TRINITY: Religious Artwork & Icons (Trinity Stores)
Mar 23 - “St. Basil of Mangazeya” © icon by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM. Happy Feast Day St. Basil!
St. Basil is one of a number of Russian saints referred to as “Passion-bearers,” because in accepting unjust suffering with patience and even love, they reflect the example of Jesus.
Basil was the son of a merchant in Yaroslavl, about 160 miles northeast of Moscow. When he was a teenager, his father sent him to work with another merchant in Mangazaya, a town in Siberia. Robbers broke into his master’s shop one day while he was praying in church. His master accused him of helping the robbers, and he beat him to force him to confess. When Basil maintained his innocence, his master turned him over to a local official who tortured him to death.
Almost fifty years later, when his remains were unearthed, they were found to be incorrupt. People began praying to him in their need, and many were healed. He is one of the most popular saints of Siberia.
His feast day is March 23.
https://www.trinitystores.com/artwork/st-basil-mangazeya
