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Not only autumn served as the beginning of the year, but also spring. The Jewish month of Aviv or Nisan, corresponding to March, served for the Jews as the beginning of the holy year from the time of their exit from Egypt (Exodus 12:2), in memory of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery; and for Christians, it recalls the creation and redemption of the world by the Son of God, and, therefore, serves as the beginning of God's great benefits for the people of God and all mankind. The events of the creation of the world, the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God, by which He sealed the redemption of the world, are believed by the writers of the Church to be in March. “This first is the month of months,” says the Followed Psalter on the first day of March, “before in it was the beginning of this visible light created. In this month, God, the constant presence of the throne of His Majesty, descended from heaven to earth, like rain on the fleece, with the Archangel's Annunciation, in the most pure womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, from the Holy Spirit the source of His flesh is incomprehensible. In this month, by His free passion, His fleshly oath was taken, His death was put to death, and by His life-giving resurrection from the dead, Adam and the entire human race were raised from hell and brought back into primeval existence. For this reason, from the first day of March all the solar and lunar circles begin, and the sun, the leap year, and the equinox are formed in it,” and so on. On the new moon of the holy year among the Jews, as well as on other new moons, work was not prohibited, but pious people themselves stopped it and hastened to make sacrifices (1 Kings 20:5, 24-27), and visited the prophets for pious interviews (2 Kings 4:23). Subsequently, the first spring month - March, from which the Jews began a new sacred or church year, was accepted as the beginning of the year by the Romans and remained with them until the year 45 before Christ. From the Romans, the conquerors of the world and the first correctors of chronology, the division of the year into 12 months and their name passed little by little to other nations. The shift of the beginning of the year from March to January in Christian lands was especially facilitated by the introduction, in 531, of a new calendar from the Nativity of Christ, which was before January, by Dionysius the Small, a Roman monk, a Scythian by birth. In our country, January has been accepted as the beginning of the year since the 18th century. But before we had a new year on the 1st day of March, and then from 1425 or even earlier the new year began to come into use on the 1st day of September. In 1492, a council convened in Moscow, chaired by Metropolitan Zosima, having set the church Easter for the eighth millennium from the creation of the world, decided, with the consent of Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, to postpone the beginning of the civil year from March 1 to September 1. Thus, the circle of the civil year in 1492 in our fatherland was combined with the church year. In 1674, the petition for the annals and glorification of the Savior was compiled again. Peter the Great, having adopted the calendar from the Nativity of Christ, ordered the civil year in his empire to begin on January 1, and the year 1700, the first to begin in January, was celebrated throughout Russia with excellent celebration. However, following the chronology from the Nativity of Christ, our Church and Fatherland keep the chronology from the creation of the world and, on church books and other documents, they mean the year from the creation of the world and from the birth according to the flesh of God the Word. Time reckoning, which began with the ancient Romans, was corrected twice over the course of time. The first time it was corrected was 45 years BC. under Julius Caesar, with the help of Sosigenes, the famous Alexandrian astronomer; With this correction, the beginning of the year for the Romans was moved from the 1st day of March to the first of January. The time calculation was corrected for the second time in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII. The one adopted by Julius is called the Old Style Julian Time Reckoning; and introduced by Gregory - the Gregorian time reckoning of the new style, from which the old one is now 12 days behind. Our Church and fatherland use the old style, so that we do not have to celebrate Easter together with the Jews, as happens in the West, contrary to the decrees of the councils, and in other lands of the West they follow the new one, which, even in its correction, is faulty and erroneous. On New Year's Day - January 1, the Church, with kneeling and solemn ringing, thanks the Lord for the blessings poured out on us over the past summer, and asks Him to bless the coming year. “Sovereign Lord our God, Source of life and immortality, all creatures visible and invisible to the Creator, and He has placed all things in His power and governed all things by Your wise and all-good Providence! We give thanks for Your mercies, which have surprised us in the past time. We pray to You: bless the crown of the coming summer, preserve the Emperor, the House and all His people with Your goodness, multiply their days in unshakable health and grant them success in all virtues.” Concluding thanksgiving and petitions, the Church prays to the Lord for the longevity of the Most Pious Sovereign, Empress and other persons of the Royal House. Beginning the New Year with prayer, the Church denounces those who, forgetting this sacred duty, begin the New Year not in the spirit of Christian piety, but in ancient pagan superstition. The accusatory voice of the Church of St. Chrysostom expresses it perfectly in his word for the New Year. “The devilish revelry,” he says, “continuing all night today, laughter, riots, night dancing and seductive jokes have now taken our city into captivity, which is more painful than any enemy. What saddens me most is the games taking place today in hotels, filled with debauchery and wickedness; - wickedness, because those who engage in them notice the days in their own way, guess and think that if they manage to spend the first day of the year in pleasure and fun, then the whole year will be exactly the same; debauchery, because at dawn men and women fill their glasses with wine and get drunk beyond measure. If you want to benefit from the new year, then at the beginning of it, thank your Lord for introducing you into this cycle of years, be contrite in your heart, count the time of a new life and say to yourself: days flow and go; the years are ending; We have already completed most of our journey, but what good have we done? Are we really going to leave here without everything, without any virtue! Guessing by day is incompatible with Christian wisdom; this is a matter of Hellenic error. You have been assigned to the highest city, accepted into the local citizenship, entered into the society of Angels, where there is no light changing into darkness, no day ending in night, but always day, always light.” Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord Circumcision is a sacred rite of the Old Testament Church, which was the prototype of the Christian sacrament of St. Baptism (Col. 2:11–12) was performed by the Jews on seven-day-old male infants and served as a sign of entry into the Old Testament with God since the time of Abraham, the father of the believers, whom the Lord, with all his numerous descendants, chose to preserve and spread the Old Testament (Gen. 17:14; Lev. 12:2–3). The seal of this sign was the name given to the baby at circumcision. Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh from the tribe of Abraham, was also circumcised on this day, the eighth after His birth, and called Jesus, the name that was foretold by the Most Holy One. The Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel, when he preached to Her the mystery of the incarnation and birth from Her of the Son of God (Luke 1:31, 2:21). In remembrance of the Circumcision of the Lord, on the eighth day after His birth from the Most Holy. Virgin Mary, right. The Church has been celebrating a great holiday since ancient times. Its beginning dates back to the first centuries of Christianity. Many words of St. have reached us. Fathers of the Church of the 4th century, spoken by them on this holiday. These are the teachings of St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ambrose of Milan and others. In the 6th century, with the celebration of the Circumcision of the Lord, as can be seen from the words of Amphilochius of Iconium on the day of the Circumcision, the celebration of St. Basil the Great. From the 5th century, a conversation of Maximus, Bishop of Taurus (Turin) has been preserved to us on the day of the Circumcision. In the 5th century the day of the Circumcision of the Lord is mentioned by St. Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome. In the 5th century, Stefan Savvait wrote a canon for the Circumcision of the Lord, which is still sung by the Church on the day of this event. The day of the Circumcision and naming of the Lord, as the eighth day of His birth on earth, serves as the conclusion of the feast of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, the ancient Fathers of the Church, St. Amphilochius of Iconium, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory the Great in their writings call the day of Circumcision the eighth day after the Nativity of Christ. Memory of St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was born around 329 AD. in Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia, from pious, noble, famous and wealthy parents - Basil, originally from Pontus, and Emilia. “Vasily was sanctified to God,” says Gregory the Theologian, “from infancy, from his mother’s womb.” He spent the first years of his childhood under the supervision and guidance of his pious grandmother, St. Macrina, a native of Neocaesarea, and his pious parents and raised by them in faith, piety and other sciences. “I was raised,” Vasily writes about himself, “by my grandmother, my blessed wife. I’m talking about the famous Macrina, from whom I learned the sayings of Blessed Gregory, preserved before her by succession of memory, which she herself observed and imprinted on me from an early age, forming me with the teachings of piety. The concept of God, which I acquired from childhood from my blessed mother and grandmother, grew in me with the opening of my mind.” “The first age of Vasiliev,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, peer, friend and associate of St. Basil, under the guidance of the great father, in whose person Pontus had a common mentor of virtue, was swaddled and formed into the best and purest creature. Under this guidance, the wonderful Vasily learns deeds and words, which grow in him together and contribute to one another. And how beneficial it was for Vasily that he had a model of virtue at home, which, looking at, soon became perfect When he had acquired enough knowledge at home, and meanwhile it was necessary that nothing good should escape him, and that he should in no way lag behind the industrious bee, which collects the most useful things from every flower, he hurries to Caesarea to enter the local school. Here he met St. Gregory Nazianzen, who, like him, sought enlightenment in Caesarea. “In a short time, Vasily gained fame among everyone - both common people and nobles, showing knowledge beyond his years, and even more so - sedateness and constancy. He was a rhetorician among rhetoricians, a philosopher among philosophers, and, most importantly, a priest among Christians before accepting the priesthood. Vasily’s main occupation was philosophy, that is, renunciation from the world, abiding in God, striving through earthly advantages and through the transitory and perishable to acquire the incorruptible and eternal. From Caesarea, by God Himself and a wonderful thirst for knowledge, Vasily was brought to Byzantium - a city that was preeminent in the east, because it was famous for the best orators and philosophers, from whom, with his natural sharpness and talent, in a short time Vasily collected everything that was excellent; - from Byzantium to Athens, the abode of sciences, where they expected him with vast and great hopes, because his name was repeated in the mouths of many even before his arrival. Then I not only accepted my Great Vasily with respect, because I saw in him firmness of character and maturity in concepts, but in this way I convinced other young people who could not yet know him to treat him; He was respected by many from the very beginning, according to preliminary rumors. What was the consequence of this? He was almost one of the newcomers who escaped the general custom for young students newly entering society and was given special honor as a newcomer. And that was the beginning of our friendship; hence the first spark of our union; We became everything to each other - comrades, table mates, and relatives. Having one goal, we continually grew in ardent love for each other; it seemed that in both of us there was one exercise - virtue, and one effort - to strive from earthly things, to live for future benefits. We also made friends with comrades, but not with the arrogant, but with the chaste, not with the perky, but with the peace-loving. We knew two roads: one, the first and most excellent, led to our sacred churches and to the mentors there; the other, the second and of unequal dignity with the first, led to teachers of external sciences. We have provided other routes to spectacles, public gatherings, feasts for those who wish.” “In what kind of sciences did Vasily not succeed in abundance, as if he was engaged in one science? He studied everything, just as someone else doesn’t study even one subject; He studied every science to such perfection, as if he had never studied anything else. Who can compare with him in rhetoric, breathing with the power of fire, although he was not like the rhetoricians in morals? Who, like him, puts grammar or language into proper rules, connects history, masters the measures of verse, gives laws to poetry? Who was so strong in philosophy - in philosophy that is truly sublime and extends to the heavenly, that is, in active and speculative, as well as in that part of it called dialectics? Having studied so much of astronomy, geometry and the science of the relationship of numbers that those skilled in this could not confuse him, he rejected everything superfluous, as useless for those wishing to live piously. Medical science was made necessary for him both by his own bodily ailments and by caring for the sick. However, all this, no matter how important, does it mean anything in comparison with Vasily’s moral education? To such an extent Vasily acquired all this! It was a ship loaded with as much knowledge as is possible for human nature.” Vasily combined purity of faith with a high education in the sciences. “I dare to boast about the Lord,” he writes about himself, “on the one thing that I never held sinful opinions about God and did not subsequently change the thoughts that I had before; but the concept of God, which I acquired from childhood from my blessed mother and grandmother Macrina, grew in me.” At the end of his studies, Vasily, as the most excellent and educated person, about whose merits rumors spread throughout Greece, was offered the positions of lawyer and teacher, but he refused and returned to Caesarea in Cappadocia; the wisdom that he comprehended for about 15 years, without satisfying his great soul, aroused in him only a strong thirst for the highest wisdom, solitude and exploits, to which his elder sister, the pious virgin Macrina, was much disposed. So he wrote, among other things, about the fruits of his education and his desire to withdraw from the world: “I spent a lot of time on vanity and lost almost all of my youth in vain labor, with which I practiced in understanding the lessons of the wisdom received from God. Finally, as if awakening from a deep sleep, I looked at the wonderful light of the truth of the Gospel and saw the vanity of the wisdom of the princes of this age, who are passing away (1 Cor. 2:6). Then, having mourned my pitiful life, I wanted to gain for myself a guide to the knowledge of the truth. First of all, I tried to somehow correct my character, which had been damaged by my long-term treatment of wicked people. Reading the Gospel and learning from it that selling property and distributing it to the poor brethren, not caring at all about this life and turning one’s soul away from any attachment to earthly objects is the most reliable way to improve oneself, I desired to find some brother who had chosen the indicated path on earth in order to swim with him across the deep sea of ​​life. And indeed I found (about 357) many such brethren in Alexandria and in the rest of Egypt, also in Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia; I was amazed at their abstinence in food, patience in work, amazed at their unremitting constancy in prayers and how they overcame sleep and were not themselves overcome by any natural necessity, always remaining firm - in hunger and thirst, in winter and nakedness (2 Cor. 11:27), - not caring about the body and not allowing themselves to take any care of it, but as if living in someone else's body, they actually showed what it means to live among the objects of real life and live together in heaven. Amazed by this blessed life of men who by their deeds show that they bear the death of the Lord Jesus in their body (2 Cor. 4:10), I myself wanted, as much as possible for me, to imitate them.” Satisfied with the spectacle of pious deeds and enriched with high examples of piety and virtue, Basil received St. baptism in Jerusalem and decided to devote himself to the strictest pious solitude to correct and protect his spirit and heart from dispersion. But God's providence, preparing Vasily to become a great shepherd of the Church, raises him up gradually, slowly. An interpreter of sacred books, Vasily first reads them to the people, and he does not consider this degree of service to the altar (reader in the Church of Caesarea) to be low for himself; then in the seat of the elder (presbyters), then in the rank of bishops he praises the Lord (Ps. 106:32). But before being elevated to the priesthood, “Basily retires to Pontus and presides over the monasteries there.” In the Pontic desert, Vasily retired to the Iris River, to the place where his mother and sister had retired before him, and which belonged to them. Macrina built a monastery here. Near it, at the foot of a high mountain, covered with dense forest and irrigated by cold and clear waters, Vasily settled. The desert was so pleasant to Vasily with its imperturbable silence that he intended to end his days here. Here he imitated the exploits of those great men whom he saw in Syria and Egypt. He labored in extreme deprivation, having only clothes to cover himself - a sorrel and a mantle; He also wore a hair shirt, but only at night, so that it would not be visible; He ate bread and water, seasoning this meager food with salt and roots. From strict abstinence he became so pale and skinny that he seemed lifeless. I never went to the bathhouse or lit a fire. But Vasily did not live for himself alone: ​​he gathered the monks into a hostel; with his letters he attracted his friend Gregory to his desert. In their solitude, Vasily and Gregory did everything together; prayed together; both abandoned reading worldly books, on which they previously spent a lot of time, in order to solely study the Holy Spirit. Scripture. Wanting to study it better, they read ancient interpreters, especially Origen, from whose writings they compiled an explanation of some passages of St. Scripture known as the Philokalia (Philocales). They wrote the regulations for the monastic community, which for the most part guide the monks of the Eastern Church. In relation to physical life, Vasily and Gregory found pleasure in patience; They worked with their own hands, carrying firewood, cutting stones, planting and watering trees, carrying manure, carrying heavy loads, so that calluses remained on their hands for a long time. Their dwelling had neither roof nor gate; there was no fire or smoke visible there. The bread they ate was so dry and poorly baked that their teeth could barely take it. But the monk’s two friends labored together in the desert for a short time. They were called to help by the Church, overwhelmed by the Arians, during the reign of Constantius (337–361). Basil returned to Caesarea. In 362 he was ordained deacon by Meletius of Antioch, and in this rank he was present at the council in Constantinople. Soon Vasily was ordained to the rank of presbyter, against his own wishes, by Eusebius of Caesarea. “God’s manifold love for mankind and consideration of our race,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, - having experienced Basil in many circumstances encountered in the meantime and showing him more and more brightly, makes him a famous and glorious lamp of the Church, for now ranking him among the sacred thrones of the presbytery, and after one city - Caesarea he kindles him for the whole universe. But seeing that everyone extremely revered and praised Basil for his wisdom and holiness, Eusebius, due to human weakness, became carried away by jealousy towards him and began to show his displeasure towards him. Therefore, Vasily, together with Gregory, again withdrew into his desert. Protecting his brethren (monks) in Pontus from the infection of wickedness, Basil, in an extensive letter, set out the true teaching of the faith about the Son of God. In Pontus, he extracted from Scripture the moral rules necessary for every Christian, and especially for shepherds. When explaining the Holy Scriptures, St. Vasily compared different lists and translations of it; made use of history and tradition; referred to the teachings of the ancient Church Fathers and other interpreters. During the reign of Julian the Apostate (361–363), Basil assured that his plans would soon be destroyed. Around this time he wrote five books against Eunomius. Basil was again summoned from the desert for the benefit of the Church by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, whom St. Gregory reconciled with Basil and convinced his associate to return to the Russian Church, around 364. “Although Basil’s hermitage was wise and wonderful,” says St. Gregory - but his return is even more excellent and wonderful. While we were practicing in the desert, suddenly a hail cloud arose, threatening destruction, and struck all the Churches over which the gold-loving king Valens (365-378), infected with Arianism, had broken out and extended his power. A great struggle lay ahead: what would this courageous, high-minded and truly Christ-loving soul do? It took a little convincing for Vasily to appear and become a champion.” At the invitation of Eusebius to help the Church, overwhelmed by the Arians, “he immediately sets out from Pontus, is zealous for the truth, which was in danger, becomes a voluntary supporter and betrays himself to the service of the Church. For some, he is a solid wall and stronghold, for others he is a hammer that erases stone (Jer. 23:29) and fire among thorns (Ps. 117:12); for the primate he was a good adviser, a truthful representative, an interpreter of God's word, a rod of old age, a support of faith, the most faithful in internal affairs, the most active in external affairs. From that time on, the church government passed to Vasily, although he occupied second place in the department.” One of his most important activities at this time was preaching the word of God. The saint spoke his teachings without preparation; He preached every day, and even twice a day - morning and evening. The conversations of St. should be attributed to this time. Basil for six days, for 16 chapters of St. Isaiah and others. “There are many other proofs of Vasily’s care and concern for the Church,” says Gregory Nazianzen, “the following: Vasily’s courage before the leaders, both in general before everyone, and before the most powerful in the city; his decisions of disputes, not taken without trust, but after being pronounced through his lips through use, turned into law; his intercession for those in need, mostly in spiritual matters, and sometimes in worldly matters (because this, too, by winning people over with good disposition, often benefits the soul); food for the poor, hospitality, care for virgins, written and unwritten rules for monastics, order of prayers (liturgy), decoration of the altar, and other things that only a truly man of God and a people acting according to God can use.” After the death of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, Basil in 370 on June 14 was elevated to the degree of archpastor of this Church. Vasily received the rank of hierarch at the age of 42, and shepherded the Church of God for 7 years and six months. The good shepherd, who sought inner peace and unity with God, tried especially for the peace and unanimity of his flock. In the short days of his priesthood, with the weakness of his health, which he had from an early age until his death, he undertook the greatest labors for the peace and good of both Caesarea and the entire Christian Church. He performed divine services almost every day. As a faithful guardian in the house of God, he, edifying and strengthening the faithful, was in a constant struggle with false teachers, who usually act by cunning and slander, reflecting and overthrowing their insolence and the striking weapons of the lips and the arrows of letters; neither deceived by promises of honors, nor afraid of threats; He was always great, in all his words and deeds. Despite the purity of his faith and actions, he expected exile and imprisonment for himself. “Honoured to be the chairman,” says Gregory the Theologian, “Basily did not disgrace either his wise man or the hopes of those who entrusted his service with anything subsequent. In equal measure, he proved to be continually superior to others. However, he did not use power in advance, but with condescension he conquered the authorities and, most importantly, he conquered the fact that everyone yielded to his reason, recognized his virtue as unattainable for themselves, and saw their salvation in one thing - to be with him and under his command, and also found one thing dangerous - to be against him, and deviation from him was considered alienation from God. “When Valens, having bypassed other countries, rushed, with the intention of enslaving, to the Church of Caesarea - this unshakable and invulnerable mother of Churches; then for the first time he felt the futility of his plan; for he was repulsed like an arrow striking a stronghold. To Modestus, the regional leader, who, being an Arian, gnashed his teeth against the Church, roared like a lion and was unapproachable for many, in 371, or, better to say, the valiant Basil himself enters, summoned as to a feast, and not to a trial.” After vain convictions to persuade the saint to agree with the Arians, seeing his inflexibility, Modest threatens him with confiscation of his property, exile, torture, and death. “All this,” answers Vasily, “means nothing to me; he who has nothing but these old and worn-out clothes and a few books, in which all my wealth lies, does not lose property. There is no exile for me, because I am not bound by a place, and the place where I live now is not mine, and wherever they throw me will be mine. It’s better to say: everywhere is God’s place, wherever I am a sojourner and a stranger (Ps. 39:13). What can torment do to me? - I am so weak that only the first blow will be sensitive. Death is a blessing for me: it will sooner lead me to God, for whom I live and work, and to whom I have long been striving.” Amazed by these words, the ruler said to Vasily: “No one has ever spoken before me with such freedom.” “Perhaps,” answered the saint, “you have not met the bishop; otherwise, without a doubt, when dealing with a similar subject, you would have heard the same words. In everything else, we are meek, more humble than anyone, and not only before such power, but also before everyone, because this is what is prescribed to us by law. But when it is about God and they dare to rebel against Him, then we, counting everything else as nothing, look only at Him alone: ​​then the fire, the sword, the beasts and the iron that torment the body will rather be a pleasure for us than a terror.” Reporting to Valens about the inflexibility and fearlessness of St. Basil, Modest said: “We, the king, are defeated by the abbot of the Church. This husband is higher than threats, stronger than arguments, stronger than convictions.” After this, the king forbade Vasily to do violence and, turning threats into surprise, although he did not accept communication with him, ashamed to show himself changed, he began to look for a more decent justification. On the day of Epiphany (372), with a large crowd of people, accompanied by a surrounding retinue, Valens entered the church and, entering among the people, thereby wanted to show the appearance of unity with the Church. When in the church his ears were struck as if by thunder by the beginning of the psalmody: when he saw a sea of people, and in the altar, and near it, not so much human as angelic splendor, and in front of everyone, in an upright position, stood Vasily, not bowing either in body, or in sight, or in thought, as if nothing new had happened in the church, but nailed, so to speak, to God and the throne, and those around him stood in some kind of fear and reverence; When the king saw all this and could not find an example to which he could apply what was visible, he became exhausted. Then, according to custom, the king had to bring gifts to the Divine meal, and as it was unknown whether Vasily would accept them, all of Valens’ weakness was revealed. He hesitates on his feet, and if one of the altar servants had not supported him, he would have fallen, and this fall would have been worthy of tears. But the evil ones prevailed: Vasily was destined for exile. Night came, the chariot was prepared; the enemies applauded; the pious became sad; we surrounded the traveler, eagerly preparing to leave; Everything necessary for this wonderful desecration was completed. So what? God destroys definition. Which in ancient times afflicted the firstborn of Egypt, now afflicts the son of the king (Galata) with the disease. And instantly! Here is a scripture about exile, and there is a definition about illness; and the scribe's hand is held back, the husband is saved! The Tsar's son suffered and was exhausted in body, and his father also sympathized with him. He seeks help from everywhere, chooses the best doctors, performs prayers with zeal, which he has never shown before. The sick man’s mother sees in her son’s illness God’s wrath for the persecution of the saint. But since the king could not find a cure for his illness anywhere, he resorted to Vasily’s faith. Vasily came to the sick man’s bed without mentioning what had happened; With his arrival, the illness is alleviated, the father indulges in good hopes. Valens, again incited against Basil by the Arians, decided to expel him. But providence again protected the innocent. The king had already taken the cane to sign the decree on the saint’s imprisonment; the cane in his hand breaks, and the other, and the third as well. Valens was embarrassed, tore up the paper and canceled the verdict on Vasily’s expulsion. “They say that at the same time the regional chief (Modest) became ill. The illness that befell him also bent him under the right hand of the saint.” The patient asked Vasily to come to him and help him with his prayers. Modest recovered and admitted to everyone that he owed his recovery to the prayers of the saint. From that time on, Vasily and Modest became friends. Life of St. Vasily spent her life in constant labor for the benefit of the Church. Around 373 St. Basil wrote a book about the Holy Spirit, at the request of Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium. To him St. Basil wrote three canonical famous epistles. St. Gregory the Theologian speaks about the knowledge and writings of St. Vasily: “Who more than Vasily was enlightened by the light of knowledge, saw into the depths of the Spirit and explored with God everything that is known about God? In Basil, beauty was virtue, greatness was theology, procession was the unceasing striving and ascent to God, power was the sowing and distribution of the word. And therefore, without blushing, I can say: his message went out into all the earth, and his words went out to the ends of the world, what Paul said about the Apostles (Rom. 10:18). What else makes a pleasant meeting today? What delights at feasts, at markets, in churches, amuses superiors and subordinates, monks and solitary sociable people, people without positions and officials engaged in external wisdom, or ours? Everywhere there is one and the greatest pleasure - the writings and creations of Vasilyeva. Among us, the one who is most perfect in speech is the one who knows Vasiliev’s writings better than others and has them in his mouth and makes them intelligible to the ear. When I have the Sixth Day in my hands and pronounce it orally, then I talk with the Creator, comprehend the laws of creation and marvel at the Creator more than before - having only sight as my mentor. When I have before me his accusatory words against false teachers, then I see the fire of Sodom, with which the wicked and lawless tongues are incinerated. When I read the words about the Spirit, then I find the God Whom I have again and feel within myself the boldness to speak the truth, ascending the degrees of his theology and contemplation. When I read his other interpretations, which he explains for people with limited vision, then I am convinced not to stop at one letter and look not only at the surface, but to stretch further, from one depth to enter a new one, calling upon the abyss and acquiring light with light, until I reach the highest meaning. When I am occupied with his praises to the ascetics, then I forget the body, talk with those being praised, and am excited for feat. When I read his moral and active words, then I am cleansed in soul and body, I become a church pleasing to God, an organ into which the Spirit strikes, a hymn of God’s glory and God’s power, and, through this, being transformed, I come into well-being, from one person I become another, I am changed by the Divine change.” In the days of vigilant care for the Church of Caesarea, St. Basil wrote many other writings about which St. Gregory the Theologian did not mention it in his funeral eulogy. “In the field of his daily life, Vasily praised the rule that moderation in everything is perfection, and he observed this rule throughout his entire life. Vasily’s wealth was to have nothing and live with a single cross, which he considered more precious than acquisitions. He was almost tasteless of food and seemed disembodied; He supported life with the bare necessities and knew only one luxury - not to have even the appearance of luxury. Vasily had one tunic, one dilapidated outer robe; and sleep on the bare ground and vigils constituted his adornment; The most delicious food served him was bread and salt, the sober and never-failing drink that springs bring to those who did not work. No one honored virginity better than Vasily. Who established the abodes of virgins, who drew up the rules with which he disciplined every feeling! Being noble, born of nobles and shining with glory, Vasily did not disdain the kiss of his lips, and honored illness, hugging the sick as brothers.” St. Basil, even in the rank of bishop, retained his disposition towards monastic life. He raised monks near him in Caesarea; founded male and female monasteries in Caesarea, with a Church dedicated to the 40 martyrs, in which their relics were preserved. The monks and nuns of the monasteries, about whom the saint had care, are called canonical in his writings, as living according to the rule common to all, and they adopted the name Cenobites - cenobitic. St. Basil built monasteries near populated areas, so that worldly people would not be completely deprived of the benefits of solitude and so that monks would not be tempted by the emptiness of their solitude. The flock of St. Vasily was edified by the example and conversion of the monks. Following the example of their clergy, St. Basil, even the presbyters and dragons, lived in extreme poverty, worked with their own hands and led an impeccably clean life. How many St. Vasily lived poorly, he was so generous to the poor. He set up a hospitable home near Caesarea, which was a decoration of the country. It housed wanderers and all kinds of people who needed help, especially the sick; there lived people needed to help the poor, doctors - ministers, porters, workers, artisans for the tasks needed in the house. The Vasiliev's hospice house enjoyed great respect and was called Vasiliada. Vasily often visited this house to instruct and comfort the poor. St. Basil gained such love and respect from everyone that the people defended him by force from the persecution of the prefect Eusebius the Arian. But illnesses from his youth, labors of study, feats of spiritual wisdom, various sorrows and worries of pastoral service early exhausted his bodily strength and plunged him to his deathbed. “When, having finished the course and kept the faith,” writes St. Gregory, - desired St. Vasily was resolved, and the time came to accept the crowns; then he performs a new miracle. Being already almost dead and lifeless, he turns out to be still strong when pronouncing his initial prayer, in order to depart from here with broadcasts of piety. Vasily lay at his last breath, called to the heavenly face, to which he had stretched his gaze for a long time. The whole city was worried around him; the loss was unbearable; they complained about his departure as oppression; they thought to hold his soul, as if it were possible to capture and forcibly stop it with their hands and prayers (grief made them reckless); and everyone, if only possible, was ready to contribute something from their life to him. Having uttered the last word: I will offer my spirit in Your hands (Ps. 30:6), received by the Angels, the saint of Christ joyfully gave up his ghost, however, first having led those present in secret.” The expression of St. Gregory: secretly, probably indicates a miracle that happened on the day of death. A certain Joseph, a Jew, knowing the art of medicine very well, being well known to the saint, visited him as he was dying and predicted to him that he would not live until tomorrow. “If your life continues until tomorrow,” said Joseph, I am baptized in the name of Him who can only continue your life by the power of His Divine omnipotence.” Joseph left. St. Basil, folding his cold hands, prayed to the Lord Jesus to grant his dying members a few hours of life and breath, so that the soul of this man (Joseph) would become a participant in salvation and bliss. The next day, Joseph, seeing St. Vasily alive, fell on his knees before his bed and exclaimed: “Now I am absolutely sure that your God is the true God, now I will exactly fulfill my promise yesterday.” The sick man said: “I myself will baptize you.” The hour of baptism has come, and Vasily appears before the altar of the Lord, baptizes and continues the service until the 3rd hour in the afternoon on the 1st day of January 379. On the same day, St. Vasily reposed, although still in the early years of his life, 50 years from birth, but already at the height of archpastoral work and glory. Glory to St. life and true virtues began for Vasily from his early age. While still studying in Caesarea and Athens, Vasily was already known to many as an extraordinary person, and was highly valued by everyone - both peers, mentors, and others. Ascending through the ranks of the hierarchy, Vasily constantly acquired and increased the glory of a truly great and holy man; became the focus for all Orthodox shepherds of the East, and with his firmness, his writings and tireless labors, he did not allow Arianism to swallow up the Orthodox flock. St. Gregory the Theologian during the life of St. Vasily wrote to him: “You are the eye of the universe, a sonorous voice and a trumpet, a chamber of learning. One spring a year, one sun between the stars, one sky that embraces everything, one voice above all, and this (if I am only able to judge such matters and love does not deceive me, which I do not think), this is your voice.” “After the repose of Basil,” says St. Gregory Nazianzen, - the saint was carried out by the hands of the saints. But everyone took care to either take hold of the vestments, or the canopy, or the sacred bed, or just touch it (for what is more sacred and purer than his body!), or even walk next to those carrying it, or enjoy just the sight. The marketplaces, passages, and all the dwellings were filled with people; Thousands of people of all kinds and ages, hitherto unknown, either preceded, then accompanied, or surrounded the bed and crowded each other. The psalmody was drowned out by sobs. From the crowded conditions, aspirations and excitement of the people, a considerable number of people lost their lives, and their death was blessed, as if a funeral sacrifice to Vasily. His body was covered with difficulty, left behind its attendants and was consigned to the grave of its fathers; and the bishop venerated himself to the priests, to the preachers - a great voice that still filled my ears, to the martyrs - the martyr. And now he is in heaven, and there he makes sacrifices for us and prays for the people. However, even to this day he gives me advice,” says St. Gregory, and makes me chaste in my night visions.” After the death of St. Basil, the Church immediately began to celebrate his memory; Fathers of the Church, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ephraim the Syrian, St. Amphilochius of Iconium and St. Gregory the Theologian in his teachings, and writers in their narratives began to glorify him as a saint. St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, a contemporary of Basil the Great, who died in 394, said in his word on the day of his death: “The great Basil, the great bishop of the Church, passed through heaven not in body, but in contemplation and spirit. Imitating the first and most Divine Hierarch Jesus Christ, he himself entered the inner veils, brought from there the law of the spirit and the thunder of teaching, and with a lightning-fast Gospel sermon he defeated and overthrew the law of writing and carnal circumcision. Basil is a brightly burning lamp of the Catholic Church, the bright sun of the Gospel truth, covering the whole earth with the rays of his theology, inimitable in deeds, unattainable in speculation, perfect in reason, life and virtues, wise in divine and human sciences, so that in general one can say that there was no imperfection in him. Having fully studied all worldly wisdom and all human sciences, he soon laid all this at the feet of the disciples of Jesus; reverently and deeply penetrating all the ancient and prophetic sacred books, St. Vasily immediately flowed through them to the most perfect faith in Jesus Christ, and was established in it. Having the Gospel as his guide, he thus achieved true knowledge of the prophets; and through knowledge of the teachings of the prophets, he entered into an accurate understanding of the Gospel, and with the help of both, he acquired the clearest knowledge of the Divine. Basil is the high and majestic pillar of the Church of God, the luminary of theology, the beauty of the hierarchy, the truest man of God the Father, the most ardent evangelist of the Only Begotten, the most faithful steward and steward of the Holy Spirit, the child of wisdom, the palace of reason, the treasury of knowledge, the school of piety, the interpreter of the mysterious and Divine council, the indestructible and unshakable firmness of the power and strength of Christ, who taught and instructed all people in the fear of God, the commandments of the Lord and piety. The Great Basil is the royal trumpet of the Word of God, which announced the ends of the universe with the power of its sound. Loudly proclaiming the circumcision of the spirit in divine baptism, he, more than any other theologian, contributed to the end of circumcision in the flesh. Therefore, it was not without reason and not by chance that the divine Basil was released from his body and reposed from earth to God on the day of the circumcision of Jesus, celebrated between the day of the birth and baptism of Christ. Since this most blessed one, preaching and praising the birth and baptism of Christ, extolled spiritual circumcision, he himself, having laid aside his body, was worthy to ascend to Christ, precisely on the sacred day of remembrance of the circumcision of Christ. That is why it has been established on this day to annually honor the memory of the Great One with celebrations and celebrations. And so the holy universal Church throughout all the borders of the earth now celebrates the sacred and all-holy memory of Basil and, worthily glorifying it with divine praises, together sings and glorifies Christ, wondrous in His saints.” “This great man belongs not only to the Church of Caesarea, of which he was a saint, and not only in his time, not only to his fellow tribesmen, but to all countries and cities of the universe, and to all people, he has brought and continues to benefit, and for Christians he has always been and will be a most salutary teacher.” “Let us now honor the memory of this God-bearing father, let us duly honor the teacher with chants and inspired praises of strength and virtue; Let us honor him as a true father, who begat us with the Gospel in Christ Jesus and with his teaching transformed us, according to our inner man, into godlike children.” St. Gregory the Theologian, glorifying St. Basil the Great, wrote that “he was the support of faith, the rule of truth, a model in the Church, the abode of the Spirit, a man who surpassed the measure of both human life and virtues, a multi-embracing man, great and holy, his soul was divine, he was a courageous ascetic of truth, who breathed nothing more than pious and saving teachings for the whole world; for everyone he was a model of faith and virtue, his word was sublime, deep and perfect.” Especially St. Gregory depicted the glorious and holy exploits of St. Basil the Great, from his birth to his death, in his funeral homily, upon his removal from Constantinople. Expressing to the wisdom and holiness of St. Basil its reverence, the Church accepted from him the rules of church deanery, statutes for monastics, the order of prayers and the divine Apostolic Liturgy, which was handed down in writing by him with the addition of some of his prayers and therefore named after him, and through the mouth of the Sixth Ecumenical Council said that the glory of St. Basil the Great flowed throughout the universe. Tradition has preserved the features of the external image of St. Basil the Great. He was very keen in mind, but weak in body from early age to old age; had debilitating and long-lasting illnesses; tall, lean and dark-faced, frail and meek in appearance; had a steep nose, round eyebrows, a long and sparse hair, an elevated forehead, gray hair, and a weak voice. In the 5th century, Anatoly of Constantinople, in the 8th century, John of Damascus, Herman of Constantinople, and subsequent centuries - Basil the monk and Byzantium wrote many sacred songs with which the Church now glorifies St. Basil the Great. Praising him, the Church among other things sings: “Your broadcast went out into the whole earth, as if you had received your word, which you most divinely taught: you have understood the nature of beings, you have adorned human customs, the royal priesthood, reverent father, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.” At the all-night vigil on St. Basil the Great, when there is a holiday and the circumcision of the Lord, the Church pronounces two parimia in honor of this holiday, and one in honor of the universal teacher and saint about the high perfection of the righteous and the benefit from them for their neighbors (Prov. 10:32, 11:12). The Morning Gospel in honor of the saint is the same as at Matins on St. Day. Equal to the Apostles Constantine (John 10:9–16). At the liturgy, which takes place on the 1st day of January, St. Basil the Great, by reading the Apostle in his honor, the Church proclaims the most perfect bishop - the Son of God, to whom St. Basil the Great imitated (Heb. 7:26, 8:2); By reading the Gospel, he preaches the teaching of Jesus Christ about the blessedness of the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and those who are persecuted for the faith of Christ (Luke 6:17-23), as St. Basil the Great. St. Martyr Basil, who suffered in Ancyra in 362 St. Martyr Basil, who suffered in Ancyra in 362.