The name of the Galata Icon of the Mother of God comes from the name of one of the districts of Constantinople - Galata. It is believed that the original holy image was in a monastery built in honor of the holy icon, which existed until the 17th century. In some historical documents of the 19th century there is a mention that the Galata Icon was located in Perga, or Pyrgia (Greek for “tower”), but there is no evidence of the existence of such a monastery within Constantinople. There is an assumption that the place called the tower, and, accordingly, the place of residence of the holy image, means the Church of the Virgin of Kasteliotissa in Galata.
Saint Basil, Bishop of Chersonesus (†309) was one of the seven Hieromartyrs of Chersonesos who was seized by the townspeople, beaten and expelled from the city. Retiring to the mountains and settling in a cave, he prayed for those who had expelled him. Then he returned to the city and resurrected the only son of one of the Chersonese princes. After that, Vasily was honorably returned to the city. On March 7, 309, at the behest of Emperor Maximian Galerius, persecutors of Christians broke into Basil's house at night, tied him up, dragged him through the streets, and beat him to death with stones and sticks. The body of the saint was thrown outside the city to be eaten by dogs and birds, and lay unburied for many days, but remained untouched. Then the Christians secretly buried the holy body of the martyr in a cave.
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