St. Basil the Blessed(1469 - 1552), also known as Vasily Nagoy, was a legendary Moscow holy fool, canonized. He went down in history as a miracle worker who exposed lies and hypocrisy and had the gift of foresight.

Foolishness is a Christian feat consisting of a deliberate effort to appear stupid and insane. The purpose of such behavior (foolishness for Christ's sake) is to expose external worldly values, hide one's own virtues and incur anger and insults, that is, conscious self-sacrifice. As a rule, holy fools renounced the blessings familiar to man, did not have a home and ate alms, many wore chains - iron chains, rings and stripes, sometimes hats and soles, worn on the naked body to humble the flesh.

Biography of St. Basil the Blessed

There are many blank spots in the saint’s biography: his life, the oldest list of which dates back to 1600, does not tell much about his life, and almost the only source of information about him was urban legends and traditions.

Vasily was born in 1469 in the village of Elokhovo (currently located within Moscow), on the porch where his mother came to pray for a “safe resolution.” His parents were simple peasants, and Vasily himself was a hardworking and God-fearing young man, and as a teenager he was sent to study shoemaking.

The gift of insight was discovered by chance: according to legend, a merchant came to the shoemaker, whose assistant Vasily worked as, asking him to make boots for himself that he would not wear out until his death. Vasily, hearing this, laughed and cried; when the merchant left, the boy explained to the shoemaker that the customer really wouldn’t be able to wear them out, because he would soon die and wouldn’t even put on a new thing. And so it happened: the very next day the merchant died.

At the age of 16, he went to Moscow and until his death he performed the feat of foolishness: in both heat and cold, Vasily walked around without clothes all year round (for this reason he received the nickname Vasily the Naked) and spent the night in the open air, exposing himself to deprivation. The holy fool lived in the area of ​​Red Square and Kitay-Gorod, and after the construction of the Kitay-Gorod wall, he often spent the night at the Varvarsky Gate. All his life, by word and by his own example, he taught the people moral life and exposed lies and hypocrisy, sometimes committing quite strange actions: he would scatter a trading stall, or throw stones at houses - angry townspeople beat an eccentric man, but then it turned out that his actions were righteous, they were just not immediately understood. Vasily humbly accepted the beatings and thanked God for them, and they recognized him as a holy fool, a man of God and an exposer of untruth. His veneration quickly grew, people came to him for advice and healing.

St. Basil found the reign Ivan III And Ivan IV the Terrible, and, as historians note, there was almost the only person, whom Ivan the Terrible feared, believing him to be a seer of human hearts and thoughts. Grozny invited him to receptions, and when Vasily became seriously ill, he personally visited him with Tsarina Anastasia and the children.

The Holy Fool died on August 15, 1552 (possibly 1551) and was buried in the cemetery of Trinity Church, on the Moat. The coffin with his body was carried by Ivan the Terrible himself and the boyars closest to him, and the burial was performed by Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow and All Rus'.

In 1555-1561, instead of the Trinity Church, in memory of the capture of Kazan, by order of Ivan the Terrible, it was built Cathedral of the Intercession Holy Mother of God, which is on the Moat. After the canonization of the saint in 1588, a church in honor of St. Basil was added to the new cathedral, which was located above his burial place. Therefore, people began to call the Intercession Cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral.

Miracles attributed to the saint

Although the lifestyle of the holy fool is quite specific, St. Basil became famous as a seer and miracle worker who helped people and exposed lies and hypocrisy. A large number of miracles are attributed to him, both performed during his life and those that happened after death.

Passing by the houses of the righteous, Vasily threw stones at them: according to him, there were demons around them who could not go inside, and he drove them away. At the dwellings of sinners, on the contrary, he kissed the corners of the walls and cried under them, explaining his behavior by the fact that this house drives away the Angels who protect it, and while there is no place for them in it, they stand at its corners, mournful and despondent - Vasily, with tears, begged them to pray to God for the conversion and forgiveness of sinners.

One day Vasily scattered one merchant’s rolls of bread at the market, another time he knocked over a jug of kvass. At first people did not understand what was going on, but later the kalachnik admitted that he added lime to the flour, but the kvass turned out to be spoiled.

A certain boyar, probably grateful to the holy fool for something, gave him a fox fur coat. The thieves, seeing Vasily with a fur coat, wanted to take it away, but did not dare to attack and decided to lure it out by deception: one of them pretended to be dead, and the others went to Vasily and began to beg for a fur coat to cover the “deceased”. Vasily recognized the deception, but covered the body of the “dead man” with his fur coat, and when the thieves took it off, it turned out that he was really dead.

In the summer of 1547, the holy fool came to the Holy Cross Monastery on Ostrov (near the street) and began to cry a lot. At first, Moscow did not understand why Vasily was crying, but the next day - June 21, 1547 - the reason for the tears was revealed: in the morning a wooden church in the monastery caught fire, the fire quickly spread beyond its boundaries and spread throughout the city. The fire predicted by St. Basil the Blessed was destructive: all of Zaneglimenye and Kitai-Gorod burned out.

One day, Ivan the Terrible invited the holy fool to his name day, during which he was offered wine. Vasily poured 3 glasses of wine out the window one after another; the king got angry and asked him why he was doing this: pouring the wine offered by the king out the window is unheard of impudence. The holy fool replied that with that wine he helped extinguish the great fire in Novgorod. A couple of days later, messengers brought news that a terrible fire had broken out in Novgorod, which an unknown naked man helped put out.

Above the Barbarian Gate of Kitay-Gorod there was an image of the Mother of God, which was considered miraculous and attracted pilgrims thirsty for healing. One day Vasily threw a stone at the image and broke it; the crowd attacked the holy fool and beat him severely, but he begged them to scratch the paint. When the paint layer was removed, it turned out that the icon was “hell-like” - under the image of the Mother of God there was an image of the devil.

One merchant decided to build a stone church, but the construction did not work out: its vaults collapsed three times. He turned to St. Basil for advice, and he sent him to Kyiv, advising him to find poor John there who would help complete the church. The merchant went to Kyiv and found John, who was sitting in a poor hut and rocking an empty cradle. The merchant asked who he was pumping, and John replied that he was rocking his own mother - he was paying an unpaid debt for birth and upbringing. Only then did the merchant remember that he had kicked his mother out of the house, was ashamed and understood why he could not finish building the church. Returning to Moscow, he asked his mother for forgiveness and returned her home, after which he was able to complete what he started.

St. Basil tried to help those in need, but was ashamed to ask for alms. One day the king richly gifted the holy fool; he, having accepted the gifts, did not keep them for himself, but gave them to a bankrupt foreign merchant, who was left without everything and had not eaten anything for 3 days, but could not ask for alms. Although the merchant did not turn to him, Vasily knew that he needed help more than others.

One day Vasily saw a demon who pretended to be a beggar and sat at the Prechistensky Gate, providing immediate assistance in business to everyone who gave him alms. The holy fool realized that the demon corrupts people, tempting them to give alms for selfish purposes, and not out of sympathy for poverty and misfortune, and drove him away.

Urban legends say that after the death of St. Basil, people more than once found healing at his grave: a blind man regained his sight, a dumb man began to speak. Most incredible incident occurred in 1588, when the saint was canonized: during August, 120 people were healed with his help.

In fact, due to insufficient information about the biography of the holy fool, it is completely unclear which of the urban legends known about him can be true, and which were invented much later. In particular, the case of the hellish icon on the Varvarsky Gate is often questioned simply because historians, in principle, are not sure of the existence of hellish icons.

One way or another, the holy fool forever entered the history of Moscow, becoming one of the most striking legendary personalities of the capital.

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 paths serving God is foolishness.
By this time the young man was short and 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 pray frantically 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 the king 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.

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.

Then the Blessed One took off his fur coat and, covering the one lying down, 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, August 2.

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, 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 deed, cunning. 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 under the image of the Mother of God there was a “devilish mug”.

Basil the Blessed, Moscow Wonderworker is asked for healing diseases, especially eye diseases, getting rid of 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 this course of life unharmed from visible and invisible enemies without sin, and to have a Christian death that is not shameful, peaceful, serene, and to receive the inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the saints forever and ever. Amen.

The biographical information about St. Basil that has survived to this day is extremely scarce and is largely imbued with the aroma of legend. It is believed that the future saint was born around 1464 in the village of Elokhov near Moscow (at the moment this is essentially the middle of the capital). Father Jacob and mother Anna, while still a boy, gave him an apprenticeship to a shoemaker, and already at this early age, as the life tells us, the gift of foolishness appeared in him. Vasily first of all laughed at the merchant who ordered boots from his owner, and then burst into tears over the imminent death awaiting him. The prediction soon came true. Thus, those around him became convinced that the thin, homely teenager, as the future ascetic was at that time, was endowed with the ability to foresee human destiny. The heavens directly gave a sign of what his purpose was, and from the age of 16 Vasily chose a career for himself throughout his life, leaving his parents’ house and starting a wandering existence.

For over seven decades, this same man performed a heroic act of foolishness, moreover, earning veneration from Metropolitan Macarius. Like all beggars of that era, he did not have any permanent shelter, lived mostly on the streets, only rarely agreeing to spend the night in the houses of elderly, lonely old women, and walked around almost naked. It is no coincidence that he was originally nicknamed Vasily Nagoy.

As befits a holy fool, he continuously committed acts that caused a loud social resonance, crazy from the point of view of everyday morality, but imbued with a deep philosophical meaning, in the spirit of the famous sayings of the Apostle Paul from his First Epistle to the Corinthians: God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ; We are weak, but you are strong; you are in glory, and we are in dishonor.

What did Vasily Nagoy allow himself to do that was so unusual?

He can constantly reveal the devil in any form and pursues him everywhere

FIRST of all, that same holy fool often behaves in the market like an unruly pogromist, destroying bread, kvass and other good-quality goods, because they belong to unscrupulous traders who charge extortionate prices. He throws stones at the houses of seemingly virtuous townspeople and, moreover, kisses the corners of the houses in which blasphemy, that is, all kinds of obscenity, is committed. The life of the saint makes it clear that if the former have a crowd of demons outside, eager to get into the monastery, then the latter have angels crying inside

The Tsar gives Vasily the Naked gold; he does not distribute it, as one would expect, to the poor, but gives the entire amount to a merchant in clean clothes, the one who has lost his fortune, but does not dare to ask for alms. The Tsar gives him a cup of wine, he pours it out the window, in order, as it turns out, to put out a fire that raged miles away in distant Novgorod. Finally, the holy fool decides to smash the miraculous image of the Mother of God in the church at the Barbarian Gate; it turns out that a demon is drawn on this board under the holy image. He can always reveal the devil in any image and pursues him everywhere, writes the only church historian about Vasily. So he recognized him as a beggar, the one who collected money in bulk from people, sending temporary happiness as a reward for alms. It is not difficult to realize that in the reprisal against the demonic beggar inflicted by the Blessed One, there is a morality directed sharply against the immeasurable greed, masked by ostentatious piety: When you gather Christian souls with happiness, you are caught in a money-loving disposition.

Through the prayers of sinner Vasily

FROM THE LIFE OF THE Saint we learn that Tsar Ivan the Terrible, together with his wife Tsarina Anastasia, shortly before the death of the Blessed One, visited him and received a blessing. However, legends portray the holy fool Vasily as an irreconcilable fighter against tsarist despotism, denouncing its cruelty, tyranny, and commitment to luxury. For example, during the Divine Liturgy in the temple, Vasily reproaches Grozny for the fact that his thoughts were not at the service, but on the Sparrow Hills, where the newly built highest palace was being built. Although the church was full of people, the holy fool said, turning to the tsar, that there was no one at the liturgy, but only three: the first-ranking metropolitan, the second blessed queen and the third he, the sinful Vasily.

The predictions of the holy fool concerned not only individuals, but at times had a national character, affecting the fate of many compatriots. This was the case in the early summer of 1521, when Vasily continually prayed for the salvation of Moscow from the Tatar invasion. A few weeks passed, and the Crimean Khan Muhammad-Girey actually approached the walls of the Russian capital and stood in the field. However, he did not take the city and went back to the steppe. Muscovites considered this wonder the result of the intercession of St. Basil the Blessed. But at times the naked sage felt almost powerless to change the course of events. On June 23, 1547, 5 months after the crowning of Ivan Vasilyevich (who had not yet received the sad nickname Grozny), Vasily came to the Vozdvizhensky Monastery and for one day either prayed before the icons on his knees, or sobbed heavily in the temple. The next day, a terrible glow engulfed all of Moscow. Half the city burned out, covering the royal mansions. There is plenty of other evidence of the miraculous prophecies of the holy fool Vasily.

The funeral of the Blessed One in the 88th year of his life attracted a great crowd on Red Square, and Macarius himself, Metropolitan of Moscow, performed the funeral service in the presence of the Tsar and the boyars. They buried the seer, famous throughout Rus', near the Church of the Holy Trinity, which stood on the moat, in the very place where, after the capture of Kazan, the architects Barma and Postnik, by order of the Tsar, created a cathedral of such wondrous beauty that Rus' had never yet known.

For many centuries, St. Basil has been revered as the healer and patron of Moscow, and, therefore, of everyone who lives on the Russian Land. Therefore, there are churches and chapels dedicated to him in many cities of Russia - and St. Basil helps everyone who is pure in heart and sincerely asks for help. Turn to the saint of the Russian Land, when an illness has overtaken you or your soul is heavy, pray to him that he will protect your home from ruin and fire. He will definitely help. There are many, many testimonies to this.

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The given introductory fragment of the book The miracle worker Saint Basil the Blessed (Sergey Volkov) will help you provided by our book partner - the company liters.

Moscow wonderworker Basil the Blessed

To understand what path the holy fool Vasily took for Christ’s sake, I suggest that respected readers first familiarize themselves with the encyclopedic reference from the famous reference book, more than a century old.

St. Basil the Blessed

St. Basil 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, his life tells us, V. 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, V. 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 Vasily scattered rolls of bread from a baker at the market, and he admitted that he 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 wickedness 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 the next day began precisely from the Vozdvizhensky Monastery and incinerated Moscow. Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible honored and feared the Blessed One, “as a seer of human hearts and thoughts.” When, shortly before his death, V. fell into a serious illness, the Tsar himself visited him with Tsarina Anastasia. Vasily died on August 2, 1551.

The Tsar himself and the boyars carried his bed; Metropolitan Macarius 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.

Since 1588 they began to talk about miracles occurring at the tomb of Blessed. Vasily; As a result, Patriarch Job determined to celebrate the memory of the miracle worker on the day of his death, August 2. Tsar Theodore Ioannovich ordered a chapel to be built in the Intercession Cathedral in the name of St. Basil the Blessed, on the spot where he was buried, and built a silver reliquary for his relics. 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.

From the “Encyclopedic Dictionary” by F. A. Brockhaus and I. A. Efron, St. Petersburg, 1890–1907.

What can you ask for in prayer from the Moscow wonderworker St. Basil the Blessed?

For the sake of Christ, the holy fool Blessed Basil, the Moscow wonderworker, they ask:

About healing from blindness, strabismus and other eye diseases,

About healing from epilepsy, seizures, convulsions and other brain ailments,

About healing from lameness, aches, paralysis and other diseases of the legs,

About healing from ulcers and skin diseases,

About healing from disorders caused by nervous causes,

About getting rid of failures and disasters,

About protection from civil wars and salvation on the battlefield,

From barbaric and ideological captivity,

About strength for repentance and humility,

About getting rid of fires.

For many centuries, St. Basil was revered as a healer and patron of Moscow, and through it, of all those living on the Russian Land.

Prayer to Blessed Basil, the Fool for Christ:

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 crying out 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 this life unharmed from visible and invisible enemies and to pass sinlessly, and to receive a shameless, peaceful, serene Christian death and to receive the inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the saints forever and ever. Amen.

2 years ago, when I almost lost sight in my right eye, I went to the doctor. He said I had some form of glaucoma (I didn't remember). My head often ached from pain, nausea suddenly arose, photophobia appeared, my eyes watered, my cornea became terribly enlarged. First I dropped drops, then several at once different types drops Then he decided to have surgery. The symptoms became easier after this. But it was still unpleasant. And only when, on the advice of friends, I went to our church this summer and prayed to St. Basil for healing my eye, relief came. The doctors were even surprised, and everyone asked if I was taking any new medications? And in response I just smile and mentally thank Blessed Vasily...

Nikita Rakov, 61 years old, Volgorechensk, Kostroma region

I work a lot at the computer, the work of a secretary is obligatory. And then, in the spring, suddenly, I suddenly developed the so-called “dry eye syndrome.” Itching, burning, irritation and redness of the eyes appeared. I almost couldn’t watch TV or work on the computer—the discomfort was terrible. Sometimes my vision simply blurred, and only by blinking often and for a long time could I restore it. Sometimes the lacrimation began to such an extent that those around me were seriously afraid for my health. And then Uncle Ivan came to us from Krasnodar, who just laughed at my ailments. This is what he said:

– Live in Moscow, and you don’t know that you just need to pray to the Moscow Elder St. Basil the Blessed! He is the main assistant in eye matters.

I treated his words with disbelief. But I still went to the temple... And, oh, a miracle! Within a week my illness disappeared completely! Thanks to the Russian miracle worker!

Vera Lyamkina, Moscow

The Life of Blessed Basil, Christ for the Fool's Sake, Moscow Wonderworker

It would seem that there is nothing else you can talk about when, look, how everything is described in detail and with soul in the famous dictionary. Ah, no. After all, this is only the surface outline of the life of the Russian miracle worker. Without much understanding of the fact that Vasily was called “blessed” for his entire long-suffering life, for all the sins that he prayed for his fellow citizens, for the fact that he was able to remain a HUMAN in the most cruel times.

And that is why he still helps people. Having repented and turned to the miracle worker with a pure heart, everyone can count on his help.

How do we learn about the life of Blessed Basil, the Moscow wonderworker?

St. Basil the Blessed

The earliest source reporting about St. Basil is the “State Book of the Royal Genealogy” (1st edition created ca. 1563). Information from it was borrowed into the life of St. Basil, known in three versions: complete, abridged, and a special composition (the latter is a compilation of the first two editions, supplemented by a description of the saint’s lifetime miracles). All three editions of the life with additions about St. Basil were published by Archpriest. I. I. Kuznetsov.

The oldest list of the complete life was preserved as part of the August Chetya Menaion (GIM. Miracle No. 317. L. 60–99, end of the 16th century; entitled “On the same day, a brief life and a word of praise to the holy and righteous Christ for the sake of the ugly, blessed Vasily , the venerable new wonderworker of Moscow"). The life is followed by a word of praise, miracles (24) and two legends - about the vision that St. Basil had in 1521 before the invasion of Moscow by the Crimean Khan Magmet-Girey, and about the saints’ prediction of a fire in Moscow on June 21, 1547 (both borrowed from Degree book). The complete life of St. Basil was compiled by order of Patriarch St. Job, apparently, shortly after the canonization of St. Basil, not earlier than 1589. The lengthy text of the life contains a brief and inaccurate biography, designed in the style of “weaving words.”

The abbreviated life is known in three lists, of which the earliest was published in the Prologue (M., 1660). In this version, the chronology of the saint’s life has been changed, the text of his full life has been shortened and edited. This edition appeared, apparently, ca. 1646, since passages textually similar to it were published in Saints (M., 1646). Tales of the lifetime miracles of St. Basil, which are distinctive feature varieties of life of a special composition are known from lists No. 41 from the collection. Kuznetsov and according to the list of the Intercession Cathedral of 1803 (both manuscripts are lost, known from Kuznetsov’s publications). The description of St. Basil's lifetime miracles was created no earlier than the second half. XVII century, at the same time it was compiled with excerpts from complete and abbreviated lives. In earlier manuscripts only the posthumous miracles of the blessed one are described; in the life of the full edition it is mentioned that “God glorified his life and miracles, and even more so after the death of unspeakable miracles for the sick, a healer, a consolation for the sad” (Life. p. 55). Later monuments dedicated to St. Basil strive for detail in the description of the life of the saint, the source of which is Moscow legends. Information about St. Basil is also contained in the “New Chronicler”, the Piskarevsky Chronicler, and a number of short Russian. chroniclers of the 17th–18th centuries, in the notes of J. Fletcher “On the Russian State.”

Part of Article V Vol. “ Orthodox Encyclopedia", M., 2002

Childhood and adolescence

According to many sources, Vasily was born in December 1468 from his father Jacob and mother Anna near Moscow in the village of Elokhov. Now this area is almost the center of Moscow. And in those ancient times, it seemed like a God-forsaken outskirts of Moscow. The village of Eloh has been known since the 14th century, since the time of Dmitry Donskoy. “Elokh”, “elokha”, according to Dahl’s dictionary, is an alder tree. There was probably once a dense alder forest growing here. In the old days, “alder” was also the name given to a wet, flooded place. Once upon a time, the Olkhovka River and the Olkhovets Creek flowed here, now taken into pipes. The interpretation of the name of the village is also supported by the fact that one of the streets near the Epiphany Cathedral is called Olkhovskaya.

Parents of St. St. Basil's Day Jacob and Anna pray for childbearing. The mark of the icon “St. Saint Basil in his life". XVII–XIX centuries (GIM)

Vasily's parents were peasants, simple and kind people. In the chronicles of the 17th century. That’s what it says: “Saint Basil was the son of simple parents.” According to the full life, it is known that Jacob and Anna asked for a child for themselves through prayers.

According to legend, Vasily was born on the porch of the Yelokhovsky Church near Moscow in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, where at that moment his mother fervently prayed to Our Lord. And he heard her and gave her a son, who later became a miracle worker.

In this example, we see that sincere prayer always helps. And, not only to people, but also to entire villages, but this will be discussed below.

There remains rather scant information about Vasily’s adolescence. It is only known that his parents raised him in piety. And he always listened to them and was an exemplary son. Of course, no one in the peasant family taught him to read and write. But he learned to honor the Lord from a young age. And he carried this veneration throughout his long and difficult life.

And only in one document (the so-called lists “The Life of St. Basil”, 19th century) was it possible to find the following words:

“When up to the age of the same age, it is usual for a youth to learn handicraft, without learning to read and write, but was given by his parents to shoemaking, and this craft is very good.”

Therefore, most often in the chronicles it is said that at the age of 16 Vasily was apprenticed to a Moscow shoemaker. He lived and worked in Kitai-Gorod, almost next to the Kremlin. It seemed that this was great luck for the peasant son. To get into the service of a master, as they would say today, is a “prestigious profession”! Moreover, he lived very close to the royal chambers! Isn't this a sign of fate's favor, promising prosperity?

St. Basil the Blessed says goodbye to his parents. Miniature from the life of St. Basil. Beginning XIX century (State Historical Museum. Music No. 32. L. 107 vol.)

But God’s providence and the bright soul of the youth Vasily did not strive for this. Not for prosperity, but piety. Not for worldly glory, but serving the truth And asceticism. And soon the young man’s miraculous abilities appeared before the world...

One day, a merchant came to the master who mentored Vasily and asked him to make boots for him. The master agreed. The merchant was young and rich. And he brought it on several barges to Moscow to sell bread. He was healthy in both appearance and body. In a loud voice that filled the entire workshop, the merchant ordered boots. And he especially insisted that they be strong. Yes, so strong that he could then wear them for a whole year. The youth Vasily just looked at the merchant, sighed, and said: “We will sew you boots such that you will not wear them out.” At the same time, tears began to drip from his eyes, as if he had seen something sad or mournful. The master was surprised by the behavior of his student, but promised the guest to make boots in two weeks, and the customer gave him a good deposit.

As soon as the merchant left, Vasily sighed heavily again, and then, wiping away his tears, he almost whispered: “And his money will be in vain...”. Then the master got angry and shouted: “Here, Vasya, they don’t take money in vain.” To which the apprentice burst into tears even more and said nothing in response. But his master did not calm down and began to pester the boy with perplexed questions. And only then did his student explain that the merchant would never put on these boots, since he would die very soon.

Of course, the shoemaker did not believe a single word of Vasily and began to make boots. When, two weeks later, he brought well-made boots to the customer directly to his barge, he immediately saw a large number of people who came to the funeral of the merchant who had suddenly died the day before. Then he immediately remembered the prophetic words of his student. And he was surprised and horrified.

From that very time, that shoemaker began to venerate Basil as Blessed.

He realized that his student was NOT an ordinary person.

Life in the Folly of Saint Basil

Soon after the incident with the merchant, Vasily already began the thorny feat of foolishness and blessedness. In the wild frost and terrible heat, he walked the streets of Moscow practically naked and barefoot. At the same time, he often committed actions that at first caused anger and misunderstanding of those around him.

So he deliberately knocked over a tray of rolls or deliberately spilled a jug of kvass. The merchants and their neighbors immediately beat Vasily, dragged him by the hair, cursing him with the last words for spoiled goods. But he just smiled and accepted any beatings with gratitude to God.

In general, Vasily was silent. And even if he did speak, people often did not understand him, his speeches were so strange. And only later, when he left, buyers and onlookers found out that the bread was baked from bad flour, and the kvass had a vile taste. At that moment, the spiritual and instructive meaning in the actions of the blessed one became clear to people. They understood that he was a denouncer of untruths and a man of God.

Foolishness for Christ's sake is one of the highest spiritual feats of Christianity. Hiding high spiritual ideals behind external madness is an incredibly difficult task. Even Elder Seraphim of Sarov did not bless anyone for this feat, mindful of human weakness. The true blessed are recognized by their way of life, by the inexplicable purity and holiness of their gaze penetrating into the heart, and especially by their inimitable speech.

Gradually, Vasily began to enjoy more and more attention and sincere veneration. Because foolishness, this Christian feat, has always been close to the Russian people, who in the old days understood and now understands that the main thing in it is not the renunciation of earthly goods, not self-abasement, not the grateful acceptance of insults, but the denunciation of human sins and vices. Because the holy fool absolutely does not care whether those around him understand or do not understand him. The main goal of any holy fool is not to turn away from sinners and with all his might to direct them to the true path.

St. Basil the Blessed in prayer. The mark of the icon “St. Saint Basil in his life". XVII–XIX centuries (GIM)

The moral meaning of foolishness is largely determined by three characteristic features inherent in this feat: a) ascetic trampling of vanity, taking the form of feigned madness or immorality for the purpose of “reproach from people”; b) identifying the contradiction between Christ’s truth and the moral law with the aim of “ridiculing the world”; c) serving the world with a kind of preaching, performed not in word or deed, but by the power of the Spirit, the spiritual power of the personality of the holy fool, endowed with the gift of prophecy. There is a vital contradiction between the first and third features of foolishness: the ascetic trampling of one’s own vanity is bought at the price of introducing one’s neighbor into temptation and the sin of condemnation, and even cruelty.

According to the publication: Ethics: Encyclopedic Dictionary / Ed. R. G. Apresyan, A. A. Guseinov. – M.: Gardariki, 2001. – P. 602–603.

Therefore, Blessed Basil even visited taverns. He saw the good in everyone. Moreover, in fallen people. Having become a saint during his lifetime, he strengthened such people with kind words and passionate prayers.

There was another case when, entering a tavern, the holy fool saw the following picture: a completely dejected drunkard, with shaking hands, handed the owner one copper coin and begged him to give him wine. The same one, agreeing and pouring wine for the drunkard, handed it to him with contempt, saying: “Here, take it, and to hell with you!” But the drunkard took the vessel only after he made the sign of the cross over himself and the wine. After which he smiled happily and walked to his corner. At this moment the Blessed One laughed loudly and encouraged the fallen man. And to the perplexed questions of those around him, he answered this way: when the innkeeper said to the drunkard “to hell with you” and handed him wine, a demon entered into him; when the drunkard made the sign of the cross over himself and the wine, the demon immediately jumped out of the vessel and took to his heels as if scalded.

Chronicles say that, passing by houses where crazy drinking sessions were taking place, Vasily, shedding tears, hugged and kissed their corners. Thus, he wanted to beg the mournful angels, lamenting over human vices, to pray for the conversion of sinners to God.

These and many other similar cases described in the chronicles show how miraculous turning to Christ for the sake of the holy fool Vasily turns out to be, when a person asks to give him strength for repentance and humility. In our time, when the vanity of the world often turns a person away from the church, the hour comes when the realization of the need for spiritual purity comes. And then people go to the temple, but the path of repentance is long, the feat of repentance is difficult. St. Basil the Blessed can help everyone with this.

Thank you for Christ's sake to the holy fool Basil, the Moscow wonderworker! May he be blessed now and forever! He saved my child, my beloved son, from cruel death. He was only eighteen years old when he became addicted to bad company and began to drink like a longshoreman. No matter what I did, no matter how I kept her at home, no matter how I exhorted her, nothing helped. And while drunk, he somehow fell into a snowdrift, and would have frozen, but a good man walked by, a priest, who served in the church at an angle. And he brought the mago to his son warmly, placed it in front of the icons and began to wait for him to wake up. I don’t know what they had there, but the next morning my little son came, my dear, threw himself at my feet with repentance, and admitted that the demon had misled him. He took a small icon out of his pocket and told me that Father Theophan, who serves in the church next door, ordered me to pray for this icon every day. And so it happened. My son, Vasily, began to pray every day, broke up with his company, and stopped drinking. And soon he joined the army. And when he returned, he went and studied to be an engineer in Moscow itself. Now he builds bridges all over the country, doesn’t take bitter things into his mouth and always helps me, sends letters and money, and every summer he comes home to his native village, with his wife Olga. And he always has that icon with him to this day. Only many years later did I find out that on that icon was St. Basil, the Fool for Christ’s sake. It was he who saved his son from trouble and taught him to live with dignity. Blessed Basil, pray to God for us!

Anastasia Petrovna Pakhova, Koltsy village

Ikos 10

The Lord God constantly in vain with your mind, you did not give sleep to your eyes, nor slumber everywhere, remaining in the prayer of the church night. People, seeing your zeal for God, cry out to you: Rejoice, you who amaze our minds with the height of your humility, who touch our hearts with the depth of humility; Rejoice, you who created your soul as a temple of the Holy Spirit and blocked the entrance to your soul with passion. Rejoice, patient bearer of the Lord’s cross, seeking it with all your heart; Rejoice, you who loved the yoke of the Lord as if it were good, joyfully lifting up its light burden. Rejoice, most blessed Vasily, holy fool of God, Moscow miracle worker.

Compassion for the Humble

Preaching mercy, St. Basil had compassion first of all for those who were ashamed to ask for alms, although they really needed it. Several chronicles describe a case when he simply gave rich royal gifts to a foreign merchant, who suddenly became a beggar.

The merchant did not eat anything for three days. But he didn’t beg anyone and didn’t turn to anyone for help. The Tsar, Ivan the Terrible, having a desire to test the saint with gold, literally begged him to dress in rich clothes and accept gold from him. And he himself ordered the servants to keep an eye on the holy fool. Vasily, leaving the palace, immediately went to the Execution Place, where he gave all this wealth to a foreign merchant. This was immediately reported to the king. Ivan the Terrible was terribly surprised and urgently called the Blessed One to him. When he arrived, he asked him where he had put the gold. “I gave it to Christ,” was the answer. When the king asked why the holy fool gave the gold not to the beggars, but to the merchant, Vasily said that the foreign merchant was very rich, having many ships under his command, but they all sank suddenly, and the foreigner was left without everything. But he did not complain to everyone with his sorrows and behaved like a Christian, humbly, ashamed to ask for alms. Because of this, the merchant had not eaten anything for three days, and was close to fainting from hunger. That is why the Blessed One helped him. As for the beggars who wander around the city and do not hesitate to ask for bread, they will always be fed. And without any of his participation. The king marveled at such speeches. But he admitted that the holy fool was right and let him go in peace.

Vasily did not have his own house, or any other dwelling. The church most often served as his refuge. Usually the Blessed One spent the night on the church porch. There he mourned and prayed for human sins. He often retired to one of the towers of Kitay-Gorod, which was located on the banks of the Moscow River, near the mouth of the Yauza.

True, sometimes he asked for shelter from a boyar widow, Stefanida Yurlova, who lived on Kulishki behind the Varvarsky Gates, near the Ivanovo Monastery in the White City.

Now there is the Church of All Saints, built in the 17th century in honor of the Russian soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo Field.

Church of All Saints on Kulishki

This temple is now located on Slavyanskaya Square in Moscow, in Zaryadye, not far from Kitay-Gorod. And in the time of St. Basil the Blessed, there was another church on this site. The original foundation of the temple here is associated with the development and settlement of this area near the Moscow suburb. At that time it was a wild, marshy area, the name of which, apparently, was given by the waders nesting here. The expression “in the middle of nowhere” as a synonym for “far, far away, in the wilderness, on the edge of the earth” came from this very place, which was then on the outskirts of Moscow, although now it is the historical center of the capital.

In the chronicles of 1365 we find that the first wooden church on this site was built at a time when Dmitry Donskoy was still a youth. Then, after several fires, construction of a temple began on the site of this church to perpetuate the memory of the soldiers who died on September 8, 1380 at the Battle of the Don. Subsequently, the church was rebuilt twice more in stone in 1488 and then again in the Moscow Baroque style in 1687–1689. Between these two perestroikas there was that stone church that gave shelter to the holy fool Vasily for the sake of Christ.

The Life says that the blessed one, leading a harsh life, eating very little food and water, “having neither a den nor a stable, remained bloodless (without shelter)” (Life. p. 45).

Vasily's mind was invariably imbued with thoughts of God, and in prayers he had constant conversations with Him. He could walk the streets all day long in silence, without speaking to anyone, and without answering questions, sometimes very offensive ones. In his service, he exhausted himself with hunger and thirst. All year round Vasily remained barefoot and naked, for his flesh was warmed by the grace of God, which was stronger than both the summer heat and winter frosts. And enlightenment came to him, and the Lord helped him to endure all hardships, gave him strength to sympathize and help the humble.

In the descriptions of St. Basil's lifetime miracles, his nakedness is associated with the miracle of the saint's healing of merchant women who laughed at his appearance and were punished with blindness for this. Having repented, they were healed through St. Basil.

Since then and to this day, thousands and thousands of people, experiencing problems with their eyes, turn to the Moscow miracle worker St. Basil the Blessed, and it helps them because that appeal is sincere.

You never know where you will find it or where you will lose it. She didn’t have any problems with her eyes until she was forty, and she was as keen as a falcon; all her friends were jealous. They said: “You, Ksyusha, are somehow under a spell. You’ll probably walk around without glasses until you’re old.” So they probably jinxed me... literally overnight I became hooked on hypermetropia, farsightedness in our opinion. Not only did I have trouble seeing up close, but I also had terrible distance vision. I could hardly read at all. A burning sensation immediately appeared in the eyes. My head started to hurt. I got tired quickly. But for me, not reading is a disaster. I have loved reading since childhood. My husband and I have a huge library at home, and we are regulars at all book exhibitions in St. Petersburg. In general, I just fell into despair.

It’s good that at that moment I accidentally met an old school friend, Svetlana. I learned that she had left worldly life and devoted herself to serving our Lord. It was she who advised me to go to church, buy an icon and pray to St. Basil. And you know, it helped! In any case, I can now read calmly. And no more headaches or burning eyes bother you! Just a miracle happened. Now every evening I pray to the great savior, the wonderworker Vasily...

Ksenia, Leningrad region

Even at school my eyes gave out. It was a shame to wear glasses, because my classmates would laugh, and I almost couldn’t see what the teacher wrote on the blackboard. And then we went to the village in the summer, to my great-grandmother Euphrosyne. She's quite old and doesn't wear glasses. And she saw me watching the ducks in the pond, squinting. She didn’t say a word, but the next morning she took me by the hand and led me to a small church that had recently been built here. She took us inside, and she and I listened to the sermon of the local priest Vasily. And then she brought me to him and asked me to help. He ordered me to take a small image of a completely naked man. I was so amazed while looking at it that I didn’t even hear what they were talking about with their great-grandmother. And at home she told me that the picture depicts St. Basil, whose temple I saw last year in Moscow - a beautiful, painted cathedral, right next to Red Square. How is it possible that the picture shows a completely naked saint, but the temple is so rich? And great-grandmother Efrosinia told me that he helped many people regain their sight. I didn't believe her. And then I thought that, probably, that cathedral was so beautiful because St. Basil restored people’s sight and made them rejoice in the beauty of life. There were many such thoughts, I can’t remember them all now. But one evening, before going to bed, I took it and prayed, looking at the picture. During the day I was busy all the time, either weeding, haymaking, or walking around the neighborhood with local kids. But in the evening, before going to bed, I began to pray to Vasily every day. And when I returned from vacation and came to school, it turned out that even from the last desk I could see everything that was written on the board. And the signatures on the portraits that are hung on the walls, but I haven’t seen them before, even when there were no problems with my eyes. And in the chemistry classroom I saw that on the periodic table not only letters, but also small numbers are indicated... The next summer I went to my great-grandmother again. And he went into that church. I asked Father Vasily to baptize me. That summer we talked about a lot of things, not only about faith and the church, but also about life in general... 15 years have passed since then, I graduated from college, opened my own company, there was a lot of work to do. And I am still grateful to the two Vasilys, they changed my life and made me a successful person.

Denis, grateful believer, Ryazan

Kontakion 11

The all-congratulatory singing to you, all-blessed, bringing, we cry: just as you worked miracles in ancient times, you healed the weakened, you gave sight to the blind, so now heal our souls, weakened by sins and blinded by lusts, and let us cry out to God: Alleluia.

Severity towards selfishness and love for one's neighbor

Day after day passed for Vasily, and he still fervently prayed and acted like a fool for Christ’s sake, revealing to people the untruths of the world around him. The saint never tired of reproaching them for their weaknesses and vices, but only in order to direct those he met on the true path. On the path of good deeds. His words were always imbued with love for others. And people believed him. For they saw: this love comes from God.

But St. Basil was harsh with those who gave alms not out of compassion for poverty and misfortune, but in the selfish hope of attracting God’s blessing to themselves and their deeds. In this the holy fool clearly saw the devilish temptation to which this man succumbed. This is how one such case is described in The Life of St. Basil.

The saint walked past the Prechistensky Gate in Moscow and saw a demon sitting near it, taking the form of a beggar. He asked those passing by for alms and promised to help anyone who would give it to him. So he tempted many people. And many gave him mercy. And the demon pretended that he immediately prayed for everyone who gave to him, so that success would come to them in their deeds. Vasily immediately realized the craftiness of such an act, and loudly shouted at the givers, calling them self-interested. After which he expelled the demon from his home. The “beggar” rushed towards the Kremlin, trying to hide among the numerous royal chambers. But even there the holy fool overtook him and drove him out of the city in disgrace.

It happened that St. Basil also punished people for selfish deceit. Especially when they pretended to be unhappy and orphaned for this. So one day he dealt harshly with the atheists who tried to take possession of his fur coat by deception.

That fur coat came to the holy fool in the fierce winter from one compassionate boyar. He began to persuade the holy fool to accept a fur coat as a gift, so that he would not freeze to death. Vasily asked the boyar several times whether he was honest in his wishes. But every time the compassionate person crossed himself and swore: “I love you with my sincere heart, accept you as a sign of my love!” The blessed one smiled brightly and with the words: “So be it, and I love you,” he took the fur coat.

It was this expensive fur coat that the thieves noticed on Vasily as soon as he left the boyar’s courtyard. Then they conspired, and one of them lay down on the road, pretending to be dead. Others ran up to the holy fool and began to ask him to donate at least something for the burial of the deceased.

The saint immediately realized the enormity of this deception. Sincerely indignant at this, with a suffering heart, the Blessed One sighed mournfully and looked carefully at the evil ones. But they did not understand his gaze and continued to sob artificially over the “dead”. Then the holy fool took off his fur coat and covered the imaginary dead man with it. At the same time, he said, looking straight into the eyes of the thieves: “May you be truly dead from now on, since, without fearing God, you wanted to accept alms by deception.”

Then, with sadness, he once again looked around at the selfish sinners, and went his way, shedding tears. The deceivers made fun of Vasily’s innocence for a long time. They were glad that they were able to get an expensive fur coat so easily. But what was their confusion and horror when, lifting their fur coat, they saw that their comrade was really dead!

After this incident, thieves were afraid to trade in the center of the capital for a long time...

Holy Lands of Russian

The first of the holy fools who was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church was Procopius-Ustyuzhanin, who with his prayers averted hometown terrible thunderstorm. In the 13th century, a German merchant arrived in Novgorod, marveled at the beauty of the churches, and stayed here, taking the name Procopius. And grace touched his heart. Then he converted to Orthodoxy, distributed all his property and began his path of foolishness, renouncing worldly life. Having left the Novgorod monastery, he set off on a journey across Rus'. Having reached Ustyug, he chose for his residence a corner of the porch of the huge high cathedral church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, cut down from wood. Here he began to stay summer and winter, without missing a single church service, spent his nights in prayer, and during the day he played the fool on the streets of the city. Once, during a service in the cathedral, he addressed the parishioners: “The wrath of God is approaching, repent, brothers, of your sins, appease God with fasting and prayer, otherwise the city will perish from a hail of fire.” The people of Ustyug did not pay any attention to the words of the righteous man. And he cried, prayed and persuaded the people to repent for a whole week. And suddenly a black cloud appeared in the sky, and people remembered the words of Procopius, and rushed to the temples with prayers. And Procopius himself prayed before the icon of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. Because of his fervent prayer, myrrh suddenly flowed from the icon in streams and a fragrance spread throughout the temple. And at the same moment, the thunder and lightning subsided, the dark cloud dissipated. And later people learned that 20 miles from Usyug that day, hot stones fell to the ground in a hail, breaking and burning the forest. And so much ointment flowed from the icon that they filled church vessels with it and everyone who touched it was healed of their illnesses. Procopius performed many miracles during his lifetime, and after his death, people are healed and miracles are performed at his grave to this day. The Moscow Council of 1547 canonized the righteous Procopius and established his memory on July 8/21.

Saint and King

Vasily was not afraid, not only of thieves, but also of the reigning persons. Once he directly reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible himself for the fact that during the divine service he was not thinking about our Lord and the salvation of his soul, but about worldly affairs.

It happened during one of the Orthodox holidays. There was a big one church service in the Kremlin. During it, St. Basil noticed that the king was far in his thoughts from the words of prayer. And then he realized that Ivan the Terrible was now thinking about building his new palace on the Sparrow Hills.

Immediately after the service, the holy fool approached the king, who came out of the temple, and asked him how he liked her. He became embarrassed and avoided a direct answer. But he himself asked: “Where have you been, Vasily? “For some reason I didn’t see you in the temple today.” The blessed one just smiled and said: “And I saw you. Only you were not in the temple, but on the Sparrow Hills, where you want to build a palace for yourself.” The king became even more embarrassed and did not answer the saint.

In addition to this incident, various chronicles mention more than once that Vasily very often reproached Ivan the Terrible for his sinful deeds. Moreover, not only the people spoke about this, but also overseas diplomats and traders. And the king took his words for granted. And I never got angry with the holy fool.

The first Tsar of All Rus' Ivan the Terrible (1530–1584)

Ivan IV, John (Ivan) Vasilyevich, Ivan the Great, Ivan the Terrible - this is how the Grand Duke and the first Tsar of All Rus' were called in his life and after death.

His father Grand Duke Vasily III (1479–1533), came from the dynasty of a cunning and cruel ruler, Prince of Novgorod, Vladimir and Moscow Ivan Kalita (1288–1340), who received his nickname “Kalita” for his countless wealth, acquired both by righteous and unrighteous means. Ivan's mother, Elena Glinskaya, came from the Lithuanian princes Glinsky, who descended from Mamai.

Vasily III died, leaving the throne to his youngest son Ivan, when he was only 3 years old.

Ivan IV himself, already in his youth, showed a desire for power and at the age of 16 expressed the desire to marry into the kingdom “following the example of his ancestors,” the Byzantine kings, and already 5 weeks later, on January 16, 1547, this wedding took place. Before this, there were no kings in Rus', but only princes and great princes. The tsars ruled Russia from then on until Peter I the Great, who in 1721 took the title “emperor”, which lasted until 1917.

During his long reign, Ivan the Terrible carried out by force many reforms aimed at centralizing state power, developed and strengthened the army, replaced the Elected Rada with the oprichnina (1565–1572) - state terror and a system of emergency measures, during which thousands of “displeasing to the tsar” were executed. , and canceled only because its fighters, accustomed mainly to just robbing the population and destroying monks, did not want to go to war. Where the guardsmen passed, there was complete desolation, the people were dying of hunger, and the boyars who managed to escape fled to the ends of the earth. And although the oprichnina was a mistake, which Ivan the Terrible himself admitted, it laid the foundations of autocracy - the unlimited power of the tsar.

The formidable king knew no mercy for anyone - neither near nor far, nor princes, nor commoners, nor priests, nor holy people, nor even his son, Ivan Ivanovich (1554–1581), whom he killed personally.

All the more surprising is his trust, which he always showed to the holy fool Basil the Blessed, whom he obeyed and revered so much that he even meekly carried the elder’s bed when he died.

Vision and Foresight

St. Basil has always been famous for the fact that he saw everything and foresaw much. And not only in Moscow itself, but throughout Rus'. His spiritual purity did not allow him to pass by the troubles that he foresaw.

But the crowned autocrat Ivan the Terrible was especially impressed by an incident that occurred during one of his name days.

At the beginning of the summer of 1521, Vasily constantly prayed for the salvation of Moscow from the Tatar invasion. Day after day passed, week after week, and now the Crimean Khan Muhammad-Girey really approached the walls of the Russian capital and stood in the field. His troops stopped 60 km south of Moscow, but soon fled back with a huge “full force”, having learned about the approach of Russian armies. And so it turned out that he did not take the city, but went back to the steppe. Muscovites considered this miracle to be the result of the intercession of St. Basil the Blessed.

Troparion to St. Basil, the Fool for Christ's sake

Your life, Vasily, is not false and your purity is undefiled, for the sake of Christ you exhausted your body with fasting and vigil, and frost and the warmth of the sun, and the sun and the rain cloud, and your face was illuminated like the sun: and now the Russian people and all people come to you , glorifying your holy Dormition. Therefore, pray to Christ God to deliver us from barbaric captivity and internecine warfare and grant us peace and great mercy to our souls.

The holy fool is not afraid to tell the truth even to the Tsar himself. And even more than that, he denounces the king more often and more severely, because the king’s crimes are both more noticeable and more terrible in their consequences. Here are the testimonies and memories of foreign travelers: “The Russian people especially honor holy fools... They, like lampoons, point out the shortcomings of the nobles and the sovereign, which if anyone else spoke about, they would immediately expose themselves to mortal danger.” Fools act as denouncers of arbitrariness, violence and greed of unjust power. In the 16th century in Rus', denunciation of kings and the mighty of the world became an integral part of foolishness. The same century also gave birth to one of the most revered Moscow holy fools - St. Basil the Blessed.

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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 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 instilled in Vasily respect and reverence for the Almighty. When the boy grew up, his parents, wishing their son a good life, 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 the Blessed did not agree for a long time, but so as not to offend kind person, 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 shrine decorated with precious stones was placed over the burial place for the relics, 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.