ST. BASIL THE GREAT AND ST. AMBROSE OF MEDIOLAN’S «HOMILY ON THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION»  (CAUSE FOR A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF «HEXAEMERONS»)
/HOMILIE NA SZEŚĆ DNI STWORZENIA ŚWIĘTYCH BAZYLEGO WIELKIEGO I AMBROŻEGO Z MEDIOLANU (PRZYCZYNEK DO ANALIZY PORÓWNAWCZEJ «HEKSAEMERONÓW»)/

Artur ALEKSIEJUK

lecturer, Katedra Prawosławnej Teologii Dogmatycznej i Moralnej, Wydział Teologiczny, Chrześcijańska Akademia Teologiczna, ul. Miodowa 21c, 00-246 Warszawa, Poland, ks.artur.aleksiejuk@gmail.com

Abstract

For centuries, human thought has revolved around intriguing questions concerning the creation of the world and its development.  It can be assumed that both religion and philosophy have always posed questions about the creation of all things, the first cause of the world.  Over time, these issues have also been the subject of the interest of Christians, who have faced the problem of how they should respond to the philosophical and cosmogenic concepts expressed by the pagans. What aspect of their ideas could be accepted as being compatible with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and those conveyed by the Church, and which of them should be rejected as erroneous? Undoubtedly, these questions can be answered on the basis of the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1). The biblical text demands expansion in the form of correct exegesis and interpretation. The author of the earliest complete work devoted exclusively to the interpretation of the six days of creation of the world consistent with Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church was St. Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea between 370 - 379.  His Hexaemeron emerged as a collection of homilies preached throughout the first week of Great Lent in 378. It had a great influence on later such literature.  The most faithful lecture of Basil’s exegetical thought was written ten years after the Hexaemeron by St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan between 374-397. These works display such great similarity that the views conceptualised cannot be considered as Ambrose’s original work. However, the question arises if any differences can be found apart from these similarities. It turns out that there are many differences that suggest that Ambrose’s work could be treated as a fundamental supplement and enrichment to the Cappadocian hierarch’s lecture.

Keywords

Hexaemeron, Basil the Great, Ambrose of Milan, patristic cosmogony, biblical conception of the creation of the world

SUMMARY

In the works of Hexameron from the saints Basil the Great and Ambrose of Milan are theological knowledge resulting from the reading of the Holy Bible and the tradition of the Church, which clearly blend in with these scientific findings. However, the purpose of their argumentation is one. It is above all the presentation and acceptance of the Christian vision of creation of the world and man. The priority is to awaken in the recipient the desire for the Creator and to please the work of God's creation, to stimulate faith in One God - the only possible and logical cause of the world. The scientific and philosophical problems for both Bazyl and Ambrose play secondary tasks. In the thoughts of the homilies, the biblical description of the world is entirely true and not only trusted. Therefore, it goes beyond the arguments of philosophers who are searching for the causes of the world and often contradict themselves.

(Language: polish)

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