VASSILY THE SOOTHSAYER 

Of the plethora of the so-called God’s fools who inundated Russia in the Middle Ages Vassily the Blessed who amazed the Muscovites with his unusual behaviour and prophesies during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Vassily was so much revered by the people that upon his death he was canonized and laid to rest right inside the Intercession Cathedral which has since been known as St. Basil’s Cathedral. 

A man of very unusual ways, Vassily was a drifter subsisting on alms, sleeping outdoors and moving around with nothing but rags on throughout the year. He was a living legend too with people saying he could walk on water. Even Czar Ivan the Terrible allegedly respected and even feared this blessed man. Ivan had every reason to fear Vassily. Once in a fit of fury, the Czar hit his eldest son Ivan with his mace killing him on the spot.  We can find a mention of this crime in the chronicles. Vassily the holy fool knew about the murder long before it actually happened... One day when Vassily was about to die, Ivan the Terrible, flanked by the Heir Apparent Ivan, his younger son Fyodor and his daughter Anastasia came to see the dying man and asked for his blessing, especially for Prince Ivan who was bound to become Russia’s next Czar.  “This one will not be the Czar. The other one will…” Vassily whispered pointing at the runty and feeble looking Prince Fyodor. Then, turning to the stately-looking heartthrob Ivan, Vassily said: “You will not be Czar. I can see a bloody cloud billowing over your head. Beware…”

Crestfallen, Ivan the Terrible and his offspring went off… And the dark prophecy eventually came terribly true. One day, gripped by one of his recurrent fits of unstoppable fury, Ivan the Terrible killed his beloved son and successor  - another whim of Fate predicted by the late miracle man Vassily, a Fool for Christ… 

Here is another example of Vassily’s amazing abilities.  He was a welcome gust wherever he went, be it a pauper’s hut or a royal palace. One day Vassily found himself at a feast in the Kremlin.  Czar Ivan sent him a bowl of wine. Vassily took the bowl and emptied the contents onto the floor. The Czar sent out a second bowl, which was likewise emptied onto the ground, then another one… Seeing the third bowl being poured out, like the previous two, Ivan was infuriated… Vassily explained that the spilled wine was indeed the much-awaited rain that had put out a great fire devouring the city of Novgorod.  To make sure, Czar Ivan dispatched a messenger to Novgorod. A few days later the messenger returned confirming that Novgorod Veliky (Novgorod the Great) had indeed caught fire the residents just could not put out no matter how hard they tried. Then, just as Ivan and his boyars were feasting in Moscow, there came a mighty downpour that quickly put out the raging flames… That’s how another of Vassily’s prophecies came true.

Czar Ivan had so much faith in Vassily’s soothsaying abilities that one day he inquired when exactly he was going to die.  To this Vassily replied that Ivan would see a fiery cross right above Moscow’s highest belfry which he said would be a harbinger of death. Which, in turn, would be caused by poison out into Ivan’s wine by one of his bosom friends. Vassily never mentioned the name of that turncoat though. Years later, in the winter of 1584 there appeared in the dark skies over the belfry a huge fireball. The sky lit up like in broad daylight. Ivan the Terrible walked out of his palace and, looking up at the comet, went pale and staggered because the thing looked like a fiery cross… To stave off the deadly prophesy, the Czar ordered a group of soothsayers to be brought to see him. They proved of no help to the distraught Czar though and they even predicted the exact day he was going to die - March 18. Enraged, Czar Ivan ordered to burn the soothsayers at the stake exactly on that same day. On March 18 Ivan woke up feeling energized and happy. He had a breakfast and, as he was eating, he watched the workers preparing the execution site. One of the soothsayers whispered (loud enough for Ivan to hear, though): “Don’t rejoice, King Herod. The day is only beginning and who knows how it will end…” After dinner the Czar sat down for a game of chess with his good friend and confidant Boris Godunov. Suddenly, Ivan went pale, slumped down onto the floor and died.  Well, at least that’s how legend has it.

There have always been people able to foresee things and warn others of things yet to come. Besides Vassily we also know of Abel, a Russian monk, who predicted Napoleon’s invasion and the great Moscow Fire of 1812. 

What is the nature of clairvoyance and foreknowledge? Unfortunately, science is unable to explain the nature of this phenomenon. Neither can it influence the course of events prescribed by the Providence…