Vladimir the Great (c. 958 – 15 July 15, 1015), was a prince of Novgorod, grand Prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus' from 980 to 1015.
Kievan Rus' was a loose federation of East Slavic peoples. During the reign of Vladimir the Great the Kievan Rus' State expanded to around 800,000 km2 (309,000 sq miles). Belarus, Russia and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors.
Although Christianity had spread in the region under his brother Oleg's rule, Vladimir was a pagan during the early part of his reign, taking eight hundred concubines (along with about seven wives) and participating in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice.
In around 988 Vladimir decided that he wanted to unite his subjects around one monotheistic religion. According to the Russian Chronicle, Vladimir dispatched envoys to neighboring countries to judge first hand the major religions of the time; Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Byzantine Orthodoxy.
The first three religions failed to win over Vladimir but the two envoys he dispatched to Constantinople visited a Mass in the great Cathedral of Hagia Sophia. They were greatly impressed by the Divine Liturgy and reported back to their master that they could not tell whether they were in heaven or on earth.
In 988 Vladimir married Anna Porphyrogenita, the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano and the sister of Emperors Basil II Bulgaroktonos and Constantine VIII.. This was a surprise as never before had a Byzantine imperial princess married a barbarian.
Vladimir was impressed by Byzantine religious practices; this factor, along with his marriage to Anna, led to his decision to convert to Eastern Christianity. He also began Christianizing his kingdom.
On August 1, 988 Vladimir ordered the entire population of Kiev to gather on the bank of the River Dneiper. He then led them into the water in order that they all might be baptized according to the Orthodox form. The remaining population of Kievan Rus' was slowly converted. Orthodoxy thus became the state religion of Russia, which it was to remain until 1917.
Vladimir ordered that all idols should be destroyed. The great wooden idol Perun was beaten by twelve appointed men with sticks as it is dragged along attached to a horse's tail, in order to cast out the demon, which had fooled the idol worshippers. It is then thrown into the river Dneiper.
During his Christian reign, Vladimir lived out the teachings of the Bible through doing acts of charity. He would hand out food and drink to the poor, and made an effort to go out to the people who could not reach him.
Vladimir established numerous churches, including the Desiatynna in Kiev (designed by Byzantine architects and dedicated about 996) which became the symbol of the Kievan Rus' conversion. He also founded schools, gave aid to the the poor and introduced ecclesiastical courts.
Anna participated actively in the Christianization of Kievan Rus': she acted as the religious adviser of Vladimir and founded a few convents and churches herself.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Churches in the 13th century. Thereafter he was referred to as ‘the holy, equal to the Apostles, grand prince of Kyiv.’
Saint Vladimir of Kiev's feast day, July 15th was first celebrated in 1263.
Kievan Rus' was a loose federation of East Slavic peoples. During the reign of Vladimir the Great the Kievan Rus' State expanded to around 800,000 km2 (309,000 sq miles). Belarus, Russia and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors.
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| Icon of S.Vladimir by anonymous |
Although Christianity had spread in the region under his brother Oleg's rule, Vladimir was a pagan during the early part of his reign, taking eight hundred concubines (along with about seven wives) and participating in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice.
In around 988 Vladimir decided that he wanted to unite his subjects around one monotheistic religion. According to the Russian Chronicle, Vladimir dispatched envoys to neighboring countries to judge first hand the major religions of the time; Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Byzantine Orthodoxy.
The first three religions failed to win over Vladimir but the two envoys he dispatched to Constantinople visited a Mass in the great Cathedral of Hagia Sophia. They were greatly impressed by the Divine Liturgy and reported back to their master that they could not tell whether they were in heaven or on earth.
In 988 Vladimir married Anna Porphyrogenita, the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano and the sister of Emperors Basil II Bulgaroktonos and Constantine VIII.. This was a surprise as never before had a Byzantine imperial princess married a barbarian.
Vladimir was impressed by Byzantine religious practices; this factor, along with his marriage to Anna, led to his decision to convert to Eastern Christianity. He also began Christianizing his kingdom.
 |
| he Baptism of Saint Prince Vladimir, by Viktor Vasnetsov (1890) |
On August 1, 988 Vladimir ordered the entire population of Kiev to gather on the bank of the River Dneiper. He then led them into the water in order that they all might be baptized according to the Orthodox form. The remaining population of Kievan Rus' was slowly converted. Orthodoxy thus became the state religion of Russia, which it was to remain until 1917.
Vladimir ordered that all idols should be destroyed. The great wooden idol Perun was beaten by twelve appointed men with sticks as it is dragged along attached to a horse's tail, in order to cast out the demon, which had fooled the idol worshippers. It is then thrown into the river Dneiper.
During his Christian reign, Vladimir lived out the teachings of the Bible through doing acts of charity. He would hand out food and drink to the poor, and made an effort to go out to the people who could not reach him.
Vladimir established numerous churches, including the Desiatynna in Kiev (designed by Byzantine architects and dedicated about 996) which became the symbol of the Kievan Rus' conversion. He also founded schools, gave aid to the the poor and introduced ecclesiastical courts.
Anna participated actively in the Christianization of Kievan Rus': she acted as the religious adviser of Vladimir and founded a few convents and churches herself.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Churches in the 13th century. Thereafter he was referred to as ‘the holy, equal to the Apostles, grand prince of Kyiv.’
Saint Vladimir of Kiev's feast day, July 15th was first celebrated in 1263.
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