Teacher of orthodoxy/ and enlightener of all Russia,/ pious Grand Duke Vladimir,/ you enlightened everyone with holy Baptism/ and you adorned many glorious churches,/ oh to the wise Vladimir,// Pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Having resembled the great Apostle Paul in his gray hairs, the all-glorious Vladimir,/ all the wisdom of a child, even the care of idols, was abandoned,/ like a perfect man was adorned with the Divine Baptism with scarlet./ And now the Savior Christ stands before us in joy, // pray that the ruler of the Russian powers and the multitude of those who rule will be saved.
Oh, great saint of God, chosen by God and glorified by God, equal to the apostles to Prince Vladimir! You, having rejected pagan evil and wickedness, have believed in the One True Trinitarian God, and we will receive Holy Baptism, the entire Russian country with the light of Divine faith and piety you enlightened. Moreover, we glorify and thank our most merciful Creator and Savior, we glorify and thank you, our Enlightener and Father, for by you we know the saving faith of Christ and in the name of the Most Holy and the Most Divine Trinity we are baptized. Thus, by faith we have been delivered from the righteous condemnation of God, and we have been freed from eternal work to the devil and the torment of hell; With this faith is the grace of sonship to God and the hope of inheriting Heavenly bliss.
Moreover, we glorify you, as the first language of our guide to the Chief and Perfecter of salvation, our Lord Jesus Christ, and your representative before the Throne of the King of Kings for the Kingdom of All Russia knowledge, about his kings, the rulers of the people, the army and about all the people. Our language will not be able to depict the greatness and height of the blessings that you poured out on our earth, our fathers and forefathers and on us unworthy. O our blessed Father and Enlightener! Look at our weaknesses and beg the most merciful King of Heaven, may he not be so angry with us, as through our weaknesses we sin all day long, and may he not destroy us with our iniquities, but may he have mercy and He will save us by His mercy, may He plant repentance and the saving fear of God into our hearts, may He enlighten our minds with His grace, so that He may leave us the paths of wickedness and turn steadily to the path of salvation and keep the commandments of God and the statutes of the Holy Church.
Pray, O kindhearted God, the Lover of Mankind, that He may show us His great mercy: may He deliver us from the invasion of foreigners, from riots and strife, from famine, deadly diseases and from all evil; may he give us the blessing of the air and the fruitfulness of the earth; May he preserve righteousness and mercy in judges and rulers; may he give the shepherds zeal for the salvation of his flock, may he give mutual love and like-mindedness to all people, may he give constant care for the success of the fatherland and the Holy Church, may he multiply the light of saving faith in the country Let us convert our unbelievers to orthodoxy, and overthrow heresies and schisms, so that all of us, who have lived in peace on earth, may be made worthy of eternal bliss with you, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.
Oh, great and glorious servant of God, God-chosen and God-glorified, Equal-to-the-Apostles to Prince Vladimir, holy and magnificent instrument of the all-good Providence for the salvation of the Russian people! You rejected pagan evil and wickedness, you believed in the One True Trinitarian God and, having received holy Baptism, you enlightened you with the light of Divine faith and piety of the Russian country. Glorifying and thanking our Most Merciful Creator and Savior, we glorify and thank you, O great shepherd and our Father, for through you we have known the saving faith of Christ and are baptized in Name of the Most Holy and Divine Trinity, also by faith we have been delivered from the righteous condemnation of God, the eternal slavery of the devil and the torment of hell, by that faith we have received grace sonship to God and the hope of inheriting Heavenly bliss.
You are our first leader to the Head and Finisher of our eternal salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, you are the closest primate before the Throne of the Kings of Kings and a warm man of prayer and Intercessor for our country and for all people, you are the primary culprit of the blessings and mercies of God that rest upon us. And what else are we talking about? Our language cannot describe the greatness and height of your blessings poured out on us, unworthy. But, oh our foolishness and blindness! Having accepted so many good deeds, I impute them to nothing and take advantage of their saving fruits. Having washed ourselves from sin in the font of Baptism and put on the clothing of purity and innocence, we have desecrated this God-given clothing with our cold deeds and thoughts. Having renounced Satan and his angels, we again become enslaved to him, serving as the idol of our passions, the world, the flesh and the evil customs of the age.
Having united with Christ, we offend Him with our iniquities, the manifold wounds of pride, envy, malice, slander, intemperance and contempt for the Holy Church. We cling entirely to worldly blessings, dreaming of remaining on earth forever; we do not think about Heaven, about souls, about death, about Judgment, about endless eternity. For this reason, we raise up the righteous wrath and condemnation of God against all of us, but we also insult and grieve your fatherly love and care for us, for you have enlightened us with holy Baptism, in the same way help us to receive Heavenly bliss and earthly prosperity, but we, unreasonable ones, by our evil will subject ourselves to hellish torments and temporary disasters! But, O all-merciful Father and Enlightener, be merciful to our weaknesses, long-suffering towards our sins and injustices, beg the Most Merciful King of Heaven, that he may not be angry with us and He will destroy us with our iniquities, but may He have mercy and save us, which is the message of our destinies.
May His saving fear plant His saving fear in our hearts, may our minds be enlightened by His grace, even as we see the abyss of destruction, we strive to leave the paths of wickedness and error and turn to the path of salvation and truth, to unswervingly fulfill the commandments of God and the statutes of the Holy Church. Pray, kindly, to the Lover of Mankind, may He show us His great mercy, may He deliver us from the invasion of foreigners, from internal disorder, rebellion and strife, from famine, deadly diseases and from all evil, may he give us the blessing of the air and the fruitfulness of the earth, may he preserve truth and mercy in those who judge and rule, may he give to spiritual shepherds integrity of life and zeal for salvation flock, to all people diligence in fulfilling their duties, mutual love and like-mindedness, striving for the good of the fatherland and the Holy Church.
May the light of saving faith spread throughout our country, to all ends of it, may it convert non-believers to orthodoxy, may it abolish all heresies and schisms, yes, having lived in peace on earth, let us be worthy of by you eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.
How shall we praise you, most courageous among earthly rulers, Vladimir? How shall we give thanks to you, since by your knowledge of the Lord and the flattery of idols is abundant, since by your command Christ is glorified throughout the whole earth? How did you believe? How did you seek Christ? Tell us, your servants, where can I smell the stench of the Holy Spirit from? You have not seen Christ, nor walked on Him, how will you become His disciple? You have not seen the apostle come to your land, you have not seen driving out demons in the Name of Christ, healing the sick, raising the dead. Wonderful miracle! And you, the king and ruler, seeing all this, being from the saints, a man who did not believe, but rather betrayed them to passion and torment, but you, O blessed one, without seeing or hearing all of these, came to you Christ, understanding that One is the Creator of invisible and visible, heavenly and earthly, and as He sent into the world, for our salvation, His beloved Son. And having thought this, you entered the holy font.
And now, a thousand years have passed since the Baptism of Russia, look upon your land and see your children. See your people, how they live, how they preserve the essence of the Lord, how they keep their faith according to your tradition, how they glorify Christ, how they worship His Name. See and cities, shining with majesty, see churches blooming, see Christianity growing, see and your city Kiev, such saints of God, resting in incorruption, shining, and incense We are fragrant, and we announce the praises and divine songs of the saints. And having seen all this, rejoice and be glad and praise the Good God, the Builder of all.
Seeing that your faithful sowing through your intercession and intercession was not quickly dried up by the heat of unbelief, but by the rain of God’s haste it was disposed to become abundantly fruitful, rejoice in the spirit in the rulers Apostle, he did not raise the dead body, but raised us up in soul! Rejoice, our comforter and teacher of good faith! You are, O honorable head, a garment for the naked, a feeder for the greedy, refreshment for the womb, a helper for widows, a resting place for the strange, a protector for the offended, an enrichment for the poor.
Having received retribution from this good deed in Heaven and seeing the sweet face of God, do not cease praying for your land and for your children, in whom the dominion is trustworthy, may it be glorified in our land I will take away orthodoxy and may the Lord not forsake us, even as we continue to wander, so many centuries have passed, and even as we continue to sin against our Lord and Master, like the new purchase of a slave, in everything displeasing to his master. We raise our hands to you and pray to you: pray to the Lord of all, may he extend, until the end of the world, His mercy on our fatherland and His people, driving away the military, peace establishing, satisfying the famine, scattering cities, restoring His Church, preserving His inheritance, saving men, and wives, and babies, and bearing His grace, in the unity of faith together we cheerfully and joyfully glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, the Indivisible Monotheistic Trinity, reigning in Heaven and on earth, now, and forever and ever. Amen.
Oh, great saint of God, equal to the apostles to Prince Vladimir! Look at our weaknesses and beg the most merciful King of Heaven, may he not be angry with us and may he not destroy us with our iniquities, but may he have mercy and save us in His mercy, may he put us in our hearts are repentance and the saving fear of God, so that our minds may be enlightened by His grace, so that we may leave the paths of wickedness and turn to the path of salvation, and unswervingly follow God’s commandments and statutes Observe the Holy Church. Pray, kindly, to the Lover of Mankind, may He show us His great mercy: may He deliver us from deadly diseases and from all evil, may He preserve and save the servants of God (names) from all snares and slander of the enemy, and may we all become worthy of eternal bliss with you, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.
Oh, great Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir! I pray, Thy servant (name), seek mercy from God and our Savior Jesus Christ, that through your prayers I may grant (the content of the petition) and forgiveness of all my sins. Amen.
Memorial Day July 15/28
St. Vladimir, who baptized Rus', is a prayer book for the Russian state, for the Orthodox people. Almost blind, he regained his sight after receiving Holy Baptism. They pray to St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir for the salvation of Russia, for the good character of the authorities and rulers, for the conversion of the people to faith, for help with eye diseases.