works of Our Father St. Basil the Great” describes St. Basil thus:
“Basil was a man who had acquired a well-rounded education in all branches of contemporary learning; he was an excellent orator, an unparalleled expert in Holy Scriptures, an eminent dogmatist and polemicist in his battle against the Arians.”
St. Basil by nature was an ascetic and theologian. As the archbishop of Caesarea, he shone forth as a heroic defender of the holy faith, an efficient organizer, excellent orator, distinguished writer, reformer of liturgical services, zealous protector of orphans and the poor, and an outstanding legislator of communal monastic life. Because of his merits, holy Church bestowed upon him the title “Great”. Our Church recalls his memory on January 1, the day of his death.
St. Gregory the Theologian (c.326-290)
St. Gregory was named for his father who was a bishop in Nazianzen, in Cappodocia. Before he was even born, his pious mother, Nonna, made a vow to offer him up to the service of God. After he had grown to manhood, she gave him the Holy Bible, saying,
“As I promised even before your birth, I now offer you to God; I beg you, therefore, to fulfill my desire. You were born as a result of my prayers. For this I now pray, that you be perfect. I entrust to you, my son, this precious treasure. Use it throughout your entire life, and in the future you shall receive still more blessings.”
St. Gregory, like St. Basil, received a thorough education in the higher schools of learning. On his way to study in Athens, his ship was caught in a fierce storm at sea. At the time, he had not yet been baptized, and fearing lest he die without holy baptism, he made a vow that if he came out of the storm safely, he would consecrate himself to the service of God. In Athens, he met St. Basil and they became faithful friends and remained so throughout their entire lives. St. Gregory speaks briefly about their life in Athens: “We knew only two roads one to church to pray, the other to school to study.”
His father ordained him to the priesthood, and later St. Basil appointed him Bishop of Sazima. St. Gregory was the Archbishop of Constantinople for several years. He distinguished himself as a profound preacher; his sermons are pearls and masterpieces of sacred eloquence. St. Gregory had a great devotion to the Holy Trinity, regarding that dogma as the foundation of the Christian religion. Because of his deep knowledge of theology, he received the title “the Theologian”. In Byzantium, he was called the Christian Demosthenes. St. Gregory was by nature quiet, tender, sensitive and compassionate. He always dreamed of a life of prayer and contemplation in solitude. As a writer, he left sermons, poems and letters for posterity. He penned a sublime funeral oration in honor of his friend, St. Basil, and his father, Gregory. We celebrate the memory of his death on January 25.
St. John Chrysostom (347-407)
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch and labored there for many years as a zealous priest and an untiring evangelist. Preaching was an inseparable part of his life and soul. “I cannot allow one day to go by,” he said to his congregation, “without offering you nourishment from the treasures of Holy Scripture. “Although he was frail, nevertheless, he seemed to acquire new strength every time he ascended the pulpit to preach. He himself speaks of this: “Preaching makes me healthy. As soon as I open my mouth, all fatigue leaves me.” He captivated great throngs of people by his sermons. Most of his homilies were Scripture-oriented, and in these, he beautifully explains many parts of both the Old and New Testaments. For his ardent and moving sermons he received the title “Chrysostom-Golden-Mouthed”. St. John Chrysostom as priest and bishop was completely dedicated to his Church and to his faithful. He was a great friend and protector of the poor, widows and orphans. Because of his illustrious talents, he was raised to the arch-bishop’s throne in the capital city of Constantinople.
St. John Chrysostom was a zealous and completely dedicated pastor, a magnificent speaker, and a great teacher of faith and morals. He left over 800 sermons, a book on the priesthood, and numerous letters. In our native land of Rus-Ukraine, during the period of the Kyivan State, no other sermons were so widely known and read as his. Many translations and selections from his sermons appeared during the pre-Mongolian period, under such names as, “Zlatoust” (the golden-mouthed), “Zlatostruj” (golden-stream), “Izmaragd” (Greek emerald), “Marharyt” (Greek-pearl). The Collection of Prince Sviatoslav (1033) contains selections from the works of John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Athanasius the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and others. We celebrate the memory of St. John Chrysostom twice a year: on November 13th, the day of his death, and on January 27th, the translation of his relics.
The Institution of this Feast
The feast of the Three Hierarchs is one of the very recent feasts of the Greek Church. A great dispute in the second half of the eleventh century gave rise to the institution of this feast. This controversy arose among Christians over which of these three Saints contributed the most to the Church. Some thought St. Basil to be the greatest, others, St. Gregory the Theologian, still others, St. John Chrysostom. Those who were advocates of St. Basil were called Basilians, those of St. Gregory Gregorians, and those of St. John Chrysostom – Joanites. This dispute was settled by the three bishops themselves. Each one separately, and later all three together, appeared to John, Bishop of the city of Euchaita (a suburb of Constantinople), who was known for his wisdom, learning and virtue, and said: “We, as you can see, are one before God and there is nothing between us that is contrary or controversial; each one of us, differently inspired by the Holy Spirit, taught that which was necessary for the salvation of man. Therefore, there is no first or second among us, but as you call one so shall the others be called. Arise, then, and command those who are arguing over us, not to divide themselves, for as during life, so too after death, our goal is to bring peoples from all corners of the earth to peace and unity. Institute, therefore, the celebration of our memory on the same day, as all three of us are of the same rank before God, and we shall help those to achieve salvation, who shall celebrate our memory.”
In 1076, Bishop John did as the three bishops commanded him. However, because the holy Church already celebrated the memory of each one separately, he designated the 30th of January as the day for their common feast. In addition to this, he had a sermon in their honor, and composed troparions, canons and sticheras. Our chronicles at the end of 1076 mention the institution of this feast in Greece.
The Three Hierarchs in the Service of the Feast
The service of the feast beautifully praises and glorifies the Three Hierarchs for their fervent love of God and neighbor, their unwavering faith, their significance for holy Church, their illustrious virtues, wisdom and intercession. “Basil divine intellect,” we sing in the aposticha of the Small vespers service, “Gregory – divine voice, John – most beautiful lamp. May they be glorified, these three distinguished representatives and ministers of the Trinity.” In the aposticha of the Solemn or Great Vespers service we sing: “O instruments of the Holy Spirit, and trumpets of divine thunder, O lightnings of preaching, O golden, light-bearing, resplendent lamps of God: O most blessed Basil, O most wise Gregory and O most venerable John, implore Christ our God to save those who honor you.”
In the sticheras of Vespers, Matins, and in the canons we find eulogistic and lofty expressions and parallels with which the Church expresses its admiration, respect, praise and veneration of the Three Hierarchs. Here are some of the expressions: “men of God”, “chosen vessels”, “pillars and support of the Church”, “defenders of the Trinity, fortresses of piety”, “divine and wise teachers”, “instruments of the Holy Spirit, veritable trumpets, orators of the word”, “earthly angels, heavenly men”, “distinguished vessels of the Spirit, solid defenders of the faith, pillars of the Church, support of the faithful, consolation of all sinners”, “oceanic streams, overflowing fountains, living-water pouring forth, limpid gems, earthly luminaries, ecclesiastical helmsmen, trees rich in fruit, treasuries of grace, mouths of Christ.”
Having before her eyes their greatness, merits and significance before God, holy Church invokes the faithful to give fit praise to the Three Hierarchs:
“Having come together with songs of praise, O lovers of feasts, let us praise Christ’s sanctifiers and the glory of the Fathers, the pillars of the faith, teachers and defenders of the faithful. Let us hail each of them in turn: Hail, luminary of the Church, immutable pillar, O wise Basil! Hail, O heavenly mind and great hierarch, Gregory the Theologian! Hail, O golden-voiced John, splendid preacher of penance. O spiritually-wealthy fathers, never cease to pray to Christ in behalf of those who with faith and love observe your sacred and sublime feast.”
