At one time, evangelical pastors and many lay Christians knew the Church Fathers. Their religious family tree was valued and the writings of their ancestors, though sometimes debated, were studied. For most Christians in the twenty-first century, sadly, that day is long past. However, Christian Focus Publications has provided a remedy for learning about and understanding those spiritual giants of the early church by publishing this new series of books. In his series preface, series editor Michael Haykin gives a stirring apology for studying the ancient fathers that should whet the appetite of every reader.

Marvin Jones, who earlier wrote a dissertation on Athanasius, now goes a few years beyond the Nicene champion to give a rich and lively account of Basil of Caesarea (c. 330–79), one of the three Cappadocian Fathers. Jones introduces his character to the reader via a passionate exchange between a Roman Prefect of Emperor Valens and Basil. In this exchange, the Prefect demands Basil cooperate with Arian bishops, which he asserts that other orthodox bishops are doing, and threaten “confiscation, banishment, torture, death” if met with rejection. Basil refuses to compromise and ends the meeting with his classic statement, “Perhaps you have never met with a [true] Bishop” (p. 21).

From there, Jones elaborates on the complex historical aftermath of Nicea (p. 325), the multifaceted tensions of Trinitarian, Arian, and semi-Arian dispute, Basil’s early life and education, his lifelong friendship with Gregory of Nazianzus, his conversion to Christ through the human instrument of his sister (Macrina), the conversion of his brother (Gregory of Nyssa), and his developing theology. Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa would become the foremost contributors to the biblical formulation of orthodox Trinitarianism. These areas are covered in the first two chapters.

Chapter three explores Basil’s ascetic life of “solace in the desert” and his development of “coenobitic,” or communal monasticism. Jones insightfully explains the misconceptions of monasticism and how Basil, through his understanding of the visible church, reformed the legalistic and self-centered practices of Anchorite monasticism into something God-centered and spiritual.

Undoubtedly, Basil’s most important work is his contribution to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit regarding the Trinity. The Council of Nicea laid the foundation for Trinitarian Christology, but much confusion and misunderstanding persisted among the orthodox about the Person of the Holy Spirit. Basil was initially unclear in his biblical understanding of the Spirit’s place and role within the Trinity, but controversy forced him to acquire a correct exegetical interpretation. He built upon Athanasius and laid the biblical foundation that resulted in that formulation of doctrine bequeathed by the Council of Constantinople (381). Jones deftly chronicles Basil’s maturity and indispensable influence upon orthodox Trinitarianism in chapters four and five.

Chapter six is given over completely to Basil’s Hexaemeron; his nine-sermon exposition of the six days of creation (Genesis 1). This is Basil’s last published work before his death in 379. With precise exegesis, Basil unfolds each day of creation as a literal twenty-four hour span of time (Heb. yom/day). Strangely enough, he preached these sermons during Lent of 378. Basil’s rebuttal of allegorical interpretation of Genesis 1, needs to be heard again.

Previously, chapters two, three, four, and six, conclude with practical “Contribution[s] to Evangelicalism.” These segments transport glorious biblical and theological truths from the groves of academia into the arena of gospel and church ministry, and into the work-a-day world of individual Christians. Nevertheless, the book’s final chapter entitled “Basil speaks today,” continues to furnish encouraging pastoral and practical applications. Jones lists Basil’s primary contributions under two headings: ecclesiastical and theological, concluding with “theology meets doxology in the ecclesia” (164). How simple and biblical, yet profound!

This reviewer notes one small caveat regarding the Anomoeans, a radical form of Arianism founded by Eunomius (c. 350). Jones minimizes the influence of Eunomius’s views saying they were “no longer a factor” (47) after the Council of Constantinople in 381. On the contrary, they continued to exert considerable influence in the Eastern capital and among the Danubian tribes of Germany. John Chrysostom, the twelfth bishop of Constantinople, contended fiercely with the Anomoeans after his elevation to the bishopric in 398. Their anti-Trinitarian teachings quietly lingered through the centuries until they were reborn as The Watchtower Bible Society (later The Jehovah’s Witnesses) in 1872. This heresy continues to plague the world and Christ’s churches today, which makes the study of Basil’s writings more necessary.

Basil of Caesarea is a thoroughly researched, well written book about a great but mostly unknown servant of Christ who powerfully shaped the face of biblical and orthodox Christianity (i.e., Trinitarianism). Though Jones employs various technical terms, he skillfully explains them to the instruction and edification of the reader. Basil of Caesarea is a must-read for serious-minded evangelical pastors and seminarians.

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