Church celebrates Baptism of Rus' Day and memory of St. Prince Volodymyr
Victor Vasnetsov’s fresco "The Baptism of Rus'". Photo: Wikipedia
Orthodox believers in Ukraine are marking the memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and the Day of the Baptism of Rus'. On this day, the Church commemorates the event of 988, which determined the spiritual and cultural path of the Slavic peoples for many centuries.
The celebration takes place annually on July 28 – the day of the repose of the Baptizer of Rus'. The historic choice of Prince Volodymyr, who accepted Christianity from Byzantium, laid the foundations for the formation of a unified Orthodox civilization.
After personally accepting Christianity in Korsun (Chersonesus), the ruler returned to Kyiv together with Greek clergy. He first baptized his twelve sons and boyars, and then called upon all the city's inhabitants to come to the Dnieper waters for the common performance of the Sacrament. This event marked the beginning of the Christianization of the entire country.
The adoption of Christianity completely changed the ruler's character: from a fierce warrior he became a merciful Christian. After his baptism, Prince Vladimir devoted himself to caring for the poor and needy, ended wars with neighboring peoples, released all of his former wives and concubines, entered into a Christian marriage with the Greek princess Anna, and turned his attention to the development of education in his state.
The Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince, who was born around the year 960, reposed on July 28, 1015, in Berestovo. He was buried in the Church of the Tithes he had founded, the first stone church in Kyiv, which became a symbol of the new Christian era.
Large-scale religious processions have become a longstanding tradition of the celebration. Since 2015, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have annually participated in a multi-thousand cross procession from the Volodymyr Hill to the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The UOJ previously reported that His Beatitude called upon the faithful to preserve the faith handed down to us by Holy Prince Volodymyr.
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