Note: this article has been republished with the author’s permission.
Central to the early Christian community was an ethic which, on the one hand, condemned violence and bloodshed, and on the other, vigorously upheld the sanctity of life. Such an ethic had, and still has, manifold ramifications. In the case of the early Christians, it led them not only to shun the violent “pastimes” of the Roman arena, but also to eschew participation in the militarism of the Roman state. And, of great import with regard to our contemporary scene, this ethic led the early Church to articulate a clear position concerning the treatment of the unborn. In the following paper, the treatment of abortion by a key figure in the early Church, namely Basil of Caesarea (c.330-379), is examined in the hope that it may help to set the current discussion of this issue in historical perspective.
The patristic background
Now, the New Testament nowhere explicitly condemns the practice of abortion, which is somewhat surprising in view of the fact that abortion was not at all uncommon in the Graeco-Roman world.[1] Whatever the reason for this explicit silence, early Christian authors outside of the New Testament consistently saw, in the frequent recourse to abortion by women in the Graeco-Roman world, a violation of the Scriptural prohibition against murder. For instance, the second-century apologist, Athenagoras, answering the pagan accusation the Christians practiced cannibalism, (a charge that was rooted in a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper), could declare:[2]
What sense does it make to think of us as murderers when we say that women who practice abortion are murderers and will render account to God for abortion? The same man cannot regard that which is in the womb as a living being and for that reason an object of God’s concern and then murder it when it has come into the light.
Substantially, this was to be the position with regard to abortion that the Church would maintain throughout this early period. Now, an excellent summation of this position is offered by Basil of Caesarea in a letter which he wrote to a close friend and co-worker, Amphilochius of Iconium (c.340-395).
Basil of Caesarea—a sketch of his life
Basil was born in Caesarea, then the capital of Cappadocia (now in central Turkey), around the year 330. His parents, Basil and Emmelia, were Christians as were his grandparents. One of his grandmothers, the Elder Macrina, had been converted through the remarkable ministry of a man named Gregory Thaumaturgus (c.210-c.270)—the Wonderworker—an avid church-planter in the region of Pontus, while two of his brothers—Gregory of Nyssa (c.331/340-c.395) and Peter of Sebaste—were to go on to become bishops like Basil.
After Basil had received a first-class education at various schools in Caesarea, Constantinople and Athens, he returned to Caesarea in Cappadocia in 355. He had grandiose plans to become a teacher of rhetoric, but God had other plans for his life. His elder sister Macrina (c.327-380)—named after their grandmother—confronted him with the way that he was wasting his life upon the wisdom of this world. He came to realize, as he would later say, that “human wisdom is illusory, for it is a meagre and lowly thing and not a great and pre-eminent good.”[3] Macrina’s words and her passionate devotion to Christ had an enormous impact upon Basil. He was converted and baptized in 356 and turned to a life of simplicity, Christian obedience, and good works. In 360 he was ordained as a reader in his local church in Caesarea. Given the low level of literacy in that era, to be able to read and write was of such great value to the church that people were often appointed as “reader.” Two years later he became an elder, and finally in 370 he was elected bishop of Caesarea.
Today, Basil is probably best known for the key role that he played in the articulation of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. His chief theological work, On the Holy Spirit (written in 375), marked a decisive step towards the resolution of the fourth-century controversy over the deity of the Spirit. Yet, he was also vitally interested in ethical questions, and his statement on the issue of abortion has been well described by Michael J. Gorman as “one of the most profound theological and ethical statements on abortion” that has come down to us from the early Church.[4]
Basil on abortion—general remarks
In the above-mentioned letter to Amphilochius, written in either 374 or 375, Basil is responding to a number of questions that Amphilochius had raised with regard to a variety of topics. To a question apparently about abortion, Basil makes this reply:[5]
The woman who has deliberately destroyed [her fetus] is subject to the penalty for murder. And among us there is no fine distinction between a completely formed and unformed [embryo]. For here justice is not only to be procured for the woman, who conspired [to kill] herself, because the women who attempt such things often die afterwards. Moreover, added to this is the destruction of the embryo, another murder, at least according to the intention of those who dare such things. Yet, it is not necessary to extend this penitence until their death, but one should accept a period of ten years’ [penitence]. Moreover, their restoration (therapeian) should be determined not by time, but by the manner of their repentance (metanoias).
Basil begins by reiterating the position of Athenagoras: abortion is murder. In fact, Basil notes, it often results in two murders, since the woman seeking to have an abortion often dies in the endeavour.[6] Moreover, he rejects any arbitrary attempt to distinguish between stages of fetal development. Basil clearly believes that a human soul is present in a developing fetus from the moment of conception,[7] and he is thus concerned that the deliberate killing of any unborn be regarded as murder. As Gorman puts it, Basil “dismisses as irrelevant all casuistic distinctions between the formed and unformed fetus. For him … all life … is sacred.”[8]
Basil’s treatment of Exodus 21:22-24 (LXX)
That Basil would take such a position is fascinating in view of the fact that the Greek translation of the Old Testament which he used, namely the Septuagint, contained a text which did, in fact, make a distinction between a completely formed fetus (one which possesses a human soul) and an unformed one (one which does not yet possess a human soul). The passage in question is Exodus 21:22-24. The Hebrew text of this passage as translated by the King James Version reads as follows:[9]
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall surely be punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
The rendition of this verse in the Septuagint, however, differs significantly from the Hebrew text. For it renders this verse thus:[10]
If two men fight and they strike a woman who is pregnant, and her child comes out while not yet fully formed, the one liable to punishment will be fined; whatever the woman’s husband imposes, he will give as is fitting. But if it is fully formed, he will give life for life.
The distinction made here between a formed and unformed fetus probably reflects the position of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322), who sought to distinguish between lawful and unlawful abortions on the basis of whether or not the human embryo was fully formed or not.[11] Although the Greek translation of this text from Exodus does not have in view the intentional killing of an unborn child, there were some in Basil’s day who used this passage from the Septuagint to argue that abortion in the early stages of fetal development is not equivalent to murder.[12] Basil implicitly rejects this argument by refusing to countenance the distinction drawn from Exodus 21:22-24 as it was translated in the Septuagint.[13] Since Basil was committed to the inerrancy of the Scriptures, it may well be the case that he discerned that this inerrancy should not be extended to a translation.
Abortion and the pastoral context
Basil’s discussion of abortion is set firmly in a pastoral context, for he now proceeds to give advice on how to deal with those who have had abortions but are now repentant. He makes it clear that, while abortion is indeed a serious sin, it is not one that is unforgiveable when there is repentance. He thus rejects the harsh ruling of the Spanish Council of Elvira (305/306) that the woman who had procured an abortion could never be received back into the full fellowship of the Church while she was alive.[14] Instead, he accepts the later ruling from the Council of Ancyra (314), which was composed of church leaders from the Roman provinces of Asia Minor and Syria. This Council prescribed a period of ten years before a woman who had had an abortion and was now repentant could be restored to communion.[15]
Basil, though, goes beyond this somewhat legalistic approach to the sin of abortion. What is important for him is not the amount of time spent in sorrowing for the sin committed, but the depth and sincerity of repentance. Once again, to cite Gorman, Basil “views sincere repentance as a valid sign of God’s grace and forgiveness.”[16] Moreover, unlike the rulings issued by the Councils of Elvira and Ancyra, Basil makes no mention of sexual sin in his condemnation of abortion.[17] Basil regards abortion as a sin due to the fact that it involves the destruction of human life, not because it was often employed to conceal illicit sexual activity.[18]
Basil’s advice with regard to abortion strikes a good balance between truth and mercy. He recognizes the heinousness of this sin in the eyes of God, but at the same time, he is cognizant that this sin is not beyond the pale of God’s forgiveness. In fact, his advice is only part and parcel of a much larger attitude towards the physically weak and infirm. Whereas the pagan Graeco-Roman world was extremely callous with regard to the value of human life, Basil—indeed the early Christian community as a whole—sought to demonstrate the compassion of the Lord Jesus for the weak and defenseless.[19] For instance, only a couple of years prior to the composition of this letter to Amphilochius, Basil had been instrumental in the founding of what would become the most famous hospital in the ancient world.[20]
The conception of this hospital appears to have been the direct result of Basil’s active involvement in a program of relief for the victims of a very severe famine and drought during the winter of 368-369.[21] From the pen of Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-389/390), another of Basil’s close friends, comes the following description of Basil’s activity during this period of famine and drought:[22]
He gathered together the victims of the famine,…men and women, children, old people, sufferers of every age. Then he collected contributions of food of all sorts, anything that could be eaten, He provided great pots of pea soup and salted meat, the sort poor folk eat, and he imitated the service Christ gave when he girded himself with a towel and humbly washed his disciples’ feet. Working with his own servants as their equal, he served the poor both as to their bodies and their souls.
The stance taken by Basil with regard to abortion is yet another facet of the compassion and concern he exhibited on this occasion during the winter of 368-369 and at other times during his life. This stance emanated from a genuine concern for the life of the unborn child and, as such, remains both a model and a challenge for the Church at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
[1] For the Graeco-Roman view of abortion, see Richard Harrow Fein, “Abortion and Exposure in Ancient Greece: Assessing the Status of the Fetus and ‘Newborn’ from Classical Sources” in William B. Bondeson et al. eds., Abortion and the Status of the Fetus (Dordrecht/Boston, MA/Lancaster, PA: D. Reidel Publ. Col, 1983), 283-300; Michael J. Gorman, Abortion and the Early Church (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982), 13-32. For a discussion of the implicit evidence of the New Testament with regard to abortion, see Gorman, Abortion, 48. Gorman’s book remains the best book-length study of this issue.
[2] Athenagoras, Plea on behalf of the Christians 35.6, trans. William R. Schoedel, Athenagoras: Legatio and De Resurrectione (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), 85. For a discussion of this text from Athenagoras, see Gorman, Abortion, 53-54.
[3] Basil of Caesarea, Homily 20,trans. M.M. Wagner, Saint Basil: Ascetical Works (New York, NY: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1950),478.
[4] Gorman, Abortion, 66.
[5] Basil of Caesarea, Letter 188.2, translation the author. The Greek text upon which this translation is based is contained in the most recent critical edition, that of Yves Courtonne, Saint Basile: Lettres (Paris: Société d’Édition “Les Belles Lettres,” 1961), II, 124. The words within parentheses are not part of the original Greek text but are added to bring out Basil’s meaning.
[6] As Beverly Wildung Harrison (Our Right to Choose. Toward a New Ethic of Abortion [Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1983], 124) observes: “until recently, any act of abortion always endangered the life of the mother every bit as much as it imperiled the prenatal life in her womb.” Further on in the same letter, Basil will turn his attention to those who help women to procure abortions and roundly condemn them as murderers as well: “Women who give drugs which cause abortions are as much murderesses as those who take the poisions which kill the fetus” (Letter 188.8 [Courtonne, Lettres, II, 128]).
[7] See Joseph F. Donceel, “Immediate Animation and Delayed Hominization,” Theological Studies, 31 (1970), 77; Enzo Nardi, Procurato aborto nel mondo greco romano (Milan: Dott. A. Giuffrè Editore, 1971), 513, n. 72; 580.
[8] Gorman, Abortion, 67.
[9] For a discussion of this text and its interpretation, see Harold O.J. Brown, “What the Supreme Court Didn’t Know. Ancient and Early Christian Views on Abortion”, Human Life Review 1, no. 2 (Spring 1975): 8-11; idem, Death Before Birth (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publ., 1977), 124-126; John M. Frame, “Abortion from a Biblical Perspective” in R.L. Ganz, ed., Thou Shalt Not Kill (New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1978), 50-57; Gorman, Abortion, 33-45, passim; Meredith G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and The Human Fetus,” Journal of The Evangelical Theological Society 20 (1977): 193-201.
[10] Trans. Gorman, Abortion, 35.
[11] Gorman, Abortion, 21-22, 35. Compare Feen, “Abortion and Exposure,” 292-295.
[12] See Franz Joseph Dölger, “Das Lebensrecht des ungeborenen Kindes und die Fruchtabtreibung in der Bewertung der heidnischen und christlichen Antike” in his Antike und Christentum, 2nd ed. (Münster: Verlag Aschendorff, 1975), IV, 56-58; Nardi, Procurato aborto nel mondo greco romano, 178, no. 80; 516-517. At one point, the great North African Theologian Augustine held to such a view, but as his thought matured, he came to “emphasize the value of all life, whether actual or potential” (Gorman, Abortion, 72).
[13] Brown, “What the Supreme Court Didn’t Know,” 17-18; John T. Noonan, Jr., “An Almost Absolute Value in History” in his ed., The Morality of Abortion (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972), 17.
[14] Brown, “What the Supreme Court Didn’t Know,” 17; Gorman, Abortion, 64-65.
[15] Brown, “What the Supreme Court Didn’t Know,” 17; Gorman, Abortion, 65-66.
[16] Abortion, 67.
[17] Noonan, “Absolute Value,” 17.
[18] Pace Harrison, Our Right to Choose, 119-141, who argues that the early Christians’ condemnation of abortion was necessarily linked to their denunciation of illicit sex and contraception. For an effective reply to this argument, see Gorman, Abortion, 78-82.
[19] It is noteworthy that one of the major reasons for the successful expansion of the Church throughout the Roman Empire was the practical expression of love shown by Christians for one another and for unbelievers. See Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, Rev. ed. (London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1993), 56-58.
[20] George E. Gask and John Todd, “The Origin of Hospitals” in E. Ashworth Underwood, ed., Science, Medicine and History (London: Oxford University Press, 1953), I, 127-128.
[21] See Paul Jonathan Fedwick, The Church and the Charisma of Leadership in Basil of Caesarea (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1979), 38.
[22] Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 43.35, trans. James Hanrahan, St. Basil the Great, 329-379 (Toronto, ON: The Basilian Press, 1979), 97.
