Saint Basil, in his youth, left the world and asceticized in a desert place. He was captured and brought to the city, where the patrician Samon interrogated him. The saint replied that he was a stranger on earth, and despite the tortures, he endured in silence. After three days of torment, he was released and remained unharmed. Samon, in anger, ordered him to be thrown to a hungry lion, but the lion did not touch the saint and peacefully lay at his feet. Then Samon commanded that Basil be drowned in the sea, but two dolphins carried him to the shore in the suburb of Constantinople, called Eudoxius.
In the city, the saint healed a sick man named John, who was suffering from fever, and stayed to live with him. Believers came to the saint for advice and healing. He possessed the gift of foresight, rebuked sinners, and foretold future events. Among his visitors was Gregory, who became his disciple and wrote a detailed life of his teacher.
One day, Gregory found an expensive belt, hid it to sell and give the money to the poor, but lost it. In a dream, Saint Basil showed him that he would be condemned as a thief for hiding someone else's property. After the death of Saint Theodora, Gregory asked Basil to reveal to him about her afterlife, and in a dream, he saw her, who spoke of the trials of her soul and the help of the saint.
Saint Basil reposed around the year 944 at the age of one hundred and ten years. The Church calls him the New, distinguishing him from other ascetics with the same name.
