Basil of Caesarea, in his Letter 200 of 375, invites Amphilochios, bishop of Ikonion/Iconium, to Kaisareia/Caesarea in Cappadocia (central Asia Minor), in order to attend the festival of *Eupsychios (martyr of Kaisareia, S00470). Written in Greek at Kaisareia.
E00820
Literary - Letters
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, Letters (CPG 2900), Letter 200
ΑΜΦΙΛΟΧΙῼ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠῼ ΙΚΟΝΙΟΥ
(…………)
Τῆς μνήμης τοῦ μακαριωτάτου μάρτυρος Εὐψυχίου μέμνησο καὶ μὴ ἀναμείνῃς δευτέραν ὑπόμνησιν, μηδὲ ἐμπρόθεσμον σπουδάσῃς ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἀπάντησιν, ἀλλὰ προλαβεῖν καὶ εὐφρᾶναι ἡμᾶς, ἐὰν ἄρα ἔτι ὦμεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ἕως τότε ἐρρωμένος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ὑπερευχόμενος ἡμῶν, διαφυλαχθείης ἡμῖν καὶ ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίαις χάριτι τοῦ Ἁγίου.
‘To Amphilochios, Bishop of Ikonion
(…………) Remember the feast of the blessed martyr Eupsychios, and do not await a second reminder, nor strive to arrive on the appointed day, but anticipate it and make us happy—if indeed we shall still be on this earth. Until then, strong in the Lord and with prayers for us, may you be preserved to us and to God’s churches by the grace of the Holy One.’
Text: Courtonne, vol. 2, p. 164-166.
Translation: Deferrari, vol. 3, p. 139 (modified).
Saint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Born around 330 to an aristocratic Christian family of Neokaisareia/Neocaesarea of Pontus Polemoniacus (Anatolia), Basil was educated in Kaisareia/Caesarea, Antioch, and Athens. After his studies, he spent time in the monasteries in Egypt, before returning to Pontus, where he organised an ascetic community on his family estate in Pontus. In the 360s, Basil was ordained in Kaisareia/Caesarea, and, on 14 June 370, he was consecrated bishop there. He died on 1 January 379. Basil was a prolific writer, composing homilies, theological, ascetical, and liturgical works. His 369 letters form a major corpus on ecclesiastical politics and the broader history of Anatolia and the Christian East.On the manuscript tradition, editions and translations of this letter, see:
Fedwick, P.J., Bibliotheca Basiliana Universalis. 5 vols. Vol. I (Corpus Christianorum; Turnhout: Brepols, 1993), 318.
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/5913/
Discussion
This is yet another invitation by Basil to a neighbouring bishop, his friend Amphilochios of Ikonion/Iconium, to attend the festival of *Eupsychios (e.g. see E00817; E00818) in Kaisareia/Caesarea.Bibliography
Text edition and French Translation:Courtonne, Y., Saint Basile. Lettres. 3 vols (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1957-1966).
Text and English Translations:
Deferrari, R.J., Saint Basil, the Letters. 4 vols. Vol. 2 (Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, MA/London: Harvard University Press, 1928).
Way, A.C., Saint Basil. Letters, Volume 2 (186‒368) (Fathers of the Church 28; Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1955).
Further Reading:
Courtonne, Y., Un témoin du IVe siècle oriental: saint Basile et son temps d'après sa correspondance (Collection d'études anciennes; Paris: Les Belles lettres, 1973), esp. 356-359.
Radde-Gallwitz, A., "The Letter Collection of Basil of Caesarea," in: C. Sogno, B.K. Storin, and E. Watts (eds.), Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide (Oakland: University of California Press, 2017), 69-80.
Rousseau, P., Basil of Caesarea (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
Efthymios Rizos
10/12/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00470 | Eupsychios, martyr of Kaisareia/Caesarea of Cappadocia | Εὐψύχιος | Certain |
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