Sinfo - the baptism of Rus': there was a beast, but there became a man. “I was a beast, but I became a man” - this is what Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, said about the changes in himself some time after receiving holy baptism
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Exactly a thousand years ago, Prince Vladimir, who is known primarily as the baptist of Rus' and bears the affectionate popular nickname “Red Sun,” died. Today the prince is revered by the church as a saint equal to the apostles - that is, as a person who made a contribution comparable to the apostles in the spread of Christianity.
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However, the path to canonization was thorny, and the finale as a saint was not even visible at first - after all, before turning to to one God Vladimir behaved in full accordance with the medieval order established in Ancient Rus'. The cruelty of the young prince was sometimes such that the popular series “Game of Thrones”, against the backdrop of his deeds, looks like a harmless fantasy from the 6+ category of films. And therefore, the story of Vladimir the Baptist is not so much a life story as a story about the chance for insight and salvation for anyone, even if he surpasses the entire Stark family combined.
The path of the great warrior and lover
Among the three sons of Prince Svyatoslav, Vladimir was the only illegitimate one - his mother was just a housekeeper for his grandmother, Princess Olga. At first he lived separately from his brothers, in the village of Budyatina. But even when he moved to Kyiv, he was periodically reminded of his origins, and because of this, the prince felt inferior. Some researchers believe that the roots of his subsequent vindictiveness and cruelty originate precisely from childhood humiliations associated with princely inferiority.
When the father distributed roles between his sons, Vladimir got the role of a minor Novgorod prince. Soon he had his first, as they say now, “conflict of interest” with his brother Yaropolk (who reigned in Kyiv). Both of them wooed the daughter of the Polotsk prince Rogvold.
Prince Vladimir wooes Rogneda
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Princess Rogneda was a real beauty. However, in the Middle Ages, people married not out of love, but out of convenience: by becoming related to Rogvold, one could significantly strengthen one’s position within the country.
Having received two proposals, the Polotsk princess chose Yaropolk, simultaneously mortally offending Vladimir with a remark about the fact that she did not want to marry the “son of a slave.” Offended by the best geopolitical feelings, the Novgorod prince led his troops to Polotsk. The city was taken, and the entire family of Prince Rogvold was captured. After this, Vladimir demonstrably possessed his own brother's bride in front of her family, and then executed her father and brothers.
Soon Vladimir had a chance to sort things out with Yaropolk, whom he mercilessly killed during the princely feud. Fratricide, terrible in itself, was not so uncommon in Ancient Rus' - before dying at the hands of Vladimir, Yaropolk himself managed to kill another brother, Oleg. So Vladimir got all the lands of his brothers, and he himself reigned in Kyiv.
At the same time, Vladimir made the pregnant wife of the murdered Yaropolk, the Greek woman Julia, his concubine. The future baptist of Rus' was generally known as the “great libertine” - there were only six official marriages in his life (in which more than 20 children were born), and the number of concubines went beyond all reasonable limits.
“If you believe the chronicle, he had 300 concubines in Vyshegorod, 300 in present-day Belogorodka (near Kyiv), and 200 in the village of Berestovo. Every lovely wife and maiden was afraid of his lusty gaze: he despised holiness marriage unions and innocence. In a word, the Chronicler calls him the second Solomon in love of women,” Nikolai Karamzin wrote about him in “History of the Russian State.”
In addition to sex and various fornication, Vladimir’s other favorite pastime of that time was war. The prince fought with Poland, then suppressed the rebellion of the Vyatichi, and then conquered the country of the “wild but courageous Latvian people.” As a result, in the northwestern direction he expanded his possessions to Baltic Sea, and in the south he conquered Korsun and even threatened to capture Constantinople.
From paganism to the true path
At the moment when Vladimir came to power in Kyiv, paganism was widespread in Rus', which is a motley set of beliefs and teachings along with magic and other cults. The new prince tried to somehow unite these beliefs by installing statues of various deities on a hill in Kyiv, led by Perun, revered as a princely god.
To appease the gods, the Slavs regularly performed sacrifices, including human ones. There is a well-known story when Vladimir ordered to find another victim for the gods among the inhabitants of Kyiv, and the choice fell on a certain John, the son of a Christian. His father Theodore refused to give his child to the princely warriors, saying before his death: “You have not gods, but wood; today they exist, but tomorrow they will rot... There is only one God, who created heaven and earth, the stars and the moon, the sun, and man.”
According to legend, Theodore's dying words made Vladimir doubt the correctness of his bet on paganism. He gradually began searching for another religion, considering various options. Muslims were among the first to propagate their faith.
“The description of Mohammed’s paradise and flowering houris captivated the imagination of the voluptuous prince; but circumcision seemed to him a hateful rite and the prohibition of drinking wine was a reckless statute. Wine, he said, is joy for the Russians; we cannot be without it,” Karamzin states the results of their visit.
Having listened carefully to everything possible options, the prince consistently refused Jews and Catholics, but became interested in the Greek (Byzantine) faith. Soon Vladimir had proof of the correctness of his choice - just before his baptism, the prince’s eyes became very sore, he almost stopped seeing. But as soon as he was baptized, the illness went away, which made a strong impression both on the prince himself and on his immediate circle.
"I was a beast, but became a man"
Orthodox sources say that after Holy Baptism, Vladimir also ordered the destruction of pagan idols throughout Rus', and established church diocese. On his initiative, Christianity actively spread in Rus'. At the same time, the prince finally abandoned excessive cruelty, showing mercy and compassion. Thus, he did not persecute those who wished to remain pagans or professed a different faith, unless they raised an armed rebellion against Vladimir’s reforms.
In addition, the prince repented of his sins and freed all his concubines. He baptized his sons, and allowed his wives to marry at their own discretion and provided them with a dowry.
After many years spent in debauchery, Vladimir finally accepted real family values, now known as traditional ones. He had a Christian marriage with the Byzantine princess Anna, and after her death in 1011 he married again. In 1015 he died after a long and prolonged illness.
Prince Vladimir was buried in Kyiv, in the Tithe Church he built, in front of a huge crowd of people. The whole city mourned him. “And the boyars cried for him as the protector of the land, and the poor as for their protector and breadwinner,” says testimonies of that time. Several centuries later, the prince was canonized and canonized.
Vladimir’s phrase is known after his baptism: “I was a beast, but I became a man.” And indeed, in his young years the prince showed more animal than human. But the fact that one of the most cruel and depraved rulers of the Middle Ages became the baptizer of Rus' has its own symbolism. After all, the darkest hour, as we know, is always before dawn.
“I was a beast, but I became a man,” said Prince Vladimir, accepting holy baptism. And these weren't beautiful words, but a sincere confession of one of the first Russian Christians. Before that he killed sibling, arranged human sacrifices and had several hundred concubines.
Our distant ancestors did not find anything reprehensible in this. By the standards of pagan Rus', all this characterized Vladimir as a brave warrior, a zealous servant of the gods and a real man.
In other words, the prince was not an outstanding villain, but with his behavior he only followed models that were, to one degree or another, accepted among his subjects. All the more surprising are the changes that Rus' has embarked on by accepting the faith of Christ. After all, the transformation of Prince Vladimir was the beginning of the transformation of the entire people; many generations of people have followed his example from that time to the present day. And therefore the words of Prince Vladimir are applicable to all the peoples of historical Rus': “We were animals, but we became people.”
In Russia of the 21st century, it is not customary to keep harems and kill your own brothers. Such things seem wild to us, but is the pagan past so spiritually far from us that we can forget about it like a bad dream?
We see how those personal vices that Prince Vladimir was obsessed with before his baptism - indiscriminateness in the means of achieving a goal, debauchery - modern pop culture elevates practically to the rank of virtues and presents them as signs of personal success. And many of us, alas, accept this lie as the truth.
Now on Ukrainian soil, consecrated by the feet of the Baptist of Rus', fratricidal hatred is reaping the abundant fruits of human suffering. Russian Orthodox Church constantly prays to stop this internecine strife with the sign of the beast returning to the hearts of people, which the peoples of historical Rus' renounced in word and deed, having been baptized in the Dnieper font.
We inherited the Christian foundation on which our entire culture grew. But the building of Holy Rus', which has given baptismal vows, may well destroy human self-will, the desire for passions and vices, for apparent well-being, which was fully possessed Kyiv prince before baptism. And which he abandoned for the sake of Christ.
The baptism of our land happened once, but we make the choice to be a man or a beast at every moment of our lives, communicating with those near and far, doing good or evil deeds. May this choice be correct.
On July 28, Russia marks the 1000th anniversary of the repose of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir
“I was a beast, but I became a man” - this is what Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, said about the changes in himself some time after receiving Holy Baptism. These words of his did not become self-praise or boasting, but in to a greater extent, probably even a joyful surprise at how just one movement of the soul, one step towards God, albeit through doubt, search and long reflection, can change not only life, everyday life, the attitude towards oneself and others, but also the person himself. Total. Forever.
You can become a person only by truly realizing how priceless and important the life of each of us is to God. You can become a person by seeing a person in another. And not just a person, but also his human dignity. But this skill must be learned, learned seriously, without distinguishing people according to subjective criteria that are understandable only to us. All of us, regardless of origin, gender, social status, characters, positions and salaries, are actually very similar in the most important thing: we are born and we die. Yes, between these two points, we are very different, we go our own way, unlike anyone else, but in the most important and mysterious moments of life we are not at all different from each other. These two important days the calendar depends entirely on God. And what will happen between them and the years allotted to us largely depends on us. And here it is obvious that the life given to us must still be something more than an ordinary line between dates on a monument. How to do this?
The world is dominated by a consumerist attitude towards everything and, alas, towards everyone. This means that the person himself often sees and evaluates another solely in the light of material usefulness or uselessness. A person becomes profitable, he is important as long as he has connections, means, and the ability to influence. Sometimes they also don’t see and don’t want to see a person behind youth and beauty, looking at him as a wrapper. And many suffer from this, but the scary thing is that there are those who successfully use it. And everywhere there is only a call to take, find, buy, eat... Earn to spend? And then earn money again? What if it is not possible to earn as much as you would like to spend? A loan, and already work for it... And then the person slowly disappears. First as part of society. No money, lost my home, drank myself to death. Where is he? No, not in the trash, but just beyond our attention and interest. But this is a man from whom no one took away his most important dignity. And he won’t take it away, because he is dear and important to God. This is its main advantage. That's why it's so sad that we haven't noticed him. But meetings with such people are sent to us precisely so that we do not forget about this. No one will ever give any guarantee that extreme need will not visit us either. Is this the kind of insight we want?
The truth of Christ revealed to Prince Vladimir the truth about his former life. The truth about how many people were not noticed; about what was obtained by sword and force; about what lust and greed, anger and cruelty led to. The prince's life, overwhelmed by passions and instincts, was devoid of human dignity. And under the influence of God’s grace, he gained the ability to see everything unsightly in himself and repent, change his life. And this is a very important step on the path to becoming a person.
It is very scary to lose the person in yourself. This loss is irreplaceable. Christianity teaches that the key to preserving humanity is the ability to think not about oneself. Better yet, don't think about yourself. Even in the smallest everyday situations, which, unfortunately, we rarely succeed. Christianity teaches sacrificial love, that is, such love for your neighbor when you forget about yourself for the sake of another. Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles, learned all this when the teachings of Christ became the main measure of his life.
In today's world, we are increasingly seeing a movement opposite to that which the Holy Baptist of Rus' spoke about - a movement from man to beast. And this movement does not surprise anyone, and, what is especially sad, it does not frighten anyone at all. Maybe because we are increasingly used to noticing people only in the mirror?
Many people talk about this, sound the alarm bell, but sometimes they don’t see what to cling to, what to look for salvation from this disastrous movement, which way to rush away from the edge of this abyss. But the path has long been indicated - by Christ, and the truth of this path is attested by a host of saints, whose example each of us is called to imitate.
Moreover, Christianity also teaches that a person must constantly develop his virtues, that is, the most important desire of a Christian is not just to become good person in the generally accepted sense, but to regain the image and likeness of God. Christ took upon himself human nature, as if appropriating it to Himself, so that through Him this nature would receive the ability to return the image of God lost by Adam. Christ opened this path for everyone. Prince Vladimir made a civilizational choice, as they say now, for our country. But whether to follow this path, whether to rise to the rank of man and from man to the image of God - the choice is ours.
"Saratov Regional Newspaper" No. 108
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir
On July 28, the Orthodox Church celebrates two major holidays at once - the memory of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Rus' inextricably linked with him. The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir the Great is an exceptional, fateful, cornerstone personality in history. Through him the Lord showed great happiness to Rus' - Orthodox faith, and the prince himself, having accepted Christ with all his heart, courageously led the peoples who inhabited ancient Rus' to the light of God.
The future Baptist of Rus' was born around 960 in the marriage of Prince Svyatoslav with Malusha, who was the housekeeper of Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga. He ruled first, from 970, in Novgorod, then, from 978 until his death in 1015, in Kyiv.
Before the adoption of Christianity, Prince Vladimir was a cruel ruler who relied primarily on pagan traditions. The prince who, before baptism, carried within himself all the ailments of the people's soul. Insatiable in lust, partial to drunkenness, terrible in anger, cunning in selfish deeds. This is a portrait of a true pagan, the son of passions and a servant of demons. Such a person is not ashamed of sin, but only of weakness and failure; he hates enemies with all his soul, and does not deign to glance at the weak. He cherishes his passions, and, looking at him from the outside, you can’t imagine what has to happen for this dubious “child of nature” to change his way of life in better side. However, after personal baptism, he changed internally, which also affected his external activities. The cutting blade is Christ's grace received by man. And here it is important to understand that the truly holy is not the one who has been impeccable since childhood, but the one who, after accepting grace, did not allow himself to return to what was “before.” Vladimir did not return back. Vladimir is holy.
Prince Vladimir was baptized in Korsun (Chersonese) in 988. This event divided his life into two halves, strikingly different from each other. He himself spoke about it this way:
"God! I was like a beast, I lived like a bestial, but You tamed me. Glory to You, God!”.
Returning to Kyiv, Prince Vladimir and the Greek clergy who arrived with him baptized the inhabitants of the city, after which the baptism of the rest of Rus' began.
The unforgettable and only morning in Russian history of the Baptism of the Kyivans in the waters of the Dnieper has arrived. The day before, Saint Vladimir announced throughout the city: “If anyone does not come to the river tomorrow - rich or poor, beggar or slave - he will be my enemy.” The sacred desire of the holy prince was fulfilled unquestioningly: “at one time our whole land glorified Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit.”
It is difficult to overestimate the depth of the spiritual revolution brought about by the prayers of Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in the Russian people, in their entire life, in their entire worldview. 
In the clean waters of Kyiv, as in the “bath of rebirth,” a mysterious transformation of the Russian spiritual element took place, the spiritual birth of a people called by God to feats unprecedented in history Christian ministry to humanity.
After accepting Christianity, Vladimir himself completely stopped military campaigns against his neighbors, lived peacefully with all peoples, fighting only with nomads - the Pechenegs, who constantly disturbed the borders Kievan Rus. He released all his former wives and concubines, marrying the Greek princess Anna in a Christian marriage.
The prince completely abolished the death penalty and did not want to punish even murderers and robbers. It was only at the request of the Greek bishops, concerned about crime in Rus', that he reluctantly reintroduced the penalty of death.
Access to the princely court was open to all the poor and needy. Vladimir distributed food, clothing, money to people, redeemed debtors from bondage, and returned freedom to slaves and prisoners. The prince also ordered food and drink to be transported and distributed through the streets of Kyiv.
In addition, Saint Vladimir was a gifted ruler who not only successfully defended his native land, but also was engaged in the development of education in his principality.
Prince Vladimir not only played a role in the acquisition of Orthodoxy by Russia - he was a man who did not abandon concern for his personal salvation. 
Concern for personal salvation for a Christian is not a selfish feeling, but a guarantee of any good deeds. Therefore, St. Seraphim of Sarov states: “Obtain a peaceful spirit, and thousands will be saved around you.”
. Inner peace and love are an indispensable condition for the possibility of some external changes both in yourself and in others. If a person is amazed inside, destroyed by sin, then even if he wants to do something bright, it still won’t work.
The image of Prince Vladimir is very important as an example of a person who was able to radically change. What does it mean? After all, coming to faith does not change, so to speak, the psychotype: talkative people do not become silent, but closed people- overly sociable. What happens then? Your assessment of your actions and your view of yourself changes. The words of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince: “I was a beast, but became a man” are evidence that he was able to differently evaluate his inner and external life, and this change allowed him to help other people as well. After his conversion, Prince Vladimir, as far as can be judged from reliable sources, sincerely and persistently tried to live according to the Gospel. He became a different person. From the history of the Church we know that this is possible if, as the Apostle Paul says: “ It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2:20). And Saint Paul had every right to say so: after all, his life is the clearest example of how a person turns from a persecutor of Christians into an apostle of the faith. Anyone who is able to understand the invaluable importance of a good change that has taken place in a person once and for all will never doubt the holiness of the changed person. And it doesn’t matter what sins this person was previously covered with.
It may seem to many of us that the example of Prince Vladimir is not for us. We are not in a situation of reign, we do not have eight hundred concubines, to kill - we did not kill anyone, Rus' has already been baptized, etc. And yet, everyone has their own “beast”, from which they must move on to man. Abandon the old person in yourself and cultivate a new person within yourself.
In a sense, the story of Prince Vladimir is a model Christian life. Yes, we did not make human sacrifices, but didn’t we offend our neighbors - with deeds, words, thoughts, finally? But isn’t this an attack on the image of God, both in another person and, by the way, in oneself? The life of the Equal-to-the-Apostles prince is a vivid example of the need to judge oneself, the importance of changing one’s own soul. If we understand this, if we are ready to humbly let Christ into our hearts, then, probably, then we too will someday be able to repeat after Prince Vladimir: “I was a beast, but became a man” .
Order of Divine Services in St. Nicholas Cathedral
Stakhanov
| Thursday 27 |
14:00 – Vespers |
| Friday 28 |
7:00 – Matins 9:00 – Liturgy |