Basil of Ancyra (1)

Basil Of Ancyra (1), a presbyter who became a martyr for the faith under Julian the Apostate, A.D. 362, was of Christian parentage and of orthodox faith. During the reign of Constantius, he was a bold and uncomnpromising opponent of Arianism, and maintained the truth with great courage at the Council of Jerusalem in 335. He was more than once apprehended as a seditions person by the provincial governors, but resovered his liberty. The Arian council iunder Eudoxius, held at Constantinople in 360, forbade him to hold any ecclesiastical assembly. The zeal of Basil was still further quickeied by the attempts made by Julian to suppress Christianity. The natural result followed; he was apprehended, and brought before the governor of the city, Saturninus, who put him to the torture, and informed the emperor of the prize he had secured. On the arrival of Julian at Ahcyra, Basil was presented to him; and, having reproached the.emperor with his apostasy, he suffered death by red-hot irons on June 29. His festival, probably the anniversary of his persecution, is kept both by the Greek and Latin Church on March 22.