Old-style Orthodox Christians celebrate Three Holy Hierarchs

Chisinau, 12 February /MOLDPRES/ - The old-style Orthodox Christians today celebrate the Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom – some of the greatest Christian theologians.  

The Three Holy Hierarchs have a day of commemoration each and are celebrated together on 30 January/12 February in the Christian calendar, as there was an occasion of dispute between Christians in the 9th century regarding these three hierarchs. Each of three groups in dispute was backing its holy hierarch and was putting that their hierarch was the first in the hierarchy. A miraculous intervention of the hierarchs themselves was needed. A metropolitan saw the three hierarchs in his dream and they told him that they were united before God and there was no hatred between them and so the Christians honouring the hierarchs must be. So, the Church ruled that the Holy Hierarchs Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom should have a common holiday.