Part I. Lives of ascetics in the world

I. Father Basil, the Wonderworker[5]

Father Basil lived all his life in Cappadocia. According to the testimony of his fellow villagers, Father was born in the village of Konjuk, located 65 kilometers to the south-southwest of the city of Caesarea. In honor of his native village, Father Vasily began to be called Kondzhiklis, in order to distinguish him from other priests who also bore the name Vasily.

Fr. Vasily's wife was Sultana from the village of Sarmusaklei (Hamidiyeh). It is known that they had many children: four sons and five daughters.

Before taking the priestly rank, Basil asceticized for some time together with the wilderness dwellers who lived near his native village. From them he learned strict fasting and fervent prayer.

From a young age, Basil showed his inclination for pastoral service. He was ordained in 1830[6] and appointed rector of the church in the town of Tsat, the northernmost Greek village in Cappadocia, located near the Ali River. Not only Greeks, but also Armenians and Turks lived in Tsata. After the Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915, Orthodox Christians were forced to leave their homes and move to the village of Tashlyk, located thirty kilometers from Tsat.

Father Vasily had the fear of God, reverence, ardent faith and zeal for the fulfillment of his pastoral duty. He received from God the gift of healing the sick. Soon the rumor about him spread throughout Cappadocia.

Nearby, in the Pontic Mountains, lived a holy hermit, whose name, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to him: "The time has come for you to receive a reward for your ascetic labors. God wants to call you to Himself, on Good Friday night you will stand before the Lord. Get ready, commune of the Holy Mysteries three Sundays in a row."

The hermit did what the Angel had instructed him to do, and went to Fr. Basil, the priest of the nearby village of Tsat. He told him about what had happened and asked him to commune him of the Holy Mysteries. After the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, he promised to come the following Sunday.

Father Vasily, wishing to test the hermit, on Sunday evening, on the eve of his arrival, tightly locked all the doors and even hung barn locks on them. In addition, he unleashed his wild shepherd dogs. As soon as it got dark, the ascetic appeared. At once the bolted doors opened, and the dogs not only did not bark, but did not even move from their places.

The amazed Father Vasily asked:

- How did the doors open by themselves?

- There are no locks for us. Let's go to church, you will give me communion.