Basil the Confessor

Basil the Confessor (died 750) was an Eastern Orthodox saint who lived in the 8th century and was tortured by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. With his pupil Procopius, St. Basil the Confessor, who was a monk, was imprisoned for venerating icons, which at that time was prohibited (see Byzantine Iconoclasm). Both languished in prison until the death of the emperor in 741, when St. Basil was taken out of prison. He died in 750 and is venerated February 28 (New Style; March 13 Old Style).