Day of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir

July 28 (July 15, old style) is the day of remembrance of Prince Vladimir Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (958 - 1015) - Novgorod, and then the Grand Duke of Kiev His name is associated with a significant event for Rus' - its baptism Vladimir, popularly nicknamed the Red Sun, was the son of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich and Malusha, the housekeeper of Princess Olga In those days, the son of a ruler born from a concubine could lay claim to the throne However, in his youth, Vladimir was often ridiculed: he was called the son of a slave, or robichich Dobrynya, his maternal uncle, played a big role in the prince’s upbringing Subsequently, it was he who helped his nephew when making important government decisions After the death of his father, Vladimir, who ruled Novgorod, called for help from the Varangians and captured Kyiv, killing his brother Yaropolk, who ruled there Before accepting Christianity, the Grand Duke professed paganism He built a temple in Kyiv and did not disdain human sacrifices in the name of pagan idols He had several wives and many concubines The saint's biography illustrates that before the adoption of Christianity, Vladimir was a negative character: he even encouraged the persecution of the first Christians All the more wonderful was the transformation of the Grand Duke into a just and pious ruler After baptism, he released all his wives and concubines He himself remained with his Byzantine Greek wife, whom he married according to Christian canons Many historians note that the adoption of Orthodoxy was beneficial to Vladimir and he made his choice in pursuit of state goals The fact is that Rus' at that time had the closest trade ties with Byzantium However, Constantinople had a negative attitude towards paganism At first, Vladimir wanted to reform his faith, bringing it closer to monotheism This did not make an impression on Byzantium, then in 988 Vladimir himself was baptized and baptized Rus' During his baptism, the prince was named Vasily in honor of his absentee godfather, the Byzantine emperor Vladimir approached the change of religion thoroughly Before making a decision, he called followers of Islam and Judaism to him He also sent ambassadors to all parts of the world to look at the morals and customs of many religions After much deliberation, the prince decided to be baptized according to Greek law Another reason was that since the time of Olga (Vladimir’s grandmother, who converted to Christianity), many baptized Russian people came into conflict with the pagans And also among the prince’s entourage there were Christians: Malusha’s mother and one of his wives Vladimir is known not only as the baptist of Rus', but also as an ardent defender of its territories and interests Vladimir often made military campaigns Thus, he imposed tribute on the Khazars, Yatvingians, Radimichi and Vyatichi He made peace with the Volga Bulgars on favorable terms During his reign, the Russian state built defensive outposts on its borders against the Pechenegs, who made frequent raids on Russian lands From the end of the 13th century the prince was equated with the apostles After death, the image of the prince acquired epic features He is portrayed as a generous and fair ruler, a hospitable and hospitable host According to legend, every Sunday he sent carts of food to the suffering With baptism, the spread of literacy began in Rus' The prince ordered to select children from the best people and teach them to read and write People who were not used to this said goodbye to the chosen ones as if they were going to death Saint Vladimir is the patron saint of Catholics living in Russia and Ukraine Since 2002, he has been considered the patron of the Ministry of Internal Affairs troops On the day of remembrance of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince, a special service is read in churches Also on this day, all those who suffer from eye diseases and even blindness pray to him