Basil of Ancyra

Saint Basil the Martyr of Ancyra was a Christian of Galatia, martyred in the year 362, in the time of the emperor Julian the Apostate. He should not be confused with the hieromartyr Basil of Ancyra, who also died under the same emperor. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 1 January, by the old calendar (14 January on the new style).

Presumably a convert to Christianity, he was a layman. He professed his faith in Christ before the Roman governor Saturninius Secundus Salutius. After being tortured at Ancyra, he was sent to the capital, Constantinople, where he endured further torments: he was hung from a tree, stretched on the rack, beaten and pierced with red-⁠hot needles. He was also thrown into a fiery furnace, from which he emerged unharmed, as if by miracle. Finally he was sent to Caesarea, where he was devoured by lions in the arena, sharing the fate of many martyrs of his time. A Serbian source says that he prayed to God that the beasts should devour him, and that he was eaten by a lioness, about the year 362.