Today, July 28, the world celebrates World Hepatitis Day, Ukraine and Russia celebrate the Day of the Baptism of Kievan Rus-Ukraine, and Muslims celebrate one of the main holidays of Islam on this day - the Feast of Conversation - Eid ul-Fitr, Ramadan Bayram).

World Hepatitis Day (international holiday)

On July 28, many countries around the world celebrate World Hepatitis Day. The birthday of American doctor and Nobel laureate Baruch Samuel Bloomberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus, was chosen as the date of the establishment of this holiday.
World Hepatitis Day was first held in 2008 at the initiative of the International Hepatitis Alliance.
The official status of World Hepatitis Day was given in 2011, when the WHO - World Health Organization added this date to its calendar.
WHO recommends that on this day all doctors from around the world conduct educational campaigns and tell people about the causes of viral hepatitis and the results it leads to with the subsequent provision of ritual services. Preventive measures in the form of diagnosis and vaccination against hepatitis are no less important.

Day of the Baptism of Rus'

One of the main milestones in the history of Rus' is the proclamation of Christianity in 988 as the state religion. The holiday, the Day of the Baptism of Rus', was established not so long ago by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, namely on June 1, 2010.
The Russian Orthodox Church came up with a proposal to give this historic event state status.
The day of July 28 was chosen for this holiday, because it is on this day that the memory of the famous Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir is celebrated, or, as the Russian people also called him, Vladimir the Red Sun, who was the grandson of the Russian Grand Duchess Olga, who was baptized in Constantinople.

Day of the Baptism of Kievan Rus-Ukraine

Ukraine every year since 2008 celebrates on July 28 a public holiday - the Day of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine. This holiday falls on July 28, the day when the entire Russian Orthodox Church remembers St. Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles, who laid the foundation for Christianization in Ancient Rus'.
The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in June 2008 turned to the leaders of the states: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, with a proposal to include July 28 among the state memorable dates and decided to celebrate a special festive service on this day. The Ukrainian authorities were the first to respond to it, due to the fact that since 2006 the International Public Organization "Day of the Baptism of Rus'" has been operating in Ukraine, which brings together representatives of the clergy, intellectuals, business, science and culture.
This new holiday was first celebrated unofficially by the Ukrainian people in 2007, but since July 2008, the holiday has become official on the basis of a Presidential Decree.

Feast of Conversation - Uraza Bayram (Eid ul-Fitr, Ramadan Bayram) (Muslim holiday)

One of the major holidays of Islam, the holiday of breaking the fast, Eid ul-Fitr, comes immediately after the completion of the holy month of Ramadan.
For every believer, this Muslim holiday is a good opportunity to replenish spiritual experience in a society of fellow believers.
During the holiday of Uraza Bayram, Muslims are supposed to eat and drink, while indulging in the cheerful mood of this holiday. You cannot fast on this day.
Muslims all over the world on this day perform ablution, they put on festive clothes and rush to a collective prayer in the mosque, after which they go to visit their loved ones and exchange congratulations with them.

Unusual holidays

Today, July 28, it's time to make any wish, because today is an unusual holiday - the Day of making wishes.

Wish Day

There are many different rituals for making wishes in the world. You can wait for a shooting star and make a wish during its flight. You can release your balloon and when it flies away, make a wish quickly, watching how it quickly moves away, because the faster it flies away from you, the faster your wish will come true. You can also throw a coin into the fountain or blow out the candles on the cake on your birthday, but for this you will need to wait for the holiday.
Today, July 28, you can think for yourself and come up with all sorts of new rituals. Most importantly, be sure that your wishes will come true!

Church holiday according to the folk calendar

Kirik and Julitta

On this day, Orthodox Christians honor the memory of Saints Cyric and Julitta (in Rus' - Ulita), who suffered in the late 3rd - early 4th centuries, during the time of the cruel Emperor Diocletian, for their faith in Christ.
Julitta, according to her life, was a young widow from a noble family, Kirik was her son. During the persecution of Christians, a woman left home with her three-year-old son and left all her property there. But one day she was caught and brought to trial before the ruler, where Julitta confirmed that she was devoted to the Christian faith. Then they took away her son and began to beat her with whips. Seeing the suffering of his mother, little Kirik began to cry and, in order to be allowed to go to his mother, said that he, too, was a Christian.
In anger, Diocletian threw the child off the stone platform, and beheaded Julitta, subjecting him to numerous tortures.
Under Emperor Constantine the Great, the relics of Julitta and her son Cyric were found. Julitta and Kirik are revered by the Russian people as patrons and Old Believers.
The day of Kirik and Ulita in Russian folk tradition is considered the middle of summer. On this day, July 28, the sun shines especially brightly.
This day was also associated with the holy Prince of Kyiv Vladimir - the Baptist of Rus', who was called Vladimir the Red Sun in Russian epics. The people recognized his great merits in the spread of Orthodoxy in Rus' and in the strengthening of statehood.
On July 28, women celebrated the holiday of "Mother Julitta", who was considered their intercessor. Baba needed to have a good rest that day. It was forbidden to go out into the field that day, because it was believed that the unclean was walking there.
Heavy rain often fell on Kirik and Ulita, so the peasants had nothing to do in the field. But they still spent the day at home with benefit.
Name day July 28 with: Vasily, Vladimir, Peter

July 28 in history

1951 - The Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is adopted.
1954 - Hugo Chavez is born (d. 2013), President of Venezuela
1957 - The VI World Festival of Youth and Students opened in Moscow.
1964 - Mao Zedong refused Nikita Khrushchev's proposal to participate in the International Conference of Communist and Workers' Parties.
1966 - In the match for 3rd place at the World Cup, the USSR national team lost to Portugal 1:2.
1967 - Opening of the IV Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.
1978 - The price of gold crossed $200 an ounce for the first time.
1980 - In Moscow, at the Vagankovsky cemetery, thousands of people buried V. Vysotsky.
1983 - In Leningrad, Vladimir Putin (the current president of Russia) married Lyudmila Shkrebneva.
1984 - 23 Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles (USA), which boycotted the socialist countries.
1986 - Gorbachev announced the start of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
1988 - Unofficial rallies, demonstrations and marches are allowed in the USSR.
1995 - Indian authorities decided to rename the city of Bombay to Mumbai.
1997 - The first International Festival of Youth and Students after the collapse of the USSR was opened in Cuba.
2002 - The ceremony of "great state worship" was the culmination of the celebration in Mongolia of the 840th anniversary of the birth of Genghis Khan.

The year of birth of Prince Vladimir is unknown (historians believe that this is approximately the year 960). According to sources of the 16th century, he was born in the village of Bulutino, where his grandmother, Princess Olga, exiled his mother, who, according to some researchers, being a Christian (she was a giver of alms, and this is the occupation of a Christian), violated the commandment with Svyatoslav "not commit adultery." Olga took her grandson to Kyiv.

Among the sons of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Vladimir, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, he was the third after Yaropolk and Oleg. In 970, going on another military campaign against Byzantium, his father made him, still a boy, a prince in Novgorod. And Yaropolk became the prince of Kyiv after the death of his father in 972. Then, as it almost always happened in those days, the brothers began a protracted war for the throne of Kiev, which ended, according to the chronicles in 980 (according to the life compiled in the second half of the 11th century by the monk Jacob, in 978) with the victory of Vladimir.

There is indirect information about the sympathies of Prince Yaropolk for Christianity, so it is quite understandable that under his victorious rival, Christians began to be persecuted in Kyiv.

Arabic and Persian sources contain information about the Russian embassy in Khorezm, which arrived to discuss the nuances associated with the adoption of Islam.

However, according to the chronicle, in 987, Vladimir, at the council of the boyars, decided to be baptized "according to Greek law." A year later, after the Kiev prince recaptured Korsun from the Byzantines (Khersonesos - Chersonese settlement on the territory of modern Sevastopol), at peace negotiations with emperors Vasily II and Constantine VIII, Vladimir offered to return the city if they would give him their sister Anna as a wife, and those , in turn, set him a condition - to be baptized. Vladimir, together with his retinue, was baptized, after which he married Anna, returned to Kyiv and ordered the destruction of pagan idols and the baptism of the people.

True, according to an earlier source - a life compiled by the monk Jacob - the prince was baptized in 998, and Korsun took and married the sister of the emperors three years later. However, that the details of the chronology of these events have not been preserved, as early as the beginning of the 11th century, the chronicler warned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Therefore, the date of the baptism of Rus' is traditionally considered the annalistic year 988.

In Kyiv, the baptism of the people passed relatively peacefully; in Novgorod, riots had to be suppressed by force; in the Rostov-Suzdal land, Christians remained a minority even after Vladimir. But Rus' became the Kyiv Metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople with dioceses in Novgorod, Belgorod, Kiev, Pereslavl and Chernigov.

The spread of literacy began - at first, almost by force, as under Peter I, children were given as apprenticeships to the Byzantines and Bulgarians, and a generation later Rus' already had its own writers, such as Metropolitan Hilarion, the author of the "Sermon on Law and Grace".
Under Prince Vladimir, large-scale stone construction began in Rus'.

The prince died of illness in his country residence Berestov on July 15 (July 28, according to a new style), 1015, and was buried next to his wife in the Kiev Church of the Tithes, destroyed by the Mongols in 1240.

There is no exact data on the beginning of the church veneration of Prince Vladimir. Perhaps at first he was commemorated along with his sons, Saints Boris and Gleb.

The first reliable information about the official veneration of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir dates back to the 14th century. According to one hypothesis, canonization took place in the second half of the 13th century. And in 1635, under the Metropolitan of Kiev, Peter Mohyla, during the excavations of the Church of the Tithes, his relics were discovered.

And since Prince Vladimir lived before the split of the Christian Church, he is revered not only by the Orthodox, but also by Catholics, especially Russian and Ukrainian.

On July 28, 2 Orthodox church holidays are celebrated. The list of events informs about church holidays, fasts, days of honoring the memory of saints. The list will help you find out the date of a significant religious event for Orthodox Christians.

Church Orthodox holidays July 28

Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (in Holy Baptism Vasily)

The Church honors the memory of the baptist of Rus' Vladimir, nicknamed the Red Sun (name at baptism - Vasily). Years of life: 960-1015. He was the ruler of Novgorod, the Grand Duke of Kyiv. The veneration of the saint was established no later than the 14th century.

Today, July 28, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, and a memorable date is timed to coincide with this holiday in Russia - the Day of the Baptism of Rus'.

The Baptism of Rus' took place in 988. This key historical event is associated with the name of the Holy Prince Vladimir. Historians call Volodymyr the Great, the church - the saint Equal-to-the-Apostles, the people called him Vladimir the Red Sun.

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir the Red Sun (960-1015) was the son of Prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv and the grandson of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga. Shortly before his death, Prince Svyatoslav divided the Russian land between his three sons: the eldest son, Yaropolk, received Kyiv, the middle one, Oleg, received the Drevlyansk land, and the youngest, Vladimir, Novgorod. Soon after the death of Svyatoslav, strife began between the brothers, as a result of which Vladimir became the sovereign prince of Rus'. In 983, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich made a successful campaign against the Yotvingians.

In 987, he captured the city of Chersonesos, which at that time belonged to the Byzantine Empire and, threatening to march on Constantinople, demanded the hand of Princess Anna, sister of the Byzantine co-rulers Basil and Constantine. The latter made Vladimir's acceptance of the faith of Christ a condition of marriage. When Princess Anna arrived with the clergy in Chersonese, Prince Vladimir suddenly became blind.

The princess suggested that he be baptized immediately, in the hope of healing. During the baptism, the prince received his sight. In spiritual delight, he exclaimed: "Now I have seen the True God!" Some of the prince's warriors, struck by this miracle, were also baptized. In holy Baptism, Prince Vladimir was named Vasily in honor of St. Basil the Great. At the same time, in Chersonese, his marriage to Princess Anna took place. As a ransom for his wife, the prince returned Chersonese to Byzantium, building in it a temple in the name of St. John the Baptist and the Baptist of the Lord.

Prince Vladimir returned to Kiev together with Princess Anna, the clergy of Constantinople and Chersonesos, taking with him liturgical books, icons, church utensils, as well as the holy relics of Clement, Bishop of Rome, and his disciple Thebes. Thus, dynastic and interstate ties between Russia and Byzantium were strengthened.

Upon returning to Kyiv, Prince Vladimir baptized 12 of his sons. His entire house was baptized, as were many of the boyars. Then Prince Vladimir set about eradicating paganism in Rus' and exterminating pagan idols. The clergy, as well as previously baptized princes and boyars, went around the squares and houses of Kyivans and instructed them in the truths of the Gospel, denounced the vanity and futility of idolatry.

After the adoption of Christianity, Prince Vladimir ordered the erection of Christian churches in those places where idols used to stand.

Martyr Kirikos and Martyr Julitta

Saint Julitta lived at the turn of the 3rd-4th centuries. She came from a noble Iconian family. Having received holy baptism, she acquired true nobility, which the Holy Spirit bestows. Saint Julitta became a widow and renounced her second marriage in order to live in piety and charitable deeds together with her three-year-old son Kirikos (Cyrus).

At the beginning of the 4th century, the emperor Diocletian issued a decree ordering the persecution of all Christians, and the ruler of Lycaonia, Dometian, began to zealously fulfill the will of the emperor (304). Saint Julitta took refuge from persecution in Seleucia, preferring to renounce all her wealth and bear the burdens of exile, rather than renounce Christ. But there was even more confusion in this city. The envoy of the emperor Alexander terrified the population, torturing and mercilessly putting to death all those who did not obey the decree. Fleeing from his wrath, the saint went to the Cilician city of Tarsus with her son and two maids.

However, Saint Julitta again faced this tormentor. He got ahead of her here, too, continuing the massacre of Christians. When Alexander was informed that there was a noble refugee in the city, he ordered her to be detained and brought to his court along with the child. The maids managed to slip away and watched from a distance. When Julitta was asked about her name and rank, she answered simply: "I am a Christian." The angry ruler ordered her to be tortured.

The executioners tied Saint Julitta and began to scourge her with bull sinews. The crying baby at this time, having been torn from his mother, was brought to Alexander. He took him in his arms, put him on his knees, stroked his head and tried to kiss him, saying in a pleasant voice:

“Leave this witch and come to me, your father. I will make you my son and heir to all my wealth, and you will have a sweet, carefree life.

A seemingly weak child actually discovered the wisdom of an old man. Kirik looked at his mother, who was undergoing torment, and rebuffed the tyrant, scratching him and hitting him with his fists. He cried out, "I'm a Christian too!" - and kicked the ruler in the side so that he groaned in pain. Then the feigned kindness turned into rage. Alexander seized the child by the leg and with all his might hit the steps of the stone stairs that led to his throne, crushing Kirik's head. The holy infant immediately surrendered his soul to God, sanctifying the earth with his blood and carrying to heaven the crown of courageous ascetics of piety.

Then Julitta was filled with divine joy and thanked the Lord for having thus opened the gates of eternal glory to her son. Again brought to the enraged ruler, she declared that no torment could overcome her love for God and that, on the contrary, suffering would allow her to quickly join her dear son. Then Alexander ordered Saint Julitta to be put up on a rack and her body to be torn with iron hooks, and then boiling pitch was poured. Despite the pain, the martyr continued to confess her faith in the Holy Trinity and added:

“I hasten to join my son in order to enjoy the bliss of the Kingdom of Heaven with him!”

Seeing that his efforts were useless, Alexander ordered Saint Julitta to be beheaded. When she was brought to the place of execution outside the city walls, she asked the executioners for a minute reprieve to pray. Falling on her knees, Saint Julitta gave thanks to God for deigning her to enter the bridal chamber along with the sensible virgins. As soon as she said "Amen", the executioner brandished his sword and cut off her head. The bodies of Saints Cyricus and Julitta were thrown into the pit along with the bodies of the criminals. The next night, two maidservants came to collect the holy relics, which they then buried in a cave not far from the city.

In the reign of Constantine, when the light of piety shone, one of these women was still alive. She spoke about the tomb of the saints, and many Christians rushed there to take particles of the holy relics, from which many healings occurred.

Few people know what holiday July 28 is according to the church calendar, since this is a relatively recent solemn event. The baptism of Rus' was legalized by the former President of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev in 2010. This date was timed to coincide with the day of the great accomplishment, when in 988 Christianity was proclaimed on the pagan land, which became the main religion of the young state. And now, on July 28, the Orthodox celebrate the day of the baptism of Rus'. On this day, the Holy Church prayerfully honors the memory of Prince Vladimir, who himself was first baptized, and then, thanks to him, the baptism of the entire Russian people took place. After that, people began to have the opportunity to save their souls and live according to the holy gospel.

What church holiday is July 28 (history): the role of Vladimir

How did it all happen? Let's plunge a little into the times of ancient Kievan Rus. Delving further into what holiday July 28 is according to the church calendar, it should be noted that in the history of the church the prince is referred to as Vladimir the Baptist, in ancient epics he is called the Red Sun. In ancient Russian writings, he was called equal to the apostles, since his princely feat is equated with apostolic service.

He was born around 963. His father was the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, and his mother was the Drevlyansk princess Malusha. Shortly after the birth of Vladimir, they are taken to Kyiv, and his grandmother, Princess Olga, and his uncle, the pagan governor Dobrynya, are engaged in his upbringing.

Svyatoslav

In 969, Prince Svyatoslav distributed the inheritances among his sons. Kyiv went to Yaropolk, the land of the Drevlyans - to Oleg. At the same time, Novgorodians came to the prince and, on the advice of Dobrynya, began to ask for Prince Vladimir to rule. So, as a child, Vladimir became the ruler of the Novgorod lands. In 972, Svyatoslav dies, and his sons begin to fight for the land. As a result, Yaropolk kills Oleg. Vladimir at this time leaves for Scandinavia and wants to gather a mercenary army to go to Kyiv. The traitor brings Yaropolk to Vladimir, and he decides to kill his brother. From this moment begins the era of Vladimir's reign.

Vladimir

Speaking about what holiday is celebrated on July 28, it must be added that before Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity, he was described in the annals as a vindictive and cruel ruler, a convinced pagan. At that time, pagan idols stood on the Kyiv mountains, which required human sacrifices.

The challenge to paganism was thrown by the Varangian Christians Theodore and his son John, they became the first Christian martyrs in Rus', because they did not want to sacrifice to an idol.

And then the prince for the first time thought about the truth of his faith. Vladimir took care of the power of the state and made military campaigns. He annexed other lands, wanted to introduce something new and carried out a pagan reform, uniting the pagan gods in the pantheon he himself established. This was his first step in the search for truth.

Philosopher

A Greek philosopher who visited him then made a strong impression on the prince, who told him about Orthodoxy. And then Vladimir sends his envoys to different lands so that they can see the beauty of this or that faith with their own eyes, compare and, upon arrival, tell about everything they saw. After a certain time, the messengers began to return. A story about the solemnity of the service, singing and splendor of the church of St. Sophia and the patriarchal ministry touched me to the core.

The envoys uttered a phrase that during the service they did not know where they were - in heaven or on earth! The boyars noticed that, after all, Princess Olga converted to Christianity, and they considered her the wisest of all women.

Baptism

The baptism of Vladimir was connected with the conquest of the city of Chersonese. He vowed to be baptized after the victory. However, he didn't rush into this issue. From Chersonese, he sends ambassadors to Constantinople to the emperor Basil and Constantine, so that they give him their sister Anna as a wife. But they replied that only a Christian could marry their sister. When Princess Anna came to him with her retinue and priests, the prince suddenly became blind. The princess, in order to heal the disease, asks him to be baptized as soon as possible. In 988, Vladimir was baptized and received the name Vasily. He came out of the font healed from a physical illness and received his spiritual sight. He exclaimed, "Now I have known the true God."

People

And from here begins the most important event for Rus' - the baptism of the people. First, all the children of Vladimir were baptized, then the boyars and the people. The prince begins a merciless struggle with pagan idols. Perun - the main pagan idol - was tied to a horse's tail, dragged to the Dnieper and thrown into the water, so much so that no one could find and take him again.

And the priests who arrived with Princess Anna begin to tell about the savior of the world - Jesus Christ.

Then a day was appointed when all the inhabitants of Kyiv would have to gather on the banks of the Dnieper to perform the rite of baptism.

There was also a prince who thanked the Lord for His great mercy to his people. People went into the water, and the priests read prayers over them.

The spread of Christianity in Rus'

In conclusion, studying the question of what holiday July 28 is according to the church calendar, it must be said that Novgorod, Murom, Rostov, Suzdal Territory, Lutsk, Pskov, Smolensk accept Christianity behind Kiev ... The children of the prince, who were separated from their destinies, also baptized people in their lands.

The Christian faith was generally spread successfully, since sermons and conversations were conducted peacefully and in a language understandable to people thanks to Cyril and Methodius. Although it was different.

By the 10th-13th centuries, the Orthodox faith was also accepted by other peoples neighboring Kievan Rus. And in Kyiv, on the site where the pagan idol stood, the church of St. Basil, the heavenly patron of the Kyiv prince, was built. A little later, the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos (Tithing) was built. An important administrative reform will be associated with its appearance - the establishment of church tithes.

Holy martyrs

July 28 - Church of the Holy Martyrs Julitta (Ulita) and Cyric, who were martyred under the emperor Diocletian (late III - early IV century). Yullita was a widow from a wealthy family. Kirik was her son. In times of fierce persecution of Christians, she left her house and property, together with her three-year-old son and two slaves, went to another city, where she began to wander like a beggar. But one day they recognized her, took her to the ruler and began to demand that she renounce her faith. But Julitta did not want to hear about it. Then they began to beat her with whips and took away her son.

The boy burst into tears when he saw his mother being tortured. The ruler wanted to caress the baby, but he said that he was also a Christian and wanted to be released to his mother. Then the ruler threw him off his stone platform. And Julitta was first brutally beaten, and then her head was cut off.

The holy relics of these martyrs were found under the ruler Constantine the Great, one of the slaves showed where their bodies were buried.

The Old Believers also revere these saints. According to folk tradition, this holiday is considered the middle of summer, and it is on this day that the sun shines especially brightly.

In conclusion of the study of the question of what holiday July 28 is according to the church calendar, it should be especially noted that women loved to celebrate Mother Julitta's day most of all. They called this saint their intercessor. They needed to get as much rest as possible. It was believed that on this day it is better not to go out into the field, since evil spirits are walking there at that time. There was a rumor among the people that whoever reaps at this time can see a bad omen that can come true. This is logically explained by the fact that it often rains heavily on this day, so there is nothing to do in the garden at this time.

Kiriki are always wet-mouthed. That's what the peasants said. But the house was always full of work for everyone. Children were also taught to work very early. And they became a reliable support for their mothers, like St. Cyric for Julitta.

The Orthodox church calendar in July contains such wonderful dates that we can only pray to our saints to help us in our trials, sent to us by the Lord himself.

The Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir continued the work of his predecessors in uniting the 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 life of the baptist of Rus', Prince Vladimir of Kyiv, can be divided into two parts. For the first half of it, the prince was a pagan and left not the best memory of those times with his subjects, but later, having converted to Christianity, he completely changed. And this change was truly wonderful.

The future ruler of Kievan Rus was born around 962 in the village of Bududina Ves near Kiev. He was the son of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich and Malusha, the housekeeper of Princess Olga. After the birth of Vladimir, he was taken away from his mother, he was brought up at the court of Olga. Due to the fact that his princely origin was inferior, in his childhood and youth, Vladimir was often called “robichich”, that is, the son of a slave, which clearly hurt his pride.

In 969, before a military campaign on the Danube, Prince Svyatoslav divided his possessions between his sons. The eldest of them, Yaropolk, got Kyiv, another son, Oleg - the land of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir went to the Novgorod land. This area went to the prince for a reason. On the advice of Dobrynya, Vladimir's maternal uncle, the Novgorodians who arrived in Kyiv asked the young prince to be their ruler.

After Svyatoslav died in 972, Yaropolk and Oleg unleashed an internecine war. Its result was the death of Oleg. Vladimir fled for a while "over the sea" - as historians suggest, to Scandinavia or the Baltic states, but soon returned with mercenaries and started a war against Yaropolk. As a result of an agreement with one of his brother's servants, Vladimir killed Yaropolk and won the right to reign in Kyiv.

As the chroniclers note, at that time the pagan Vladimir was distinguished by cruelty, vindictiveness and depravity. Only officially he had five wives at that time. In addition, according to the chronicles, Vladimir had hundreds of concubines, including those from the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. The prince was a convinced pagan. Soon after accession to the Kiev throne, he arranged a pantheon of idols on a hill near his palace, that is, he erected statues of pagan gods - Perun, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh. In 983, during the reign of Vladimir, the Christian Varangians were killed in Kyiv - Theodore and his son John, who became the first martyrs for the faith on Russian soil. At the same time, Vladimir proved himself to be a wise ruler-statesman. In particular, he made several successful military campaigns to the west and east, subjugated the tribes of Radimichi and Vyatichi, annexed the "Cherven cities", that is, Volhynia, to Rus'.

In an attempt to strengthen the unified power on the territory of the entire ancient Russian state, the prince tried to introduce a single cult of the god Perun. But the pagan reform of Vladimir was unsuccessful, since each of the tribes had their own gods, including the main deity. Apparently, this failure, as well as the example of the Christians who lived next to him, increasingly forced the Kyiv prince to think about the need for changes both in his life and in the life of the whole country. And in the end he decided to take a serious step.

As a child, Vladimir was introduced to Christianity, as his grandmother, Princess Olga, was baptized herself and spread the new faith in her court. But the prince made his own conscious choice in favor of the Christian faith in 988, when he was baptized. The fact that the choice of Vladimir was not just a formality (as was the case with many of his contemporaries), but seriously affected his inner, spiritual life is evidenced by the deeds that the prince did when he became a Christian. The chroniclers note that after the baptism, Vladimir changed dramatically and quickly. It is difficult to say what kind of feelings he experienced and what thoughts moved him to baptism - it is always difficult to look into the soul of a person. But from the outside it looked like a miracle. The prince dissolved his numerous harem, began to live in a full-fledged Christian marriage with his wife, Princess Anna. He erected the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos (also called the Tithes) on the site of the murder of the Varangian Christians Theodore and John. It can be said that the prince made a public act of repentance for his past - a very serious act, which few rulers dared to do.

In general, Vladimir's attitude to death has changed radically. Previously, the prince could kill his enemy without hesitation - but now, having become a Christian, he was afraid to execute even criminals. Vladimir began to actively do works of mercy. So, he ordered every beggar and sick person to come to the princely court for food, drink or money. Having learned that many could not reach the palace on their own, the prince ordered special carts with food and drink to be equipped, which traveled around the city, saturating the needy.

After his baptism, Prince Vladimir decided to convert all his people to the new faith. This affected many aspects of the life of his subjects. First of all, Christianity changed the moral, moral guidelines of the Slavs. Instead of the rudeness and cruelty of paganism, it taught people love, mercy, and sacrifice. Also, the new faith allowed Rus' to change in terms of culture and education, because with Christianity, writing, literature, art and much more came to the Slavs. In 989, Vladimir began a mass baptism of the Russians. By his order, the pagan temple on the hill in front of the palace was destroyed. The idols were chopped, burned, and the main one - the idol of the god Perun - was thrown into the Dnieper.

The baptism of the inhabitants of Kyiv took place in the waters of the Pochaina River, a tributary of the Dnieper. The sacrament was performed by the priests whom Vladimir brought with him from the city of Korsun, as well as those who arrived in Rus' in the retinue of his new wife, the Byzantine princess Anna. However, the Christianization of Rus' did not happen overnight, it took several centuries. Initially, the new faith spread in the Dnieper region and a number of princely cities. Yes, and there Christianity was more actively accepted by representatives of the nobility, but among the common people it was asserted more slowly.

In some parts of the principality, as, for example, in the Novgorod land, there were even conflicts between the authorities - Christians and the spiritual leaders of the pagans. In North-Eastern Rus', Christianity probably appeared only in the 11th century. Under Vladimir, the Kiev Metropolis was formed in Rus', which became part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The first Metropolitan of Kyiv was Michael (988-991), presumably from Syria.

In the state plan, Prince Vladimir continued the policy of centralizing power around Kyiv even after his baptism. Late 10th - early 11th century. he waged a long struggle with the main enemies of Rus': the Pechenegs - steppe nomads. To repel their invasions, he built a “defence line” along the southern borders of Rus' - fortress cities, which together formed a kind of border outposts, interconnected by a powerful earthen rampart. He also made a number of trips to the west and concluded peace treaties with neighboring states - Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary. To strengthen power within the state, the prince placed his sons in the main cities: in Novgorod - Vysheslav, in Polotsk - Izyaslav, in Rostov - Yaroslav, and so on. The prince also sought to educate his subjects, followed the development of education. At his command, children were taken from the best families and sent to literacy. Thus, in a couple of decades, a completely new generation of educated people has grown up in Rus'.

The enlightener and baptist of the Russian land died on July 15, 1015 in the village of Berestov not far from Kyiv. Unfortunately, soon after his death, internecine wars broke out in Rus' between his sons. Popular veneration of Prince Vladimir as a saint began already in the 11th century. People called him Vladimir the Holy, Vladimir the Baptist, and affectionately - Vladimir the Red Sun. However, he was officially canonized later; the first reliable information about this refers only to the 14th century. For the labors aimed at enlightening the pagan Slavic tribes with the light of the Christian faith, the prince was glorified in the rank of Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint.

Icon of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir

Prayer to Prince Vladimir

"O great servant of God, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir! Look at our infirmities 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 by His mercy, may he plant in our hearts repentance and saving fear of God, may our minds be enlightened by His grace, in a hedgehog leave us the paths of wickedness and turn to the path of salvation, unswervingly do the commandments of God and observe the ordinances of the Holy Church. may it deliver us from deadly diseases and from all evil, may it save and save the servants of God (names) from all the machinations and slanders of the enemy, and may we all be blessed with you with eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever.