MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on July 28 (Old Style - July 15) celebrates the day of remembrance of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir, the baptist of Rus', canonized in the 13th century. On this day in Russia the Day of the Baptism of Rus' is celebrated.
On this day, in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, services are performed according to the rites of the great holiday and special prayer services are held. “According to the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2008, on the day of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, July 15/28, divine services should be performed “according to the regulations of the great holiday.” With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, on this day solemn services should be performed annually in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church with a special prayer service at the end of the liturgy,” says the Russian Orthodox Church website.
Earlier, Vakhtang Kipshidze, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media of the Moscow Patriarchate, said that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' will perform a liturgy on this day in Moscow at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which will begin at 10 a.m., and will address the believers with a sermon. . According to him, parishioners of Orthodox churches will be able to organize festive religious processions around their churches in those regions where the epidemiological situation allows this.
In addition, at noon in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, bells will ring in honor of the holiday. “On July 28, 2021, on the Day of the Baptism of Rus', in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the campaign “Glory to You, God!” The bell will ring. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', the bell ringing will be performed in churches at noon local time,” the Church’s website says.
Baptism of Rus'
According to the Tale of Bygone Years, Prince Vladimir was baptized in Crimea in the Byzantine settlement of Korsun. After this, Orthodoxy became the state religion of Kievan Rus. Prince Vladimir ordered the destruction of pagan sanctuaries in Russian cities, organized the baptism of the people of Kiev, and later the rest of the inhabitants of the Old Russian state. In 991 (according to other sources - in 996) a metropolitanate was established in Kyiv, subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and episcopal sees were established in other Russian cities (in particular, in Novgorod).
Baptism contributed to the flourishing of culture, the spread of literacy and books, the development of icon painting and other forms of art, as well as architecture: at the end of the 10th century, the construction of the first stone and wooden churches began in Rus'. In general, the process of Christianization of Ancient Rus' was completed by the 12th-13th centuries.
According to historians, Vladimir’s adoption of Christianity was due to both his personal spiritual quest and a number of domestic and foreign policy reasons. Paganism did not suit the prince as a state ideology, since it contradicted the idea of centralization of power. In addition, the adoption of Christianity made it possible to introduce Rus' into the ranks of the leading European powers of its time and significantly increase its international status. Historians also note that Vladimir could have been prompted to accept Christianity by the memory of his paternal grandmother, Princess Olga, who was baptized in Byzantium in the 950s, becoming the first Christian on the Kiev throne.
Memorial Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir July 28, history of the holiday
Prince Vladimir was only six years old when Princess Olga, who raised him, died. His father sent Vladimir to rule in Novgorod, and he was looked after by the governor Dobrynya. It is known that Dobrynya was the brother of Vladimir’s mother, Malusha. Vladimir's mother was also known by the name Malkhrida, she was a Christian, when her son also began to believe in Christ, he founded the Tithe Church in Kyiv in honor of his mother.
Three years after Olga’s death, Prince Svyatoslav, Vladimir’s father, was killed in a battle with the Pechenegs. Then the teachers of Svyatoslav’s sons began to fight among themselves; they fought for Kyiv, where Christianity began, as well as for pagan Novgorod. As a result, Novgorod won, and Prince Vladimir began to rule in Kyiv. Vladimir's two older brothers, Yaropolk and Oleg, died during the war; Prince Vladimir mourned their death until the end of his life.
Prince Vladimir began to rule the lands without the help of his father the moment he turned seventeen. He spent the first few years of his principality on campaigns, trying to unite Rus'. The prince did a good deed, he led the people and talked about the need to be one. People obeyed him, this led to the fact that Rus' became united.
It is known that Prince Vladimir was a pagan before being baptized. However, the experience of his mother and teacher made it clear that he should renounce this faith and believe in Christ. More and more often, martyrs began to appear in Rus' who died for the Lord, they refused to serve idols, Vladimir saw all this and realized that this could not continue, he wanted to change Rus'.
If you believe the legends, the prince sent his ambassadors to different states in order to understand how different peoples serve the Lord. Most of all, the envoys were struck by the Greco-Eastern faith; when they returned to their homeland, they told the prince about their admiration. It so happened that the Greek rulers Constantine and Vasily turned to Prince Vladimir with a request to help them cope with the rebellion of the governor Phocas. The prince agreed, but with one condition: he wanted to marry their sister, Princess Anna. The emperors gave their consent, but also with one condition: the prince must undergo the rite of baptism. When Vladimir defeated Phokas, they did not deliver what they promised. Then the prince took Korsun and forced the emperors to fulfill their promise. Later, the prince returned Korsun to the Greeks, this was a bride price. The prince also baptized his squad. This happened in 988. If you believe the legends, the prince became blind before baptism, and regained his sight when he came out of the font. When Vladimir returned to his native land, all the Orthodox clergy who came with him baptized the people of Kiev at the place where the Khreshchatyk River flows into the Dnieper. The clergy brought with them liturgical books, which were translated into Slavic by Cyril and Methodius. Metropolitan Mikhail was also with the clergy.
In Kyiv, which knew Christianity quite intimately, it quickly established itself. In Novgorod, Rostov and Murom, paganism lasted for several centuries, but Christianity soon won, and these cities also became Christian. Since ancient times, the death penalty was not known in Rus'; it was replaced by a fine - a monetary fine. Reverend Vladimir is the creator of this custom. Soon such a custom became law; it entered the code of laws, which was compiled under his son, Grand Duke Yaroslav.
The Grand Duke was so popular and respected among the public that people wrote compositions and poems about him, he was revered as a saint and was called the Red Sun. Vladimir also created many cities in Russia, one of them you know for sure - Vladimir, in Suzdal land. The prince tried to strengthen the faith of people and unite them; in general, his entire reign can be characterized in one word - unity. Vladimir wanted people to live in peace, no one should fight, harmony should reign in Rus'. Vladimir's work was continued by his glorious children, especially Yaroslav the Wise.
Thanks to Vladimir, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Kyiv. It is known that he donated some of his income to this temple. In 1015, the prince died, this happened in the village of Berestovo. The holy relics of Vladimir are in the St. Sophia Church, which was built by his son Yaroslav.
On this day, the people continued a glorious tradition: they had to walk barefoot on the grass and collect dew. They say that this helps get rid of many diseases, including chronic ones. Representatives of the fair half of humanity collected dew in linen towels, and then came home and squeezed them into a mug. This mug had to be washed with dew, so one could gain youth and beauty. This tradition was followed throughout July.
History of the state celebration
In the Russian Empire, at the state level, the celebration of the day of the baptism of Rus' took place for the first time on its nine hundredth anniversary: on the day of remembrance of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince on July 15, 1888. A century later, in 1988, large-scale events associated with the millennium of the baptism of Rus' took place in the USSR.
In June 2008, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, on behalf of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, addressed the leadership of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus with a proposal to include the day of memory of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir among the state memorial dates. In August 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Culture to develop a corresponding bill. In May 2010, it was signed by the head of state.
In Ukraine, the Day of the Baptism of Kievan Rus - Ukraine is celebrated annually on July 28. The holiday was established on July 25, 2008 by decree of the country's President Viktor Yushchenko. In Belarus, the day of memory of Prince Vladimir does not have official status and is celebrated only as a church holiday.
This Russian holiday today can be called religious, national, state, and cultural. For the holy Russian Prince Vladimir laid the cornerstone of the foundation on which the more than thousand-year-old chamber of the Russian faith, the Russian nation, the Russian state and Russian culture was erected. He is the spiritual ancestor of the Russian people. Few names in history can compare in significance with the name of Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the baptizer of Rus', who predetermined the spiritual destinies of the Russian Church and the Russian Orthodox people for centuries to come.
The Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir continued the work of his predecessors in uniting various Slavic tribes into a single Russian state. However, he entered the history of Russia and the Orthodox Church primarily as a baptist. It was during his reign that the mass conversion of the inhabitants of Kievan Rus to Christianity took place. The future ruler of Kievan Rus was born around 962 in the village of Budutina Ves near Kiev. He was the son of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich and Malusha, the housekeeper of Princess Olga. After Vladimir’s birth, he was taken away from his mother and was raised at Olga’s court.
In 970, Svyatoslav, setting off on a campaign from which he was never destined to return, divided the Russian Land between his three sons. Yaropolk reigned in Kyiv, Oleg reigned in Ovruch, the center of the Drevlyansky land, and Vladimir reigned in Novgorod. The first years of his reign we see Vladimir as a furious pagan. He leads a campaign, in which all pagan Rus' sympathizes with him, against Yaropolk the Christian, or, in any case, according to the chronicle, “who gave great freedom to Christians,” and enters Kiev on June 11, 978, becoming the “single ruler” of the Kyiv state, “having conquered the surrounding countries, some by peace, and the disobedient by the sword.” From the age of 17 he began to rule independently. He spent the first 6 years of his reign on campaigns, personally leading the squad and uniting Rus'. Under him, all Slavic tribes from the Carpathians and the Neman and the city of Goroden (Grodno) to Beloozero, Oka and Volga began to form one whole - the Russian land and were called Russians.
Tradition portrays Prince Vladimir, before his baptism, as an ardent pagan, a favorite of the squad, a lover of sensual pleasures, military campaigns and noisy feasts. Militarily strong Rus' found itself surrounded by less powerful, but more enlightened states. More and more often the word of preaching the true faith was heard in it, the first Russian martyrs for Christ appeared, denouncing the service of idols, preachers of other religions also came to Rus'.
Tradition says that the prince, wise from above, sent selected men to different countries to see and experience how different peoples serve God and how “they show faith by their deeds.” The Greek-Eastern faith struck the envoys more than anyone else, and they, returning to their homeland, said to the prince: “No one, having tasted the sweet, craves the bitter, so we cannot remain here and serve as an idol.” The choice has been made. It so happened that the Greek emperors Constantine and Basil (from the Macedonian dynasty) turned to Vladimir with a request to help them pacify the rebellion of the governor Phocas. Vladimir agreed, but set the condition for the hand of their sister, Princess Anna, and the sending of the clergy with sacred utensils for the baptism of Rus'. The emperors agreed, but when Vladimir defeated Phocas, they did not fulfill their obligations. Then Vladimir took Korsun and thereby forced the emperors to fulfill their promise. He returned Korsun to the Greeks as a bride price. He baptized his squad and, according to the “Tale of the Baptism of Rus',” he himself was baptized. This was in 988. The chronicle says that before baptism he became blind and regained his sight when he came out of the font.
Soon after the wedding, Vladimir Svyatoslavich, having built the Church of St. John the Baptist in Korsun, returned to Kyiv. Along with him came his new wife, the Greek princess Anna, as well as the clergy - sent as part of the princess’s retinue and brought from the conquered Korsun. The Tale of Bygone Years singles out Anastas, Vladimir's associate in the upcoming Baptism of Rus', among the Korsun residents. In addition, shrines from Korsun were transferred to Kyiv - the venerable head of St. Clement of Rome and the relics of his disciple St. Thebes, as well as church vessels, icons, copper statues and horse figures. It is widely believed that missionaries from Bulgaria also took part in the primary mass education of Rus', who, thanks to the proximity of the language, had the most direct access to the Russian Slavs. After his baptism, Prince Vladimir decided to convert his entire people to the new faith. This affected many aspects of the lives of his subjects. First of all, Christianity changed the moral guidelines of the Slavs. Instead of the rudeness and cruelty of paganism, it taught people love, mercy, and sacrifice.
At first, Vladimir ordered the pagan idols to be knocked down - some to be chopped up, others to be burned, and the idol of Perun to be dragged tied by the tail of a horse, beaten with sticks, thrown into the Dnieper, and pushed away from the shore until the rapids passed. Despite the sorrow of the pagans, this was fulfilled. Then Vladimir sent envoys around the city, authoritatively calling all the people to the Dnieper: “If someone does not appear on the river in the morning, whether rich, poor, or poor, or hard-working, let him be my enemy.” The chronicle explains the consent of the people with the authority of the victorious prince and his close men, putting the following words into the mouths of the Kievites: “if this were not good, the prince and the boyars would not accept this.” The next day, Vladimir and the clergy went to the Dnieper, many people entered the river, and the clergy performed prayers and the sacrament of baptism over them, after which the people went home. The chronicle emphasizes the joy that accompanied Baptism - people “walked joyfully, rejoicing;” during the general baptism there was “great joy in heaven and on earth;” and after baptism, “Volodimer was glad because he and his people knew God.” After the baptism of the Kievites, Vladimir’s main measures to establish Christianity throughout his land were: the construction of wooden Orthodox churches in the places where pagan idols had previously stood (this became the Kiev Church of St. Basil); the construction of churches and the appointment of priests in all cities and villages of the state to bring the people to baptism; removing children from the best families and assigning them to book education. Soon Vladimir began construction of the new main temple of the Russian land - the Kyiv Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for which Greek craftsmen were called upon. The church was supplied with tithes of princely possessions, clergy and church objects from Korsun, and Anastas Korsun was placed in charge of the temple - in fact, he may have played a central role in the administration of the Church in Rus' in the first years after Epiphany. At the same time, a more extensive church organization was created for Rus' - within the framework of the Kyiv Metropolis under Vladimir, several episcopal sees were established: Novgorod, and also, probably, Belgorod, Chernigov, Polotsk, Pereyaslavl, Rostov and Turov. Traditions testify to the first saints of the Russian land - Michael of Kiev, Joachim of Korsun of Novgorod, Theodore the Greek of Rostov.
The amount of evidence indicates that the course of the Baptism of Rus' under Vladimir was peaceful in comparison with similar mass events among other peoples of Europe. “Christianity was conquered from Byzantium under the walls of Chersonesus, but it did not turn into an act of conquest against its people.” The main consequence of the adoption of Christianity by the people of Rus' was revealed in itself by its baptist, Grand Duke Vladimir, becoming “from a voluptuous and unrestrained young man in his passions to a holy man” - a defender and beautifier of his country, a merciful judge, a generous feeder of the sick and poor, and a patron of teaching. The main gift of Christ's faith - the possibility of acquiring salvation, deification, holiness - shone brightly among the Russian people, who, since the time of Vladimir, have revealed entire hosts of saints in every generation. By the beginning of the 21st century, more saints were glorified by name in the host of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church than any other local Church in the world. “All regions of Russia, from Carpathian Rus' (Reverends Moses Ugrin and Ephraim of Novotorzhsky) to Alaska, which briefly belonged to Russia (Reverend Herman), had their own ascetics. Every country in Russia, almost every significant city had its own shrines. Every place, every language has been sanctified by the service of God,” said Saint John of Shanghai, who with his service in Asia, Europe, Africa and America demonstrated the educational role of the Russian Church on a global scale.
The prayer of Saint Vladimir at the Baptism of his people - “Great God, creator of heaven and earth! Look at your new people, let them, Lord, bring You, the true God, as if you saw the peasant countries, and establish in them a right and incorruptible faith, help me, Lord, against the opposing enemy, yes, I hope in You and in Your power “I will escape his wiles!” — expressed the three main aspirations of the Baptist of Rus': knowledge of God, loyalty to Orthodoxy, and the fight against evil. Thanks to the Baptism of Rus', these guiding directions became decisive for many spiritual children and heirs of St. Vladimir, constituting a new ideal that penetrated into various spheres of personal, public and state life of the Russian people. Views, way of life and life were formed under the influence of church rules. The Church strengthened the Christian family sanctified by God - the “small church” - by breaking the tribal union, abolishing polygamy and the custom of bride kidnapping. State laws were consistent with the canons, and the church court received parallel action throughout the entire earth: the state was in charge of crimes, and the Church was in charge of other sins. Mental and spiritual life was distinguished by the desire to serve God. Almost all aspects of cultural life originated from church life and developed under the influence of the Church. Even Russia's foreign policy often expressed its spiritual image. Numerous attempts to seduce Russians into a different faith - primarily Roman Catholic - failed over and over again. Accordingly, when Russia nevertheless massively abandoned the fundamental covenants of Vladimir in the 20th century, it suffered unprecedented disasters. Baptism made a revolution in the life of Rus' - it was a break, national self-denial, a turning point towards good.
The Baptism of Rus' became the starting point in the history of the Russian people. The teachings of Christianity opened the consciousness of the unity of humanity, the common history of the human race, and the participation in this history of all peoples - one of which was now Russian. Subsequently, the consciousness of unity was strengthened by the fact that all of Rus', often politically fragmented, in church terms for centuries was united into one metropolis. The Church had the greatest influence on the unification of Rus' into one state, because not only Slavic, but also other tribes, with the spread of Orthodoxy among them, merged with the Russian people. Having a pacifying effect during civil strife, the Church instilled the consciousness that the Russian people, who received Baptism from Vladimir, are one. The key role of state power in the Baptism of Rus', on the one hand, and the power of the Church’s influence on the historical events of Russia, on the other hand, made it almost impossible to separate the history of Russian statehood from the history of Russian ecclesiastical life. Until the 20th century, the supreme rulers of Rus' ruled not “by the will of the people,” but “by God’s Grace,” answering to the Creator. After Baptism, Orthodoxy took such a decisive role in the culture of the people. After Epiphany, “book learning” became a subject of state concern, and monasteries became the main centers of learning. As a result, Rus' quickly became a highly literate country for its time. Russian book literature was so imbued with the Christian spirit that even those writers of later times who set themselves the task of fighting church teaching could not completely free themselves from its influence.
The special significance of beauty as a manifestation of God, reflected in the chronicle about the choice of faith, contributed to the surge of the arts after the adoption of Orthodoxy. Not only literature, but also fine arts, music, and to a large extent the architecture of Ancient Rus' were shaped under the decisive influence of Christianity. “The primacy of the artistic principle in church and state life” was expressed in the construction of grandiose cathedrals, which for centuries occupied a central place in the capital cities of Rus' - Sofia in Kiev, Sofia in Novgorod, Spas in Chernigov, the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, etc. Already in the 11th century, Rus' surpassed all its neighbors, except the Roman Empire, in the grandeur of its architecture and in the art of painting, mosaics, and applied art. The special place of icon painting in the emerging Russian Orthodox culture led to the appearance of such global peaks of theology in color as the images of St. Andrei Rublev. The name and work of Saint Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles, whom the people called the Red Sun, is connected with the entire subsequent history of the Russian Church. “Through them we became deified and came to know Christ, the True Life,” St. Hilarion testified. His feat was continued by his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, who owned the Russian land for almost six centuries: from Yaroslav the Wise, who took the first step towards the independent existence of the Russian Church - to the last Rurikovich, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, under whom (in 1589) the Russian Orthodox Church became the fifth independent Patriarchate in the diptych of Orthodox Autocephalous Churches.
The celebration of Saint Vladimir Equal to the Apostles was established by Saint Alexander Nevsky after on May 15, 1240, with the help and intercession of Saint Vladimir, he won the famous Nevsky victory over the Swedish crusaders. But church veneration of the holy prince began in Rus' much earlier. Metropolitan Hilarion, Saint of Kiev († 1053), in the “Sermon on Law and Grace,” spoken on the day of remembrance of Saint Vladimir at his shrine in the Tithe Church, calls him “an apostle among the rulers,” “like” Saint Constantine, and compares his apostolic the gospel of the Russian Land with the gospel of the holy apostles.
CONGRATULATION
Dear brothers and sisters! We cordially congratulate you on the Day of the Baptism of Rus', the day of remembrance of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir! Thanks to this celebration, we try to preserve the memory of the Baptism of Rus' as a fateful event, one of the most important in the history of our Fatherland. The choice of faith by the holy ruler of the Russian land has determined the fate of our people for more than a thousand years. Thanks to him, disparate tribes were united into an internally integral people, civil strife was stopped and the Russian state arose. The spiritual values and worldview of our people, their great and original spiritual and national culture were shaped by the Orthodox faith. It is impossible to instill faith in people “with fire and sword”; you can only lead to it by your own example. The complete transformation of the soul of Saint Prince Vladimir after Baptism became a visible and amazing miracle for his subjects, the best evidence of the truth of the Orthodox faith, that God Himself abides with the person who turns to Him. Therefore, the faith was deeply accepted by our people. Throughout his history, he demonstrates the best Christian character traits: piety and the desire for good, courage and patience, mercy and love for others. For this reason, the event of the Baptism of Rus' has important personal significance for each of us. The truths of the Orthodox faith are addressed to the heart of every person and open the way to Christ and eternal life for all of us. And vice versa, when we lose faith, the Christian moral ideal, the ability to distinguish good from evil - then the idols, defeated by the holy Prince Vladimir, raise their heads. Idols that destroy human life. If we do not allow our history, our culture, having abandoned our ideal, to turn back to the old idols, then we will have hope for the future, for building a peaceful, just life, in the center of which is the unfading ideal of holiness, and therefore human purity, reason, nobility, love and hope. Dear brothers and sisters! With all our hearts we wish you all strengthening of faith, God's help in your work for the good of your neighbors and our Fatherland. Through the prayers of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, may the Lord preserve our land and all of us in peace and prosperity!
Lysva deanery
Saint Vladimir
Baptist of Rus'
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was the grandson of Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, son of Svyatoslav. His mother, Malusha, was the daughter of Malk Lyubechanin, whom historians identify with Mal, Prince of Drevlyansky. Having brought the rebel Drevlyans to submission and taken possession of their cities, Princess Olga ordered the execution of Prince Mal, for whom they tried to woo her after the murder of Igor, and took his children, Dobrynya and Malusha, with her. Dobrynya grew up to be a brave and skillful warrior, possessed a state mind, and was subsequently a good assistant to his nephew Vladimir in matters of military and government administration.
The prophetic maiden Malusha became a Christian (together with Grand Duchess Olga in Constantinople) and fell in love with the stern warrior Svyatoslav, who, against the will of his mother, made her his wife. The angry Olga, considering it impossible for her captive, a slave, to marry the heir to the great Kyiv reign, sent Malusha to her homeland, not far from Vybut. There, around 960, a boy was born, named by the Russian pagan name Volodimir (owner of the world, possessing a special gift of peace). Vladimir was raised by his mother's brother, the pagan Dobrynya.
In 972, Prince Vladimir began to rule Novgorod. In 980, at the height of the war between the brothers, Vladimir went to Kyiv, where his elder brother Yaropolk reigned. Having defeated his brother, Vladimir began to rule in Kyiv. He conquered Galicia, humbled the Vyatichi, fought with the Pechenegs, and extended the boundaries of his power from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Bug River in the south. He had five wives and numerous concubines. At the beginning of his reign in Kyiv, Prince Vladimir was distinguished by his cruelty and special zeal for the pagan faith. By his order, idols were placed everywhere and sacrifices were made to them. The idol of Perun, who was revered as the god of thunder and lightning, was especially revered; it stood not far from the princely palace and was decorated with gold and silver.
Many sacrifices were made to the gods for victories over enemies, and at the beginning of his reign, Prince Vladimir had to fight often in order to either conquer some breakaway tribes or defend against attacks from neighboring peoples. When, after a successful campaign against the Yatvingians, Prince Vladimir made thanksgiving sacrifices to the gods, the city’s elders and boyars said: “Let’s cast lots for the young men and women. Whoever it falls on, we will sacrifice him to the gods.” At this time, a Christian Varangian lived in Kyiv, and the lot fell on his son, also a Christian. Those sent from the people came to the Varangian and said: “The lot fell on your son; the gods chose him so that we could sacrifice him to them.” The Varangian refused to give up his son and said: “Your gods are not gods, but a tree; There is one God, whom the Greeks worship and who created the heavens and the earth and man, and your gods themselves were made by human hands.” Those sent conveyed this answer to the people. An angry crowd of pagans approached the Varangian's house and demanded that he give up his son. The Varangian answered: “If your gods are really gods, then let them come and take my son from my arms, but what do you have to worry about?” With these words, he took his son into his arms and did not let him go, and an irritated crowd of pagans rushed at the Varangian and his son and killed them both. This is how the Varangians Theodore and John died for Christ. For the first time at this time, the walls of Kyiv were stained with the martyrdom of Christians. The circumstances of their death made a strong impression on Vladimir, and he began to doubt the truth of the pagan faith.
However, the pagan faith of the Slavs provided too little food for the mind and heart to withstand the struggle with other religions, especially Christianity, for a long time. The developing relations with Greece introduced the Russians to the way of life of the Greeks and their faith and were the reason why the number of Christians in Kyiv was increasingly increasing. There were many Christians in the prince’s squad, their modest lifestyle, strict and honest performance of their duties could not help but attract Vladimir’s attention.
Tradition brings to us a poetic story about Prince Vladimir’s adoption of Christianity and his baptism of Rus'. Smart and inquisitive, who loved to talk about matters of faith, Prince Vladimir soon became convinced that he needed to change his faith. At the invitation of the prince, preachers from different countries came to Kyiv: ambassadors from the Muslim Bulgarians who lived beyond the Volga, Latin Germans, Jews and Greeks. The prince asked about their faith, and each offered him theirs.
The first preachers were ambassadors from the Bulgarians living on the Volga, with a proposal to accept the Mohammedan faith. When the prince asked what their faith was, they answered: “We believe in God, who exists in heaven, and we also have his prophet Mohammed, who gave us a law according to which we can have as many wives as we want, but at the same time we were also given the law to be circumcised.” , do not eat pork meat and do not drink wine.” The woman-loving Prince Vladimir liked the teaching that allowed polygamy, he also liked the sensual paradise promised by Mohammed with beautiful houris, but he did not like other laws, especially circumcision and not drinking wine, and he did not agree to accept the Mohammedan faith.
After this, Jews came to Prince Vladimir with an offer to accept their faith and greatly praised their Old Testament law. When Prince Vladimir asked where their land and Fatherland were, the Jews answered: “Our God was angry with our fathers for their sins and scattered them throughout the entire earth, so that we have no Fatherland.” The prince said to them: “What do you want? Is it possible that the same thing will happen to us?” - and drove them away from me.
Ambassadors of the Pope and various German princes also came to offer their faith, but they also had no success with Prince Vladimir.
After everyone else, a Greek preacher came to Prince Vladimir, who had a long conversation with the prince about the Christian faith and, beginning the story of the creation of the world, explained to the prince all the Holy Scriptures and all the prophecies concerning the incarnation of Christ, His death on the Cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven. At the end of his sermon, speaking about the future resurrection of all the dead and about the future Judgment and reward for the righteous and sinners, he showed a picture of the Last Judgment and this had such a strong effect on the prince that he exclaimed in emotion: “Blessed are those who stand on the right side, and woe to those who are on the left!” The preacher told him: “If you want to receive this bliss, then be baptized.”
On the advice of the boyars, Vladimir sent ten wise men to test on the spot whose faith was better. When these Russian ambassadors arrived in Constantinople, the splendor of the St. Sophia Church, the harmonious singing of the court singers and the solemnity of the patriarchal service touched them to the depths of their souls: “We did not know,” they later told Vladimir, “we stood on earth or in heaven.” And the boyars immediately remarked to him: “If the Greek faith had not been better than other faiths, your grandmother Olga, the wisest of people, would not have accepted it.”
From that time on, Prince Vladimir began to look for an opportunity to change his faith to the Greek faith. But it seemed unworthy to the stern conquering prince to ask the Greeks for enlightenment with Christian truths; he wanted to conquer the faith itself with the sword. The prince gathered a council, and at it it was decided to go with an army to the Greek land and, having conquered the cities, get Christian teachers who would teach them their faith. Vladimir went to war against the Greeks and took Chersonesus. From here he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to the emperors Vasily and Constantine demanding the hand of their sister, Princess Anna. They answered him that the princess could only be the wife of a Christian. Prince Vladimir replied that he was ready to be baptized, and asked to send priests to him along with the princess. With difficulty, the kings convinced their sister to agree and marry the Russian prince. “It’s like I’m going into captivity,” said the princess, “it would be better for me to die here.”
The princess arrived to Chersonese on a ship along with the priests and Bishop Mikhail and was received with great honor by Prince Vladimir. Shortly before the princess's arrival in Chersonesus, Prince Vladimir's eyes hurt, so that he could see almost nothing at all. This illness led the prince to the idea that the gods were punishing him for cheating on them, but the princess, having learned about this, sent to Prince Vladimir: “If you want to be healthy, quickly accept baptism.” Prince Vladimir agreed and, enlightened by Christian truths from the bishop who arrived with the princess, accepted Baptism in the St. Sophia Church in the city of Chersonesus. Like the Apostle Paul, he recognized his spiritual weakness and prepared for the great mystery of rebirth. While immersed in the font, the prince received a miraculous healing from his blindness. When leaving the font, he saw with his spiritual and physical eyes and in an abundance of joy exclaimed: “Now I have come to know the True God!” At baptism, Vladimir was named Vasily. Together with the prince, his squad was baptized in Chersonesos.
This is how the hagiographic legends that have reached our times tell about Prince Vladimir. But historians’ reconstruction of the events of those times offers a different version.
Young Vladimir indulged in a stormy sensual life, although he was far from being such a sensualist as he is sometimes portrayed. He “grazed his land with truth, courage and reason,” like a kind and zealous owner, if necessary, he expanded and defended its borders by force of arms, and returning from a campaign, he arranged generous and cheerful feasts for the squad and for all of Kiev. But the Lord was preparing a different field for him. Where sin abounds, grace abounds
(Rom. 5:20). “And when the visitation of the Most High came upon him, the All-Merciful Eye of the Good God looked upon him, and the thought shone in his heart, that he might understand the vanity of idolatry, and that he might seek the One God, who created everything visible and invisible.” External circumstances also contributed to the acceptance of baptism. The Byzantine Empire was shaken by the blows of the rebellious commanders Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phocas, each of whom was already trying on the royal crown. In difficult conditions, the emperors, co-ruler brothers Vasily the Bolgar-Slayer and Constantine, turned to Vladimir for help.
Events developed quickly. In August 987, Bardas Fokas proclaimed himself emperor and marched on Constantinople; in the fall of the same year, the ambassadors of Emperor Basil were in Kyiv. “And his (Vasily’s) wealth was exhausted, and the need prompted him to enter into correspondence with the Tsar of Rus. They were his enemies, but he asked them for help, writes one of the Arab chroniclers about the events of the 980s. “And the Tsar of Russov agreed to this and asked for property with him.”
As a reward for military assistance, Vladimir asked for the hand of the emperors’ sister Anna, which was an unheard-of audacity for the Byzantines. Princesses of the blood never married “barbarian” sovereigns, even Christians. At one time, Emperor Otto the Great sought the hand of the same Anna for his son, and he was refused, but now Constantinople was forced to agree. An agreement was concluded according to which Vladimir had to send six thousand Varangians to help the emperors, accept Holy Baptism and, on this condition, receive the hand of Princess Anna. Thus, the will of God determined the entry of Rus' into the blessed bosom of the Universal Church. Grand Duke Vladimir accepts Baptism and sends military assistance to Byzantium. With the help of the Russians, the rebellion was crushed and Varda Foka was killed. But the Greeks, delighted by the unexpected deliverance, were in no hurry to fulfill their part of the agreement.
Outraged by the Greek deceit, Prince Vladimir “gathered all his troops” and moved “to Korsun, the Greek city,” ancient Chersonesus. The impregnable stronghold of Byzantine domination on the Black Sea, one of the vital hubs of economic and trade relations of the empire, fell. The blow was so sensitive that its echo echoed throughout the Byzantine borders.
The decisive argument was again Vladimir's. His ambassadors, governor Oleg and Zhdbern, soon arrived in Constantinople to pick up the princess. Eight days were spent getting Anna ready, whom the brothers consoled, emphasizing the significance of the feat ahead of her: to contribute to the enlightenment of the Russian state, to make the Russians forever friends of the Roman state. And to Vladimir’s titles a new, even more brilliant one was added - tsar (tsar, emperor). The arrogant rulers of Constantinople had to give in on this too - to share the crown (imperial) signs of power with their son-in-law. In some Greek sources, Prince Vladimir has been referred to since that time as a powerful basileus
, he mints coins according to Byzantine models and is depicted on them with signs of imperial power: in royal clothes, on his head - an imperial crown, in his right hand - a scepter with a cross.
With the princess, Metropolitan Michael, dedicated by the Holy Patriarch Nicholas II Chrysoverg, arrived to the Russian See with his retinue, clergy, many holy relics and other shrines. In ancient Chersonesos, where every stone remembered St. Andrew the First-Called, the wedding of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and Blessed Anna took place, recalling and confirming the primordial unity of the gospel of Christ in Rus' and Byzantium. Korsun, queen's vein
, was returned to Byzantium. In the spring of 988, the Grand Duke set off with his wife through the Crimea, Taman, and the Azov lands, which were part of his vast possessions, on the way back to Kyiv. Ahead of the grand ducal train, with frequent prayer services and incessant sacred chants, they carried crosses, icons, and holy relics of the Hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome.
Upon arrival in Kyiv, Vladimir first of all invited his twelve sons to be baptized, and they were baptized in one source, known in Kyiv as Khreshchatyk. Following them, many boyars were baptized. Then the prince began to eradicate idolatry and destroy idols. To convince the people of the powerlessness and insignificance of idols, he ordered the main god Perun to be overthrown from the hill, tied to a horse’s tail and beaten with rods and sticks, and then drowned in the Dnieper. The overthrow of the idols was followed by the announcement of the gospel sermon to the people. Christian priests gathered the people and instructed them in the holy faith. Finally, Saint Vladimir announced in Kyiv that all residents, rich and poor, should appear on a certain day at the river to receive Baptism. The people of Kiev were in a hurry to fulfill the will of the prince, reasoning like this: “If the new faith were not better, then the prince and the boyars would not have accepted it.”
On the appointed day, the residents of Kiev gathered on the banks of the Dnieper. Vladimir himself came here with Christian priests. All Kiev residents entered the river; adults held babies in their arms; the priests on the shore read prayers, and Saint Vladimir, overwhelmed with delight, prayed to God and entrusted himself and his people to Him: “Lord God, who created heaven and earth, look upon Thy newly baptized people, and let them truly know You, the True God, and establish them in the Orthodox faith, and help me against visible and invisible enemies, and glorify Your most holy name in the Russian countries.”
This is how the Baptism of Rus' took place. In memory of the sacred event, the custom of the annual religious procession “to the water” on August 1 was established in the Russian Church, which was subsequently combined with the celebration of the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, common with the Greek Church, and the Russian church festival of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos (established by Saint Andrew Bogolyubsky in 1164).
After the baptism of the Kievites, they began to build churches for the newly baptized. Throughout Holy Rus', from ancient cities to distant churchyards, Saint Vladimir commanded to overthrow pagan temples, cut out idols, and in their place, cut down churches along the hills, consecrate thrones for the Bloodless Sacrifice. Temples of God grew across the face of the earth, on elevated places, at river bends, on the ancient route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” - like guiding signs, lights of national holiness. Glorifying the temple-building works of Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir, the author of the “Sermon on Law and Grace,” St. Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kiev, exclaimed: “Temples are destroyed and churches are erected, idols are crushed and icons of saints appear, demons flee, the Cross sanctifies cities.” From the first centuries of Christianity, the custom began to erect temples on the ruins of pagan sanctuaries or on the blood of holy martyrs. Following this rule, Saint Vladimir built the Church of St. Basil the Great on the hill where the altar of Perun was located, and founded the stone Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Tithe) on the site of the martyrdom of the holy Varangian martyrs.
Divine services in churches began to be performed using books that Metropolitan Michael and the priests brought with them from Greece, and they were performed in a language understandable to our ancestors. Prince Vladimir himself began to go around towns and villages with priests, everywhere persuading people to be baptized. The Metropolitan, with the bishops who arrived from Constantinople, and Dobrynya, the uncle of Prince Vladimir, went to baptize the people north of Kyiv and reached Novgorod the Great, and then to Rostov.
The successful spread of the faith of Christ among the Russian people was especially facilitated by the fact that it was spread mostly by peaceful means - preaching, persuasion (and not by fire and sword, as was often done by the Roman Catholics) and, thanks to the works of Saints Cyril and Methodius, in their native Slavic language.
Along with the spread of Christianity, Vladimir began to spread literacy. There were no literate people at that time. Vladimir ordered to take children from boyars and noble people and send them to book studies. The Grand Duke forced them to rewrite the holy books, because divine services could not be performed without books, and the books brought from Greece and Bulgaria were not enough. There were more Christians every day, temples were built, and holy books were needed everywhere; in addition, clergy were required for the newly built churches, and without books it was impossible to teach Christian worship. As literacy spread, Russian readers, deacons, priests, and even bishops appeared in Rus'.
Vladimir decided to build a magnificent church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos on the site of the death of our first martyrs for the faith - Saints Theodore and John. This church was built and decorated by architects and artists who came from Greece. In 996, construction was completed. The day of the consecration of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, May 12 (in some manuscripts - May 11), Saint Vladimir ordered that it be included in the monthly calendar for the annual celebration. At the same time, Saint Vladimir granted tithes to the Church, which is why the temple, which became the center of the all-Russian collection of church tithes, was called Tithe.
In 1007, Saint Vladimir transferred the relics of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga to the Church of the Tithes. And four years later, in 1011, his wife, an associate of many of his endeavors, blessed Queen Anna, was buried there. After her death, the prince entered into a new marriage - with the youngest daughter of the German Count Cuno von Enningen, granddaughter of Emperor Otto the Great.
Saint Vladimir held back enemies on the borders with a firm hand, built cities and fortresses. He built the first “zasechnaya line” in Russian history - a line of defensive points against nomads. “Volodimer began to build cities along the Desna, along Vystri, along Trubezh, along Sula, along Stugna. And he populated them with Novgorodians, Smolnyans, Chudya and Vyatichi. And he fought with the Pechenegs and defeated them.” An effective weapon was often peaceful Christian preaching among the steppe pagans. In the Nikon Chronicle, under the year 990, it is written: “That same summer, four princes came from the Bulgarians to Volodymer in Kyiv and were enlightened by Divine Baptism.” The following year, “the Pecheneg prince Kuchug came and accepted the Greek faith, and was baptized into the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and served Vladimir with a pure heart.” Under the influence of the holy prince, some prominent foreigners were also baptized, for example, the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason, who lived for several years in Kiev, the famous Thorvald the Traveler, founder of the monastery of St. John the Baptist on the Dnieper near Polotsk, and others. In distant Iceland, skaldic poets called God “Guardian of the Greeks and Russians.”
The famous feasts of St. Vladimir were also a means of Christian preaching: on Sundays and major church holidays after the liturgy, abundant festive tables were set out for the people of Kiev, bells rang, choirs and walkers sang
they sang epics and spiritual poems. For example, on May 12, 996, on the occasion of the consecration of the Church of the Tithes, the prince “created a light feast, distributing a lot of property to the poor, and the poor, and strangers, and among churches and monasteries. To the sick and the poor he delivered great cads and barrels of honey, bread, meat, fish, and cheese through the streets, wanting everyone to come and eat, glorifying God.” Feasts were also held in honor of the victories of the Kyiv heroes, the commanders of Vladimir’s squads - Dobrynya, Alexander Popovich, Rogdai the Udal.
The era of Saint Vladimir was a key period for the state formation of Orthodox Rus'. The unification of the Slavic lands and the formalization of the state borders of the Rurik power took place in an intense spiritual and political struggle with neighboring tribes and states. The baptism of Rus' from Orthodox Byzantium was the most important step in its state self-determination. The main enemy of Saint Vladimir was Boleslav the Brave, whose plans included a broad unification of West Slavic and East Slavic tribes under the auspices of Catholic Poland.
In 1013, a conspiracy against Saint Vladimir was discovered in Kyiv: Svyatopolk the Accursed, who married Boleslav’s daughter, was eager for power. The mastermind of the conspiracy was Bolesławna’s confessor, the Catholic Bishop of Kołobrzeg Reyburn. The conspiracy of Svyatopolk and Rayburn was a direct attack on the historical existence of the Russian state and the Russian Church. Saint Vladimir took decisive measures. All three were arrested, and Rayburn soon died in captivity. Saint Vladimir did not take revenge on those who persecuted and hated
his. Svyatopolk, who brought feigned repentance, was left free.
In his old age, Prince Vladimir was upset by the unrest that took place in Novgorod, where his son Yaroslav reigned, not yet as “wise” as he later entered Russian history. Having become the holder of the Novgorod lands in 1010, he decided to separate from his father, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, brought his own army, and stopped paying the usual tribute and tithe to Kyiv. The unity of the Russian land, for which Saint Vladimir fought all his life, was in danger. In anger and sorrow, the prince ordered to “pave bridges, build roads”, and prepare for the campaign against Novgorod. In preparation for this campaign, the Baptist of Rus' became seriously ill and gave up his spirit to the Lord in the village of Spas-Berestovo on July 15, 1015. He ruled the Russian state for thirty-seven years (978–1015), of which he lived for twenty-eight years in Holy Baptism. Before his death, he prayed, lamenting his sins: “Lord my God! I lived without knowing You, but You had mercy on me, and You enlightened me with Holy Baptism - and I came to know You, God of all, Holy Creator of all creation, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Glory to You, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Sovereign God! Do not remember my malice: I did not know You in paganism, but now I know You and have seen You. Lord my God, have mercy on me: if you want to execute and torment me for my sins, execute me yourself, Lord, but do not hand me over to the demons!” And so, with the bright hope of God’s mercy, he ended his life’s journey.
Preparing for a new struggle for power and hoping for help from the Poles, Svyatopolk, in order to gain time, tried to hide the death of his father. But the patriotic Kyiv boyars secretly, at night, took the body of the deceased sovereign from the Berestovsky Palace, where Svyatopolk’s people were guarding him, and brought him to Kyiv. In the Tithe Church, the coffin with the relics of St. Vladimir was met by the Kiev clergy, led by Metropolitan John. The holy relics were placed in a marble shrine, placed in the Klimentovsky chapel of the Tithe Assumption Church next to the same marble shrine of Queen Anna.
The name and work of Saint Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles, whom the people called the Red Sun, is connected with the entire subsequent history of the Russian Church. “Through them we became deified and came to know Christ, the True Life,” St. Hilarion testified. His feat was continued by his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, who owned the Russian land for almost six centuries: from Yaroslav the Wise, who took the first step towards the independent existence of the Russian Church - to the last Rurikovich, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, under whom (in 1589) the Russian Orthodox Church The Church became the fifth independent Patriarchate in the diptych of Orthodox Autocephalous Churches.
The celebration of Saint Vladimir Equal to the Apostles was established by Saint Alexander Nevsky after the famous Nevsky victory over the Swedish crusaders was won on May 15, 1240, with the help and intercession of Saint Vladimir.
But church veneration of the holy prince began in Rus' much earlier. The activity of the Baptist of Rus' was early recognized by the Russian people as a gracious feat of the Equal-to-the-Apostles sovereign. The future Metropolitan Hilarion in the 40s of the 11th century, exclaiming in his praise to Prince Vladimir: “Why did your heart open up? How does the fear of God enter into you? How can you cleave to His love, not seeing the apostle, having come to your land? Hilarion’s “Word” contains elements of an akathist and a prayer service and was subsequently adapted for liturgical use. This gives reason to assume that during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, steps were taken towards the church glorification of Prince Vladimir.
Perhaps, at first, the veneration of Prince Vladimir was in the shadow of the early established celebration of Saints Boris and Gleb, so that the church commemoration of him did not take place independently, on July 15, but on the days of memory of his passion-bearing sons. There was an ancient and stable iconographic practice of depicting the holy prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich with saints Boris and Gleb.
The era of Saint Vladimir was a key period for the state formation of Orthodox Rus'. The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir predetermined the spiritual destinies of the Russian Church and the Russian Orthodox people for centuries to come. He laid the cornerstone of the foundation on which the temple of Russian Orthodoxy was erected, Russian national identity, Russian statehood and Russian culture grew and strengthened. The unification of the Slavic lands and the formalization of the state borders of the Rurik power took place in an intense spiritual and political struggle with neighboring tribes and states. The baptism of Rus' was the most important step in its state self-determination. St. Vladimir's Memorial Day can be considered a national, church, state, and cultural holiday.
