Hieromartyr Basil, Bishop of Amasea
Licinius, brother-in-law of Constantine to whose sister he was married, pretended to be a Christian before the great emperor. When he received authority from the emperor, to govern the entire east, he, at first secretly, and later openly, began to persecute Christians and to strengthen idolatry. His wife grieved much about this, but was unable to dissuade her husband from this shamefulness. Giving himself over to idolatry, Licinius also succumbed to infinite passions without restraint but, most of all to infidelity toward his wife. During the assault of these unclean passions, Licinius wanted to defile the virgin Glaphyra who was in the service of the Empress. Glaphyra complained to the empress and the empress secretly sent her away from the imperial court of Nicomedia to the Province of Pontus. The virgin Glaphyra arrived at the town of Amasea and there was cordially received by Bishop Basil and other Christians. Glaphyra was elated that God had saved her virginity and, concerning this, she wrote to the empress. The empress also rejoiced and forwarded money to the church in Amasea. However, a letter of Glaphyra which was directed to the empress, fell into the hands of the emperor's eunuch who showed it to Emperor Licinius. The emperor, learning where Glaphyra was staying, immediately ordered that she and the bishop be brought back to Nicomedia. In the meantime, Glaphyra died and the soldiers brought Basil back to Nicomedia, alone and bound. Following tortures and imprisonment this blessed man was beheaded and tossed into the sea in the year 322 A.D. Through a vision of an angel of God his clergy found his body near the town of Sinope. They removed his body with the aid of a fisherman's net and translated it to Amasea where they honorably buried it in the church which he, by his efforts, had built. The Emperor Constantine raised up an army against Licinius, defeated, captured him and banished him into exile to Gaul where he ended his god-hating life.
Saint Joannicius of Devich
Joannicius was a Serb from Zeta. As a young man he was overwhelmed with love for Christ. He left his home and family and withdrew to the region of Ibar at the mouth of the Black river into a narrow cave in which, according to tradition, before him, St. Peter of Korish lived a life of asceticism. When his fame began to spread among the people, he fled to Drenica and hid in the thick forest of Devich. Here St. Joannicius spent years in solitude, in silence and in prayer. According to tradition, the Serbian Prince George Brankovich brought his mentally ill daughter to him whom the saint healed. Out of gratitude, George built a monastery on this spot, known today by the name of Devich. The holy and wonder-working relics of Joannicius repose in this monastery. In this monastery, more recently, the nun Euphemia, the famous and God-pleasing hermitess lived a life of asceticism in Devich. The nun Euphemia is better known in the area of Kossovo by the name: The Blessed Stojna. She died in the Lord in the year 1895 A.D.
Saint Stephen the Bishop of Perm
Stephen was a Russian by birth. From an early age he was devoted to prayer and pious thoughts. As a young man, Stephen went to Rostov where he was tonsured a monk in the monastery of St. Gregory the Theologian. Learning about the Land of Perm, completely overrun with the weeds of heathenism, Stephen desired to become a missionary in this land. He immediately dedicated himself to the studying of the language of the Perms and when he mastered the language, he composed an alphabet and translated the ecclesiastical books into that language. With the blessing of the Metropolitan of Moscow, Stephen, as a presbyter, started out on his apostolic mission and with apostolic zeal began to preach the Gospel in this dense darkness of the heathenism of Perm. Having baptized a few souls, he endeavored to build a church in Perm dedicated to the Holy Annunciation. When the Church of God flourished in Perm, he was consecrated as its bishop. Undergoing every hardship, affliction, maliciousness and humiliation, he succeeded to dispel the darkness among the heathens of Perm and to illuminate them with the Light of Christ. In his old age he returned to Moscow once more but, there ended his earthly life and took up habitation with the Lord in the year 1396 AD.