Early Life and Monastic Formation
Bassian was born Basil, a peasant of the village of Strelitsa near the city of Totma in the Vologda region, and earned his living as a tailor before entering monastic life.
He took up monastic service under Saint Theodosius of Totemsk at the Sumorinsk monastery, which stood along the River Sukhona. Totma itself was a center of trade and salt production during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the Transfiguration (Spaso-Sumorin) monastery there had been founded in 1554 by the monk Feodosy Sumorin, known as Theodosius of Totemsk, under whom Bassian was formed.
Ascetic Life at Tiksnensk
In 1594 Bassian relocated to the River Tiksna, settling near a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas. He first sheltered at the entrance of the church and afterward built his own cell nearby.
For roughly three decades he practiced severe self-mortification. According to the account of his life, he wore a heavy chain upon his shoulders, an iron belt about his loins, and an iron cap upon his head beneath his head covering.
He kept strict isolation from visitors, admitting only his spiritual director, and lived on charitable donations left at the window of his cell. The full extent of these physical austerities was discovered only when his body was being prepared for burial.
Veneration and Legacy
A monastery dedicated to the Savior's Not-Made-by-Hands Icon was eventually established at the site of Bassian's hermitage.
Official recognition of his veneration began in 1647, when those suffering from plague reported being healed at his tomb. A monk named Joseph documented his life in 1745.
