Who, when and how baptized Rus'? Baptism of Rus': how, why and why? Why baptism of Rus'

Sergey Baimukhametov, historian

Few people know that Prince Vladimir, later called the Saint, burned Christians.

It seemed that he, a pagan, the illegitimate son of Svyatoslav from the slave Malusha, removed from the Kiev court and exiled to the outskirts, hated the very spirit of the cultural city, writes NI columnist Sergei Baimukhametov, who decided to compare two diametrically opposed principles of accepting a new faith - on Rus' and Europe.

Event of Discord

The Orthodox world celebrates the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Ancient Rus'. As always, it cannot be done without politicization. The Russian authorities organized a grandiose concert in the Crimea, in Chersonesus, where Prince Vladimir was baptized, attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the head of Crimea Sergei Aksenov.

And Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko especially noted that “baptism was the European choice of Prince Vladimir.” Earlier, he said in an interview with Serbian television that “Prince Vladimir baptized Ukraine.”

In 2016, at the opening of a monument to Prince Vladimir in Moscow, the Ukrainian press wrote that this was “usurpation, Vladimir had never been to Moscow, Moscow did not exist then.” An entry appeared on the official English-language account of Ukraine on Twitter: “Kyiv brought Orthodoxy to Rus'. Reminder to Russia." An official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry responded: “Kyiv... continues to carry on. True, now it is not Christianity, but nonsense. Although in English."

Varangian pagan

Prince Vladimir, later called the Saint, burned Christians.

The story of his terrible deeds as a rapist and murderer is known - from the rape of the Polotsk princess Rogneda in front of her parents, to the vile murder of his brother Yaropolk, whom he invited to his tent for negotiations, and at the entrance two Varangians pierced him with swords from both sides. “Under the bosoms,” says the chronicle.

But few people know that Vladimir was a fanatical enemy of Christianity.

What did he do first of all, killing his brother Yaropolk and taking Kyiv? He placed idols, pagan idols.

The chronicle reads: “He placed idols on the hill behind the tower courtyard: a wooden Perun with a silver head and a golden mustache, and Khors, Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Simargl, and Mokosh. And they made sacrifices to them, calling them gods, and brought their sons and daughters, and made sacrifices to demons, and desecrated the earth with their sacrifices. And the Russian land and that hill were defiled with blood.”

What kind of “sacrifices”? What “blood”?

In this case we are talking about ritual murder, about sacrifice to pagan gods. The names of Theodore and his son John are recorded - Christians who moved from Byzantium to Rus', to Kyiv. They were killed and burned on that hill.

Many European and Byzantine chronicles write about human sacrifices in Rus'. For example, wives were taken to the grave with their husbands. And the killing of prisoners turned into a hecatomb. Adults were burned, children were strangled and drowned in the river. One of these hecatombs is described in the “History” of the Byzantine writer and historian Leo the Deacon.

And in the “Tale of Bygone Years” for 983 it says: “Vladimir went... to Kyiv, making sacrifices to idols with his people. And the elders and boyars said: “Let’s cast lots for the boy and the girl; on whomever it falls, we will slaughter him as a sacrifice to the gods.”

This happened 5 years before the baptism of Rus'.

That is, the cult of sacrifice is not such a distant past, if people were burned alive in Kyiv at the end of the 10th century, in relatively civilized times. Apparently, Vladimir remembered the former bloody custom not by chance. It was a sign and a symbol. A sign and symbol of a return to ancient pagan foundations.

After all, Kyiv by that time was slowly but surely moving away from paganism. Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga, converted to Christianity; her son, the pagan Svyatoslav, did not interfere with baptism and the penetration of Christianity into Kyiv during his reign. His son Yaropolk, raised by his grandmother Olga, married a Greek Christian woman.

Yes, in Kyiv they laughed at Christians, but they did not persecute them. And they laughed, probably, the way some village people often laugh at a city man who has fallen into their midst - at his strange habits for them. That is, Christian culture was penetrating and a different cultural stereotype was being established.

And then Vladimir seized power.

He, a wounded, offended bastard, the illegitimate son of Svyatoslav from the slave Malusha, removed from the Kyiv court and exiled to the outskirts, to Novgorod, hated the very spirit of Kyiv, its atmosphere. “It seemed that the uncultured, semi-Finnish, Novgorod outskirts of Rus' had religiously defeated the capital’s Greekized Kyiv,” wrote the largest researcher of the history of the Russian Church, A.V. Kartashev.

But what happened next?

We are not the only ones asking this question today. Metropolitan Hilarion, a century and a half after the death of St. Vladimir, asked over his tomb:

“How did you believe? How did you become inflamed with the love of Christ? How did a mind, higher than the mind of earthly sages, infuse you in order to love the invisible and strive for the heavenly? How did you seek Christ? How did you surrender to Him? ...You have not seen Christ: how did you become His disciple? ...Wonderful miracle! Guided only by your good sense and sharp mind, you comprehended that there is only one Creator of the invisible and visible, heavenly and earthly, and that He sent His Beloved Son into the world to save. And with these thoughts you entered the holy font. Thus, what seemed madness to others was for you the power of God... Tell us, your servants, tell us, our teacher, where did the fragrance of the Holy Spirit come from?”

We are not allowed to know.

Perhaps a miracle of spiritual transformation occurred.

Perhaps the grace of God descended on this terrible soul.

We can only analyze the earthly vicissitudes of Vladimir’s life.

According to the chronicles, everyone knows the scene of the choice of faith. It leads to sad reflections: is it possible to assume that everything would have been as one person, Kagan Vladimir, decided? There was no state called “Kievan Rus” in nature; it is a scientific term introduced by Russian historians in the 19th century for convenience of designation. Perhaps there were other motives, for example, to distance oneself from the “Asian” heritage. That state was called the Kyiv Kaganate or the Russian Kaganate. And the princes Vladimir the Holy and Yaroslav the Wise were called Khagans. (Kagan - “Khan of Khans”, “Great Khan”.) In “The Tale of Law and Grace”, one of the earliest works of ancient Russian literature, 11th century, Metropolitan Hilarion wrote: “And praise to our Kagan Vladimir, by whom we were baptized.” .

Russian rulers began to be titled princes later. The closest associates of the Polovtsian khans, and then the Mongol kagans and the Golden Horde khans formed the “kenez”, literally “council”. In Rus' they were called “kenezes”, and then “princes”.

According to the chronicle, Kagan Vladimir, choosing his faith, listening to the Byzantine, Khazar-Jewish and Bulgarian Muslim ambassadors, abandoned Islam, because the Muslim religion prohibits drinking alcohol and honey. When it came to this, he allegedly said to the Bulgarian ambassadors: “Rus' has joy to drink: we cannot exist without it.”

In general, as noted by researcher of the history of the Russian Church A.V. Kartashev, there is something cartoonish in this scene. But this often happens when chronicles are rewritten, adjusted to fit one or another ideological canon, or tried to be reduced to a “short course.” Each copyist inserts something of his own and distorts it in his own way. And the end result is something unimaginable. “The absurdist style of Russian chronicles,” as modern journalist Andrei Voronin aptly defined.

But nevertheless, “The Tale of Bygone Years” in this episode reflects the essence - the time of choosing faith. Or more precisely, the choice of a path, a civilization. Eight years of grand-ducal power - from the murder of Yaropolk and the capture of Kyiv to the baptism of Rus' - is a considerable period. Especially in that era. With all the ostentatious return to paganism, life in Kyiv is difficult to cancel. One execution is like a symbol. And then it’s impossible. Then we need to slaughter all Christians. Including his Christian wife, who he inherited from his brother Yaropolk, who was killed by him. And even among the Varangians, with all their violence and complete disregard for everything and everyone, there are converts. Especially from the king leaders. Let us remember the same Scandinavian saga about Olav Trygvesson, the son of a Norwegian king and the future Norwegian king, who lived at the court of Vladimir and persuaded him to accept the Christian faith.

The immediate events leading to Vladimir's baptism are described in ancient Arab and Byzantine chronicles.

In 986, civil war began in Byzantium. The rebellion was started by the general Varda Sklir, and then the general Varda Phokas joined him. They began negotiations with the Arab caliph about a joint war against Emperor Basil. Thus, Byzantium was threatened from the south and east by rebels and Arabs. Moreover, from the north and west - the Bulgarian Khaganate and the Kiev Khaganate. Thus, Byzantium was surrounded, war was fought on all fronts at once. Emperor Vasily begins negotiations and makes peace with the Bulgarians, leaving them the Byzantine lands conquered at that time. What kind of “return” is there when everything can be lost! And he turns to Vladimir for military help. Payment for help - Byzantine princess Anna. In this case, a condition is set - the baptism of Vladimir.

In our opinion, strange conditions. And renounce your faith in Perun, and leave the soldiers. For what? For a woman? In Russian speaking - for a woman?!

No - for status!

There is no doubt that the Kiev Kaganate is young and powerful. However, it is a barbaric country. And Vladimir himself feels like a barbarian. And the Byzantine dynasty is ancient, “real”, sanctified by centuries. Marrying Anna is not just joining the imperial family, but initiation into the clan of “real” Basileus kings. Vladimir thus becomes an aristocrat among the rulers of the young states. Neither the Bulgarian Kagan on the Danube, nor the Bulgarian Kagan on the Kama can compare with him.

Whether he thought so or not, we cannot know.

Vladimir entered into an alliance with Emperor Vasily and provided him with military assistance in the fight against the rebels. Arab and Byzantine chronicles write about this in detail.

However, Emperor Vasily tried to deceive Kagan Vladimir. Princess Anna was not given away for him. What, how and why is unknown. Maybe Anna resisted, did not want, like the Polotsk princess Rogneda, to marry the son of a slave. Or maybe Emperor Vasily decided that now that the threat had passed, it was possible to neglect the promises made to the northern barbarian.

But it was not there. Vladimir immediately went on a campaign against Korsun-Chersonese and captured the city, threatening to march on Constantinople. Moreover, in alliance with the Bulgarians. Emperor Vasily was frightened and immediately sent Princess Anna, with whom our Vladimir married there, in Korsun, after which he returned the city to Byzantium as a bride price.

From here, from Korsun, he went on a campaign to Kyiv, to Rus'.

Carrying the Cross.

"He knocked over the idols"

As the chronicle testifies, upon returning from Korsun, Prince Vladimir “ordered to overturn the idols - chop some up and burn others. Perun ordered that a horse be tied to the tail and dragged from the mountain along the Borichev road to the Stream and ordered 12 men to beat him with sticks... When they dragged Perun along the Stream to the Dnieper, the infidels mourned him, since they had not yet received holy baptism. And, having dragged it, they threw it into the Dnieper. And Vladimir assigned people to him, telling them: “If he lands somewhere on the shore, push him away. And when the rapids pass, then just leave him.” They did what they were ordered. And when they let Perun in and he passed the rapids, the wind threw him onto the sandbank, and that’s why the place became known as the Perunya Shoal, as it is called to this day. Then Vladimir sent throughout the city to say: “If someone does not come to the river tomorrow - be it rich, or poor, or beggar, or slave - he will be my enemy.” Hearing this, the people went with joy, rejoicing and saying: “If this were not good, our prince and the boyars would not have accepted it.”

This is “The Tale of Bygone Years,” written, of course, by Christian monks. A sweet tale about the joyful baptism of all Kiev residents: “People went, rejoicing...” Although the reality is clearly betrayed by the previous phrase: “If someone doesn’t come to the river tomorrow...” he will be my enemy.” This is not even an ultimatum, but a direct threat. And try not to obey - Kyiv knew Vladimir’s frenzied nature well, remembered the sacrifices, the burning of Christians.

I’ll make a reservation: we are not allowed to know what was going on in his soul. Perhaps he was baptized for mercantile, political reasons. Perhaps at the moment of baptism the miracle of Transfiguration occurred in his soul. Perhaps he felt like a great missionary - he saved the souls of barbarians, converted them to the true faith, and revealed to them the light of the true faith. But even if he simply turned the country and people into the mainstream of another, more developed civilization, he was guided by the highest goals and the best intentions - that’s the point!

One way or another, Vladimir carried out the baptism of Rus' with Varangian indomitability and cruelty. Like a military raid on an enemy city. In Kyiv, the people were driven into the Dnieper by batogs and Perun was beaten with sticks. And in Novgorod, to increase contempt for the former idols and idols, Perun was dragged “through the dung.” The chronicle testifies: “And they began to build churches in other cities and appoint priests in them and bring people to baptism in all cities and villages. He sent to collect children from the best people and send them to book education. The mothers of these children wept for them; for they were not yet established in the faith and wept over them as if they were dead.”

This is where one story ends and another begins.

Was there another way?

As they said and wrote, the baptism of Rus' was certainly a progressive phenomenon. Who turned our country into the mainstream of Christian civilization.

Was there another way? It certainly was. Evidence of this is the ancient chronicles. In those days, detachments of Slavic-Turkic-Varangian freemen, or, in other words, robbers, walked along the Northern Black Sea coast. They were called Rus, Rus. The life of St. George, Archbishop of Amastrid (approximately the 9th century) tells: “There was an invasion of barbarians - Rus', a people, as everyone knows, extremely wild and rude, not bearing any traces of philanthropy. Brutal in morals, inhuman in deeds, revealing their bloodthirstiness by their very appearance, in nothing else... not finding such pleasure as in murder, they... finally reached the saint’s fatherland, mercilessly flogging every sex and every age.”

Having captured Amastra, a Black Sea city in Byzantium, and burst into the temple, the robbers rushed to plunder the tomb of St. George, thinking to find treasure there, but suddenly turned to stone. And they were freed only after one of the captive Christians prayed for them. After which “they no longer insulted the shrines.”

This source says that in primordial times the northern barbarians encountered Christian civilization in the Black Sea region. All Russian chronicles mention Korsun and Tmutorakan (Chersonese and Taman) not as distant lands, but as neighboring, familiar ones. The penetration of Christianity and Christian civilization into Rus' through Crimea was calm and unstoppable. It captured both the people and the upper strata. An example of this is Princess Olga.

Vladimir, with truly Varangian rudeness and cruelty, broke the evolutionary path that had begun. Which, in my opinion, affected the further history of Rus'.

Of course, metropolitans were a kind of counterbalance to princely absolutism; they were considered independent from the great princes, later kings, since they were approved or appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. But with each year and century this appointment and approval became more and more formal. And the state did not tolerate this small amount of independence. It must be said that our metropolitans themselves wanted to be independent, they wanted to be patriarchs. Thus, through the joint efforts of the first kings and metropolitans, the thin thread between Russia and Constantinople was broken. And we formed our own autocephalous Russian Orthodox Church, our own patriarch. Of course, subordinate to the king.

But even in this form, the church interfered with secular power. The authority of the patriarch was very great among the people. Let us also take into account that Patriarchs Filaret and Nikon actually ruled Russia in the most difficult times and were officially called, like the Tsar, Great Sovereigns.

And therefore, Peter the Great, having consolidated his power, abolished the patriarchate, creating a Synod and making the church practically one of the departments of the state apparatus.

Muslims have never had a single church center. After the fall of the Baghdad Caliphate, where the Caliph united secular and highest ecclesiastical power in one person, imams and muftis became hostages of khans, emirs and sultans.

When faith comes on its own, winning minds and hearts, it comes as the grace of God, as the highest power.

When they baptize with fire, sword and whip - the highest power belongs to the one who holds the whip and sword in his hands. Khan Uzbek, brother-in-law of the great Vladimir Prince Yuri Danilovich, cut off the heads of Orthodox and pagan Horde members, converting the Golden Horde to Islam. Starting the executions with relatives like him, descendants of Genghis Khan.

It would seem that after centuries everything has already been forgotten. But no. Not a single king of England or France could say that it was his glorious ancestor who gave the true faith to these barbarians. But with us, he could, and he did. And he behaved accordingly. Moreover, I dare to believe that there is something higher than our personal consciousness - social consciousness. A certain aura hovering over this or that country, over this or that people.

The church, planted by state power, became a servant of the state - an ideological prop. Thus, Orthodoxy and Islam in Russia initially did not and could not have the significance that the church had in Western Europe.

This is where we differ from Europe. That is why we became what we are, and our history turned out the way it did.

The Baptism of Rus' was of great importance in Russian history. Pagan beliefs were replaced by a national unified religion. The adoption of Christianity from Byzantium predetermined the future path of development of Russia as the largest stronghold of Orthodoxy.

Paganism of Ancient Rus'

Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs were pagans. Each tribe worshiped its own god, who was considered its protector and patron. Common Slavic deities also stood out.
The most significant in Ancient Rus' were:

• Perun (god of thunder, lightning and thunder);
• Volos or Veles (god of livestock, trade and wealth);
• Dazhdbog and Khors (various incarnations of the sun god);
• Stribog (god of the winds, whirlwind and blizzard);
• Mokosh (goddess of earth and fertility);
• Simargl (god of seeds and crops).

As princely power strengthened, the need arose to centralize the state. The diversity of pagan beliefs weakened Ancient Rus' and prevented the merging of tribes into a single ethnic group.

The first attempt to create a national religion was made during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. After defeating all opponents and establishing himself on the grand-ducal throne, Vladimir ordered the installation of idols of the main Slavic gods in Kyiv.

Rice. 1. Reconstruction of the temple of Perun on the island of Peryn.

At the head of the pantheon stood the wooden Perun with a silver head and a golden mustache. The people of Kiev offered sacrifices to the deities, including human ones.

Search for a new religion

Despite the approval of the pan-Slavic pantheon of gods, the union of tribes steadily disintegrated. Vladimir Svyatoslavovich understood that a stronger religion was needed that could unite people.

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The prince was inclined towards the Byzantine faith. Christianity has been penetrating Rus' for a long time. In 957, Princess Olga was baptized. People from the prince's immediate circle became Christians.

Ambassadors from other states arrived to Vladimir. The Jewish missionaries were immediately rejected by the prince. He reproached them for the fact that the holy city of the Jews, Jerusalem, was in the hands of the Muslims. The chronicle says that the prince sent his people to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each religion.
The envoys' report contained the following information:

• Islam (Volga Bulgaria): “there is no joy in them, only sadness and a great stench”;
• Catholicism (Holy Roman Empire): “they saw no beauty”;
• Orthodoxy (Byzantium): “their service is better than in all other countries.”

After consulting with the boyars, Vladimir made a choice on the Byzantine faith.

The chronicle, of course, embellishes the virtues of Orthodoxy. Vladimir’s choice was based on quite understandable causes :

• the enormous influence of Byzantine culture on Slavic Rus';
• long-standing trade and diplomatic contacts;
• the power of the Byzantine Empire.

Baptism of Prince Vladimir

Despite the decision to be baptized, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich remained a typical pagan warrior who was accustomed to acting with the help of military force. In 988 he started a war with Byzantium and besieged Korsun.

The “Korsun Legend” says that Vladimir swore an oath to be baptized if the city was captured. One of the Korsun residents named Anastas showed the prince where the water comes from in Korsun. The prince blocked the source, and the inhabitants of the city surrendered.

Vladimir demanded that the Byzantine co-rulers Vasily and Constantine give him his sister Anna as his wife. The emperors agreed on the condition that the prince would definitely be baptized.

The chronicle tells about another “miracle”: Vladimir became blind, but after baptism he immediately regained his sight. This finally convinced him of the superiority of Orthodoxy over other religions. Many participants in the siege also received baptism after this.

Rice. 2. Monument to Prince Vladimir on Borovitskaya Square in Moscow.

Vladimir married Anna, took priests, relics, church utensils, and icons from Korsun and returned to Kyiv.

Baptism of Rus'

Briefly, the most important thing about the baptism of Rus' comes down to the following points:

• The generally accepted date of the baptism of Rus' is 988.
• Vladimir returned to Kyiv and immediately ordered the destruction of the pantheon of pagan gods.
• The prince addressed the people of Kiev with a statement: the next day everyone must come to the Dnieper for baptism. The prince's charismatic personality inspired respect and fear. The mass baptism took place quite peacefully.
• Vladimir was actively involved in spreading the new religion. On the site of a pagan temple in Kyiv, he erected the Church of St. Basil. Churches begin to be built throughout Rus' and priests are appointed.

Perun was subjected to “punishment”: they threw the statue into the river and did not allow him to land on the shore until the very Dnieper rapids (i.e., to the borders of the Russian land).

The meaning and results of the baptism of Rus'

The baptism of Rus' by Prince Vladimir significantly increased the authority of the Old Russian state. The establishment of a state religion contributed to the formation of a single nation. Culture received a huge boost in development.

Rice. 3. Baptism of Prince Vladimir. Fresco by V. Vasnetsov in the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv.

The chronicles make it possible to trace how baptism took place throughout the territory of Rus'. Armed conflicts arose between pagans and Christian preachers. The priests were forced to adapt to local conditions. As a result of the merger with paganism in Rus', an original form of Christianity emerged - Russian Orthodoxy. In the history of Russia, a special path of development has emerged.

What have we learned?

By the end of the 10th century, all the prerequisites for the adoption of a national religion had developed in Kievan Rus. In 988, the baptism of Rus' took place according to the Byzantine model. The influence of the baptism of Rus' on the further history of Russia is difficult to overestimate. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Russia became the world center of Orthodoxy, which allowed it to more decisively assert its imperial rights.

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Who is Prince Prince Vladimir, and who was he really?
History in textbooks tends to turn people into bronze statues and elevate them to transcendental heights. It seems to me that this is not entirely correct. You can understand the hero of antiquity much better if you apply the laws of elementary logic and ordinary human motivation to him. Let's begin our proceedings with the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.

Who really was Vladimir?

Prince Vladimir was definitely not a saint. At least at the beginning of his human life. Vladimir deceived and killed his brother Yaropolk, forcibly took his bride Rogneda as his wife, and had a huge harem of concubines. In general, such a normal medieval ruler is strong, treacherous and ruthless. He fought, intrigued, made and broke political alliances, and enjoyed the power of the strong. Absolutely natural behavior for that time. It is a known fact that Vladimir the Red Sun was pleased by 800 concubines.

Why did Vladimir baptize Rus'?

The question is logical. It would seem that the old Slavic gods brought Vladimir only victories and good luck. Having killed Yaropolk and taken possession of Kiev, he destroyed the Christian church (presumably Catholic) built under his brother and began to revive pagan cults. Vladimir loved war and women. The latter are especially strong and frequent. Accepting a new faith meant the end of his favorite entertainment. At least on the same scale.
The answer is also, in general, clear. The era of religious wars began, in which the pagans had no chance. In the next couple of hundred years, monotheistic religions subjugated Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Paganism turned out to be uncompetitive and disappeared from the world stage. Why? Firstly, it was old and weak. Ordinary people did not find higher meanings in it. Only initiates, magi and other clergy knew the secrets hidden in the ancient teaching. Secondly, the new monotheistic religions were much better at uniting the people and subordinating them to the central government. Pagan gods contributed to disunity - in one city Perun was more revered, in another Veles. Thirdly, people were much more willing to die and kill in the name of one God. Religious intolerance has been a trump card in endless wars.
Thus, abandoning paganism in favor of a monotheistic religion was a wise political decision. If Vladimir had not baptized Rus', it could easily have collapsed into several states with different religions, which would have led to the formation of not a single Russian people, but several hostile ones. There are plenty of examples of this in the Balkans and the Indian subcontinent.
A widely known version is that Vladimir was baptized to receive the hand of the Byzantine princess Anna. But it clearly confuses cause and effect. The prince wanted Anna just to create an alliance with Byzantium. In addition, he could change his faith himself, without driving all of Rus' to baptism. Well, of course, he could change his mind after the wedding. This is what pagan rulers often did - having received what they wanted, they returned to the old faith.
Prince Vladimir and his minions baptized Rus' like this:
A squad with crosses and clergy came to a village and commanded everyone to accept the new faith. The first to stand on the path of baptism were the sages and the magi - they were immediately killed, and indicatively. They were either burned or impaled. If there were intercessors, the same fate awaited them. Ancient sources also speak of forced repentance through the killing of infants, in front of everyone. After such a “baptism” many left for the villages, but the main part (women, children and hard working men) remained. They bowed their heads and accepted the new faith. We must not forget that Vladimir had a huge army behind him, and opposing him was simply suicidal. The education of the young people was carried out exclusively by the clergy. And so a new generation appeared that sowed the Orthodox faith throughout Rus'.

Why Orthodoxy?

To answer we need a political map of that time.
Let's look at it from the point of view of the main religions:

Judaism - there are no strong powers. The Khazar Kaganate is confidently moving towards its fall and is not considered by the Russian princes as a superior force.
Islam is still very far away.
Catholicism - Holy Roman Empire, constant aggression aimed at Slavic lands.
Orthodoxy - Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium. There is no common border. Not actively expanding.
This list makes things clear. In addition, it must be taken into account that Vladimir lived in an era of active rivalry between the two Romes. The old present - Byzantium. And a new one, which was created by the Gothic and Frankish tribes on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire. At the same time, the Franco-Germans were actively seizing Slavic lands. In such a situation, the adoption of Orthodoxy and an alliance with Byzantium were practically the only possible strategy. All the jokes about the fact that the choice of Orthodoxy is dictated by a softer system of prohibitions have no basis. Vladimir was a politician first and a reveler second. The way the baptism of Rus' was carried out - quickly and violently - suggests that this decision was political and extremely important.
Why not Catholicism?
Vladimir chose a strategic ally. The Romans seemed much more preferable than the "Europeans". They had much greater cultural and scientific capital. At the same time, they did not conduct active expansion (especially on the territory of Rus'). Catholics in those days were unwashed, aggressive and deceitful. The close proximity to Russian territory implied a future conflict.

How did Rus' avoid the global invasion of its neighbors?

Having abandoned the faith of their ancestors, Rus' received a ticket to a new life. True, everything did not go quite the way Vladimir wanted. Byzantium was too old and not aggressive. She found herself between the Catholic and Muslim worlds, as if between a rock and a hard place. As a result, it quickly weakened and did not become a powerful ally of Rus'. And in general they didn’t particularly want to have barbarian allies.

Two hundred and fifty years later, difficult times came to Rus' - the Golden Horde rose in the east. The Poles and the Teutonic Order pressed from the West. At this time, Byzantium lay in ruins after the fourth crusade. Rus' was fragmented, surrounded by enemies and deprived of allies, but it survived and, against its will, became the new Orthodox Rome. Someone had to lead the Orthodox world in the era of religious wars, when Constantinople fell. Thus, Vladimir can be compared to Columbus. He just wanted to get to India - to get a strong ally in a new difficult time. The ally turned out to be useless, but Rus' raised his banner and began moving towards becoming another world center of power.

Saint or not?

In general, holiness is a very controversial issue. How can you recognize a person as a saint? Even if, according to the concepts of the Orthodox Church, we are already born in sin? A saint is an absolutely pure person. And is he a man? Which, well, not entirely cannot be said about Vladimir. We can say about him that He was a strong and strategically thinking politician and leave it at that. In the Baptism of Rus' one can easily read the sober calculation of a smart politician.
But what happened next, when the prince’s stormy pagan youth was left behind? For the last 27 years of his life, Vladimir, apparently, was a true Christian. He abandoned the harem, supported the church in every possible way, and distributed food and money to the needy every Sunday.
The conspiracy of Svyatopolk best characterizes the late Vladimir. The prince forgave the conspirators. In general, this was not supposed to be done. There were a lot of Rurikovichs in Rus'. The main method of political struggle was murder. A ruler who showed weakness risked immediately receiving a dozen contenders for his throne. It turns out that Vladimir was able to cross the gap between a pragmatic pagan and a believing Christian. Which is no small thing - most people on Earth, even after a thousand years, continue to live according to the laws of the jungle.

Kievan Rus became Christian on August 988. Internally, spiritually, with all her essence, she was ready to accept Orthodoxy, and the seed of Christianity fell on fertile soil. Russian people with fear and faith plunged into the sacred waters of Khreshchatyk, Pochayna and Dnieper to receive holy baptism. These days mark 1020 years since the baptism of Kievan Rus, which made a conscious and final choice of faith, moving from paganism to Christianity.

The first enlighteners

Paganism is a pre-Christian religion, polytheism, polytheism, when people worshiped idols. The main ones in ancient Rus' were the Sun (Dazh Bog) and Thunder and lightning (Perun). Many lower idols were also revered - patrons of the economy, home, land, water, forest, etc. In the life of our pagan ancestors there were many superstitions, cruel customs, and even human sacrifices occurred. At the same time, paganism in ancient Rus' did not delve into idolatry to such an extent as to have idol temples and a caste of priests.

Already in the first century AD. Eastern Slavs (Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Buzhans, Slovenians, Ulichs, Vyatichi, Tivertsy) gradually began to realize the need to choose Christianity as the true faith, which began to penetrate into the territory of future Rus'. According to legend, at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The Eastern Slavs were visited and the beginning of Christianity was laid here by the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. For his god-creating activities, by the lot of the apostles in Jerusalem, he received Scythia - the territory north of the Black Sea and to the Baltic. Arriving in Chersonesos (a Greek colony in Crimea, in the 4th-10th centuries it depended on Byzantium), the Apostle Andrew founded the first Christian community here and built a temple.

According to the ancient Greek chronicles, from Chersonesos the Apostle Andrew came to the mouth of the Dnieper and ascended to the Middle Dnieper region. At the foot of the Kyiv mountains, where there were then several clearing settlements, he prophetically said to his disciples: “Do you see these mountains? On these mountains the grace of God will shine, there will be a great city...” “And having ascended these mountains,” the chronicler narrates, “he blessed them and put a cross here... and, coming down from this mountain, where Kiev later arose, he went up the Dnieper. And he came to the Slavs, where Novgorod is now, and saw the people living there..."

As evidenced by the latest historical research, from Novgorod along the Volkhov River, Apostle Andrei swam to Lake Ladoga, and then to Valaam. He blessed the mountains there with a stone cross and converted the pagans living on the island to the true faith. This is mentioned in the oldest manuscript “Rebuke”, kept in the library of the Valaam Monastery, and in another ancient monument “Vseletnik” by Kyiv Metropolitan Hilarion (1051).

The continuator of the evangelistic labors of the Apostle Andrew in the Black Sea region was the Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Rome. Exiled by the Roman Emperor Troyan to Chersonesus, for three years (99-101) he spiritually cared for more than two thousand Crimean Christians here. Saint John Chrysostom, who was serving exile in one of the cities of Abkhazia in the 5th century, also carried out preaching activities. All their activities served to gradually spread Orthodoxy throughout the Crimea, the Caucasus and the entire Black Sea region.

The first enlighteners of the Slavs - the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius - also took part in the baptism of Rus'. They compiled Slavic writing (the exact date of the brothers’ creation of the Slavic alphabet and the foundations of writing is given by the authoritative source “On Writing” by Chernorizets Khrabra - 855), translated the Holy Scriptures and church books into the Slavic language. In 861, the brothers arrived in Tauride Chersonesos and baptized two hundred people here at once. They also visited the ancient territory of what is now Transcarpathia, where the Rusyns were baptized, and Saint Methodius even lived for some time in the local monastery in the settlement of Grushevo.

Askold and Dir

The entire history of the adoption of Christianity in Rus' was directly related to the process of formation of the Orthodox Church itself, completed only in 842 with the establishment at the Local Council of Constantinople in Byzantium of a special celebration - the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

According to Greek sources, the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir were the first to be baptized in ancient Rus' and convert to Orthodoxy in 867. They came to Kyiv with fighting squads in the middle of the 9th century. from the north, where the tribes of the Slavs (Slovenians and Krivichi together with the Finnish tribes) created a strong state formation centered in the city of Ladoga, located at the mouth of the Volkhov River, which flows into Lake Ladoga. This formation arose after the Khazars' invasion of Southern and Central Rus' (the most likely date of the Khazars' invasion of Kyiv is around 825).

The baptism of the Kyiv princes is described as follows. According to the testimony of the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius, in June 860, two hundred Russian ships, led by Askold and Dir, attacked Constantinople, which was “almost raised to a spear,” and that “it was easy for the Russians to take it, but impossible for the inhabitants to defend it.” But the incredible happened: the attackers suddenly began to retreat, and the city was saved from destruction. The reason for the retreat was a sudden storm that scattered the attacking fleet. This spontaneous dashing was perceived by the Russians as a manifestation of divine Christian power, which gave rise to a desire to join the Orthodox faith.

After what happened, the Byzantine Emperor Macedonian concluded a peace treaty with the Russians and “arranged for them to accept Bishop Michael, who was sent to Rus' by Patriarch Photius of Constantinople to spread the Orthodox faith.” The God-creating activity of Bishop Michael yielded results - princes Askold and Dir with the “Bolyars”, elders and part of the people in Kyiv were baptized. Patriarch Photius wrote on this occasion: “And now even they have exchanged the wicked teaching that they previously held for the pure and genuine Christian faith, lovingly placing themselves in the rank of subjects and friends, instead of robbing us and the great insolence against us that had not long ago."

This is how the first mass baptism took place in Rus'. The first all-Russian prince - Christian Askold received the name Nicholas, in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 867, the first Christian community, headed by a bishop, appeared in Rus'.

The spread of Christianity in Rus' already in the 9th century. confirmed by Arabic sources. In the “Book of Ways and Countries” by the outstanding geographer Ibn Hardadwekh, with reference to data from the 880s, it is said: “If we talk about the merchants of ar-Rus, then this is one of the varieties of Slavs... They claim that they are Christians...” Together with However, the introduction of ancient Russian people to Christianity was not widespread and lasting at that time. The actual baptism of Rus' took place only more than a century later.

Oleg and Igor

In the second half of the 9th century. a significant part of the Eastern Slavs (Polyans, Rodimichs, Krivichis, Severians, Dregovichi, Novgorod Slovenes) were united under the rule of Prince Oleg of Ladoga (princely reigned around 879 - early 10th century). He came with his squad from Novgorod (the Novgorodians, back in 862, having united the north-eastern Slavic tribes, drove the Varangians overseas “and if you didn’t give them tribute, you would often lose yourselves”), captured Kiev (around 882) and killed Askold and Dir, who reigned there. By uniting Novgorod with Kiev, Prince Oleg laid the foundation for Kievan Rus and continued the liberation of the southeastern tribes from the Khazar Khaganate.

The time of his reign was a period of further spread and strengthening of Christianity. It is known from the chronicle that it was under Oleg that a special Russian diocese was created under the authority of the Greek patriarch, and soon the Christian bishopric in Rus' grew into a metropolitanate. At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. The Russian diocese is already included in the lists of Greek bishops.

When in 907 Oleg’s army made a successful campaign against Constantinople, Byzantium was forced to sign a peace treaty beneficial for the Old Russian state. According to the chronicle, the Byzantine emperor invited Oleg's ambassadors to Constantinople, "he assigned his husbands to them to show them the church beauty, the golden chambers and the wealth stored in them, teaching them his faith and showing them the true faith." Upon the return of the ambassadors to Kyiv, the population of the city swore allegiance to the treaty as follows: the pagans took the oath at the idol of Perun, and the Christians - “in the church of St. Elijah, which stands above the Brook.”

At the beginning of the 10th century. Oleg's nephew Igor (prince at the beginning of the 10th century - 945) becomes the prince of Kyiv. Fighting to strengthen the Black Sea trade route, he made new campaigns against Constantinople in 941 and 944. Chronicle sources indicate that under Igor there were already a significant number of Christians in Rus'. So, if in Oleg’s treaty with Byzantium only Byzantines are called “Christians,” then in Igor’s treaty the Russians are divided into two “categories”: those who were baptized, and those who were not baptized, worship Perun - “let our Russian Christians swear by their faith, and non-Christians according to their law."

When the peace treaty between Constantinople and Prince Igor was concluded in 944, obviously people in power in Kyiv were aware of the historical necessity of introducing Rus' to Orthodox culture. However, Prince Igor himself was unable to overcome his attachment to paganism and sealed the agreement according to pagan custom - with an oath on swords. In addition to pagan Russians, Christian Russians also participated in negotiations with the Greeks in 944. Compiled by experienced Byzantine diplomats, this agreement provided for mutual assistance and the possibility of adoption of Christianity by the princes who remained during the negotiations in Kyiv. The final formula read: “And whoever transgresses from our country, whether a prince or someone else, whether baptized or unbaptized, may they have no help from God...”, the one who violated the agreement “may he be cursed by God and by Perun.” However, Byzantium's hopes for the imminent baptism of Rus' did not materialize. The adoption of Christianity turned out to be a longer process for the Russians.

Duchess Olga

In 945, Prince Igor was killed by rebel pagans in the Drevlyansky land, and Igor’s widow, Grand Duchess Olga (principal 945 - 969), assumed the burden of public service. Contrary to the artificial version of the "Normanists" about her Norman origin and today's "Orangeists" about her Ukrainian "descent", Princess Olga is a native of the village of Lybuty in the Pskov land, the daughter of a ferryman across the Velikaya River. She was an intelligent woman and a wonderful ruler, a worthy successor to the work of the Russian princes, who earned the recognition and love of the people, who called her wise.

Princess Olga was the first of the Kyiv princes to convert to Orthodoxy directly in Constantinople. According to the chronicle, in the second half of the 50s of the 10th century. "Olga went to the Greek land and came to Constantinople." She must have been between 28 and 32 years old at the time. When Olga met the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, he, seeing “that she is very beautiful in both face and mind,” said to her: “You are worthy to reign with us in our capital!” Olga, understanding the meaning of this sentence, answered the emperor: “I am a pagan.” ; If you want to baptize me, then baptize yourself, otherwise I will not be baptized.”

The political duel began between Olga and Konstantin even before their personal meeting. The princess sought recognition of the high prestige of the Russian state and her personally as its ruler. She lived in the harbor of Constantinople for more than a month before her reception took place in the palace: there were long negotiations about how and with what ceremonies the Russian princess should be received. Wise Olga decided to accept baptism in Constantinople and from the patriarch himself in order to achieve widespread recognition of Rus' in the world of powerful Christian states and to ensure the spiritual support of the Ecumenical Patriarch for his own apostolic mission on Russian soil. And the princess achieved extremely important results. She was baptized with honors in the capital of Byzantium, in the Church of St. Sophia - the main cathedral church of the Ecumenical Church of that time. At baptism, Olga received the name Helena (in honor of the mother of Constantine the Great) and a blessing for an apostolic mission in her country.

After baptism, Emperor Constantine again met with Olga on October 18, 957 and told her: “I want to take you as my wife.” To which she replied: “How do you want to take me when you yourself baptized me and called me your daughter? And Christians do not allow this - you know it yourself.” Konstantin was forced to answer: “You outwitted me, Olga, and gave her many gifts... let her go, calling her daughter.”

The imperial title of “daughter,” as modern research shows, placed Rus' in the highest rank of the diplomatic hierarchy of states (after Byzantium itself, of course, since no one could be equal to it). The title coincided with Olga-Elena's Christian position as goddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor.

Returning home, Princess Olga notes: “God’s will be done; if God wants to have mercy on my family and the Russian land, he will put in their hearts the same desire to turn to God that he gave to me.” She also persuaded her son Svyatoslav to accept Christianity, but he did not agree and remained a pagan.

Princess Olga not only prayed for her son and for people “every night and day,” but preached Christianity, crushed idols in her estates, and built churches. In Kyiv, a church was consecrated in the name of St. Sophia, and on the site of the future Pskov, she organized the construction of the Church of the Holy Trinity. From Constantinople, the princess brought many Christian shrines, in particular, an eight-pointed cross made entirely from the wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. These shrines helped in the great cause of enlightening the people of Kievan Rus.

After the death of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in 969, her son Svyatoslav (reigned until 972), although he himself was not baptized, “if anyone was going to be baptized, he did not forbid it.” After the death of Svyatoslav in 972, his son Yaropolk (reigned 972 - 978) was also not baptized, but had a Christian wife. According to the Joachim and Nikon chronicles, Yaropolk “loved Christians, and even though he himself was not baptized for the sake of the people, he did not bother anyone,” and he gave great freedom to Christians.”

Choice of Faith

The baptism of Kievan Rus was completed by the youngest son of Svyatoslav, grandson of Princess Olga, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (reigned 980 - 1015).

Vladimir completed the defeat of the Khazar Khaganate at the end of the 10th century and strengthened parts of the huge ancient Russian state. It was under him that Rus' achieved that power that excluded the very possibility of its defeat in the fight against any force of the then world. Arab sources testify about the “Russians” of the late 10th - early 11th centuries: “...They have an independent king Buladmir (Vladimir)... They are the strongest and very powerful people; they go on foot to distant countries to raid, they also sail on ships Khazar (Caspian) Sea... and sail to Constantinople along the Pontic (Black) Sea... Their courage and power are known, for one of them is equal to a certain number of people from another nation..."

The first years of his reign, Vladimir was a pagan, although his mother Milusha was of the Orthodox faith, having been baptized together with Olga. But by strengthening statehood, the prince decided to strengthen the spiritual foundation of the country. Since the forms of Slavic paganism came into conflict with the strengthening statehood, he began to think about another, better faith.

According to the chronicle, in 986 Vladimir turned to the “study” of the main religions of Europe and Western Asia, setting the goal of “choosing” the one most consistent with the spiritual aspirations of his country. Having learned about this, “the Bulgarians (Volga) of the Mohammedan faith came... then foreigners came from Rome,... Khazar Jews, then the Greeks came to Vladimir,” and everyone preached their religion." Vladimir liked most of all the sermons of the Greek envoy, who outlined history of Orthodoxy and its essence. All other preachers were given a decisive refusal. Including “foreigners from Rome.” To their proposal to accept Catholicism, Vladimir replied: “Go where you came from, for our fathers did not accept this.”

In 987, Vladimir gathered the boyars and advisers to discuss different faiths. On their advice, the prince sent ten “kind and sensible men” to many European countries to study faiths. When they arrived in Constantinople, the emperors Basil and Constantine (they ruled together) and the Patriarch of Constantinople, knowing the importance of this embassy, ​​treated the Russians with great respect. The Patriarch himself, in the presence of the Kyiv ambassadors, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the St. Sophia Cathedral with great solemnity. The splendor of the temple, the patriarchal service, and the majestic singing finally convinced the Kyiv envoys of the superiority of the Greek faith.

Returning to Kiev, they reported to the prince: “We didn’t know whether we were in heaven or on earth; for there is no such spectacle and such beauty on earth, and we don’t know how to tell you about it; we only know that God is there with people, and the service "They are better than in all other countries. We cannot forget that beauty, for every person, if he tastes the sweet, will not then take the bitter, so we can no longer remain here in paganism." The boyars added to this: “If the Greek law had been bad, then your grandmother Olga, the wisest of all people, would not have accepted it.”

After such a detailed study of faiths, a historical decision was made to abandon paganism and accept Greek Orthodoxy.

Vladimir and Anna

It must be emphasized that the adoption of Christianity did not occur due to influence from Byzantium (as was the case in many lands), but by the own will of Rus'. By this time, internally, spiritually, she was ready to accept a new, progressive faith. The Baptism of Rus' was the result of the active desire of the ruling layers of ancient Russian society to find in the Byzantine Christian worldview those values, the adoption of which would help resolve difficult issues that concern people.

Kievan Rus adopted Christianity under special historical conditions. Despite all the greatness of the Byzantine Empire, the ancient Russian state, which was a powerful force, patronized it, and not vice versa. Byzantium at that time found itself in very difficult conditions. In August 986, her army was defeated by the Bulgarians, and at the beginning of 987, the Byzantine commander Varda Sklir rebelled and, together with the Arabs, entered the empire. Another military leader, Varda Phocas, was sent to fight him, who in turn rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor. Having captured Asia Minor and then besieged Avidos and Chrysopolis, he intended to create a blockade of Constantinople.

Emperor Vasily II turned to the powerful Prince Vladimir with a request for help, which was provided for in the 944 agreement between Prince Igor and Byzantium. Vladimir decided to provide assistance to the Byzantines, but under certain conditions: when signing an agreement on military assistance, the Russians put forward a demand for the extradition of the sister of Vasily II and Constantine Anna in marriage to the prince. Before this, the Greeks had a firm intention not to become related to the “barbarian peoples,” as evidenced by the law of Constantine Porphyrogenitus: “It is indecent for the imperial house to enter into marriage with them, the northern peoples - the Khazars, Turks, Russians.” However, this time the Byzantines were forced to agree, saving the empire. In return, they demanded that Vladimir become a Christian. The prince accepted this condition.

Soon the six thousandth army of Kievan Rus arrived in Byzantium, defeated the rebels in two major battles and saved Byzantium. However, the emperors were in no hurry to fulfill the terms of the agreement and refused to marry their sister Anna to the leader of the Russians. Then Vladimir went to Chersonesus, besieged it and soon captured the city. And then he sent an ultimatum to Constantinople: “If you do not give her (Anna) for me, then I will do to your capital the same as to this city.” Constantinople accepted the ultimatum and sent Anna to Vladimir.

In the summer of 988, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich was baptized in Chersonesos. At baptism he was named Vasily in honor of St. Basil the Great. Together with the prince, his squad was baptized.

After Vladimir’s baptism, his marriage to Anna took place, as a result of which Byzantium awarded the Kyiv prince the title “Tsar”. It is difficult to imagine a wiser combination of the baptism of a prince with the greatest spiritual and political benefit for Rus' - a dynastic marriage, twinning with the Byzantine emperors. This was an unprecedented elevation of the hierarchical rank of the state.

After the baptism took place, it is noted in the ancient Russian chronicle, Prince Vladimir “took church vessels and icons for blessings for himself” and, accompanied by his squad, boyars and clergy, headed to Kyiv. Metropolitan Michael and six bishops sent from Byzantium also arrived here.

Upon returning to Kyiv, Vladimir first of all baptized his twelve sons in a spring called Khreshchatyk. At the same time, the boyars were baptized.

And countless people flocked...

Vladimir scheduled the mass baptism of Kiev residents for August 1, 988. A decree was announced throughout the city: “If anyone does not come to the river tomorrow, be it rich, or poor, or beggar, or slave, let him be disgusted with me!”

Hearing this, the chronicler notes, people went joyfully, rejoicing and saying: “If it were not for goodness (that is, baptism and faith), then our prince and boyars would not have accepted this.” “Countless people” flocked to the place where the Pochayna River flows into the Dnieper. They entered the water and stood, some up to their necks, others up to their chests, some holding babies, while those who were baptized and teaching the newly initiated wandered among them. Thus, an unprecedented, one-of-a-kind universal act of baptism took place. The priests read prayers and baptized countless Kiev residents in the waters of the Dnieper and Pochayna.

At the same time, Vladimir “ordered to overturn the idols - to chop some up and burn others...” The pantheon of pagan idols at the princely court was razed to the ground. Perun with a silver head and golden mustache was ordered to be tied to the tail of a horse, dragged to the Dnieper, beaten with sticks for public humiliation, and then escorted to the rapids so that no one could return him. There they tied a stone around the idol’s neck and drowned it. Thus, ancient Russian paganism sank into the water.

The Christian faith began to quickly spread throughout Rus'. First - in the cities around Kyiv: Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Belgorod, Vladimir, along the Desna, Vostri, Trubezh, along Sula and Stugane. “And they began to build churches in towns,” says the chronicle, “and bring priests and people for baptism in all towns and villages.” The prince himself took an active part in the spread of Orthodoxy. He ordered to “cut down”, that is, to build wooden churches, especially in places known to people. Thus, the wooden church of St. Basil the Great was erected on the hill where Perun recently stood.

In 989, Vladimir began to build the first majestic stone church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Ever-Virgin Mary. The prince decorated the church with icons and rich utensils taken from Chersonese and appointed Anastas Korsunyan and other priests who came from Chersonese to serve in the temple. He ordered that a tenth of all expenses in the country be allocated to this church, after which it received the name Tithe. At the end of the X - beginning of the XI centuries. this church became the spiritual center of Kyiv and all of newly enlightened Rus'. Vladimir also transferred the ashes of his grandmother, Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, to this temple.

The spread of Christianity proceeded peacefully; resistance was offered only in Novgorod and Rostov in the person of active Magi. But in 990, Metropolitan Michael and the bishops arrived in Novgorod, accompanied by Dobrynya, Vladimir’s uncle. Dobrynya crushed the idol of Perun (which he himself had previously erected) and threw it into the Volkhov River, where people gathered for baptism. Then the metropolitan and bishops went to Rostov, where they also carried out baptisms, appointed presbyters and erected a temple. The speed with which the resistance of the pagans was broken indicates that, despite all their adherence to ancient customs, the Russian people did not support the Magi, but followed the new, Christian faith.

In 992, Vladimir and two bishops arrived in Suzdal. The people of Suzdal were willingly baptized, and the prince, delighted by this, founded a city named after him on the banks of the Klyazma, which was built in 1008. The children of Vladimir also took care of the spread of Christianity in the lands under their control: Pskov, Murom, Turov, Polotsk, Smolensk, Lutsk, Tmutarakan (Old Russian principality in Kuban) and in the land of Drevlyanskaya. The following dioceses were opened: Novgorod, Vladimir-Volyn, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Belgorod, Rostov, headed by a metropolitan appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Prince Vladimir, the metropolitans were: Michael (991), Theophylact (991 - 997), Leontes (997 - 1008), John I (1008 - 1037).

Faith, society, state

The Orthodox faith had the most beneficial impact on the morals, way of life and life of the Slavs. And Vladimir himself began to be more guided by the gospel commandments, the Christian principles of love and mercy. The chronicler notes that the prince “commanded every beggar and wretched person to come to the prince’s courtyard and collect every need - drink and food” and money. On holidays, he distributed up to 300 hryvnia to the poor. He ordered that carts and carts be equipped with bread, meat, fish, vegetables, clothing and distributed throughout the city and given to the sick and needy. He also took care of establishing almshouses and hospitals for the poor. The people loved their prince as a man of boundless mercy, for which they nicknamed him “Red Sun”. At the same time, Vladimir continued to remain a commander, a courageous warrior, a wise head and builder of the state.

Prince Vladimir, by personal example, contributed to the final establishment of monogamous marriage in Rus'. He created the Church Charter. Under him, princely and ecclesiastical courts began to operate (from the bishop to the low minister, the ecclesiastical court judged, but some civilians were also subject to the ecclesiastical court for committing immoral acts).

Under Vladimir, the foundations of public education were laid, and schools began to be founded to teach children to read and write. The chronicle reports that Vladimir “sent... to collect children from the best people and send them to book education.” The clergy were also being trained. The translation of liturgical and patristic books from Greek into Slavic and their reproduction was organized. Already by the middle of the 11th century. a truly great example of Christian literature was created, “The Word of Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv - the oldest surviving creation of Russian literature. There has been an unprecedented increase in literacy, especially among the urban population.

Church construction achieved great success. In Vladimir, the Assumption Cathedral was built from an oak forest. In Kyiv, a similar Cathedral of St. Sophia was built in Constantinople, after which St. Sophia of Novgorod rose. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the beacon of a new faith, was born already in the 11th century. who gave such people as Saints Anthony, Theodosius, Nikon the Great, Nestor and others.

The adoption of Christianity as a strictly monotheistic religion of the Eastern Slavs was one of the important final steps in the process of formation of society and state. For the great feat of enlightening the earth with our Orthodox faith, the Russian Church canonized Vladimir and named him equal to the apostles.

The Baptism of Rus' was a progressive phenomenon. It contributed to the unification of disparate Slavic tribes into a single state, its strengthening and spiritual flourishing. The establishment of Christianity as a true faith contributed to the consolidation of the power of the great princes, the expansion of international relations of the ancient Russian state and the establishment of peace in relations with neighboring powers. Rus' received a great opportunity to get acquainted with the high Byzantine culture and perceive the heritage of antiquity and world civilization.
A.P. Litvinov, Candidate of Historical Sciences,
member of the Transcarpathian regional society of Russian culture "Rus"

The date of adoption of Christianity in Rus' is 988. This event not only made Rus' an important foreign policy player, but also determined the fate of the Russian people for a long time. Christianity in its orthodox form has become an integral part of the self-identification of the Russian person and left its mark on his national character.

Before Epiphany, Rus' passed the initial stage of its formation. It was formed along the route from the Varangians to the Greeks as a union of tribes, bound by common economic and strategic interests. The state lacked one thing - a single ideological core. In those days, religion played this role, so religious affiliation had a dual meaning:

• internal - a single cult united the population;
• external - belonging to a certain confession made the country a subject of international relations, new proselytes became their own people for their co-religionists.

Religious life of Rus' before baptism

The Slavs, like other peoples, had their own mythological ideas about the world and a system of pagan cults. Myth and cult were a mirror image of their life. The gods personified various forces of nature and the activities of people; holidays were tied to the agricultural cycle.

We know little about Slavic paganism: the Slavs lived outside the periphery of the ancient world, did not have a written language, so we do not have any written recording of myths. All reconstructions of this kind are based on fragmentary evidence from ancient and early medieval authors, folklore data and comparisons with pre-Christian religious ideas of other Indo-European peoples.

The Early Indo-European layer in Slavic paganism is represented by the personification of the Mother Raw Earth, the heavenly deity who gives thunder and lightning (Perun), dualism (Yarila and Yarilikha), the other world (Veles).

The formation of religious ideas was strongly influenced by the influence of the neighborhood with other peoples - first the Celts and Germans, then the Iranians, Balts and Finns. Syncretism is a common feature of all pagan religions. Due to this factor, as well as different living conditions in geographical and climatic zones distant from each other, the cults of different tribes differed significantly from each other.

When Prince Vladimir tried to introduce a single cult and unite the gods of different tribes in Kyiv, he collected idols and built a sanctuary.

Among the gods were Perun, Veles (he stood not in the general sanctuary, but on Podol), Mokosh, Stribog, Dazhdbog, Khors and Semargl. The last of them were of Iranian origin. Many gods revered in a number of tribes were not included in the pantheon. For example, Svarog was not there. No idols or temples were placed for him, but in the minds of the Slavs he performed a fatherly function. Rituals associated with it were carried out on holidays (kindling of the sacred fire). Perun became the patron saint of the prince and his squad, while for many people living in arid regions, he embodied thunder, lightning and long-awaited rain.

One way or another, the unification of the cult led by Perun could not become a factor uniting the Slavic tribes, even despite the fact that the authorities established “branches” of the sanctuary of a common cult in different cities.

International relationships

Rus' as a state was formed thanks to trade routes. Trade between East and West was carried out through Byzantium, which practically monopolized the Mediterranean region. Naturally, there was a desire to somehow bypass such a monopolist using other river arteries, and the portage system on the Russian Plain coped with this task perfectly. The northern part of these routes was controlled by the Scandinavians, and the southern part by the Khazars. They collected tribute from the Slavs living here and exploited the river system.

The Khazar Khaganate successfully competed with Byzantium for the possession of trade routes. The budget of this state entity consisted of trade duties, so the Khazars sought to expand the territory under their control. In the north it reached the future Moscow, in the west the border ran along the Dnieper (the first mention of Kiev, by the way, is in the Egyptian archives - this is the complaint of one Jewish settler), in the east - in the Caspian regions, and in the south the Khazars fought with the Arabs. The Caucasus was entirely part of the Kaganate.

The consolidation of the Slavic tribes began from the north, about which chronicle evidence has been preserved. Gradually, the northern union of cities, which included Novgorod, Ladoga, Polotsk, Izborsk, Rostov, Beloozero, captured the Dnieper route and ousted the Khazars. As a result, a state called the Russian Land was formed.

The international community did not perceive Rus' as an equal partner. The Byzantine Empire represented Rus' as a bunch of barbarians who repeatedly managed to plunder its borders. It is worth keeping silent about the countries of Western Europe altogether.

A situation arose in which it was not possible to remove the Slavs to the margins of the world economy and politics; all that remained was to recognize the new state as a given. This was prevented by only one circumstance - the absence in Rus' of a confession recognized in other countries.

Internal and external preconditions have put the country before an ambiguous choice. Rus' found itself between East and West, and the decision about whom it would side with determined the entire future of the country and people.

Choice of religion

Regarding where and why Byzantine-style Orthodoxy was chosen as the state religion, there are two versions: legendary and based on an analysis of sources. At the same time, the answer to the question of who baptized Kievan Rus will be different for us and for the Greeks - in Byzantium it was believed that baptism took place under Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga, and in Russia, Vladimir’s reign is primarily associated with the introduction of Christianity.

Test of faith

The legend about Prince Vladimir’s choice of faith is set out in The Tale of Bygone Years. According to it, foreign ambassadors came to the prince one by one, talking about their religion, and he considered the proposals.

The first to come to Vladimir were representatives of the Volga Bulgaria, who professed Islam. They talked about their lives and rituals, as well as prohibitions, including drinking alcohol. The latter was the reason for the prince’s refusal. Since then, we have a saying: “Rus' has joy and drink.”

The second were envoys from Rome, who explained that they had almost no prohibitions, and that whatever was done was done according to the will of God and for his glory. Vladimir rejected their proposal, answering that our fathers did not accept this.

Next were the Khazars, who had Judaism. Their proposal was not accepted due to the lack of their own land among these people. The Khazars themselves were nomads, and the Jews, who brought Judaism to them, lost their land even under Rome.

Finally, the Byzantine envoy spoke about the Scriptures. Vladimir refrained from answering and decided to see how services were held in different countries. The Byzantine rite impressed the Russian envoys most of all. According to their confession, they did not understand where they were - on earth or in heaven. And the prince chose the Greek faith.

The first Christians

The Byzantine Empire was interested in the baptism of the Slavs who annoyed it. Thus, they found themselves in the sphere of her influence and from enemies could well become allies. The South Slavic states adopted Christianity in exactly this way. For a better understanding of the essence of the doctrine, a new alphabet was created, the beginning of which was laid by Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The penetration of Christianity into Rus' began before the era of Vladimir. There is an opinion that the first baptized princes were Askold and Dir, but exact information about this has not been preserved, and they were killed during the coup.

Of the princely family, officially the first Christian was Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. She herself came to Constantinople, was baptized and sought recognition of Rus' as a state equal to Byzantium, but was unable to provide part of the army to help the empire. Subsequently, she invited German theologians to the court, and this diplomatic game forced the Byzantines to reconsider their attitude towards Olga. An alliance was concluded between the states.

Olga was not the only Christian in Rus'. In some lands, religion spread in the form of sermons, and to this day in some areas (for example, in Transcarpathia), not Vladimir, but Cyril and Methodius are considered the baptists. And ancient Christian burials are found along the entire route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

The attitude of the population towards Christians was ambiguous. On the one hand, it was loyal, but on the other, this loyalty had its limits. Thus, Olga’s son, Prince Svyatoslav, did not accept baptism, fearing to lose authority in his squad. During the time of Vladimir, the Kyiv pagans wanted to sacrifice a certain John, the son of Theodore the warrior. The result was tragic, and since then Theodore and John is considered the first Russian martyrs.

Vladimir's baptism

Byzantium was often rocked by inter-dynastic conflicts. Rus', as an ally of the empire, sided with the emperors. In another of these conflicts, Vladimir’s army besieged Korsun, where the rebel Varda Foka was sitting. The condition for help was Anna, the sister of Emperors Basil and Constantine. The emperors could not take such a step, which seemed to them humiliation. And it was because of this:

• Vladimir was a pagan;
• he was the youngest son of Svyatoslav, who usurped the throne, and was also born from the housekeeper;
• Vladimir already had wives, and such a marriage did not bring any political benefits for Byzantium.

Then Vladimir occupied Korsun himself, and agreed to give the city to the empire only if he observed

its condition. Constantinople agreed, but set its own condition: Vladimir must be baptized. This took place in the same Korsun in 988.

Whether this was true is unknown. Foreign sources give slightly different information on this matter. Thus, Armenian, Polish and Arabic records indicate that Vladimir had already been baptized, and sent an army to Korsun to help his brother-in-law. The date also varies - from 986 to 988. The months indicated are April and August. The year in which the Baptism of Rus' took place is also tied to the adoption of Christianity by the prince, although in fact the process began a year later, in 989.

Stages of the baptism of Rus'

It cannot be said that it was easy for people to accept Christianity.. This process did not go as smoothly as described in church sources, and it lasted for centuries. It happened in several stages:

1. Baptism of Kyiv.
2. Baptism of Novgorod.
3. Baptism of the periphery.

Baptism of Kyiv and establishment of the metropolis

Kyiv reacted to the innovation relatively peacefully, as follows from the descriptions and pictures in the books. First, the sons of the prince and his entourage were baptized, and then the people were invited to the Dnieper. Some of the subjects did not go - loyalty to their gods affected. Others agreed, deciding that since the prince and his sons were baptized and nothing terrible happened, then they could do it too.

Vladimir demolished the pagan idols and threw them into the Dnieper. That's all the summary of the process of baptism of Kiev residents.

To care for the newly converted, a metropolitanate was established in the city, where Michael was sent from Byzantium as its hierarch. Priests and craftsmen were sent who could build churches. The first church built under Vladimir was the Tithe Church, which has not survived to this day.

The Kiev Metropolis existed as part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1299, after which it was moved to Vladimir, and later to Moscow. The status of Kyiv was retained by the metropolitans of Western Rus' at the time of its entry into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and later into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Turks, Moscow becomes a patriarchate.

“Putyata baptized you with a sword, and Dobrynya with fire”

The baptism of Novgorod did not go so smoothly and took two years. In 990, a detachment of Dobrynya, Vladimir’s maternal uncle, was sent to Novgorod. Knowing the character of the Novgorodians, the mission was strengthened by Putyata’s detachment. According to some sources, Metropolitan Michael was sent as a hierarch, and according to others, Bishop Joachim.

In the first year, some Novgorodians were baptized, but in general the townspeople reacted negatively to the procedure. In 991, the city council decided not to allow Dobrynya’s army into the city. The resistance was led by the thousand Ugonai and the sorcerer Bogomil. Dobrynya stopped on the Trade side of the city, after which the pagans destroyed the bridge and began to take active action.

It is not clear which side would have had the advantage if Dobrynya had not beheaded the uprising of the pagans. A real war broke out in the city, as a result of which some of the townspeople were first baptized, and the rest had to be driven into the Volkhov River.

The acceptance of the new faith was not sincere. This was very clearly manifested at the moment when the temple of Perun in Peryn was destroyed (now there is a monastery of the Yuryev Monastery there). The townspeople were in mourning. Novgorodians remembered these events for a long time, despite the fact that direct historical memory does not last longer than three generations.

It cannot be said that Christianity was disgusting to the Novgorodians as such. Christians existed in the city before. Rather, such a confrontation had political reasons, which later led Novgorod to independence. In the meantime, it was the baptism of Novgorod that was important to the prince - This is how the central highway of the country was closed, the path from the Varangians to the Greeks.

Other cities of the Russian land

The baptism of Rus' by Prince Vladimir was often of a coercive nature and even more often it was formal. The spread was slow. This process finally ended in the cities of eastern Rus' in the 13th century, and the remnants of paganism remained our national feature.

During the time of Vladimir, episcopal sees were established in Kyiv, Novgorod, Vladimir-Volynsky, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk, Chernigov.

Baptism had not so much a religious purpose as a political one. A single faith was seen as a factor making Rus' unified. The pagans themselves understood this, resisting not so much the missionaries as Kyiv.

Consequences and implications for Rus'

When these events took place, few people thought about why Rus' needed a new faith. People then were more concerned about their daily lives, because progress and the green revolution were still very far away. But now, after more than a thousand years, we can evaluate what this event gave Rus'. And how to treat it depends on subjective assessments.

The Baptism of Rus' and its significance cannot be briefly described. Perhaps it's worth stopping on several of its consequences:

• political;
• cultural;
• distant historical ones.

Political consequences

The introduction of Orthodoxy as the state religion placed Rus' among the states considered civilized. The princely dynasty of Rurikovich stood in line with the royal houses of Europe, from where they took their wives and where they sent their daughters. This expanded Rus''s international relations.

At the same time, the church did not put pressure on the authorities as it did in Western Europe, where the Holy See, represented by the Popes, literally dictated its will to the monarchs under pain of excommunication. Christianity of the Byzantine type was already different from the Roman one, although the split between them would occur only in 1054.

Thus, Rus' entered the orbit of the Byzantine Empire, which would later affect the historical path of the country, when this empire no longer existed.

Within the country, Epiphany events led to another wave of internal migration to the east, to the Volga-Oka interfluve. People who did not want to part with their gods went into the forests, hoping there to preserve the faith of their ancestors.

Cultural significance

Together with Christianity, Byzantine culture came to Rus', which was the heir to Roman and Greek traditions. Writing, icon painting, and religious construction began to spread throughout the country. The appearance of writing (Cyrillic) marked a new stage in the development of national culture.

Nevertheless, it cannot be said that there was some kind of turning point in the popular consciousness. The forced implantation of faith could not force a person to sincerely accept it. The tactic of mass baptisms was gradually abandoned, preferring the replacement method.

Churches were erected on the former temples, the Christian holiday gradually replaced the ancient pagan one and in the same way was tied to the annual cycle. Hence the double meanings of the holidays, which also have double names. Thus, Forgiveness Sunday is called Maslenitsa, the Day of John the Baptist is called Kupala, Elijah the Prophet took the place of Perun, and Paraskeva Friday took the place of Mokosha. Such popular, not entirely correct Christianity appeared as a reaction to attempts by church authorities to erase the memory of the pagan past and force keeping all the commandments.

This was typical not only of the Slavs. Almost all the peoples who adopted Christianity in the Middle Ages combined in their religious ideas both their ancient pagan rituals and a completely sincere faith in Christ.

An interesting phenomenon is wearing a cross on the body. It must be said that it is not a mandatory attribute of a Christian anywhere except in Russia. It is customary for us to even demonstrate it in response to accusations of lying. The reason for this phenomenon was the peculiar marking of a baptized person in those years when Christianity had just come to Rus'. Pagans who did not want to convert to the new faith often disguised themselves as Christians to avoid repression. To distinguish them from the baptized, the latter were ordered to wear a pectoral cross.

In subsequent eras, when Byzantium disappeared, the choice made by Prince Vladimir served as a determining factor in the external and internal course of the country. Thus, wanting to defend their independence, the Novgorodians rebuffed the crusaders, and their commitment to Orthodoxy played a significant role here.

Having taken the last Byzantine princess Sophia Palaeologus as his wife, Ivan III created the concept of Moscow - the third Rome. Since then, the Russian Orthodox Church has been the largest and most influential of the local ones.

Commitment to Orthodoxy became one of the pillars on which the Russian people consolidated. A change of religion meant a loss of national identity for a long time, until the beginning of the 20th century. At the same time, the peoples who were baptized by Russian missionaries were not subject to assimilation, and therefore still exist on the territory of Russia.

If we follow Toynbee’s historiosophical concept, then in 988 Prince Vladimir made a civilizational choice. Few people in life are given such a chance, because events have completely objective reasons, and if they are destined to happen, they will happen. Still, the historical process has its own laws. But no one can know what would have happened if Vladimir had made a different choice. But history does not know the subjunctive mood.