The Holy Martyr Basil, Bishop of Amasia, lived at the beginning of the fourth century in the Pontic city of Amasia. He supported and comforted Christians who were suffering from pagan persecution. At that time, the Eastern part of the Roman Empire was ruled by Licinius (312-324), the son-in-law of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine the Great (306-337; commemorated on May 21). Licinius hypocritically signed his "Decree on Religious Tolerance" (313), which allowed the free practice of Christianity, but in his heart he hated Christians and continued to persecute them, returning to paganism.
Licinius became infatuated with his wife Constance's maidservant, the righteous virgin Glafira. The Holy Virgin told the queen about this and asked for protection. Having dressed the righteous Glafira in a man's dress and provided her with money, Queen Constance removed her from the city, accompanied by devoted servants. The emperor was told that the maid had gone mad and was dying. On her way to Armenia, the righteous Glafira stopped in the city of Amasia, where the local bishop, St. Basil, gave her shelter.
At that time, the saint was building a temple in the city. The righteous Glafira donated all the money she received from Constance to its construction, and in a letter to her she asked for more funds to complete the temple. The queen complied with her request. But the letter of the righteous Glafira got to the emperor. The enraged Licinius demanded that the governor of Amazia send the saint and the maidservant to him. The righteous Glafira died (+ 322) before the order reached Amasia. Saint Basil was sent to the emperor. He was followed by two deacons, Parthenius and Festim, who settled near the prison where the saint was imprisoned.
The pious Christian Elpidiphorus bribed the jailers and every night, together with Parthenius and Festim, visited the saint. On the eve of the judgment Day, the saint, as usual, sang psalms, and the words "if I dwell in the last seas, and there Your hand guides me and Your right hand holds me" (Ps.138,9-10) – he sang three times with tears. The deacons doubted whether the saint was afraid of future torments, but he reassured them.
At the trial, Saint Basil resolutely rejected the emperor's offer to become a high priest and was sentenced to death. Elpidiphorus coaxed the soldiers with money, and they allowed the saint to pray and talk with his friends before his execution. After that, the saint said to the executioner: "Friend, do what you are ordered to do," and calmly stood up under the blow of the sword.
When the martyr was beheaded. Elpidiphorus tried to buy his remains from the soldiers. But the soldiers were afraid of the emperor and threw the body and the head of the saint into the sea. After that, an Angel of God appeared to Elpidiphorus three times in a dream with the words: "Bishop Basil is in Sinope and is waiting for you." Obeying this call, Elpidiphorus and the deacons sailed to Sinope and there asked the fishermen to cast their nets. When they cast a net "for luck" of deacons Festim and Parthenius, nothing was caught. Then Elpidiphorus announced that he was asking to cast a net in the Name of the God he worshipped. This time, the net brought out the body of St. Basil. His head was glued to it, and only the scar on his neck showed the mark of a sword. The relics of St. Basil were transported to Amasia and buried in the church he built.