Venerable Basil the Confessor, Bishop of Parium (VIII)

The Venerable Basil the Confessor, Bishop of Parium (VIII). When the iconoclast heresy arose, Saint Basil came forward courageously in defence of the veneration of the holy icons and refused to sign the decree that ordered their destruction. The holy bishop broke off all communion with the heretics and would not let them into his diocese. For his faithfulness to the faith he endured much persecution, hunger and poverty, and to the end of his life kept the Orthodox dogmas in purity.