SAINT BASSIANUS OF LODI - Augustin Sokolovski

On June 23, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint Bassianus of Lodi. The saint lived from 320 to 409. This means that he could have found alive Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Spyridon of Trimythous, who were certainly older than him. Bassianus was a contemporary of Saint Exuperius of Toulouse, and Saint Ambrose of Milan was his close friend.

The city of Lodi is 40 kilometers from Milan. Bassian was bishop there, and his relics are still in Lodi. Saint Ambrose rests in Milan, and Saint Augustine, in Pavia, also about 40 kilometers from Milan, like the city of Lodi, but in a slightly different direction, awaits the general resurrection of the dead alongside his friends and teachers among the saints. Over his relics, which have remained intact under the altar of the monastery's main church, the Eucharistic liturgy is constantly celebrated. At that time, the world was unified within the Roman Mediterranean, and the saints knew each other well.

Bassianus' father was the prefect of the city of Syracuse, in Sicily. A devout pagan, he sent his son to study in pagan Rome. But it was there that Bassianus converted to Christianity. His father wanted to return his son to paganism, but Bassianus received a vision urging him to fear his father's cruelty and malice and flee to Ravenna, where his relative, the holy Ursus, was already bishop.

Over time, Bassianus became a priest, and then, when the diocese of Lodi became widowed, the people of God forced him to become bishop. Saint Ambrose was elected in the same way, and a few decades later, in North Africa, essentially through the violent expression of the people's will, Augustine became a priest and bishop.

This method of election, called “by general proclamation of acclamation,” existed in the Ancient Church and was perceived, not only by the people themselves, but also by the hierarchy and even by those in power, as a direct spontaneous expression of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the young Church, the Bride of Christ, literally learned not to fear the will of God.

The saint's life depicts him as a great miracle worker. He cast out demons, cured diseases, and even raised the dead. Saint Bassian of Lodi, pray to God for us!