Righteous
Righteous Basil the Elder and Emilia of Caesarea
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Righteous Basil the Elder and Emilia of Caesarea — a devout married couple of a noble Cappadocian family, parents of ten children, four of whom are numbered among the saints: Hierarchs Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, Venerable Macrina the Younger, and St. Peter of Sebaste; they themselves were persecuted for the Christian faith and lost nearly all their property.
Righteous Basil the Elder was a lawyer and teacher of rhetoric in Pontus and Cappadocia, coming from a noble and wealthy family with extensive estates in Asia Minor. His wife Emilia was an orphan, daughter of a Christian martyr, distinguished by rare beauty and deep faith. The couple was persecuted for confessing Christianity and lost nearly all their fortune, but remained firm in the faith. They had ten children, four of whom are glorified by the Church among the saints: Hierarch Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; Hierarch Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa; Venerable Macrina the Younger, mentor and spiritual guide of the whole family; and St. Peter, Bishop of Sebaste. Righteous Emilia herself took monastic vows at the end of her life and reposed peacefully in the monastery founded by her daughter Macrina. The Church honors the memory of the righteous Basil and Emilia together with the memory of their son, Hierarch Basil the Great, on January 1/14; since 1998 the Church of Greece has also celebrated the memory of the whole holy family on the second Sunday of January.