St. Basil the Blessed - short biography. Holy blessed Basil, holy fool for Christ's sake, Moscow wonderworker - saints - history - catalog of articles - unconditional love Blessed message
St. Basil the Blessed
IN Asil the Blessed - the holy fool of Moscow; died in 1551. The memory is celebrated on August 2. The relics are in the Moscow Intercession Cathedral, popularly called St. Basil's. St. Basil the Blessed was born in 1469, in the Moscow suburban village of Elokhov. His parents, peasants, sent him to study shoemaking. A hardworking and God-fearing young man, the life tells, Vasily was awarded the gift of insight, which was discovered by chance. A man came to Vasily’s owner to order boots and asked to make ones that would last for several years. Vasily smiled at this. When the owner asked what this smile meant, Vasily replied that the man who ordered boots for several years would die tomorrow. This is exactly what happened. Vasily, sixteen years old, left his master and skill and began the feat of foolishness, without shelter and clothing, subjecting himself to great hardships, burdening his body with chains that still lie on his coffin. The life of the Blessed One describes how he taught the people moral life both by word and example.
One day, Blessed Basil scattered rolls of bread from a baker at the market, and he admitted that he had mixed chalk and lime into the flour. One day, thieves, noticing that the saint was dressed in a good fur coat, given to him by some boyar, decided to deceive it from him; one of them pretended to be dead, and the others asked Vasily for burial. Vasily seemed to cover the dead man with his fur coat, but seeing the deception, he said: “Be you dead from now on for your wickedness; for it is written: let the wicked be consumed.” The deceiver really died. The Degree Book tells that in the summer of 1547 Vasily came to the Ascension Monastery on Ostrog, which is now Vozdvizhenka, and prayed for a long time in front of the church with tears, in silence. This was a harbinger of the terrible Moscow fire, which began the next day precisely from the Vozdvizhensky Monastery and incinerated Moscow. The king honored and feared the Blessed One, “as a seer of human hearts and thoughts.” When, shortly before his death, Vasily fell into a serious illness, the Tsar himself visited him with the Tsarina. Vasily died on August 2, 1551. The Tsar himself and the boyars carried his bed; The Metropolitan performed the burial. The body of the Blessed One was buried in the cemetery of the Trinity Church in the Moat, where Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Intercession Cathedral, in memory of the conquest of Kazan. This cathedral is known as St. Basil's Cathedral.
From 1588 they began to talk about miracles occurring at the tomb of Blessed Basil; As a result, Patriarch Job determined to celebrate the memory of the miracle worker on the day of his death, August 2. Tsar
Moscow miracle worker, holy fool for Christ's sake. He had the gift of foresight. Also known as Vasily "Naked". Lived during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1588. Memorial Day August 2(15).
Since the baptism of Rus', the Orthodox faith and traditions have always been alive and deeply revered. They went into battle for their faith, suffered hardships, and died. The feat of foolishness was especially revered. People who embarked on this difficult path deliberately pretended to be insane, renounced all worldly goods, and humbly endured endless ridicule, contempt, and all sorts of punishments. And in an allegorical form they tried to reach the hearts and souls of people, preaching goodness, mercy and exposing untruth and injustice. Few could pacify pride, moderate bodily needs, and rise spiritually above the rest. Over the entire history of Orthodoxy in Rus', more than 130 people have accomplished such a spiritual feat, 36 of them have been canonized.
One of the most famous and revered by Christ for the sake of holy fools was Basil the Blessed, also called Basil “Naked.” His fate has been amazing since birth. In December 1469, his mother Anna came to the porch of the Epiphany Cathedral near Moscow in Elohovo (now the territory of Moscow) to pray that her child would be born safely and healthy. The Mother of God heard the prayers of a simple woman, and right there, right on the porch, Anna gave birth to a boy, who was named Vasily. He came into this world with a pure soul and an open heart.
His parents were simple peasants, they were very pious, they revered Christ, lived according to his commandments, and from early childhood they instilled in Vasily respect and reverence for the Almighty. When the boy grew up, his parents, wanting a good life for their son, sent him to be apprenticed to a shoemaker. Time passed, Vasily learned the basics of the craft, the shoemaker was pleased with the hardworking and obedient guy. Vasily would have worked like this all his life, if not for one incident, during which the diligent and pious 16-year-old apprentice discovered the gift of insight.
A merchant approached the workshop, wanting to sew boots that would be worn for many years. The distressed Vasily promised to fulfill the order, but after the merchant left he burst into tears, which greatly surprised the shoemaker. In response to the owner’s bewildered question, the guy explained that the merchant was not destined to show off in a new thing, since he would soon die. The shoemaker was surprised, but did not attach any importance to the guy’s strange words. A few days later, that merchant actually died, and Vasily decided to leave the shoemaker's craft and devote his life to the greatest feat in the name of Christ - foolishness. From that moment until his death, he walked naked and barefoot, having no savings, no protection from scoffers and offenders, except for the invisible amulet - faith and all-encompassing love for the Lord. The only clothes he wore were chains - iron rings and chains for bodily humility and strengthening of the spirit.
After the incident at the shoemaker's, Vasily left his parents and headed to. At first, the people marveled at the strange naked guy and mocked him, but soon the Muscovites recognized him as a man of God, Christ for the sake of the holy fool, an exposer of injustice and untruth.
The incomprehensible and strange at first glance actions of St. Basil angered people, but then it always turned out that there was a hidden instructive meaning in these actions. Once, having deliberately scattered rolls from a merchant at the market, he humbly accepted the abuse and beatings. But later the kalachnik admitted that he added lime and chalk to the dough. Another time, his advice helped a merchant complete a church whose vaults had already collapsed three times. The merchant asked the blessed one for advice on how to complete the temple. Vasily sent him to Kyiv to the poor man Ivan. Finding a man rocking an empty cradle in a poor home, the merchant asked why he was doing this. He said that this is how he pays tribute to the mother who gave birth to him. The merchant understood why Vasily sent him to Kyiv. It turned out that at one time he kicked his own mother out of the house, and without repentance for his action, he wanted to glorify God with the church he built. But the Almighty did not accept a gift from a low-hearted person. St. Basil the Blessed helped the merchant to repent, make peace with his mother and beg her forgiveness. After this, God's temple was successfully completed.
St. Basil the Blessed showed many miracles to Muscovites. Passing by the houses of devout people, he threw stones into their corners, and near the houses where they were committing outrages, he kissed the corners. To questions about such strange behavior, the holy fool replied that in the houses where the righteous live there is no place for demons, and they stand on the street near the corners, and he drives them away. And in houses where vices have settled, demons dance and do not allow angels to enter there, grieving for the souls of people outside the house. And thus Basil invites the angels to enter.
Another time, St. Basil walked through a bazaar where women were sitting selling their handicrafts. The holy fool's nakedness did not bother them - they simply laughed. And then they went blind. One of the women, who had not yet gone completely blind, realized what had happened, rushed after the holy fool and tearfully asked for her and her friends’ sight to be restored. St. Basil agreed on the condition that they repent of their stupidity. The women obeyed him, repented and became sighted again.
Constantly abstaining from earthly pleasures, uncomplainingly enduring the hardships of foolishness, living on the streets among crowds of people, enduring severe hardships, St. Basil kept his soul pure and bright. The gift of insight manifested itself more and more in him.
The Almighty helped Blessed Basil to predict the invasion of Moscow by Khan Mehmed I Giray in 1521. That time, as usual, praying at night at the gates of the Church of the Mother of God, he saw a sign - fire escaping from the windows of the temple, and began to pray zealously. The fire began to fade little by little and soon disappeared completely. Some time after this vision, the Crimean Tatars attacked the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery and the villages closest to it, plundered and burned them, but never reached Moscow.
On July 8, 1543, St. Basil again had a vision in the church, predicting a terrible fire, during which the Holy Cross Monastery, the Tsar's and Metropolitan's courtyards, and several streets were completely burned out: Bolshoy Posad, Neglinnaya and the entire Great Torg.
One winter, one boyar, sympathizing with the holy fool, persuaded him to take a fur coat as a gift. St. Basil did not agree for a long time, but in order not to offend the good man, he accepted this gift. Walking down the street in a donated fur coat, Vasily met a gang of thieves who, not risking taking the rich clothes from the revered holy fool by force, performed a whole performance in front of him. One of them pretended to be dead, and the rest began to ask for a fur coat to cover their dead comrade. The holy fool himself covered the thief with a fur coat, asking if he really died. The thieves confirmed the death of their friend, and Vasily wished that hypocrisy be punished and left. Rushing towards the “dead”, the thieves were dumbfounded - he was truly dead.
The whole life of St. Basil was aimed at helping people, mercy and sympathy. He helped everyone, but especially those who were ashamed to ask for help. One day he gave all the royal gifts to a foreign merchant who had lost his money and had been starving for several days. The merchant himself could not ask for help, because he was wearing rich clothes. St. Basil often visited China Town. There was a correctional prison for drunkards there. The holy fool went to them to help them return to normal life with encouraging words and exhortations.
The king revered the holy fool, but was also afraid of him. He saw him as a man of God who constantly reminded him of the need to live justly and do good deeds. Several cases convinced Ivan the Terrible that before him was truly a pious holy fool, detached from worldly concerns. Having once invited St. Basil to his palace for a feast, the Tsar was very angry when he threw wine out the window three times in a row. The king did not believe the holy fool’s explanation that this was how he put out the fire in the city, until a messenger arrived from there with the news of the fire and the miraculous intervention of some naked man who poured the fire from a waterpot. Afterwards, the Novgorodians who came to Moscow recognized St. Basil as that same person.
When the tsar decided to build a palace on the Sparrow Hills, all his thoughts revolved around this construction. Even when he came to church on a holiday, he thought about the unfinished construction. St. Basil the Blessed was at the festive service, but the Tsar, immersed in his thoughts, did not notice him. After the service, Ivan the Terrible began to reprimand the holy fool for allegedly not being in church. Vasily shamed the autocrat by saying that the tsar’s body was in the church, but his soul was hovering around his unfinished palace. Since then, Ivan the Terrible began to respect and fear the holy fool even more. And when St. Basil became seriously ill, Tsar Ivan and the queen visited him.
Despite a life full of hardships, St. Basil lived for almost 90 years, and when he fell ill and could no longer get up, the tsar himself and his family visited him, and for Christ’s sake the holy fool predicted to the tsar’s son that he would rule in Rus'.
Basil the Blessed died on August 2, 1557 at the age of 88. Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his boyars carried his coffin, and the funeral service and burial were conducted by Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow and All Rus'. During the burial of St. Basil the Blessed, many sick people recovered. The holy fool was buried in the cemetery of the Trinity Church in the Moat, where shortly before, in 1554, the tsar ordered to be erected in memory of the conquest. A chapel was built in the cathedral in honor of St. Basil the Blessed. The veneration of St. Basil's was so strong that from then on the Trinity Church began to be called by one common name - St. Basil's Cathedral.
Miracles did not end with the death of St. Basil. They also took place near his coffin. Therefore, in 1588, during the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible, the Moscow Patriarch at the Local Church Council canonized the saint and established a day of remembrance for the miracle worker on the day of his death - August 2.
Other miracles of St. Basil's
One day, a holy fool broke the image of the Mother of God on the gates of the temple with a stone, which for many years was considered miraculous. A crowd of pilgrims attacked him with fists and beat him severely. Having resignedly endured the beatings, St. Basil advised to scrape off the layer of paint on the image and when they did this, they saw that under the face of the Mother of God there was an image of the devil.
A Persian ship with many people was sailing along the Caspian Sea. There were also Orthodox Christians among them. A strong storm began, the ship began to rock violently, water poured onto the deck, it became so dark that the helmsman could not see where to direct the ship. Death seemed inevitable. But the Christians told the Persians that they have a miracle worker in Moscow who walks on water as if on earth and pacifies the largest waves. At this time, a naked bearded old man appeared in front of the ship and led the ship on the right course straight through the storm. The waves died down, the old man also disappeared, but everyone was saved. After some time, the Persian merchants who were on that ship came to Moscow on trade business and recognized the holy fool Basil as the naked old man who saved them from imminent death. More than once, a prayer to St. Basil saved ships from certain death in a raging sea.
On August 2, 1588, in the presence of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, Metropolitan Job of Moscow and All Rus' and numerous Moscow residents, his image appeared over the burial place of the saint. After this event, a reliquary decorated with precious stones was placed over the burial place, and after praying near it, many sick people were completely healed.
Saint's Memorial Day August 2 (15). Before the revolution of 1917, the celebration of the memory of St. Basil the Blessed was solemn. Usually the emperor and his family were present, the service was conducted by the patriarch, the highest clergy and Muscovites gathered, treating the miracle worker with great respect.
Sacrifice to God and people is considered the highest wisdom in Christianity. And for Christ’s sake the holy fools, rising above the sinful world with their spiritual purity, did not despise this world, but carried out uncomplaining service for the good of all living. St. Basil the Blessed is an ascetic of faith, a man of amazing fortitude, who throughout his life showed that earthly blessings are not eternal, and faith in goodness and justice helps a person in the most difficult times.
St. Basil the Blessed
St. Basil the Blessed
Born on September 1, 1468 in the then Moscow village of Elokhovo into a peasant family. His parents, Jacob and Anna, only had a child towards the end of their lives thanks to tireless prayers.
God awarded Vasily the gift of clairvoyance from birth, and from the age of seven he began making predictions. Over time, people in the village began to fear him, and his peers beat him, saying that he croaked and brought trouble.
At the age of sixteen, Vasily left his parents and moved to Moscow. He chose for himself one of the most difficult ways of serving God - foolishness.
By this time the young man was short, stocky, he had gray eyes and brown, slightly wavy hair.
His character was gentle and kind. Resignedly endured numerous ridicule and beatings. He never took offense at anyone and accepted everything with a smile, saying at the same time: “If winter is fierce, then paradise is sweet.”
Vasily almost always walked the streets naked, even in the most severe frosts and cold weather. He endured hunger and thirst without complaint.
The blessed one did not have a home, spending the night in a tower in the wall of Kitai-Gorod. I ate only what good people served. And he always kept all the fasts.
Muscovites always listened to what the holy fool said.
In 1521, Vasily, foreseeing a Tatar raid on Moscow, began to frantically pray to ward off trouble from the city. The prayers of St. Basil and the intervention of the Mother of God diverted the danger from the city walls. In memory of this miraculous deliverance, on May 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates a holiday in honor of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God - the patroness of Moscow and Russia.
Even Tsar Ivan the Terrible listened to the advice of the holy fool. One day, St. Basil the Blessed was invited to the Tsar’s palace, and as a respected guest, he was given a cup of drink. Unexpectedly for everyone, the holy fool took the drink and threw it out the window. Then he threw the second bowl served out the window, then the third.
After this, St. Basil said to the angry Tsar: “Do not be angry, Tsar, for with this libation of drink I extinguished the fire that was engulfing Novgorod at this hour.”
Having said this, the saint disappeared from the palace so quickly that no one could catch up with him. Ivan the Terrible ordered to send a messenger to Novgorod to find out what happened there. Everything was confirmed - it was on this day and hour, when Vasily was pouring drink out the window, that a terrible fire was raging in Novgorod. According to eyewitnesses, the fire was extinguished from nowhere by a naked man with a bucket of water who doused the raging flames.
When Novgorod merchants arrived in Moscow, they recognized St. Basil as that same naked man.
St. Basil the Blessed
Here is another case testifying to the foresight of St. Basil. One day, Ivan the Terrible, standing in the temple, mentally thought about building his palace on the Sparrow Hills. After the end of the service, Vasily reproached the tsar for being in the temple and mentally wandering around the construction site on Sparrow Hills.
The chronicles say that Ivan the Terrible was even afraid of the holy fool, who could read human thoughts.
St. Basil the Blessed, wandering through the streets of Moscow, did strange things - at some houses he kissed the corners of the building, at the corners of other houses he threw stones.
It was explained this way: if people “do good and pray” in a house, then stones should be thrown at the corners of this bright house to drive away the demons gathered there. If, on the contrary, indecent things are happening in the house - they drink wine, sing shameless songs, then the corners of this house must be kissed, because angels expelled from the home are now sitting there.
One day, a nobleman gave Vasily a warm fur coat, because there was unheard-of frost outside. Dashing robbers coveted this fur coat. They did not dare to rob the holy fool, because it was considered a terrible sin, and decided to deceive him by cunning.
One of them lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead, and his friends began to persuade Vasily, who was passing by, to donate something for the burial. Saint Basil sighed, seeing such deceit, and asked: “Did your comrade really die? When did this happen to him? “Yes, he just died,” his friends confirmed.
St. Basil the Blessed
Then the Blessed One took off his fur coat and, covering the lying person, said:
“Let it be as they said. For your wickedness."
Vasily left, and when the satisfied deceivers began to stir up their lying comrade, they discovered with horror that he had really died.
Basil the Blessed died at the age of eighty on August 2, 1552. Ivan the Terrible and the boyars carried his coffin, and Metropolitan Macarius performed the burial.
Vasily's body was buried in the cemetery of the Trinity Church in the Moat, where Tsar Ivan the Terrible soon ordered the construction of the Intercession Cathedral, in memory of the conquest of Kazan, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral.
Since 1588, they began to talk about miracles occurring at the tomb of Blessed Basil; As a result, Patriarch Job determined to celebrate the memory of the wonderworker on the day of his death, 2 (15 new century) August
.
In 1588, by order of Theodore Ioannovich, a chapel was built in the name of St. Basil the Blessed at the place where he was buried; A silver shrine was made for his relics.
Sarcophagus with the relics of St. Basil
At the tomb of St. Basil, healings of many sick people from various ailments began to occur. The Intercession Cathedral received a second name from this - St. Basil's Cathedral. This name, as a sign of respect for the great saint, has survived to this day.
Since ancient times, the memory of the Blessed One in Moscow has been celebrated with great solemnity: the patriarch himself served, and the tsar himself was usually present at the service.
Miracles
Many miracles are attributed to St. Basil, both during his life and after his death.
- A man came to Vasily’s owner to order boots and asked to make ones that he would not wear until his death. Vasily laughed and cried. After the merchant left, the boy explained his behavior to the master by saying that the merchant was ordering boots that he could not wear, since he would soon die, which came true.
- One day, thieves, noticing that the saint was dressed in a good fur coat, given to him by some boyar, planned to deceive it from him; one of them pretended to be dead, and the others asked Vasily for burial. Vasily seemed to cover the dead man with his fur coat, but seeing the deception, he said: “Fox fur coat, cunning, cover up the fox’s cunning deed. May you be dead from now on for wickedness, for it is written: Let the wicked be consumed.” When the dashing people took off his fur coat, they saw that their friend was already dead.
- One day, Blessed Vasily scattered the rolls of a kalachnik at the market, and he admitted that he mixed chalk and lime into the flour.
- The Degree Book tells that in the summer of 1547 Vasily came to the Ascension Monastery on Ostrog (now Vozdvizhenka) and prayed for a long time in front of the church with tears. The next day, the famous Moscow fire began, precisely from the Vozdvizhensky Monastery.
- While in Moscow, the saint saw a fire in Novgorod, which he put out with three glasses of wine.
- With a stone he smashed the image of the Mother of God on the Varvarinsky Gate, which had long been considered miraculous. A crowd of pilgrims, flocking from all over Rus' for the purpose of healing, attacked him and began to beat him to death.
The holy fool said: “And you will scratch the paint layer!” Having removed the paint layer, people saw that under the image of the Mother of God there was a “devilish mug”.
St. Basil the Blessed, the Moscow miracle worker, is asked for the healing of diseases, especially eye diseases, and for deliverance from fire.
Prayer to Saint Basil
O great servant of Christ, true friend and faithful servant of the All-Creator of the Lord God, blessed Basil! Hear us, many sinners, now singing to you and calling on your holy name, have mercy on us, who fall today before your most pure image, accept our small and unworthy prayer, have mercy on our misery and with your prayers heal every ailment and disease of the soul and body of our sinner , and make us worthy to pass through the course of this life unharmed from visible and invisible enemies without sin, and to receive a Christian death, shameless, peaceful, serene, and to receive the inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the saints forever and ever. Amen.
St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow
Another name for the cathedral is Intercession Cathedral; sometimes instead of “cathedral” they say “temple”. The cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches in Russia.
The Intercession Cathedral was built in 1555-1561. by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate. There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral.
According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma.
According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both involved in the construction; this version is now outdated.
According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.
According to legend, the architect(s) of the cathedral were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could not build another similar temple. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.
In 1588, St. Basil's Church was added to the temple, for the construction of which arched openings were laid in the northeastern part of the cathedral. Architecturally, the church was an independent temple with a separate entrance.
In the end XVI century figured heads of the cathedral appeared - instead of the original covering, which burned down during the next fire.
In the second half. XVII century Significant changes took place in the external appearance of the cathedral - the open gallery-promenade surrounding the upper churches was covered with a vault, and porches decorated with tents were erected above the white stone stairs.
The external and internal galleries, platforms and parapets of the porches were painted with grass patterns. These renovations were completed by 1683, and information about them was included in the inscriptions on the ceramic tiles that decorated the façade of the cathedral.
Fires, which were frequent in wooden Moscow, greatly damaged the Intercession Cathedral, and therefore, from the end. XVI century renovation work was carried out on it. Over the more than four-century history of the monument, such works inevitably changed its appearance in accordance with the aesthetic ideals of each century. In the documents of the cathedral for 1737, the name of the architect Ivan Michurin is mentioned for the first time, under whose leadership work was carried out to restore the architecture and interiors of the cathedral after the so-called “Trinity” fire of 1737. The following comprehensive repair work was carried out in the cathedral by order of Catherine II in 1784 - 1786. They were led by the architect Ivan Yakovlev. In the 1900s - 1912 The restoration of the Temple was carried out by the architect S.U. Solovyov.
Copyright © 2015 Unconditional love
Original taken from ykontakte V
Original taken from lat_elenka How did St. Basil live and who was he?
On August 2, 1552, the most famous holy fool of Rus', the Holy Moscow Wonderworker Basil the Blessed, died. His popularity was so great that for several centuries the name of the saint has been surrounded by new legends. 
Myth one: St. Basil was a fool
The most common misconception concerning many holy fools in Rus'. It was born due to a misunderstanding of the very meaning of foolishness. Of course, there were the so-called blessed from birth, but the majority accepted foolishness and pilgrimage consciously, as a feat in the name of Christ. As far as one can judge from surviving legends, this is exactly what St. Basil was like. In his youth he studied shoemaking, but already at the age of 16 he embarked on the path of asceticism. And until his death he did not change him. All his actions, which at first seemed like the stupid antics of a city madman, had their own explanation and deep meaning. Here is a holy fool walking through the shopping arcades and suddenly throwing pies off the tray. Noise, din! The merchants beat Vasily mercilessly, but he only thanks them. And then it turns out that cunning merchants mixed all sorts of nasty things into the pies and rolls. Often they themselves admitted this, feeling ashamed before the holy fool who exposed them.
Insight, wisdom, the ability to compare facts - these were the features that distinguished Basil the Blessed, but not the feeble-mindedness that is sometimes attributed to the holy fool. His predictions, presented in the form of parables, were not always clear, but more and more often people became convinced of his wonderful prophetic gift, and his fame spread far beyond the borders of Moscow. Ivan the Terrible himself appreciated and feared the ascetic, and he was not afraid to tell him the truth. So the Tsar invites the Blessed One to his chambers for his namesake and treats him to wine. And the holy fool pours three glasses out the window one after another. In response to the king’s anger, he replies that in this way he extinguished the fire in Novgorod. Later, messengers sent to verify these words confirmed: at the very time when St. Basil was in the tents, a man similar in appearance to him appeared in the burning city and helped douse the fire. The Great Fire actually happened in 1547.
The holy fool could only pretend to be a fool, surprising and shocking the public with his allegories. This is a conscious role, a game, a mask behind which hides an exposer of human vices, revealing to people the truth about themselves that they are afraid to admit.
Myth two: St. Basil walked naked both in winter and in summer 
Vasily Nagoy is the second nickname of the holy fool. In his life it is described that he walked without any clothes at any time of the year, and there is even a legend about how women laughed at his appearance and immediately went blind. And the saint restored his sight to only one merchant, who repented to him. However, another legend intersects with this legend. In it, the Blessed One accepts a fox fur coat as a gift and wears it in the cold. When dashing people wanted to deceive him and asked him to cover his supposedly dead comrade with a fur coat, the holy fool did just that. But as soon as the robbers took possession of the desired prey, they saw that the imaginary dead man really died.
The nakedness of the Blessed One is rather a symbol of contempt for everything earthly, perishable on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. He was naked and barefoot, since he had no property, but as we see, he did not refuse alms. This lifestyle was accepted by the majority of Russian holy fools, but, of course, they did not walk around completely naked. A spacious canvas shirt covered the body, which was often visible through holes, hence the concept of nudity.
Of course, no images of St. Basil’s during his lifetime have survived, and on all the icons we see him naked. This iconographic image created another legend about the great ascetic.
Myth three: St. Basil had no corner and lived on the street
He was naked, barefoot, had no property and lived on the street. The holy fool's homelessness complements his image of a holy wanderer. However, this fact can neither be refuted nor confirmed for certain. And yet there is evidence that the holy fool still had a roof over his head. In the Piskarev Chronicle we read: “in the belly of Blessed Vasily, his life was in Kulishki with a widowed noblewoman named Stefanida Yurlova.” The latter is by no means a legendary person; a rich boyar family owned many lands. One of the lists of the saint’s life also mentions that he reposed in the house of a certain widow. It is quite possible that we are talking about Yurlova. The fact that the holy fool lived in a rich house, however, is not a surprising fact and does not in any way contradict the morals and customs of that time. Wealthy widows used to look after the orphans and the poor, gave generous alms and gave shelter to God's people.
Myth four: the temple was named in honor of St. Basil because he acted like a fool near its walls under construction 
The further historical events move away, the more fables and conjectures they become overgrown with. Some people believe that St. Basil the Blessed and Ivan the Terrible are one person (yes, yes! there are such people), and even guides tell inconsistencies about the Cathedral on Red Square. They say that it was built by Ivan the Terrible in honor of St. Basil the Blessed. Another option is that the cathedral was built by Ivan the Terrible, and St. Basil the Blessed played the fool next to its walls, so the people called the temple in his honor. Both facts are historically incorrect. And they most likely arose because this saint, who died in 1552 (there is information that in 1551), was buried like no other holy fool in Rus'. His coffin was carried by the Tsar himself with the boyars, and the funeral service for the holy fool was Metropolitan Macarius.
The construction of the temple began only in 1555 in honor of the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. Its full name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Moat or the Intercession Cathedral. The connection with St. Basil is as follows - the holy fool was buried in the cemetery of the Trinity Church in the Moat. And after his death, the Blessed One worked miracles; there is little evidence, but they talk about healings that took place at his grave. Therefore, in 1588 he was canonized. In the same year, by order of Emperor Fyodor Ioannovich, one of the side chapels of the Intercession Cathedral was dedicated to St. St. Basil the Blessed. But the popularity and veneration of the saint were so great that they soon forgot about the true name, and to this day the temple on Vasilievsky Spusk (also a direct connection with the name of the saint) is known throughout the world as St. Basil's Cathedral.
Myth five: Surikov portrayed St. Basil among the characters in the painting “Boyarina Morozova” 
It can also be argued that the features of the great ascetic and denouncer of unrighteous power were embodied in his blessed Nikolka, nicknamed the Iron Cap, and Pushkin (the drama “Boris Godunov”). It just so happens that turning points in Russian history cannot happen without holy fools, who “are not afraid of mighty rulers. But they don’t need a princely gift. Their prophetic language is truthful and free. And he is friendly with the will of heaven” (A.S. Pushkin “Song of the prophetic Oleg”). ( 1552-08-02 )
Moscow
Saint Basil died on August 2, 1552 (sometimes the year 1551 is also mentioned). Ivan the Terrible and the boyars carried his coffin, and Metropolitan Macarius performed the burial.
Vasily's body was buried in the cemetery of the Trinity Church in the Moat, where Tsar Ivan the Terrible indicated that the Intercession Cathedral would soon be built, in memory of the conquest of Kazan, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral. Since 1588, they began to talk about miracles occurring at the tomb of Blessed Basil; As a result, Patriarch Job determined to celebrate the memory of the miracle worker on the day of his death, August 2.
Since ancient times, the memory of the Blessed One in Moscow has been celebrated with great solemnity: the patriarch himself served, and the tsar himself was usually present at the service.
Miracles
Many miracles are attributed to St. Basil, both during his life and after his death.
- A man came to Vasily’s owner to order boots and asked to make ones that he would not wear until his death. Vasily laughed and cried. After the merchant left, the boy explained his behavior to the master by saying that the merchant was ordering boots that he could not wear, since he would soon die, which came true.
- One day, thieves, noticing that the saint was dressed in a good fur coat, given to him by some boyar, decided to deceive it from him; one of them pretended to be dead, and the others asked Vasily for burial. Vasily seemed to cover the dead man with his fur coat, but seeing the deception, he said: “Fox fur coat, cunning, cover up the fox’s cunning deed. May you be dead from now on for wickedness, for it is written: Let the wicked be consumed.” When the dashing people took off his fur coat, they saw that their friend was already dead.
- One day, Blessed Basil scattered rolls of bread from a baker at the market, and he admitted that he had mixed chalk and lime into the flour.
- The Degree Book tells that in the summer of 1547 Vasily came to the Ascension Monastery on Ostrog (now Vozdvizhenka) and prayed for a long time in front of the church with tears. The next day, the famous Moscow fire began, precisely from the Vozdvizhensky Monastery.
- While in Moscow, the saint saw a fire in Novgorod, which he put out with three glasses of wine.
- With a stone he smashed the image of the Mother of God on the Varvarinsky Gate, which had long been considered miraculous. A crowd of pilgrims, flocking from all over Rus' for the purpose of healing, attacked him and began to beat him to death. The holy fool said: “And you will scratch the paint layer!” Having removed the paint layer, people saw that a “devilish mug” was hiding under the image of the Mother of God.
St. Basil's Cathedral
One of the most beautiful temples in the world. The Moscow Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary began to be built in 1555 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in honor of the victory over Kazan. Another name for the cathedral is Intercession Cathedral, sometimes instead of “cathedral” they say “temple”. The cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches in Russia. Its architectural style is completely atypical for Russian churches, just as the life of St. Basil is unlike the life of most saints, and commemorates the capture of Kazan in 1552 (the capital of the Kazan Khanate, after the collapse of the Golden Horde).
Literature
- K. Yu. Yerusalimsky, A. S. Preobrazhensky Saint Basil // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Volume VII. - M. : Church and Scientific Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia”, 2004. - pp. 123-131. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-010-2
- Life of St. Basil // Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Rus'. Vol. 1 (XI - first half of the XIV century) / USSR Academy of Sciences. IRLI; Rep. ed. D. S. Likhachev. - L.: Nauka, 1987. - 493 p.
Links
- Cartoon about Saint Basil(TV series Mountain of Gems)
- Painting "St. Basil. (Prayer). The third part of the trilogy "Holy Rus'" artist S.A. Kirillov. 1994 oil on canvas 140x100
- Painting "Moscow miracle worker Blessed Basil" by artist V.Yu. Grafov. 2006 oil on canvas 170x150
Categories:
- Personalities in alphabetical order
- Died on August 2
- Died in 1552
- Saints by alphabet
- Holy Fools
- Russian Orthodox saints
- Born in 1469
- Canonized in the 16th century
- Christian saints of the 16th century
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
- Lens
- Monument to Grinkevich
See what “St. Basil” is in other dictionaries:
St. Basil the Blessed- holy fool of Moscow; died in 1551. The memory is celebrated on August 2. The relics are in the Moscow Intercession Cathedral, popularly called St. Basil's. St. Basil the Blessed was born in 1469, in the Moscow suburban village of Elokhov. His parents... Biographical Dictionary
BASILY THE BLESSED- (? 1569), Moscow holy fool. One of the most famous saints of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was revered as a seer. In 1588, V.B.’s chapel was built in the Intercession Cathedral (on Red Square in Moscow), which gave the temple its second name. Source:... ...Russian history
BASILY THE BLESSED- (end 1468 or end 1462?, c. Elohovo near Moscow? 08/2/1557?, Moscow), St. Fool for Christ's sake (memorial on August 2, on the Sunday before August 26 in the Cathedral of Moscow Saints). Sources The earliest source reporting on V.B. is the “Book ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia
St. Basil the Blessed- holy fool of Moscow; died in 1552. The memory is celebrated on August 2. The relics are in the Moscow Intercession Cathedral, popularly called “St. Basil’s Cathedral.” St. Basil the Blessed was born in 1469, in the Moscow suburban village of Elokhov.... ...
St. Basil the Blessed- holy fool of Moscow; mind. 1552 Commemorated on August 2. The relics are in the Moscow Intercession Cathedral, popularly called St. Basil's. St. Basil the Blessed was born in 1469, in the Moscow suburban village of Elokhov. His parents are peasants... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
St. Basil the Blessed- (1469 1557) saint (August 2/15). Moscow holy fool. Born in the Moscow suburban village of Elokhov. He was given training in shoemaking. The hardworking and God-fearing young man was awarded the gift of insight, which was discovered by chance... Orthodox encyclopedic dictionary
St. Basil (I)- For Christ's sake, holy fool, Moscow. miracle worker; † Aug 2 1552. (Polovtsov) ... Large biographical encyclopedia
Saint Basil (II)- monk of the Savior Stone Monastery, memory 2 Aug. (Polovtsov) ... Large biographical encyclopedia
St. Basil the Blessed- (? 1569), Moscow holy fool. One of the most famous Moscow saints, whose gift of providence was revered even by Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. In 1588, in the Intercession Cathedral (on Red Square in Moscow), a chapel of St. Basil’s was built, giving the entire temple... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
St. Basil the Blessed- Blessed Basil... Russian spelling dictionary
Books
- St. Basil the Blessed, F. G. Taratorkin, The life of St. Basil the Blessed was replete with exciting stories and vivid details. He predicted the Novgorod fire and the raid of the Crimean Khan, with his accusatory speeches he awed and... Category:
