Nicholas Kabasilas or Cabasilas ( el, Νικόλαος Καβάσιλας; born 1319/1323 in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

; died 1392) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

mystic and theological writer. Kabasilas is a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

within the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. His feast day is June 20. The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

uses extracts from his ''Life in Christ'' as readings in the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

(Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter in Year II of the provisional two-year cycle for the Office of Readings).

Life

He was on intimate terms with the emperor

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under An ...

, whom he accompanied in his retirement to a monastery. He was once thought to have succeeded his uncle Neilos Kabasilas as

archbishop of Thessalonica The Metropolis of Thessaloniki ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to ...

; however, contemporary records of that see do not show Nicholas as serving in the capacity of archbishop. It is more likely that he served as a priest at the

Mangana Monastery Mangana ( el, Μάγγανα) was one of the quarters of Byzantine-era Constantinople. Located on the easternmost edge of the Sirkeci peninsula in which the city is located, it housed an imperial palace, arsenal and several churches and charitable ...

at Constantinople. In the

Hesychast controversy The Hesychast controversy was a theological dispute in the Byzantine Empire during the 14th century between supporters and opponents of Gregory Palamas. While not a primary driver of the Byzantine Civil War, it influenced and was influenced by ...

he took the side of the monks of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

and

Saint Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, ...

Works

His chief work is his ed. pr. of the Greek text, with copious introduction, by W. Gass, 1849; new ed. by M. Heinze, 1899 ("On the Life in Christ"), in which he lays down the principle that union with Christ is effected by the three great mysteries of

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

chrismation Chrismation consists of the sacrament or mystery in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East initiation rites. The sacrament is more commonly known in the West as confirm ...

, and the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. Kabasilas' ''Commentary on the Divine Liturgy'' displays a profound understanding of the sacramental and liturgical life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He also wrote

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

on various subjects, and a speech against

usurers Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...

, printed with other works in

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...

, ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...

'', c. i. A large number of his works are still extant in manuscript.

Bibliography

* Cabasilas, N. ''Commentary on the Divine Liturgy''. 14th century. Translated by J.M. Hussey and P.A. McNulty. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1960. * Cabasilas, N. ''The Life in Christ''. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1974.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica: Nicholas CabasilasNektarios Mamalougos: Nicholas Cabasilas
14th-century births 1392 deaths Byzantine theologians Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 14th-century Byzantine people 14th-century writers Greek religious writers Byzantine Thessalonian writers Byzantine bishops of Thessalonica 14th-century Christian mystics 14th-century Christian saints Saints of medieval Macedonia Saints of medieval Greece Eastern Orthodox mystics

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

14th-century Byzantine writers 14th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians {{Christianity-bio-stub