Act of Faith in the Resurrection – Saint Basil the Great
I believe, O Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ,
the Son of the living God, who came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the first.
I also believe that this is truly Your most holy Body
and this is Your most precious Blood.
I pray to You, therefore: have mercy on me
and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary,
committed in word and in deed, with knowledge and in ignorance.
And make me worthy to partake without condemnation of your most holy Mysteries,
for the remission of sins and for eternal life.
Amen.
The Act of Faith in the Resurrection attributed to Saint Basil the Great represents one of the zeniths of Eastern patristic spirituality. Born in Caesarea of Cappadocia in the 4th century, Basil was one of the most influential Cappadocian Fathers, a bishop and Doctor of the Church, known both for his theological acumen in defending the divinity of the Holy Spirit and for his profound liturgical reform. His spiritual legacy survives vibrantly today in the Divine Liturgy that bears his name, celebrated several times a year in Churches of the Byzantine tradition.
From a theological perspective, this prayer is deeply rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption. Saint Basil does not merely formulate an abstract dogma, but embraces the Petrine and Pauline confession (“sinners, of whom I am the first”), indissolubly linking faith in the resurrection of Christ with the sacramental participation in the Eucharist. The text reflects a profound awareness of human misery in the face of divine holiness, imploring mercy not as a merit, but as a pure gift that leads to eternal life.
A fascinating historical curiosity concerns the liturgical use of this prayer: traditionally recited by Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholic faithful immediately before approaching Eucharistic communion, it acts as a bridge between personal confession and mystical union with the divine. The structure reflects the spiritual yearning of the desert monks and the early Christians, who saw in the Eucharist the true “medicine of immortality” and a foretaste of the bodily resurrection at the end of time.
