Holidays of Russia - Day of the Epiphany of Rus'

One of the most significant memorable dates for Russia is the Day of the Baptism of Rus', celebrated on July 28 In 2010, the president gave this holiday official state status The Russian Orthodox Diocese took the initiative to legally consolidate an important historical event by choosing the day of commemoration of Prince Vladimir It was he, known as the Red Sun, and recognized as the Holy and Great, who was the political figure who, through his actions, changed the likely course of history The epochal event influenced the development of Russia and the formation of the state Historians consider the very first mention of the new religion to be in 858, when Cyril and Methodius baptized some Rus tribes Modern archaeological research, in particular the discovery of body crosses in burial places, confirms that the first acquaintance with the teaching took place long before 988 Another significant event was the baptism of Princess Olga, whose grandson Vladimir is His coming to the throne as a third child, also from a slave, was difficult Having become the Grand Duke of the Kyiv land in 978, he continued to thank the gods of the Slavic pantheon for his success, just like his father Perun was held in special esteem, the prince ordered a renewed statue of him to be installed opposite his mansion, organizing a majestic temple Being an experienced politician of that time, he understood that you can become great not only by uniting the lands, but also by uniting people with one religion During his reign, international cooperation between the principality and neighboring powers, with different religious views, developed greatly This includes the Khazar Khaganate with its Judaism, Volga Bulgaria with Islam and Rome with its almost isolated Catholicism But only Byzantium was able to attract more attention with its splendor of rituals and customs, the talent of philosophers who talked with the ruler and his entourage The acceptance of the ideas of orthodoxy, which had settled in the prince’s heart at that time, was influenced by family affairs The opportunity to become related to Byzantium through marriage with a Byzantine princess, the sister of the basileus, strengthened the decision to abandon paganism The benefits that conversion to Christianity promised turned out to be stronger than centuries-old traditions Vladimir’s baptism itself took place in Korsun (Russian Chersonese) on April 27, where he then married his bride according to customs that were new to him He brought with him to Kyiv not only his young wife, by the way, not his first, but also representatives of the clergy At the end of the summer of 988, a single baptism took place for the entire local population in the waters of the Dnieper A simple, but no less brilliant rule: “One god - one prince” worked Novgorod and Chernigov lands adopted Christianity; The city of Vladimir was founded Christianity took root quite successfully This was facilitated by a certain wisdom of the clergy The worship of pagan gods reflected the importance of the agricultural cycle to the common people, so adequate replacement was necessary An example is the summer solstice, which transformed into the Nativity of John the Baptist In addition, Prince Vladimir did not forget about the common people: under the sign of Christian help, hospitals and almshouses were organized with funds from the treasury The construction of temples was also financed Charity did not always help - there are some cases of active resistance to the new religion The defense of pagan idols took place especially harshly where the priests had strong power, sometimes stretching resistance for decades, as for example in the Murom land, which confirmed the rejection of paganism only in the 12th century Despite the fact that one can talk about some forced implantation of religion, time has shown that it was not in vain There was a noticeable leap in the development of the state, and not only in the cultural sense Ancient Rus' ceased to be considered a barbaric country, raising its authority in the eyes of its neighbors and gaining economic prospects, which it successfully took advantage of What prevented unification was eradicated: internecine war On July 28, not only obligatory church services and religious processions take place Mass social and educational events in the format of games and presentations are interesting for children, for whom they are organized by libraries, creativity and development centers Various thematic exhibitions are on display for the Day of the Baptism of Rus', with characteristic types of art, for example, birch bark crafts Orthodoxy and patriotism as a single whole make themselves known in creative festivals that have become traditional Acquaintance with ancient traditions, crafts, excursions into the past through theatrical performances allow the holiday to become interesting and more popular every year