Holy Martyr Vasilije the Baker of Peć (17th cent.)

St. Vasilije of Peć (Feast Day - April 29)

In the 17th century, when Serbia was under Turkish occupation, in the town of Peć, located near the Peć Patriarchate, there lived a pious Christian by the name of Vasilije, who was a baker by profession. He married at a young age and by the time he was 35 years old he already had grown children.

One day, inflamed by carnal passion, a local Turk kidnapped one of his daughters who had just reached the age of marriage. Vasilije, afraid that the Turk would force her into marriage and become a Muslim, went in pursuit of the kidnapper, and when he encountered him, other Turks came to the kidnapper's aid so that Vasilije was outnumbered and severely beaten. When given the option of converting to Islam or losing his life, Vasilije chose to die as an Orthodox Christian. The furious Turks therefore hacked him with a scimitar and left him to die on the street bleeding. This massacre took place on the outskirts of Peć in the direction of the village of Dečani. The Holy Martyr, near death, was able to crawl to the nearby village of Ćuška, but there his life came to an end.

Pious Serbs found his dead body and reverently buried it over the spot where he died, and lit a lamp over his grave. He was held in high esteem by the faithful, since many at that time would have renounced their faith in order to save their lives. For his courage and steadfastness, he was secretly venerated at his grave. Christians then began to receive quick help in troubles and healing from sicknesses. Soon a church was built over his grave, but not long after it was destroyed by the Turks. This did not stop the faithful from venerating the Saint at his grave, and despite the church being in ruin they continued to come to his grave until 1999 when it was taken over by the Albanian Muslims.

Right next to the Saint’s grave was a Turkish burial, in which, according to tradition, was buried a servant of Vasilije who remained loyal to him and took care of his grave after the death of his master. Over time, Turks and Albanians started coming to the Saint’s place of rest. At some point, they even tried to appropriate the Serbian holy site for themselves because of the second grave belonging to a Muslim. They unsuccessfully tried to proclaim the Turk’s grave a holy place.

Local Serbs would go to Saint Vasilije’s grave most often on Tuesdays and Fridays, but the most important day was that of Saint Basil of Ostrog on April 29th, when the Holy Martyr Vasilije the Baker was locally celebrated.

In 1959, Leonty Pavlović recorded the testimony of two Muslim women, Sabriya Salikh and Emina, who took care of the grave and told about how a large gathering of believers would also take place on the day of the Holy Prophet Elijah (July 20/August 2).

Typically, the people gathered at the grave in large groups, censing and lighting candles and praying together. The sick would be carried in procession thrice around the Saint’s grave. A lamp, set up in a large depression, was always burning at the grave and could hold up to half a liter of oil. School students would often go straight to the grave with their textbooks so Saint Vasilije would bless and help them in their studies.

In the mid-1980s, the Albanians tried to limit access to the holy site for the Serbs. Nun Evfimija recalls that in 1985, Saint Vasilije’s grave was enclosed by a lattice fence so it was impossible to get near it. This prohibition, however, only continued for a time. Many residents of Peć would go to the grave until 1999, when, according to the recollections of Branca Mrenović, the Albanians again fenced it in. Mirijana Todoroić, who worked nearby, passed by the site daily and recalls that in 1990 she saw how construction began over both graves. At that time she thought it was for a church, but in fact it was for a mosque.

What really happened to the grave of Saint Vasilije in the last years before the war is perhaps best testified to by the story of two friends from Peć — the Serb Dragića Popović and the Albanian Sharibana Plunči, who often went to the Saint’s grave to pray, each in his own way. Sharibana would even often go pray at the Peć Monastery.

Once in 1998 they went to the Saint’s grave and found it redesigned in an Albanian style. A long stone was laid on the grave, as usually stands on Albanian graves, and a lot of dirt was dug out around it, so it looked like a hill, as if someone had just been buried. A typical Balkan Muslim mausoleum tomb  — a türbe — was set up. Sharibana asked the Albanian watchman why he did it. He replied, “They ordered it,” referring to the members of the UÇK combat organization, the so-called “Kosovo Liberation Army.” According to him, some man came and gave him an order for how to arrange everything. The women prayed and left, and several days later they went to Vasilije’s grave again and found that everything had been returned to its original state. When Sharibana asked what had happened, the guard answered, “You can’t order God. The same man came again and ordered to return everything back to how it was, because he was tormented at night and couldn’t sleep.” 

 

According to a testimony from 2024: "Today there is a walled house with green doors at the place of burial, and the grave is covered with Islamic markings. Every time we go from Peć to Decane we drop by this insignificant place, in front of which there are often cars with Albanian license plates. And a year ago we found an Albanian family, who came with white candles to Saint Vasilije, bringing their sick child. The veneration of Saint Vasilije has always existed both in the local Serbian and non-believer population, because of numerous miracles... Let us also pray to Saint Vasilije the Baker in Pec to be our representative before the Lord and our helper whenever we go to knead bread! True Serbian slava of all bakers and housewives!"

He was canonized by the Church of Serbia in the Church of Saint Sava on May 10, 2018 during the Divine Liturgy on the day of the burning of the relics of Saint Sava. He is celebrated annually on April 29/May 12.