The Pseudo-Amphilochian Vita Basilii: An Apocryphal Life of Saint Basil the Great

At a time when the scholarly world is commemorating the sixteen-hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Basil the Great (oh. 1st January 379) , it might not be impertinent to recall to westerners that for almost a millennium the real Saint Basil was virtually unknown to a large segment of Christendom, and that in his stead was honoured a largely fictitious saint of the same name and purlieu whose supposed deeds rendered him well deserving of the popular acclaim which he widely received.