THE THREE HOLY HIERARCHS

1o GYMNASIO ACHARNON

THE THREE HOLY HIERARCHS

A NOD TO OUR HERITAGE

3. John Chrysostom

2. Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianzus)

1. Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea)

WHO WERE THEY?

On January 30 the memory of the Three Hierarchs is celebrated, who are considered to be the guardians of letters and students.The contribution of the three Hierarchs to the Orthodox Church is unique. They founded the doctrines of Orthodoxy, which is why we call them Fathers of the Church.

Fathers of the church

The Orthodox Church has called them saints because of their wisdom and Christian life and they are honored and celebrated separately. Nevertheless, due to a disagreement that arose among Christians as to which of the three offered the most, it was decided and established from the end of the 4th century that there should also be a common celebration for all three on January 30th of each year.

SAINTS

Basil the Great (330AD-379AD)

St. Basil of Caesarea, who was a bishop, is considered the Father of the Church and one of the greatest theologians of the Orthodox Church. He is credited with "the religious service of Basil the Great”, a type of mass held in Orthodox churches on certain Sundays.

Basil the Great studied in Athens and considered the study of classical writers and Greek philosophy very important, of course from the Christian point of view. His contribution to the development of letters and charity made him one of the greatest figures in the Christian tradition.

Basil the Great was very rich and used his fortune to create the "Basiliad", a large center with libraries, schools, hospitals, restaurants, where all poor people could seek shelter and poor and orphan children could get education.

Basiliad

The custom of Vasilopita, a special cake, that we make every year on New Year's Eve is also attributed to Basil the Great. It contains a coin which gives good luck to the one who gets it.

New Year cake Basil pie (Vasilopita)

Gregory of Nazianzus (329AD-389AD)

He was called a "theologian" because he dealt with the sacred texts and was Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4th century.

He dealt in depth with the triple nature of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and most of his works have influcenced modern theologians, especially with regard to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. He was a friend of Basil the Great.

He loved letters very much and wanted to stop the disagreements of the theologians of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Apart from being an excellent theologian, however, he was also a very good poet, as he wrote several poems on theological and moral issues.

John Chrysostom (348AD-407AD)

It is said that his tongue "dripped honey" as he was the most charismatic orator of his time. He served as Patriarch of Constantinople and dedicated his life to the development of charity. In fact, the daily meals he organized fed 7.000 people!

He was a great philosopher, studied the theories of the ancient Greeks about God, disagreed with some of them but used ancient Greek philosophy and its morals to write his own works.

His life was very simple and poor and he blamed the priests who got rich from their work. He also blamed the emperors for their opulent way of life and that is why he was persecuted and exiled. However, he was recognized as a Saint by almost all Christian denominations because of his simple and virtuous life.

These three Saints are an example to many wise men of our time. They had charismas but they also received good education from their homes and especially from their mothers, Emmelia, Nona and Anthousa. They became great as a result of their own efforts.

MOTHERS

On the day of the celebration a religious service takes place in which students, teachers, many clergy and residents of Acharnes participate. The service is followed by distribution of blessed bread to the congregation.

Greek Orthodox students consider them their protectors and honor them every year on January 30.

CELEBRATION

The recessional of the Three Hierarchs

THANK YOU!