The three hierarchs are Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and the last John Chrysostom. The Basil of Caesarea is also known as Saint Basil. He was born on 329 AD and died on 1 January 379, which means he lived 50 years. This was surprising because I thought people lived much longer back then. He did a great thing for the Orthodox Church and that was to defend the Orthodox faith against the Arian heretics. Arians are people born under the sign of Aries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Aries is one of the twelve Olympian gods and is also the son of Zeus and Hera. Basil of Caesarea, also referred to as Basil, was born into a wealthy family, the family was called Basil the Elder. His parents were known for piety, piety is a virtue that can include religious devotion, spirituality, or a mixture of both. His pregnant or maternal grandmother as they called her was a Christian martyr. She was ultimately executed before Constantine converted to Orthodoxy for the first time. After some time in life, she met a man named Gregory, also known as Gregory of Nyssa. He was one of Basil's lifelong friends. He was also known as Basil the Great. Now, after his baptism, Basil traveled in 357 to Palestine, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia to study ascetics and monasticism. An ascetic is a person who practices strict self-discipline and abstention. a Monasticism also known as monasticism is a religious lifestyle in which one renounces worldly activities to devote oneself completely to spiritual work. Basil felt drawn to a communal religious life and by 358 was gathering around a group of people who had similar disciples, including his brother Peter. Together they found a monastic place on his family's property near Annesi. Basil ended up attending the Council of Constantinople as his school. Basil died just before the factional unrest ended. He slowly died of liver disease, and excessive ascetic practices also contributed to his early health problems. Many people and historians have difficulty understanding and cannot agree on his date of death. The most common death date on websites is January 1, 379 AD The next saint of the Three Hierarchs is Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory of Nazianzus is also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen. Gregory was a 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople and was a theologian referred to in one of his names. Gregory was born into a Greek family and on the family estate of Karbala, outside the village of Arianzus. Young Gregory and his brother Caesarius first studied at home with their uncle Amphilochius. In 361 Gregory returned to Nazianzus and was ordained a presbyter by his father, who wanted him to help him care for the local Christians. To be ordained means to make someone a priest or minister; confer sacred orders. A presbyter is an elder or minister of the Christian Church. Gregory found the local Christian community divided by theological differences and his father accused of heresy by local monks. Hersey is a belief or opinion contrary to orthodox, especially Christian, religious doctrine. Gregory spent the next two years fighting against Arianism which threatened to divide the Cappadocia region. In this tense environment, Gregory interceded on behalf of his friend Basil with Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea. To intercede means to intervene on behalf of another. Gregory's most significant and well-elaborated theological contributions came from his defense of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. He really made the point that Jesus was not opposed to being God when He is”.