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† Repose of St. Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles In the life of the book. Vladimir had two periods - a pagan period and a Christian period, and this is not due to external matters alone. Paganism was as fully reflected in his dispositions and deeds as his holy, heavenly faith was fully revealed in his deeds 190 . Having lost his smart grandmother, St. Olga, he remained at the mercy of the passions of his pagan youth. In his father he saw only a brave warrior, mercilessly shedding human blood for his glory; the son of a slave, he was subjected to the ridicule of the proud Rogneda and cultivated vindictiveness in himself. Thus, under the supervision of paganism, vindictiveness, voluptuousness and a thirst for power were brought up in him. In 970 he received Novgorod from his father. In 976, Yaropolk killed his brother Oleg. Fearing such a brother, Vladimir went overseas and from there brought with him a mercenary army. First of all, he forced the proud Rogneda to share his bed, and killed her father and brothers. Then he went with the army to Kyiv. Yaropolk went to Rodnya; but, relying on the promise of Blud and Vladimir, he returned to Kyiv - and was killed by the will of Vladimir. Having become the sovereign prince of Russia, Vladimir, with sword in hand, sought glory for himself: he conquered Galicia, humbled the Vyatichi and Radimichi, defeated the Kama Bolgars, waged war with the Pechenegs and extended the limits of his power from the Bug to the Baltic Sea. From the noise of abusive affairs he returned to the noise of feasts and uncontrollably indulged in voluptuousness. Following the example of the Kazar Khagans, he had, in addition to 5 wives, up to 500 concubines. But terrible fratricide, victories bought with blood, a dirty carnal life could not help but fall on the conscience of the pagan, and vanity caused him to seem worthy of fame. And Vladimir, having placed the gods in front of his mansion, made fat sacrifices to them, even human blood was shed before them. After the soul, feeling the need for peace, sought and found no peace among deaf and dead idols, it became doubly hard for Vladimir - from greedy passions and from empty idols. He now began to remember his childhood and the instructions that he heard from grandmother Olga; those instructions shed light and peace; the anxious soul now wanted to listen to them again 191. - To v. Preachers of new faiths appeared to the prince, dissatisfied with the old faith. The first to appear were the ambassadors of the Bulgarian faith of Magomet. The voluptuous prince liked the description of Mohammed’s paradise, but circumcision seemed unnecessary, and drinking wine was even more prohibited: “wine is the joy of the Russians,” said the prince of the harsh north. The ambassadors of the German papists spoke about the greatness of the invisible Almighty and the insignificance of idols. The prince felt the justice of such a sermon, but, knowing the thirst for dominance in the pope, he said: go back, our fathers did not accept faith from the pope. After listening to the Jews, he asked: where is their fatherland? “In Jerusalem,” they answered, “but God scattered us in anger.” - “How dare you offer your faith, for which you are angry?” Vladimir said. A Greek preacher appeared and, telling the story of God's faith, depicted before him the terrible judgment of God. “It’s scary to be on the left side,” said Vladimir, “but we still need to think about it.” Having released the Greek ambassador with respect, c. The prince gathered a council of elders and boyars and conveyed to them for their consideration what he had heard from various ambassadors. It was decided to send envoys and test every faith on the spot. Returning to Kyiv, the messengers spoke with delight about the Greek faith. “If the Greek law had not been better than others, your grandmother Olga, the smartest of people, would not have decided to accept it,” said the boyars and elders. to the prince. Vladimir decided to be baptized, but had not yet decided where to receive it. The prince, famous for his conquests, did not want to humiliate himself before Greece, which treated Olga so indecently and which so insidiously killed his father Svyatoslav. He set out to win the faith. A year after the conference on faith, Vladimir went with an army to Korsun and, taking it, demanded the hand of the princess at the court of Constantinople. They answered him: let the saint receive him. faith. “I experienced and fell in love with it a long time ago,” said Vladimir. Meanwhile, in reality, he was not so much ready for a great change as it seemed to himself; he still needed a special visit from God. Before Anna, the sister of the emperors, arrived in Korsun with the clergy and priests. things, the same thing happened to the pagan prince that happened to Saul: he became blind. The arriving princess suggested that he should not delay baptism as a means to health. He agreed. The Bishop of Korsun laid his hand on the prince emerging from the font. Vladimir, at the baptism of Vasily, received his sight both mentally and physically and exclaimed in delight: “Now I have seen the true God.” Some of Vladimir’s squad, amazed by the miracle, were baptized at the same time, following the prince. Vladimir returned to Kyiv new, with monuments to his military and Christian glory 192. Vladimir was not looking for a better faith for himself alone; он искал её, как повелитель народа, для народа своего. И представители народа вместе с ним испытывали и одобряли веру лучшую. Having learned from experience the superiority of the Orthodox Christian faith, Vladimir became even more confirmed in his intention to introduce Christianity among his subjects. First of all, his sons were baptized. Then they were destroyed идолы: одни сожжены, другие изрублены. Vladimir ordered Perun, the main idol, to be tied to the tail of a horse, dragged from the mountain and thrown into the Dnieper; the superstitious people shed tears, regretting their antiquity, and for a long time followed the sailing fool, who was pushed away from the shore by the soldiers; but out of his kindness he did not dare to grumble. At the same time, Vladimir ordered an announcement that the next day all residents, not excluding wives and children, would gather on the banks of the Dnieper to be baptized, under fear of the prince’s disfavor for disobedience. The people of Kiev had long known the Greek faith, they knew about the meetings and determination of the boyars regarding this faith. “If the new faith were not better, the prince and the boyars would not have accepted it,” so said the people and hurried to fulfill the will of the respected prince. Immense crowds of people, old men and young men, mothers with infants, appeared on the river bank; – явился и Владимир с собором священников. Народ вступил в Почайну, одни по шею, другие по груди; взрослые держали на руках младенцев. Priests from the shore read prayers. Vladimir, overwhelmed with delight, prayed to the Lord and entrusted himself and his people to Him. “On this day, the chronicler rightly says, earth and heaven rejoiced” 193. According to one piece of news, the baptism of the Kievites took place on August 1, which is consistent with a number of events in 988 194. The baptism of the inhabitants of the capital city was without a doubt an important matter for the Equal of the Apostles. Here were representatives of the people - elders and boyars, who opposed the holy faith so much under Askold and Svyatoslav. When they were baptized, it meant a lot for cities and towns, especially for villages. In Novgorod and Rostov, Vladimir, through personal orders, contributed to the planting of Christianity; then he sent his sons and priests with them to different cities to pass on the best faith to his subjects. “The cross sanctified the cities,” says Metropolitan with delight. Hilarion. The chronicler writes about Vladimir: “and he began to set up churches and priests in the cities and bring people to baptism in the cities and villages.” Establishing the Christian faith in Russia, Blessed. Vladimir also spread education: a school was opened in Kyiv. Liturgical and teaching books were received from Bulgaria 195. Churches were built mainly on the places where idols stood, and were decorated according to Greek models 196. The Grand Duke paid special attention to the Tithe Church, dedicated to the glory of the Mother of God; it was magnificently decorated, 197 ; its consecration was not only celebrated by the Grand Duke himself, but also proposed to be celebrated subsequently 198; The church was named tithe because a tenth of the Grand Duke’s income was allocated for its benefit. The inner life of the book. Vladimir, from the time of her blessed baptism, received a different direction in everything. Vladimir, a voluptuous pagan, having become a Christian, sent to tell Rogneda: “Having accepted Christ’s law, I must have one wife, the one who married me in a Christian marriage; So, if you want, choose a husband from among the boyars.” Rogneda answered: “I am a princess; and is it really true that the Kingdom of Heaven is dear to you alone, and I don’t need it? I ask you to allow me to be the bride of Christ" 199. All other wives and concubines were given freedom to live according to their conscience. A narrator close to Vladimir’s time says that Vladimir deeply repented of his former unclean life and said: “Lord! I was like a beast, I did a lot of bad things in paganism - I lived completely bestially; You have tamed me; glory to Thee, O God" 200. Vladimir the Christian worked diligently to strengthen the internal prosperity of his possessions, which he had previously spread with the sword. He cared “about the civil structure, the order of military affairs and the charter of the land” 201. Blessed Hilarion Metropolitan, addressing Vladimir, says: “you often, gathering with the new fathers, our bishops, consulted with them with great humility on how to establish this (Christian) law among people who have recently come to know the Lord” 202. – Christian Prince Vladimir did not unnecessarily raise arms against his neighbors, as he was preoccupied with the fate of his subjects; lived peacefully with all neighboring sovereigns. He concluded a trade agreement with the rich Bulgarians (Volga) (1006): Russian merchants with the seals of the mayors could freely trade in all Bulgarian cities; Bulgarian merchants are granted the same in Russia, but are prohibited from trading in villages 203. The wild Pechenegs, “the most cruel of all pagans,” as their former preacher 204 called them, forced St. Vladimir took up arms, but he took other measures against them. One of their attacks was so unexpected that Vladimir managed to go out against them with only a small squad and, defeated, barely escaped from the enemies under the bridge. He made a vow to build a church in honor of the holiday - the day of his salvation and, saved on August 6, built a church in Vasilevo in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. “It’s not good,” he said later, that there are few cities near Kyiv.” And he ordered to build cities along the river. Desna, Ostra, Trubezh, Sula and Stugna, as a guard line against savages 205; For the population of the new military cities, the “best men”, the most courageous, were recruited from Novgorod, Krivichi, Chud and Vyatichi. This measure also had the beneficial consequence that those who were little or even completely unfamiliar with the holy faith now became close to the capital of Russian Christianity and got to know it well 206 . The machinations of papism were little better than the attacks of savages. Saint Vladimir willingly sealed the peace with Poland with a kinship alliance by marrying the son of Svyatopolk to the daughter of Boleslav. – But together with the daughter of the Polish king, Biskup Reinberg arrived at the court of the Prince of Turov; The biskup immediately launched intrigues - he endeared Svyatopolk to papism and persuaded him to rebel against his father. The saint imprisoned Svyatopolk with his wife and bishop; Boleslav came with an army to Russia, but soon agreed to peace 207. Cruel and vindictive in paganism, Vladimir the Christian became an example of meek and tender love for everyone. His love for the unfortunate was so intense that he did not want to punish the criminals either. The bishops presented to him that atrocities had multiplied and they needed to be punished. “I’m afraid of sin,” he answered. “God has appointed you to punish the evildoers and to show mercy to the good,” said the shepherds. And Vladimir began to punish the criminals, but cautiously 208. The entrance to him was open to the poor and needy, and he generously distributed food, clothing, money to them, gave rest to wanderers, ransomed debtors, restored freedom to slaves; Even that was not enough for him: the sick, he thought, were unable to come to me for help, and he ordered meat, fish, bread, vegetables, kvass and honey to be delivered through the streets. The words of the Gospel: blessed are the merciful - penetrated into the very depths of his soul. He spent the holidays of God in the joy of Christian love. Three meals were then prepared for him: the first for the metropolitan with bishops, monks and priests, the second for the poor, the third for himself with the boyars and men 209. Such was the Christian life of blessings. Vladimir! His blessed death followed on July 15, 1015, and his body was laid in the Tithe Church 210 that he had created. Under Grand Duke Yaroslav, the Church already honored the memory of the enlightener of Russia, as did his grandmother Olga and sons Boris and Gleb 211. Metropolitan Hilarion in 1050, in his commendatory speech to Vladimir, calls him the second Constantine, the Apostle of the Russian land, and, turning to him, says: “for good deeds, now having received reward in heaven, the good thing God has prepared for those who love Him, and enjoying the sight of Him, pray to the Lord for your land and the people over whom you faithfully ruled; Most of all, pray for your son, our blessed kagan Georgiy” 212. Likewise, the monk Jacob, a student of St. Theodosius, calls Vladimir a saint and a saint of God 213. Nevertheless, the relics of the blessings. Vladimir were not discovered and glorified. Jacob the Monk reassured his contemporaries who were worried about doubts on this subject, and said: “Let us not be surprised, beloved, if after death he does not work miracles: many righteous people did not work miracles and yet are holy,” and then he quotes the words of Chrysostom, who taught that “holy people are recognized not by miracles, but by deeds” 214. According to the vision of 1581 St. Vasily Prince of Kyiv - prayer book for Russia 215. During Batu’s time, the remains of Equal to the Apostles were buried under the ruins of the Tithe Church and were found only in 1635. Now the head of the blessings. the prince - in the St. Sophia Cathedral, small particles - in different places 216. St. torment. Kirik and Iulitta Julitta, who came from the family of former kings of Rome, became a widow at a young age, having only one son, Kirik. When persecution began under Diocletian in the Lycaon region, she, taking her three-year-old son, fled with two faithful maids from the city of Iconium to Seleucia; Having found persecution of Christians here too, she retired to the Cilician city of Tarsus. But even here she could not hide, and was soon presented with her son for trial. When, when asked by the ruler about her name, family and fatherland, she called herself a Christian, he ordered to take her son away from her and beat her with harsh sinews. The child looked at his mother, cried and struggled from the hands that held him. The ruler wanted to caress him, but Kirik hit him in the face and said: “I am a Christian, let me go to my mother!” The embittered ruler pushed him from his high seat, and Kirik, falling down the stone steps and breaking, stained the place with his blood and died a martyr. After the scourging, Julitta was hanged, whittled with iron and poured with boiling pitch; finally beheaded (age 304). Their bodies were thrown without burial, to be devoured by wild beasts; but both maids took them at night and buried them. One of these maids lived until the accession of Constantine the Great, showed the believers the burial place and told about the martyrdom of the saints. Their relics were found incorrupt. The main source of information is the chronicle of Nestor in the collection. years. 1, 31–56. Justification for Nestor in history. Russian Church 1, 17–27. Mnikha Jacob praises Vladimir in Izvestia. acad. 2, 118. In addition to Nestor, Dlugosh (hist. Polon. adar. 987 r. 118): “Vladimir, prince of Russia, first thought to accept the law of the false prophet Mohammed, then from the Latins, for the third time from the Jews the Jewish law; and finally he accepted the Christian faith from the Greeks... The courtiers persuaded him to accept the Greek law and said: if the faith of the Greeks were not the best, then your grandmother Olga, the wisest of wives, would not have accepted it. Thus, Vladimir bowed to the opinion of the courtiers and was baptized according to the Greek rite.” Stanislav Sarnitsky (annal. Poloniae Lib. 5, p. 2), whom Dlugosh already cited (t.s. p. 1043) says: “after sending ambassadors to inquire what faith in the world is based on the best principles, he (Vladimir) accepted Christian teaching, according to the customs and rituals of the Church of Constantinople, and in this confession the Russian people stand firm to this day.” Tuan (historia superioris saeculi), describing Kherson, says: “the local Christians affirmatively show that Vladimir, Prince of Russia, took two gates of Corinthian copper and images from the monastery church, received as booty, with him to Kyiv.” In the word: “dormition led. book Vladimir,” we read: “I went to take Korsun city, kill the prince and princess, and kill their daughter behind Zhdbern.” Without disbanding the regiments, “Ambassador Olga sent his governor with Zhdber to Constantinople to the kings to ask their sisters for themselves” (Muz. Rumyants. No. 435). Collection l. 1, 46–50. IV, 175–177. VII, 310–312. Nikon. years. 1, 87–89. Pereyaslav. years, countries 28–32. Synopsis: “drown the idol of the faithful from the mountain into the Dnieper, beating it mercilessly... and from there the road... that from the mountain, below the Golden-Domed-Mikhailovsky Monastery, which anciently called Chorotovo Beremisha, is hard for the devil.” Nestor: “Peruna commanded that the horses be tied to the tail and dragged from the mountain along Borichev to the stream (Pochain); 12 put the husband to the aunt with a rod... And the people who are drawn to him by the hand (Pochayna) to the Dnieper, weep for his unfaithfulness.” Charitable Synodal Prologue: “and came to Kiev, beat all the idols, Perun, Khros, Dazh-Boia, Mokosh and other idols. “Therefore, the commandment was to be baptized... and the whole age of husband and wife came down to the Potsaina River... And from there the place was called holy, where is now the Peter’s Church.” Even in 1712, Pochaina flowed as a deep river near Podol, separating from the Dnieper by a long narrow spit and merging with it into hollow water. Zakrevsky. Kyiv. § 110. Synod. handwritten No. 323. Dept. 2, 3. Since Vladimir went to Kherson in the spring, in March, and the name of St. Vasily, by whom Vladimir, who was baptized in Kherson, is named, indicates in this case St. Basil of Nari, celebrated on April 12 and Easter 988 was on April 8, then the baptism of Prince. Vladimir in Kherson took place, in all likelihood, on April 8, on the day of Holy Easter, which is also in accordance with the ancient custom of being baptized on Easter Day. Joakimova years. collection l. 1, 50–52. Pereslav. years. 31.32. In the ancient list of the life of Vladimirov: “he commanded the people to build churches throughout the city” (reading of the Moscow General History, 1848 No. 2, p. 8). According to Nestor: “he commanded that the churches be cut down and placed in the place where the idols stood.” M. Hilarion: “churches are destroyed and churches are being erected; idols are overthrown and icons of saints appear.” – Churches built by Vladimir: a) the church of St. Basil on the place where Perun stood (Collected l. 1, 34, 51); b) the church of the Apostle Peter at the site of the baptism of the people of Kiev, near the place where the idol of Tours stood. Prologue Impr. b. and Synodal: “That is why that place was called holy, where now the church is Petrov.” Rumyantsev’s prologue: “even now there are churches to the holy martyr (Boris and Gleb) near Turov” (Reader. general history of 1858 4. 7). The Turov Goddess or the church near Turov is known from the chronicle (collection l. 2. 22, 24), and the idol of Tur is known from other monuments (temporary general history IX, 29). Subsequently, ignorant scribes wrote: “a church was quickly erected in the name of the saints. Martyr Turov" (Step. book 1:141); c) the Church of St. George in Kyiv (collection fol. 5,119. 120. Supralsk l. 10); d) the Church of St. Blaise on the site of the Idol of Volos, on the road to Obolon or pasture meadow (Zakrevsky. Kyiv. M. 1858, p. 79); d) church of St. Vasily in Vyshgorod (collection l. 1, 58. 59). Nestor in the chronicle: “decorate it with icons and entrust Nastas of Korsun and the priests of Korsun to serve in it, giving in everything he took from Korsun, icons, loans and crosses.” In the ancient life of St. Vladimir (note 172): “he himself created the church of the Holy Mother of God, surprising”, according to another list, “decorating it with silver and gold.” In the printed prologue, by the grace of the famous Fr. Basil, we read: “having created the Church of the Holy Mother of God at the Divas. O. Vasily saw “divine things” everywhere. In everyday life of the 13th century. (description of music. Rumyants., art. 405) and in parchment. The prologue on May 11 shows: the consecration of the church of the Holy Mother of God, created by the blessed Prince Vasily, called Vladimir.” Gustin. lay down 258. Tverskaya years. from Solovyov, ist. R. VIII, 478. 479. Jacob's praise of Vladimir is in Christ. Thurs. 1849 2, 326. Same years. Nestor. Collection l. 1, 56. 34. Add. to creativity father 2, 277. Collection l. 1, 54. IX, 65. Tatishchev 2, 89. Bruno in the last to the imperial Heinrich Russian demon 1, 11. Bruno, who himself came from Kyiv to the Pechenegs, said about Vladimir: “he defended this border from a wandering enemy over a vast area with a very strong palisade (tirmissima et longissima saepe circumclausit).” Probably, the guard cities were connected to each other by a deep ditch and a rampart with a fortress garden, as was later done on the border against the Tatars. Dietmar chronicon VII, 244. Nikon. l. 1, 104. Let us note the untruth of the papist Hadamard. Hadamard writes that Bruno managed to attract some of the Russians to the side of the pope, but a few days later the Greek bishop came to Russia and converted the entire middle of the country (Narushevich Hist, people Polckiego, w Warsawie 1786 vol. IV, 163. vol. VII, 43). Since the construction of fortifications along the Ostra and other rivers took place after the baptism of Vladimir and the Kyivans, Bruno, who saw these fortifications, of course, was too late to invite any of the Kyivans to accept Western baptism. And although Bruno himself speaks of the cordial, completely Christian welcome given to him by Prince Vladimir, he does not say a word about the fact that he persuaded and convinced any of the Russians to believe in the pope; on the contrary, he clearly speaks about his preaching purpose for the Pechenegs. – Reinberg’s story shows that if Bruno was not far from wanting to acquire proselytes in Kyiv, then Vladimir and Kyiv were already far from wanting to take the sermon about the pope to heart. - Therefore, in the words of the monk Hadamard, it is obvious that there is an ordinary passion of the pope’s fans to mix lies with the truth for the glory of their idol the pope. Metropolitan Hilarion's praise for Vladimir added. to creation father 2, 280. 276. Jacob's praise in Christ. Thurs. 1849 234. 326. Collection. l. 1, 54. VII. 135. Collection l. 1, 56. V, 124. Prologue July 15. Degree. book 1.43, says that the Church accepted to celebrate the memory of Vladimir together with the princes. Olga and the martyrs Boris and Gleb share the same month (Olga is July 11. Vladimir is 15, Boris and Gleb are 21 days old) “as if the time of glorification from God is great and honest.” Prologue of July. Arr. to creativity father 2, 277. 278. 281. Christ. Thurs. 1849 2, 323. 324. Alexander Nevsky in 1241 went to war “in memory of the holy and great prince Vladimir, who baptized the Russian land,” as Alexander’s contemporary says (Collected l. 1, 205. 5, 177). “Memory of the Apostles of equal Vladimir on July 15” in the charter of 1428 (description of music, p. 712. Known academician VI, 294). Vladimir “equal to the Apostles” in gram. 1452, 1484 and 1563 (historical ac. 1, 292. 294. 138. 320). Service of St. Vladimir, known from the RKP. XIII century, printed. in Izv. acad. 6. 188–190. 290. 297. Christ. Thurs. 1849 2, 324. 325. Glory to Our Lady III. 1, 23. Kalnofoysky Teraturg. r. 4. Met. Evgeniya bishop. Sofiysk personal 49. Kyiv. laurels 112–114. Levigna o Mosk. Usp. personal 37.