St. Vladimir of Kiev

Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev, was born around 958 to Svyatoslav I of the Rus' and his housekeeper Malusha. After his father's death in 972, a struggle for power among the sons kept Vladimir on the run for years before he emerged victorious in 980 and took control of Kiev. In the early years of his reign he appears to have ruled as a committed pagan, and in keeping with the customs of the time he maintained a large household of wives and concubines, the number traditionally given being around eight hundred, though the exact figure is hard to verify. He also reportedly erected idols and sponsored ritual sacrifices in Kiev, and early sources such as the Primary Chronicle remember this period as a darker chapter of his life. Around 987 Vladimir began seriously investigating the great monotheistic faiths. According to the Chronicle, he sent envoys to the Volga Bulgars, the Germans, the Jews, the Greeks, and elsewhere to study each religion at its source. The envoys were unimpressed by Islam, put off by the restrictions of the Jewish faith, and reportedly bored by Latin services in Germany, but they were astonished by the liturgy they witnessed at the Great Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, declaring that they hardly knew whether they were on earth or in heaven. Whether the decision was purely spiritual or also shaped by political and dynastic ties to Byzantium, Vladimir chose Christianity in its Byzantine, Greek form. In 988 Vladimir was baptized, traditionally in or near Crimea, and soon afterward married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine emperor. He then ordered the baptism of the people of Kiev in the waters of the Dnieper River, an event known as the Baptism of Kievan Rus'. Pagan idols were cast down, and over the following years churches, monasteries, and schools were built across his realm. Vladimir is also credited with founding schools to train Slavs for the clergy and with charitable works such as feeding the poor and binding himself, by his own reported words, to do so on a regular basis. Vladimir continued to rule until his death on July 15, 1015, reportedly at Berestove near Kiev. He left a divided succession among his many sons, and the conflicts that followed soon produced Yaroslav the Wise, who would further Christianize and codify the legal life of the realm. The memory of Vladimir's baptism became foundational for the Christian identity of the eastern Slavic lands, and he is venerated in the Catholic Church as well as in Eastern Christianity. His feast in the Roman calendar is kept on July 15, the traditional date of his death.

Vladimir is honored with the title Equal-to-the-Apostles in the Eastern tradition, a title given to saints whose missionary work is seen as comparable to that of the original apostles, and he is often called Vladimir the Great in both Eastern and Western sources. Together with his grandmother Saint Olga, who had earlier embraced Christianity, he is considered the foundational figure for Christianity among the eastern Slavs, and the conversion he set in motion shaped the religious and cultural life of Kyivan Rus' for centuries.