The Hexaemeron: Homilies on the Six Days of Creation

Saint Basil the Great

THE GREAT EXPLANATION OF GOD’S CREATION

“Whenever I take the Hexaemeron in hand, I am brought face to Face with my Creator.”

—Saint Gregory the Theologian

The Hexaemeron is the title of nine homilies delivered by Saint Basil the Great on the creation of the universe as revealed in the opening chapters of Genesis. These sermons, delivered at both the morning and evening services of Great Lent, were the most celebrated and admired of the saint’s works. Saint Basil’s brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, lauded the Hexaemeron as a superlative work inspired by the Holy Spirit, even to be admired on the same level as the words of Moses. One of the greatest patristic commentaries on Holy Scripture, the Hexaemeron allows us to see the creation through the eyes of one who beheld the Creator Himself.