05/12/2026
St Basil of Ostrog, Wonderworker
Services at ST George's churchMonday, May 11 - Vespers at 6 pm
Tuesday, May 12 - Divine Liturgy
HEALINGS OF SOUL AND BODY: SAINT BASIL OF OSTROG THE WONDERWORKER
Nestled high up in the forbidding mountains of Montenegro, far away from the noise and bustle of big cities and tourist resorts, lies the monastery of Saint Basil of Ostrog, a rare jewel of the living Orthodox faith in today’s world. Every day countless people stream to the Ostrog monastery to bow down before the Holy Relics of Saint Basil and to venerate them, to entreat him in prayer to fulfil their spiritual or physical needs, to ask for the intercession and protection, or simply to give thanks to him for having helped them and guided them in life’s many temptations and challenges.
The holy monastery of Ostrog is first of all, a wonder of nature. Underneath it flows the turbulent Zeta river crossing the Bjelopavlovichi plain, while high above it is a rocky mountain wreath, resembling a giant eagle’s nest, with the Ostrog cave where St.Basil lived in unceasing prayer and ascetic struggles. His Grace, the metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro and the Littoral, says in one of the most beautiful descriptions of the sanctuary of Ostrog: “It is as though this rocky nest had waited for centuries to become the home of an uncontainable sanctuary and the scene of many a crucial historic event. Thus this miracle of nature has become at the same time a wonder of history. The monastery of Ostrog has for more than 300 years been the focus of the history of not only the Ostrog region, but of a much wider area as well. This miracle is made even greater by the fact that all these historical events belong not only to the earthly, or horizontal plane: the Ostrog monastery has been and still is a historical stage of both heaven and earth. In Ostrog and around Ostrog, heaven and earth embrace. The earth rises up and is joined to the heavens, and the heavens come down to the earth, revealing to all people the greatest of mysteries in the person of the God Man, Jesus Christ. In this way, the Ostrog cliffs have become our Mount Sinai, where God reveals to us, just as He once did to Moses, His Name, which is above all other names on earth and His Divine person. Indeed, in the Teheanthropic person of Saint Basil of Ostrog, the ancient saying comes true: show me your man, and I will show you your God. He who sees and experiences the Saint of Ostrog becomes a vessel in which and through which the God Man, Jesus Christ, reveals Himself.”
For three hundred years without stopping, a constant and uninterrupted river of pilgrims flows to the monastery every day of the year, and especially on great feast days. People from all walks of life, from all parts of the country and abroad come to venerate the Saint and to pray to God before his Relics. They bring with them their sorrows and illnesses, their doubts and weaknesses, their sins and their repentance. It is truly touching to see many of them walk barefoot up the steep and rocky mountain slope to the Upper Monastery, perhaps unknowingly and unconsciously obeying God’s command to Moses on Mount Sinai: “Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is sacred ground.” Upwards they walk, in fear of God and in deep reverence for the holy father Basil, the Wonderworker of Ostrog. Upon reaching the tiny chapel set in the face of a giant rock and upon venerating his holy Relics, they unburden their souls in contrite and repentant prayers. They leave with an abundance of spiritual gifts: many of them are blessed with the gift of health, others with the comfort in their sorrows. The spiritual eyes of some are opened at this holy site and they leave as people reborn and transfigured with faith in the One Living God. Perhaps this is the greatest miracle of all – the miracle of faith being born in the hearts and souls of unbelievers and doubters. In this respect, the holy monastery of Ostrog has become, through Saint Basil, the Serbian Mount Tabor, our mount of the Holy Transfiguration
The twentieth century has seen many migrations take place from the old country to foreign lands, especially in the period immediately following the turmoil of the Second World War, as well as in its last decade, when the Serbian lands were ravaged by war and economic sanctions. Under such circumstances, hundreds and thousands of people were, for many different reasons, forced into emigration. Upon arriving and letting down roots in their new countries, they brought with them their faith, their love for God and His Saints and the love for the Fatherland, all of which they passed on to younger generations of Serbs. In this way, a part of Heavenly Serbia has been brought and transplanted onto the soil of the New Continent and wherever Serbs live. Heavenly Serbia, an expression which is commonly misused and misunderstood today, is a phrase coined by another great son of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the holy bishop Nikolai of Zicha and Ochrid. There is a poem written by our beloved vladika Nikolai, which clearly illustrates the deeper meaning of the expression. Heavenly Serbia is not a physical place. Its existence is real, but only in Christ and through Christ. It exists in the blood of our martyrs, in the sacrifice of our fathers and brothers, in the love of our mothers and sisters, in the unwavering faith of our people, in the prayers and ascetic struggles of our monks and nuns, in the patient long-suffering of our people and in the Cross they bear, in our repentance. Heavenly Serbia exists, but it is not in this world and not of this world. One may catch a glimpse of it if one looks deep into the inner chambers of one’s heart, a thing which is possible only through prayer and repentance. Our holy father Basil, as one who has even during his lifetime achieved holiness and boldness before God, is one of the beacons of Heavenly Serbia which lights up the way for the faithful wherever they may be.
And so, even today, far away from the Fatherland, new immigrants from Serbia, as well as older generations of immigrants in countries all over the world still call upon the name of our Christ-bearing father Basil, the Wonderworker of Ostrog. Churches are dedicated to him and his feast day is celebrated with vigils and holy liturgies wherever “two or three Serbs are gathered in the name of Christ.” His name is uttered with reverence and vials containing oil from the vigil lamp that burns over his Relics are brought by travellers from Ostrog and lovingly shared among the faithful. From Toronto to Johannesburg, from Stockholm to Sidney, from Chicago to Buenos Aires and from London to Vancouver, Melbourne, New York, Caracas and God alone knows where else, Serbs of all ages and generations light candles and pray: “Help us, pray for us and protect us, o holy father Basil, Wonderworker of Ostrog and pleaser of God!”
And Saint Basil hears their prayers. A saint is like a ray of sunshine, identical in its nature to the Sun itself, which along the countless other rays shines upon the earth. The soul of a saint, having become one with God as with a spiritual Sun, illumines as part of this Sun the whole universe seeing and knowing the hearts and minds of all people and hearing their needs and prayers.
O, holy father Basil, God-pleaser and Wonderworker of Ostrog, you who even during your earthly life took care of your spiritual flock and interceded for them before the Throne of the Most High! Look also upon us living in strange lands, far away from the land of our fathers, pray for us and guide us that we may never stray from the path of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, wherever we may be. Entreat Him to grant us forgiveness of our many sins and transgressions, to straighten our steps and to endow us with the gift of faith, hope and love, that we may one day find Life Eternal, along with the choirs of our holy forefathers of Heavenly Serbia. Holy hierarch Basil, Wonderworker of Ostrog, pray to God for us!
