Where did the baptism of Russia take place. Baptism of Kievan Rus according to the unofficial version of Judaization

The Baptism of Rus is one of the most important cultural events in the history of Kievan Rus. It was it that marked the beginning of the Christian religion and the end of the pagan, carried out by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. Sources give conflicting indications of the exact time of baptism. Although traditionally this greatest event is usually attributed to the year 988 and considered the date of the establishment of Christianity in the status of the state religion. Some followers believe that the baptism of Russia took place a little later - in 990 or 991.

History of events

Initially, Princess Olga, who is the widow of Prince Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans, paved the way for Christianity. Approximately in 955, having penetrated Christianity, she was baptized in Constantinople. It was from there that the Greek priests came to Russia. But Olga's son Svyatoslav continued to honor the old gods, not seeing the need for Christianity, so the religion was not widespread. The establishment of Orthodoxy in Russia was due to his son, Prince Vladimir.

But here's the point. The adoption of Christianity was directly related to politics. Basil ӀӀ (976-1025), the Byzantine emperor, was looking for an ally against the new contender for the throne (commander Varda Foki), so he turned to Prince Vladimir for help. At the same time, he agreed to marry his sister Anna to him. But if he had not been baptized, he would not have been able to marry Princess Anna, and such a marriage raised the status of the Kievan princes. And for the growing authority of the ancient Russian state, such a marriage with Byzantium was simply necessary. The alliance with Byzantium opened up prospects for further military and economic growth.

So in what year was the baptism of Russia and the version of the circumstances?

The most common version of baptism is as follows. Shortly before this, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, in 986 the prince talked with representatives of various cultures: missionaries from Rome, an Orthodox missionary, Khazar preachers of Judaism. But the prince especially liked the speech of the missionary of Orthodoxy, which is why he began to lean towards this religion.

From the Byzantine chronicles, Prince Vladimir of Kyiv decided to be baptized in the Church of Constantinople. After that, the clergy baptized people in the waters of the Dnieper. This happened in 988.

Although many historians believe that Vladimir himself was baptized in 987.

After the baptism, which Vladimir received in Korsun, he sincerely accepted God, the teaching about the church, about sin, the words of Christ about mercy and love. And this event greatly transformed the prince. Since before that he was a stern warrior and ruler, who reached the heights of power through a fierce struggle, had six wives, not counting eight hundred concubines, and did not interfere with human sacrifices. And after baptism, he even decided to abolish the death penalty, fearing sin. The prince also contributed to the construction of hospitals, shelters for the elderly and the disabled, and took care of the food of the poor. The construction and decoration of temples received state support.

Of course, there was also the resistance of the people about forced Christianization, but, despite all this, the historical event led to the creation of an original Orthodox culture. And the result was that Christianity contributed to the creation of monuments of writing, the art of Ancient Russia and the general development of Orthodoxy.

In fact, Christianization took place over several centuries and was primarily for political reasons.. Kyiv merchants who traded with Byzantium, soldiers who visited Christian countries became Christians. Christianity was accepted by Kyiv princes Askold and Olga.

In the X century. was a strong feudal state with a high level of crafts and trade, spiritual and material culture. Further development required the consolidation of forces within the country, and this was difficult to do in conditions where different cities worship different gods. A unifying idea of ​​a single God was needed. International relations also required the adoption of Christianity, since Russia maintained constant contacts with the Christian countries of Western Europe and Byzantium. To strengthen these contacts, a common ideological platform was needed.

Receiving baptism from Byzantium was also not accidental. Kievan Rus had closer trade and cultural ties with Byzantium than with other countries. The subordination of the church to the state, characteristic of Byzantium, also appealed to princely power. The adoption of Christianity from Byzantium made it possible to worship in their native language. It was also beneficial for Byzantium to make the baptism of Russia, since it received an ally in the struggle to expand its influence.

Year of the Baptism of Russia

The act of baptism in Kyiv and Novgorod, which took place in 988, has not yet exhausted the acceptance of Christianity by the whole people. This process spanning centuries.

The prince and his retinue were baptized in Korsun (Chersonese). Baptism was reinforced by the marriage of the prince with the sister of the Byzantine king Vasily III. Upon the return of Prince Vladimir with his retinue and the newly-minted princess to Kyiv, he ordered the overthrow of the old gods and the need for the entire population of Kyiv to gather on a certain day and hour to the banks of the Dnieper, where baptism was performed. The baptism of Novgorod was a more difficult task, since Novgorod constantly showed separatist tendencies and perceived the baptism as an attempt to subordinate it to the will of Kyiv. Therefore, in the annals one can read that “Putyatya baptized the Novgorodians with fire, and Dobrynya with a sword”, i.e. Novgorodians put up fierce resistance to baptism.

The consequences of the baptism of Russia

During the XI century. in different parts of Kievan Rus, pockets of resistance to Christianization arose. They had not so much religious as social and political meaning; were directed against the oppression and spread of power of the Kyiv prince. At the head of popular indignations, as a rule, were Magi.

After the adoption of Christianity, already under Yaroslav the Wise, a metropolis was created in Kyiv, headed by a sent Greek metropolitan. The metropolis was divided into dioceses headed by bishops, mostly Greeks. Before the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the Russian Orthodox Church consisted of 16 dioceses. From 988 to 1447 the church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, its primates were appointed in Constantinople. Only two cases of appointment of Russians as primates are known - Hilarion(XI century) and Kliment Smalyatich(XII century). Already under Vladimir, the church began to receive tithes and soon turned into a major feudal lord. There are monasteries performing defensive, educational, charitable functions. During the reign of Yaroslav, monasteries were founded St. George(Christian name Yaroslav) and St. Irina(heavenly patroness of Yaroslav's wife). In the 50s. 11th century the most significant of the ancient Russian monasteries appears - Kievo-Pechersky, founded by Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, the founders of Russian monasticism. At the beginning of the XII century. this monastery received the status laurel. By the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, there were monasteries in almost every city.

Thanks to the material support of the princes, churches are being built. In 1037 the cathedral was founded St. Sofia- the main cathedral church in Kyiv, built on the model of Constantinople. In 1050, the cathedral of the same name was built in Novgorod.

In conditions of feudal fragmentation, the church found itself in a difficult situation. She had to play the role of a mediator in settling disputes and contradictions, the role of conciliator of warring princes. The princes often interfered in the affairs of the church, solving them from the point of view of their own benefit.

Since the end of the 30s. 13th century Russian lands were enslaved. The Church characterized this disaster as a punishment for sins, for the lack of religious zeal, and called for renewal. By the time of the invasion of Russia, the Tatar-Mongols professed primitive polydemonism. They treated the ministers of the Orthodox Church as people associated with demons who could damage them. This danger, in their opinion, could be prevented or neutralized by good treatment of the ministers of Orthodoxy. Even when the Tatar-Mongols accepted in 1313, this attitude did not change.

Many historical events of the distant past can be interpreted in different ways. “The Tale of Bygone Years” is the earliest surviving ancient Russian chronicle of the beginning of the 12th century. Criticized due to lengthy writing, a large number of editions and contradictions with the evidence of other works. But such an epoch-making event as the Baptism of Russia could not be lost in the centuries and it is still possible to form an impression of the general picture of that time.

How the Baptism of Russia took place - early attempts

Mentions of the first Christian preachers in Russia begin already at the beginning of the 8th century. There is a lot of historical evidence that in 860-869 the Varangian princes Askold and Dir were baptized by the bishop of Constantinople, keeping the city under siege. But attempts to spread the religion aroused the resistance of the people, who kept faith in the old gods. Even in 967, when Princess Olga, who officially converted to Christianity, became the ruler, Kievan Rus was a country of paganism and was perceived by neighboring states as barbaric. Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich - Olga's son and famous commander - was also a pagan. In this faith, he raised his sons, among whom was the future baptizer of Russia - Vladimir.

The future prince participated in military campaigns from an early age and had little interest in religion, especially the one that forbade adultery and rejected violence. According to legend, in each settlement he had a mistress, but the conqueror's passion was even stronger. Because of her, the most famous internecine war in Russia began. The murder of his brother Yaropolk allowed Vladimir to take the throne of Kyiv and find himself at the center of world political events.

At the end of the tenth century Byzantine emperor Basil was forced to seek help in suppressing a rebellion raised by one of the commanders. He found support in the person of Vladimir, who, together with a 6,000-strong Varangian corps, helped win the battle at Abydos in modern Turkey in 989. The friendship between Russia and Byzantium was strengthened by the opportunity promised to Vladimir to marry the emperor’s sister, Princess Anna. The promise is unheard of and all the more tempting: to join the dynasty of the Byzantine emperors - the most powerful family in the world, heir to the wealth of Rome. It was a small matter, only an Orthodox prince could become the husband of a princess.

How the Baptism of Russia took place - the search for the true path

The decision to embrace the Christian faith was not an easy one. There is evidence that Vladimir invited qadis - Muslim teachers, preachers and judges - to Kyiv. But Islamic countries waged continuous wars with Byzantium, and Baghdad, which then became the center of the Islamic world, was too far away for an alliance with it to give serious advantages. Much closer was the Khazar Khaganate - a state with a center in the city of Itil, located in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Astrakhan. The favorable position of the Khazars allowed them to collect tribute from neighboring Slavic tribes and receive part of the booty, skipping the raids of Russian princes deep into the Arab lands. Perhaps this killed him: despite its former strength, the kaganate was plundered by Prince Svyatoslav. The Tale of Bygone Years says that the ambassadors of the kaganate could not convince Vladimir to accept Judaism, the ally looked too weak. The center of the Christian world was Byzantium with its center in Constantinople or Constantinople, as it was known from the Varangian lands in the north to the Arab lands in the south. The united faith alliance with Byzantium promised Kievan Rus' transformation into one of the main forces of the Western world.

How did the Baptism of Russia take place?

The reasons for subsequent decisions cause controversy among scientists. Some sources say that Emperor Basil, not wanting to pass off his sister as a barbarian prince, sends a maid instead of her. When the deception was revealed, Prince Vladimir seizes the capital of the Byzantine province of Chersonese and issues an ultimatum: hand over Princess Anna or Constantinople will fall next. The princess arrives with a Christian bishop, who baptizes Vladimir, now named Vasily, along with most of his squad. Before leaving, the prince built a church in Chersonese.

The legend says that upon his return to Kyiv, Vladimir sent messengers through the cities demanding to be on the banks of the Dnieper on the appointed day. There he and the priests conducted this historical procession along the river, followed by its baptism. The Day of the Baptism of Kievan Rus is a memorable date for Prince Vladimir the Holy and is celebrated annually on July 28. But the transition of the peoples of Kievan Rus to the Christian faith was not sudden and simultaneous, because Christian communities existed in Kyiv since the time of Princess Olga, spreading across the Slavic lands. Only during 988-990. all the peoples of Kievan Rus were baptized.

Unfortunately, it cannot be said that even the episode of these events was pure and peaceful. The pragmatism of the rulers is too much traced. The worldview of people did not change overnight, and therefore they faced many years of struggle for their faith. But one cannot fail to note Christianization as one of the stages in the enlightenment of the Slavic peoples. And it's hard not to appreciate her contribution along the way.

There is a legend that the baptism of Russia began in Chersonese (in those days - Korsun). I recently visited this place, where a few years ago the Vladimir Cathedral was restored in all its glory.

Prince Vladimir is associated with one of the most important events in ancient Russian history - the baptism of Russia.
Shortly before baptism, Vladimir arranged in Kyiv a large temple of the six main idols of the Slavic pantheon. But tribal cults could not create a unified state religious system, since the pagan pantheon could not unite the beliefs of all the tribes of Ancient Russia.

Perhaps the Jewish roots of Prince Vladimir and the fact that his mother was the daughter of a rabbi pushed him to the idea of ​​giving his people a new religion, and he would become a “new Moses” for the people. There are many parallels to be seen.

Vladimir understood that it was impossible to retain power by force alone, spiritual support was needed. And he found this support in Christianity. For Christianity claimed that all power was established by God, preached patience, humility, forgiveness. Monotheism contributed to the strengthening of the sole power of the prince.

Until 988, the official year of the baptism of Russia, the country was not completely pagan. At that time, Christian churches already stood in many large cities. Baptism was accepted by many boyars, merchants, combatants.
Archeological data confirm the beginning of the spread of Christianity before the official act of the baptism of Russia. From the middle of the 10th century, the first pectoral crosses were found in the burials of the nobility. Pectoral crosses accompanied the burials of warriors as early as the 9th century. If we understand the "baptism of Russia" literally, then it happened a century earlier - in 867.

Orthodoxy was professed by Vladimir's grandmother, Princess Olga. Vladimir only completed the establishment of Christianity in Russia.
Prince Vladimir was baptized himself and baptized his children. But his squad remained pagan and worshiped Odin. The struggle against pagan cults continued in Russia until the 20th century.

Before the baptism of Russia, the so-called "choice of faith" took place. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, in 986, ambassadors from the Volga Bulgars arrived to Prince Vladimir, offering him to convert to Islam. They told the prince about the rituals that must be observed, including the ban on drinking wine. But "it was unloving to him: circumcision and abstinence from pork meat." Even more, Vladimir was turned away from Mohammedanism by the threat of the introduction of the “dry law”. Vladimir answered with the famous phrase: "Russia is the joy of drinking: we cannot be without it" ... "
From constant drinking, the face of Prince Vladimir was always red, for which he was nicknamed "red sun" by the people.

After the Bulgars came foreigners sent by the Pope. They declared that "if anyone drinks or eats, then everything is for the glory of God." However, Vladimir sent them away, saying to them: "Go back from whence you came, for even our fathers did not accept this." Vladimir did not want to recognize the supremacy of the power of the Pope.

The Khazar Jews were next, offering Vladimir to accept Judaism.
"What is your law?" Vladimir asked them. They answered: "Be circumcised, do not eat pork and hare, keep the Sabbath." Vladimir rejected them because the Jews did not have their own homeland. "If God loved you and your law, then you would not be scattered over foreign lands. Or do you want the same for us?"

Before making a final decision, Vladimir consulted with his closest boyars. It was decided to additionally test the faith by attending worship services of Muslims, Germans and Greeks. When, after visiting Constantinople, the envoys returned to Kyiv, they enthusiastically informed the prince: "They did not know where we are - in heaven or on earth."

In 6496 from the creation of the world (that is, approximately in 988 AD), Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich of Kyiv decided to be baptized by the Church of Constantinople. It was a political choice.
According to Byzantine and Arabic sources, in 987 Constantinople concludes an alliance with Russia to suppress the rebellion of Varda Foka. The condition of the prince was the hand of Princess Anna, the sister of the Emperors Basil and Constantine. Already repeatedly married, Vladimir was preparing to marry the Byzantine princess Anna for political purposes.

There is a legend that the baptism of Russia began in Chersonese (in those days - Korsun). I recently visited this place, where a few years ago the Vladimir Cathedral was restored in all its glory.

The historian Vladimir Solovyov describes the baptism of Russia by Vladimir in this way.
“Many were baptized with joy; but there were more of those who did not agree to this ... Seeing this, the prince ... sent a message throughout the city so that the next day all the unbaptized would go to the river, whoever did not appear would be an enemy to the prince. ... Some went to the river under compulsion, while some fierce adherents of the old faith, hearing the strict order of Vladimir, fled to the steppes and forests.

The Metropolitan with the bishops sent from Constantinople, with Dobrynya, Uncle Vladimirov, and with (priest) Anastas went north and baptized the people. According to the Joachim Chronicle: “When they learned in Novgorod that Dobrynya was going to be baptized, they gathered a veche and swore everyone not to let him into the city, not to give idols to overthrow; and exactly when Dobrynya came, the Novgorodians swept away the big bridge and went out against him with weapons. …
When the news of this spread, the people gathered up to 5000, surrounded Putyata and began an evil slaughter with him, and some went, swept away the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and began to rob the houses of Christians. …
Many went to the river on their own, and those who did not want to, the soldiers dragged them and were baptized: men above the bridge, and women below. Then the pagans, in order to depart from baptism, announced that they were baptized; for this, Joachim ordered all the baptized to put crosses on their necks, and whoever does not have a cross on himself, do not believe that he is baptized, and baptize. ... Having finished this business, Putyata went to Kyiv. That is why there is a proverb for the Novgorodians: “He baptized Putyata with a sword, and Dobrynya with fire.”

I do not dispute the cultural significance of the baptism of Russia, which made it possible to join European civilization and reach a higher level of development. Although hostility has not decreased, people have not become better. Prince Vladimir the Holy managed to make war with all the neighboring states. Under Vladimir, not only the territories of the state expanded, but culture increased, Cyrillic writing came. Although before the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet, there was its own alphabet - “Glagolitic”.

Someone else's faith among the people did not take root immediately. Before forced baptism, our people worshiped the pagan gods of nature, lived in harmony with it. All holidays were held outdoors. And the fact that we are now celebrating pagan holidays along with Christian holidays speaks of the ineradicability of paganism in our mentality.
Pagan (which means folk) culture has not disappeared, and now exists in folk rituals, holidays, traditions (Shrovetide, carols, fortune-telling, mummers, etc.)

No, you can't choose religion the way it was in Russia. Faith must be part of the identity of the people, its history, traditions and beliefs. Faith cannot be forced, faith cannot be taught. Faith is a Revelation, it is a gift from God!

Forced baptism contradicts the very idea of ​​baptism - as a voluntary, conscious acceptance. Some believe that baptism should take place in adulthood, when a person realizes the full significance of this ritual, voluntarily takes responsibility for all affairs and changes spiritually.

Baptism does not require bathing or washing. External rituals may not be effective if there is no transformation of the soul.
The meaning of the rite of baptism is "spiritual birth." As a result, a person must be reborn as a soul, stop sinning and become a believer.

Many people do not want to be transformed in soul; it is enough for them to believe and observe the rituals. But all ritual actions mean nothing if nothing happens in the soul. As one of the pilgrims said: "If it is not God's will, no matter how much you kiss the icon, it will not help."

The meaning of baptism is not in joining the sacrament of two thousand years of history, in comprehending the sacrament of the transfiguration of the soul. Immersion in water or dousing was practiced by almost all peoples of antiquity. The symbolic meaning of washing, in modern terms, is an encoding! You are programming yourself for the beginning of a new – spiritual! - a life in which priority will always be given to spiritual values, not material ones.

It is believed that with the adoption of Christianity, the life of Prince Vladimir changed. He accepted the new faith with all sincerity, radically reconsidering life values.
However, having already been a Christian for a long time, Vladimir actually sent his son Boris against his other son Yaroslav (who later turned out to be Wise), blessing the war of brother against brother. Yaroslav eventually killed his brothers Boris, Gleb, Svyatopolk and Svyatoslav, and he himself became the Prince of Kyiv.

Is the gathering of lands into one centralized state an undeniable boon? Even if this goal requires such means as killing a brother?

For all the time of the baptism of Russia, according to rough estimates, up to a third of the country's population was slaughtered. The resistance to baptism in the vast majority of cases had a political, anti-Kyiv aspect, rather than an anti-Christian one; Moreover, the religious aspect did not play a dominant role at all.

The rulers want to have spiritual authority, but at the same time their deeds testify to the contrary. Many Christian rulers were distinguished by terrible sinfulness. The rulers who adopted Christianity often continued to persecute not Christians, but their opponents. The princes mercilessly killed those who refused to recognize Christianity, and hence the power of the prince. Emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity in 332, interfered in the affairs of the church, using its power to strengthen personal power.

Today Moscow and Kyiv "share" the right to call themselves followers of Saint Vladimir.

They argue: Vladimir is a Ukrainian Muscovite or a Russian crest?

DILETANT magazine devoted a whole issue to answering the question, Prince Vladimir: a saint or a sinner?

I would say that Prince Vladimir is a holy sinner!

A ruler cannot be called a saint a priori. The very essence of power does not allow this. Prince Vladimir was a fratricide, a polygamist, a libertine, a hypocrite and a treacherous ruler.
Vladimir began his reign in Kyiv with the destruction of Christian churches; Perunov instructed them in their place. But when the prince decided to baptize Russia, Perunov was demolished. “Of the overthrown idols, some were cut into pieces, others were burned, and the main one, Perun, was tied to a horse by the tail and dragged from the mountain, and twelve people beat the idol with sticks ... When they dragged the idol to the Dnieper, the people wept.”

They will tell me: “Russian people should be proud of their history. And you …"

Once on the TV channel "Culture" they showed the film by Vladimir Khotinenko "Heirs". Most of the action takes place in the talk show studio, where a political scientist, historian and patriot, led by the presenter, discuss issues of Russian history.
“Our task is to teach people to be proud of their history,” the political scientist says.
– To be Russian means to stand before an invincible enemy and to stand! says the patriot.
- Yes, there was no Russian people in the 14th century, - the historian claims. - It is pointless to look for a Russian nation before the 16th century.
Who benefits from this truth of yours? - the patriot was indignant. “There are many who want to rummage through our dirty linen. But why stir up yourself? People should be proud of their past!
- Be proud of the invented past or the present? the historian wonders. - I have always believed that for our patriotic statesmen, the people are a child, and the child is mentally handicapped.
“Every power wants to be licked,” says the presenter. - And the more self-governed it is, the more lawless it is, the more it needs confirmation that all power is from God. And the church has been responding to this request for a thousand years.

IN MY OPINION, choosing a faith and baptizing by force contradicts the very essence of faith. Faith is a gift of God, a sacrament, a purely personal matter, spiritually intimate.
Faith is not acquired through the will of the monarch, but through the will of the Lord.
Immersion in water is not baptism unless accompanied by a spiritual change. It is necessary to be reborn, to become a different person, for whom the spiritual becomes more important than the material.

The consciousness of people is mythological, they cannot live without fairy tales and myths. People want to believe in the "good king father", to believe in the saints, to worship them. But do not deceive people, under the guise of a "myth" by pushing them with lies.

Once I saw a large queue at the temple for “holy water”. A policeman guarding the order approached the bottling and asked the attendant to pour him "holy water" for himself and his friends out of turn.

You can't ask people to have faith. Man demands proof and craves denial, and therefore he must be given the opportunity to be convinced of the truth of God's Law, first of all, from his own experience. And the point is not at all a responsibility before God for one's behavior and not a posthumous reward for good deeds. Man wants rewards in this life. It is the belief that by doing good for others, you thereby do good to your own soul - this is the earthly recompense for love.

But even if faith is the result of self-hypnosis, then those good deeds that are done by faith in love are worth living in such self-deception. After all, by and large, we have nothing but faith. Everything is based on faith, and unfolds around love.

Faith is the only way to join the Mystery, a kind of key, but not for deciphering, but rather for launching a mechanism, the purpose and principle of which we do not know. This is the LAW OF FAITH, when if you do not believe, you will not see, hear or understand anything. Faith is not an escape from reality, but rather a way to return to it, seeing the world from a different angle and realizing that everything is interconnected and there are no accidents. Faith illuminates life with joy, while unbelief is worse than blindness.”
(from my novel "Alien Strange Incomprehensible Extraordinary Stranger" on the site New Russian Literature

So what did you want to say with your post? they ask me.

Everything I want to say to people is contained in three main ideas:
1\ The purpose of life is to learn to love, to love no matter what
2\ Meaning is everywhere
3\ Love creates necessity.
EVERYTHING IS LOVE

P.S. One deputy is preparing for submission to the State Duma a draft law on the protection of Russia's national pride, which will propose establishing responsibility for public insults of phenomena that are treated with special respect in the country.

You can put me in jail, you can even cut off my head, but I argued and will continue to argue that baptism cannot be carried out by force, even for the sake of the unification of Russia!

And in your opinion, WHAT IS THE TRUTH OF BAPTISM AND CONFUSIONS?

© Nikolai Kofirin – New Russian Literature –

Christianity began to penetrate Russian lands long before 988, when Prince Vladimir officially baptized Russia.

• People needed a world religion that would help in establishing closer trade and economic ties with many neighbors, would contribute to the familiarization of Russia with the heritage of world culture.
• The advent of writing gave this process an additional impetus. Writing would allow communicating with other cultures, studying the historical past, national experience, and literary sources.
• Christianity looked like that common principle that would be able to unite Russia.

Numerous tribal cults and beliefs could not cope with the task of creating a religious system of the state. The pagan pantheon did not unite the beliefs of the tribes, but divided them.

Baptism of Askold and Dir

Prince Vladimir of Kyiv was not a ruler who was baptized. In the mid-60s of the 9th century, according to some sources, the famous princes Askold and Dir were baptized after their campaign against Constantinople. For this, a bishop arrived from Constantinople to Kyiv on behalf of the Patriarch. It was he who baptized the princes, as well as those close to the princely retinue.

Baptism of Princess Olga

It is believed that Princess Olga was the first to officially accept Christianity according to the Byzantine rite. Historians believe that this happened in 957, although other dates are also given. It was then that Olga officially visited the capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople.

Her visit was extremely important from a foreign policy point of view, since she wanted not only to convert to Christianity. The princess wished that Russia was considered equal, worthy of respect. Olga received a new name at baptism - Elena.

Olga was a talented politician and strategist. She skillfully played on the contradictions that existed between the Byzantine Empire and Germany.

She refused to send part of her army to help the Byzantine emperor in a difficult hour. Instead, the ruler sent ambassadors to Otto I. They were supposed to establish diplomatic ties and help establish a church on the territory of Russia. Byzantium quickly realized that such a move would be a strategic defeat. The state agreed to conclude a mutually beneficial agreement with Olga.

Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich and his foreign policy

V.N. Tatishchev, having studied the Chronicle of Joachim, came to the conclusion that the prince of Kyiv, Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich, also felt sympathy for Christianity. True, researchers question the chronicle.

Archaeological finds indicating the beginning of the spread of Christianity

Scientists have found that in some burials of the middle of the tenth century. there are pectoral crosses. Archaeologists have found them on the burial grounds of settlements, early cities. Researchers also find candles in the graves - an indispensable element of the funeral rite of Christians.

The search for religion by Prince Vladimir. Why exactly Christianity? Was it that easy a choice?

"The Tale of Bygone Years" tells about the prince's choice of faith. Ambassadors from different parts of the Earth came to the ruler, who talked about religion.

• In 986 the Volga Bulgars arrived to the prince. They offered to accept Islam. Vladimir immediately did not like the ban on the use of pork and wine. He refused them.
• Further, envoys from the Pope and Khazar Jews came to him. But even here the prince refused everyone.
• Then a Byzantine arrived to the prince, who told about the Christian faith and the Bible. Vera looked attractive to the prince. But the choice was difficult.

We had to see how things were going. The choice of Christianity, according to Greek custom, occurred only after its envoys had attended divine services. At the liturgies, they independently assessed the atmosphere in the temples. Most of all they were impressed by the grandeur and chic of Byzantium.

How Prince Vladimir was baptized...

All the same "The Tale of Bygone Years" describes all the details. It states that in 988 the sovereign was baptized. After the ruler, ordinary people were obliged to do this. The clergy sent by the Patriarch from Constantinople baptized the people of Kiev in the Dnieper. There were no skirmishes and bloodshed.

Some historians argue that the baptism of Vladimir took place in 987. It was a necessary condition for concluding an alliance between Byzantium and Russia. As expected, the union was sealed by marriage. The prince received Princess Anna as his wife.

In 1024, Prince Yaroslav sent troops to suppress the uprising of the Magi in the Vladimir-Suzdal land. "Resisted" and Rostov. The city was forcibly baptized only by the end of the 11th century. But even after that, the pagans did not convert to Christianity. In Murom, the situation escalated even more: until the 12th century, 2 religions opposed here.

Political consequences of the baptism of Russia. What did it give?

Baptism was of great importance for Russia (especially in terms of civilization).

• It opened up a new world for Russia.
• The country was able to join and become part of the spiritual Christian culture.
• At that time, the split into the Western and Eastern churches had not yet officially occurred, but the differences in the relationship between the authorities and the church were already clear.
• Prince Vladimir included the territory of Russia in the sphere of influence of Byzantine traditions

cultural implications. Why did Russia become richer?

The adoption of the Christian religion gave impetus to the more intensive development of art in Russia. Elements of Byzantine culture began to penetrate its territory. The widespread use of writing based on the Cyrillic alphabet became extremely important. The first monuments of written culture appeared, which even now can tell a lot about the distant past.

With the adoption of Christianity, pagan cults lost support from the Grand Duke. They began to be destroyed everywhere. Idols and temples, which were integral elements of religious buildings of pagan times, were destroyed. Pagan holidays and rituals were strongly condemned by the clergy. But it must be admitted that many of them remained alive for centuries. Dualism was common. However, the echoes of those times are noticeable in the modern culture of the state.