Foreign to the mind of the Orthodox Christian is the puritan principal that, “God helps those who help themselves.” For the faithful, such a principal is only part of a greater equation. Reliance upon God and extending philanthropy to others completes that equation. A rewrite of the axiom to better reflect the Orthodox ethos would read something like, “God helps those who help others.”

In the person of St. Basil the Great, whom the Church honors on the first day of each new year, we have a powerful and progressive embodiment of such an axiom Aside from his achievements in the arenas of pastoral ministry, monasticism and education, St. Basil the Great is perhaps best known as the Father of Christian Philanthropy. In the 4th century, when the Christian faith was first liberated from persecution, it was embraced by the emperor and became the cornerstone of a new civilization.

The truths of Christ’s Gospel, quickly embraced, became the highest form of culture and impacted the social fabric of the empire for an uninterrupted 1,000 years. Art, Music, Rhetoric and Poetry, all brilliantly gave praise to Christ’s victorious promise. At the foundation of that culture was a highly refined understanding and organized system of philanthropy. Christ’s admonition to care for the poor, infirmed, orphans and widows was taken to heart by the Byzantines and became the measure of the greatness and longevity of its civilization. St. Basil himself created a little city called the Vasiliada which actualized these aspects of Christian Philanthropy. In caring for the marginalized and disenfranchised, the greatest revelation to emerge was the fact that the faithful became the real recipients of blessings and learned what it meant to be truly Christ-like.

An enduring remnant of St. Basil’s philanthropy, which continues to be experienced in Orthodox parishes and homes today, is the cutting of the Vasilopita, literally translated, Basil’s bread. In practice, a prayer is offered, the Vasilopita is blessed then all in attendance wait with anticipation as it is cut and distributed to see who will get the “lucky” piece containing the wrapped coin; I dare say, the almost gambling-like nature of the present day practice is a far cry from St. Basil’s intended philanthropic ideal.

Perhaps only a nostalgic observance today, the origins of this practice are instructive to our enhanced understanding of the essence of Christian giving. Certainly, bread is the staff of life. Christ compared Himself to bread, multiplied loaves in the wilderness to feed the multitudes and at the Last Supper intimately gave His Body to the Apostles in the form of bread, thus instituting the Eucharist. Bread quickly became identified with the love of Christ.

St. Basil clearly understood that it was not enough to simply pray for the poor. To truly do Christ’s will one needs to actualize sentiment and prayer through discretely extending loving acts of philanthropy. Thus, disguising monetary gifts of gold coins by baking them in loaves of bread, St. Basil not only gifted the recipients with a symbol of Christ’s love, but imparted to them a practical means of sustenance.

As we, the faithful, gather to cut the Vasilopita, St. Basil would pray that we start the new year off on the right foot by learning from this ancient practice and allowing it to be the inspiration for creatively giving discretely to those in need.