In this month, on the twenty-sixth day, the commemoration of the holy holy martyr Vasile, bishop of Amasia.
The great martyr of Christ Vasile was bishop of Amasia, in the time of Licinius, who, being the brother-in-law of the great Constantine after his sister Constantina, was sent by him against Maximinus, who had risen and taken some parts of the east which he held as a tyrant. When Licinius went to Nicomidia, the uprising subsided, and the tyrant Maximinus, hoping to resist by battle, escaped the danger that was about to come to him. Licinius sacrificed to the idols at Nicomidia, and commanded to bring before them from Amasia the holy Basil, with a maiden named Glafira, who had been the servant of Constantine, the wife of Licinius; and Glafira, fearing that Licinius had fallen in love with her, dared to tell her mistress and she sent her to Anatolia, giving her a fortune. And walking Glafira from place to place, she had arrived at Amasia, where she had given the money she had with her to the bishop, to build a church. Hearing this, Licinius ordered to seize both of them and bring them before him; but Glafira died before he came, but blessed Vasile came to Nicomidia to the emperor, who ordered his head to be cut off, because he had strongly opposed and reproached the hypocrisy of those who were considered gods and their vanity. After his head was cut off, the saint’s head and body were taken in a ship; then the head was thrown to one side and the body to another, again they united and stuck together according to the natural fit, and the entire saint was found in the Sinope bay of the sea. Finding him, some fishermen pulled him ashore with nets, as the angel of Epildiforus, who had received the saint at Nicomedia, had shown; he, going with Teotimus and Parthenius, the deacons who had come with the saint to Amasia, took him out of the net, and honoring him with perfumes and songs, sent him to Amasia.
Also on this day, Saint Glafira, peacefully passed away.
The virgin Glafira was the servant of the wife of the emperor Licinius, Constantia. He was hurt by her beauty and sought her proximity. The virgin asked the help of the empress, to get rid of the courtier emperor. Dressing her in men’s clothes and giving her travel money, the empress sent her to Pontus with another faithful servant. They told the emperor that Glafira had gone mad and was dying. On her way to Armenia, St. Glafira stopped at Amasea, where she was hosted by the local bishop, St. Basil.
At that time, the saint was building a church in the city. St. Glafira donated all the money from Constantia for the construction of the church and wrote to the empress to send more so that she could finish the construction. The empress fulfilled her request but the letter fell into the hands of Licinius, who, enraged, ordered the governor of the city to send the hierarch and the virgin to him. But St. Glafira died before the edict reached Amasea and St. Basil was taken to the emperor. Two deacons, Partenie and Teotim, followed St. Basil and settled in a place close to the prison where he was kept.
The pious Christian Elpidephorus bribed the guard and every night he went with Parthenia and Teotimus to visit the saint. The night before the trial, he began to sing Psalms saying “and if I dwell on the edge of the sea and there …your hand will guide me and your right hand will hold me” (Psalms 138/139:9-10 ). Those were prophetic words.
Three times the saint fell into tears and the deacons were afraid that he would not be able to endure the torments, but he calmed them down.
At the trial, the saint strongly refused to renounce his faith and become a pagan priest, so he was sentenced to death. Elpidephorus gave money to the soldiers to let Vasile pray and talk with his friends before the execution. Then the saint said to the executioner: “Friend, do what you were told” and calmly bowed his head to be cut by the sword.
Elpidephorus wanted to buy the remains of the saint with money from the soldiers, but the soldiers were afraid of the emperor and threw the saint’s body and head into the sea. After this, an angel of God appeared to Elpidephorus in a dream three times, saying: “Bishop Vasile is at Sinope and he is waiting for you.”
Hearing the message, Elpidephorus and the deacons went by sea to Sinope, where they hired some fishermen to help them with the fishing nets. When they cast the nets where the two deacons said, they found nothing. Then Elpidefor told them to throw the nets in the name of the Lord his God, whom he glorified and only then did the nets bring to the surface the relics of St. Basil whose head was stuck to the body and only the trace of the sword blow was still visible on the neck. The holy relics of St. Vasile were taken to Amasea and buried in the church built by himself.
Also on this day, Reverend Iusta, peacefully passed away.
Also on this day, Reverend Nestor.
This pious Father, leaving his parents and becoming a monk, peacefully passed away.
With their holy prayers, Lord, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Text: calendarortodox.ro.
