Basil of Ostrog

Saint Basil of Ostrog (Serbian: Свети Василије Острошки, Sveti Vasilije Ostroški, pronounced [sʋɛ̂ːtiː ʋǎsiːlijɛ ɔ̌strɔʃkiː]) (December 12, 1610 - 1671) is a Serbian saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

He was Bishop of Zahumlje in Herzegovina. He was born in Popovo Polje (The Priest's field), Herzegovina in 1610, and became a monk at the Monastery of the Dormition Tvrdoš near Trebinje.

St. Basil's modesty made him reluctant to occupy high positions. However, his piety and humility made him well suited for the role and he was elected as Bishop of Zahumlje and Skanderija against his will.

After his death in 1671 he was buried at the Ostrog Monastery he had founded in Montenegro, and his tomb in a cave-church soon became a site of pilgrimage for Christians (both Orthodox and Roman Catholic) and Muslims drawn by reports of miracles occurring through the intercession of the saint. The Monastery of Ostrog 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.

External links

• Saint Vasilije (Basil) from the Prologue from Ochrid by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović
• St Basil the Bishop of Ostrog in Montenegro, Serbia Orthodox icon and synaxarion