Basil of Ostrog

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Saint

Basil of Ostrog
Icon of Saint Basil of Ostrog
Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina
Born28 December 1610
Mrkonjići, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire
Died29 April 1671(1671-04-29) (aged 60)
Ostrog Monastery
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Major shrineOstrog Monastery
Feast12 May (O.S. 29 April)

Basil of Ostrog (Serbian: Свети Василије Острошки, romanized: Sveti Vasilije Ostroški, pronounced [sʋê:ti ʋǎsiːlije ǒstroʃki]; 28 December 1610 – 29 April 1671), also known as Vasilije,[1] was a Serbian Orthodox bishop[2] of Zahumlje who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Life[edit]

Early life[edit]

Stojan Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Стојан Јовановић) was born on 28 December 1610, in the village of Mrkonjići at the Popovo field in the Ljubinje nahija (Herzegovina), at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. His father was Petar Stojanović and his mother was Ana. Legends about him describe him as a diligent and obedient child, saying he inherited his graciousness and benevolence from his parents.

Having raised cattle on the Herzegovinian hills and mountain slopes, he shared all of his food with poorer people. The Ottomans started to notice him and his parents took him to the nearby Zavala Monastery, where his paternal uncle, the hieromonk Serafim served as the hegumen of the monastery. There, he would study and be protected.[3]

Ostrog Monastery in Bjelopavlići

Studies[edit]

At that time, the monastery had a large library at the monastery church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He quickly became a master of the Bible and basic Christian mysteries. After a while his uncle sent him to the Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Tvrdoš Monastery in Trebinje, for further spiritual and theological studies.[3]

Bishop of Zahumlje[edit]

St. Basil's modesty made him reluctant to occupy high positions. However his dedication to the Church led to his election as Bishop of Zahumlje and Skenderija in 1639. He retired from the position in 1649.

Legacy[edit]

Monastery of St. Basil of Ostrog in Bijeljina

After his death in 1671, he was buried at the Ostrog Monastery which he had founded in Montenegro. His tomb in a cave-church soon became a site of pilgrimage for Christians (both Orthodox and Roman Catholic) and Muslims who were drawn by reports of miracles occurring through the intercession of the saint. The Monastery is now one of the major pilgrimage sites in the Balkans, and large numbers of pilgrims gather, particularly at Pentecost. St. Basil of Ostrog is commemorated in the Serbian orthodox liturgical calendar on April 29 (May 12 in the Gregorian Calendar).[4]

The Orthodox seminary in East Sarajevo (Pravoslavni bogoslovski fakultet Sveti Vasilije Ostroški), part of the University of East Sarajevo, is named after him.

A church in Nalježići, in the Grbalj region is also named after him.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rajovıć, Ivana Ženarju (2021). "Church Architecture and Politics In the Last Century of Ottoman Rule: the Case of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren". In Ayşegül Komsuoğlu Çıtıpıtıoğlu; Hikmet Toker; Federica Nardella (eds.). The Relationship Between Art and Politics in the 19th Century Ottoman Empire: Institutionalization, Change And Continuity.
  2. ^ "Definition of BISHOP". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Slobodan Mileusnić (2000). Sveti Srbi. Prometej. p. 149. ISBN 978-86-7639-478-4. Љубинској нахији (Херцеговина), при дну Попова поља, у селу Мркоњићи, рођен је 28. децембра 1610. године од мајке Ане и оца Петра син Стојан, будући светитељ Василије. Као дете посебно га је красила марљивост и послушност. Од родитеља је наследио милостивост и добро- чинство, које ће га целог живота испуњавати. □ Чувајући стоку по херцеговачким брдима и планинским обронцима, делио је сваки залогај хране са сиромашнијим од себе. Убрзо су га запазили Турци, који нису са одушевљењем гледали на овог обдареног младића. Његови родитељи, да би избегли сваку опасност, одводе га у оближњи манастир Завалу његовом стрицу јеромонаху Серафиму, игуману манастира, да код њега учи књигу и да му се нађе при помоћи. Манастир Завала је имао учено братство и богату библиотеку, а посебно су на младог Стојана деловале испосничке келије укопане у стену изнад манастирске цркве Ваведења Пресвете Богородице. Његова бистрина и приљежност омогућиле су му да убрзо овлада књигом и основним хришћанским тајнама. После извесног времена игуман Се- рафим шаље свог ћака-послушника* у манастир Усепња Пресвете Бого- родице, звани Тврдош, у требињском крају ради даљег духовног и бо- гословског усавршавања. У манастиру Тврдошу
  4. ^ "Calendar - St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Church". stbasilchurch.org. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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