Martyr Basil of Ancyra
The earliest possible date for celebrating the Resurrection in the Orthodox Easter cycle is April 4. This is because the Julian calendar is thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar, and therefore the spring equinox, March 21, in the calendar used by the Orthodox Church begins on April 3. Although some Orthodox Churches adhere to the Julian calendar and others to the Gregorian, the date of Easter is based on the Julian calendar and is therefore the same for all except the autonomous Finnish Orthodox Church. It is on this first possible Easter day that the Church commemorates the holy martyr Basil of Ancyra. Nothing is known about his life prior to his martyrdom. Moreover, it is impossible to find any information other than that he was a priest and suffered under Julian the Apostate (361-363). However, everything changes radically if we identify Saint Basil of Ancyra with another Basil of Ancyra, a bishop and theologian whom the greatest Russian church historian of the nineteenth century, Vasily Bolotov (1854-1900), calls one of the most worthy men of the Golden patristic era. The problem is that Basil of Ancyra, the bishop, was not flawless in his teaching about the Holy Trinity. He was even considered the “Father of Pneumatomachi,” that is, the denial of the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, unable to explain how a “non-Orthodox” theologian could become an Orthodox martyr, hagiography separated Bishop Basil of Ancyra from Priest Basil of Ancyra, the same person, in order to preserve the memory of this Father of the Church as a martyr. Something similar happened with a contemporary of those events, the ascetic Isaac of Dalmatia. It is extremely significant that his memory is commemorated on the same day as that of Basil. It is as if the compilers of the liturgical calendar wanted to indicate that only with the coming of Easter, it is possible to resolve insoluble contradictions!
1, Hagiography says that once Emperor Julian the Apostate witnessed Basil publicly praying for an end to the pagan cults that Julian was reviving with all his might. The liturgy, during which Basil openly asked God to change the course of history and stop the Apostate, infuriated the ruler's entourage. A trial was organized.
2, Formally, the emperor proclaimed religious tolerance and was very proud of this policy. A formal reason for the accusation was needed. Since Julian was just about to march against Persia and needed to consolidate society, Basil could be portrayed as an agent of Persian influence, or even a spy. It is known that around the same time, Julian brutally executed the Persian ambassadors, Manuel, Sabel, and Ismail. Being Christians, they refused to participate in a pagan ceremony organized by Julian and did not engage in religious discussions with him. The motivation for the anger directed against them, and now against Basil, is very similar.
3, Basil was tortured; his back was cut with strips of skin and then pierced with red-hot rods. Hagiography has preserved the prayer of the martyr Basil, uttered at the moment of his death: “Christ, you are my light. Jesus, you are my hope. You are a refuge for those tossed by the waves. I thank you, Lord, God of my fathers, for snatching my soul from the depths of hell and keeping your name unblemished in me. May I end my life as a victor and inherit eternal peace, according to the promise made to my fathers by You, the Great High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now receive my soul in peace, that it may remain steadfast in this confession. For you are merciful, and your mercy is great, you who live and reign forever and ever.”