Basil (name)

The name Basil (/ˈbæzəl/; royal, kingly) comes from the male Greek name Vassilios (Greek: Βασίλειος, female version Bασιλική), which first appeared during the Hellenistic period. It is derived from "basileus" (Greek: βασιλεύς), a Greek word of pre-Hellenic origin meaning "king", from which words such as basilica and basilisk (via Latin) as well as the eponymous herb (via Old French) derive, and the name of the Italian region Basilicata, which had been long under the rule of the Byzantine Emperor (also called basileus).

It was brought to England by the Crusaders, having been common in the eastern Mediterranean. It is more often used in Britain and Europe than in the US and is also the name of a common herb.

In Arabic, Bas(s)el (باسل, bāsil) is an indirect Quranic name for boys that means "brave, fearless, intrepid". It is derived from the B-S-L root, which is used in many places in the Quran.

Different derived names in different languages include Basile in French; Basilius in German; Basilio in Italian, Galician and Spanish; Basileo in Galician; Vasile in Romanian; Vasil in Bulgarian; Vasilije in Serbian; Vasily in Russian; Bazil, Bazsó, Vászoly and Vazul in Hungarian.

Vasyl Lypkivsky

Vasyl Kostantynovytch Lypkivsky (Ukrainian: Василь Костянтинович Липківський, Russian: Василий Константинович Липковский; 7 September 1864 — 27 November 1937) was founder of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the first "Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine" (1921–1927).

Education and early ministry

Vasyl Lypkivsky was born in the village of Popudnya in the Kiev Governorate (now Cherkasy Oblast), where his father was a priest.

In 1873 he began his education at the Uman Theological Seminary and graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy in 1889 with the title of Candidate of Theology. On October 20, 1891 he was ordained as a clergyman. He ministered in the Lipovets region, staying there for a period of 11 years. In 1903 he was transferred to Kiev and was appointed as director of the School for Teachers of Religion in Kiev. Because of his participation in the Ukrainian ecclesiastic movement, he was removed from his position in 1905 and transferred to the parish of Kiev-Solomenka in the capacity of prior.