St. Basil of Moscow, the Fool for Christ
825 بار بازدید -
12 ماه پیش
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St. Basil of Moscow,the Fool
St. Basil of Moscow,
the Fool for Christ
(Commemorated August 2)
Saint Basil the Fool for Christ (also known as: Basil the Blessed; Basil the Wonderworker of Moscow;) was born in 1464 or 1468 A.D., into a peasant family living in the village of Yelokhovoe near Moscow. When the he grew up, his parents sent him to learn shoemaking and before long his master understood that the apprentice was not an ordinary man.
Once a merchant came to the shop to order a pair of high boots made for him so that he would not wear them out in a year. Basil said woefully, "We will make them, and you will not wear them out." When the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. Several days later the merchant died.
At the age of 16, Basil left his parents for Moscow, where he assumed the ascetic challenge of a fool for Christ sake. Both in summer heat and winter frost he would walk around uncovered and barefooted. Once he overturned a tray of wheat loafs and spilled a jar of kvass. The vendors beat him, and he accepted the abuse with joy and thanked God for it. Later people learned that the loaves were baked with harmful ingredients in the flour and the drink was bad too. The reputation of Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong.
Allegorically and through signs, as well as straightforwardly, he foretold misfortunes as punishment for sins and well being as a reward for virtues. Sometimes he would visit taverns to save people from the doom of drunkenness, other times he would direct people to the way of righteousness, talking to them in the streets and plazas. He gave lessons of piety even to the Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
Once during the service in church, the Tsar was pondering over a better way to ornament his palace on the Vorobiovy Mountains. After the service, Basil reprimanded the tsar for his thoughts wandering from the service to his palace. The Tsar confessed this sin and began to respect Basil even more.
Once a merchant started to build a church, but the dome kept collapsing. Basil advised him to go to Kiev saying, "Find the wretched Ioann there. He will give you advice to help you complete the construction."
The merchant went to Kiev and found Ioann, who was sitting in a hut and rocking an empty cradle. "Who are you rocking in the cradle?" asked the merchant. "My own mother," said Ioann, "I am trying to repay my eternal debt for her delivering me and bringing me up." The merchant remembered his own mother whom he had driven out of the home and understood why he could not finish building the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church.
Basil was happy to help those in need of alms, but he was shy to ask for it. Once he gave away the presents he received from the Tsar to a foreign merchant who had been completely broke. The man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing.
He would find a grain of goodness even in the most dejected and sinful people, whom he would help with guidance and comfort. When he was passing by a house where excessive drinking and merry-making was going on, he would embrace the corners of the house and say, "Angels are standing outside this home and grieving over human sins, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.”
People would sometimes deride and beat him up, but he would tolerate everything humbly. Basil spent his nights on a church porch in prayers and meditation. God glorified his righteous servant granting him the gift of discernment and wonderworking.
Thus, through Basil's prayers before the Vladimirskaya Icon of Theotokos, Moscow and all of the Russian lands were saved from the invasion of the Crimean khan Makhmet-Guirey in 1521.
Having burned the suburbs of Moscow the khan was scared by a vision of a great number of legions and retreated from the territory of the Russian State. In 1547, Basil was crying inconsolably foreseeing the fire of Moscow which destroyed the city almost completely.
Purified by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the Saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. Some time later at the reception in the palace of the Tsar, Basil three times poured some wine out of the window saying that he is putting out a fire in Novgorod. Indeed at that very time there happened a fire in Novgorod, but it did not spread to the entire city because, according to the Novgorod citizens, some unknown person was pouring water over the houses that had caught flames. On arriving to Moscow those Novgorod citizens recognized that person was Basil.
Reached capacity:
the Fool for Christ
(Commemorated August 2)
Saint Basil the Fool for Christ (also known as: Basil the Blessed; Basil the Wonderworker of Moscow;) was born in 1464 or 1468 A.D., into a peasant family living in the village of Yelokhovoe near Moscow. When the he grew up, his parents sent him to learn shoemaking and before long his master understood that the apprentice was not an ordinary man.
Once a merchant came to the shop to order a pair of high boots made for him so that he would not wear them out in a year. Basil said woefully, "We will make them, and you will not wear them out." When the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. Several days later the merchant died.
At the age of 16, Basil left his parents for Moscow, where he assumed the ascetic challenge of a fool for Christ sake. Both in summer heat and winter frost he would walk around uncovered and barefooted. Once he overturned a tray of wheat loafs and spilled a jar of kvass. The vendors beat him, and he accepted the abuse with joy and thanked God for it. Later people learned that the loaves were baked with harmful ingredients in the flour and the drink was bad too. The reputation of Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong.
Allegorically and through signs, as well as straightforwardly, he foretold misfortunes as punishment for sins and well being as a reward for virtues. Sometimes he would visit taverns to save people from the doom of drunkenness, other times he would direct people to the way of righteousness, talking to them in the streets and plazas. He gave lessons of piety even to the Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
Once during the service in church, the Tsar was pondering over a better way to ornament his palace on the Vorobiovy Mountains. After the service, Basil reprimanded the tsar for his thoughts wandering from the service to his palace. The Tsar confessed this sin and began to respect Basil even more.
Once a merchant started to build a church, but the dome kept collapsing. Basil advised him to go to Kiev saying, "Find the wretched Ioann there. He will give you advice to help you complete the construction."
The merchant went to Kiev and found Ioann, who was sitting in a hut and rocking an empty cradle. "Who are you rocking in the cradle?" asked the merchant. "My own mother," said Ioann, "I am trying to repay my eternal debt for her delivering me and bringing me up." The merchant remembered his own mother whom he had driven out of the home and understood why he could not finish building the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church.
Basil was happy to help those in need of alms, but he was shy to ask for it. Once he gave away the presents he received from the Tsar to a foreign merchant who had been completely broke. The man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing.
He would find a grain of goodness even in the most dejected and sinful people, whom he would help with guidance and comfort. When he was passing by a house where excessive drinking and merry-making was going on, he would embrace the corners of the house and say, "Angels are standing outside this home and grieving over human sins, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.”
People would sometimes deride and beat him up, but he would tolerate everything humbly. Basil spent his nights on a church porch in prayers and meditation. God glorified his righteous servant granting him the gift of discernment and wonderworking.
Thus, through Basil's prayers before the Vladimirskaya Icon of Theotokos, Moscow and all of the Russian lands were saved from the invasion of the Crimean khan Makhmet-Guirey in 1521.
Having burned the suburbs of Moscow the khan was scared by a vision of a great number of legions and retreated from the territory of the Russian State. In 1547, Basil was crying inconsolably foreseeing the fire of Moscow which destroyed the city almost completely.
Purified by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the Saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. Some time later at the reception in the palace of the Tsar, Basil three times poured some wine out of the window saying that he is putting out a fire in Novgorod. Indeed at that very time there happened a fire in Novgorod, but it did not spread to the entire city because, according to the Novgorod citizens, some unknown person was pouring water over the houses that had caught flames. On arriving to Moscow those Novgorod citizens recognized that person was Basil.
Reached capacity:
12 ماه پیش
در تاریخ 1402/05/14 منتشر شده
است.
825
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