St. Basil the Blessed

Basil was apprenticed to a shoemaker before he took up the life of a holy fool, going barefoot and nearly naked through Moscow’s winters. He stole from rich merchants to give to the poor and threw stones at the houses of the pious and kissed the walls of sinners’ houses, seeing the demons and angels around them. He even rebuked Ivan the Terrible. He is buried in the cathedral on Red Square that bears his name.

• Feast: August 2 (New Calendar)
• Lived: 1468–1552
• Place: Moscow