Stand Against Iconoclasm
The reign of Constantine V Copronymos saw an intensification of the imperial campaign against the veneration of icons, formalized by a council held in 754 that condemned the practice. Sources relate that Basil declined to subscribe to this council's decree, refusing to put his name to the document directed against icons.
Beyond withholding his signature, Basil is said to have avoided contact with the iconoclasts entirely and to have barred them from his diocese. His persistence in upholding icon veneration brought upon him much persecution, hunger, and deprivation, and the tradition records that he remained faithful to the Orthodox Church until his death—the basis for his commemoration as a confessor rather than a martyr.