St. Vladimir of Kyiv, Equal to the Apostles

St. Vladimir of Kyiv's story of conversion is well-known to the East. He was the son of Svyatoslav of Rus' though in his father's absence away from the city of Kyiv, was reared by his grandmother. It was his grandmother's faith that would influence later on in life though he was instructed in his father's religion. St. Vladimir, according to the Russian Primary Chronicle, was overcome by his lust for women but would later repent of this and come to the full understanding of the Christian faith in time. It began that a desire came upon him to know the true faith as he would discover different faiths among the Bulgarian Muhammadans and the Greek Orthodox. He desired to know which of these faiths was true and was reminded that his grandmother, who's wisdom surpassed all men, had adopted the Christian faith of the Greeks.

He began to heavily inquire about these different religions asking about the Muhammadan faith and the Christian faith. He obtained far more answers about the Christian faith than the Muhammadan faith. This further made him interested in the Christian faith of his grandmother. The story of St. Vladimir's emissaries is a commonly repeated one. We always tell it when we describe the beauty of Hagia Sophia, built by the Great Emperor Justinian and when we describe the beauty of the Byzantine Liturgy though it is lost that St. Vladimir of Kyiv is actually a Catholic saint too having come before the East-West schism. His inquiries would inspire him to send his emissaries outward in order to inquire about the great faiths of the world and when they came back, they had this to say:

“When we journeyed among the Bulgars, we beheld how they worship in their temple, called a mosque, while they stand ungirt. The Bulgar bows, sits down, looks hither and thither like one possessed, and there is no happiness among them, but instead only sorrow and a dreadful stench. Their religion is not good. Then we went among the Germans, and saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples; but we beheld no glory there. Then we went to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty. Every man, after tasting something sweet, is afterward unwilling to accept that which is bitter, and therefore we cannot dwell longer here.” (Russian Primary Chronicle)

It was here that they also reminded him that his grandmother had accepted the faith of the Greeks, and repudiated the faith of the Rus'. Certainly, the Greek faith could not have been evil. St. Vladimir decided at this point decided to expand his territory into the Greek domain. He laid siege to the Greek city of Kherson and threatened to take Constantinople unless he was wed to the Princess Anna. The Greeks proposed a deal with Vladimir, still overcome with his earthly passions, that he may wed the Princess if he converted to the Orthodox faith. St. Vladimir, desiring the Princess Anna, accepted the terms and he would be baptized in the Church of St. Basil. From thence, he was instructed into the faith of the Orthodox and would proceed to lead an instruction campaign throughout all of Rus' in order to bring the Orthodox faith to the land.

St. Vladimir would be baptized and eventually, through his rigorous instruction of all of Rus', the Russians would be baptized as well. It was through his grandmother Olga the Great where he would be reminded of that Christian faith as there is no true deathbed conversion. In St. Vladimir we see a man overcome by passions slowly tamed through his desire to know the faith, his thirst for the Truth, and even his own political ambitions aided him in his conversion. St. Vladimir would live the rest of his life as a faithful Orthodox Christian, bringing the Christianity to the entire land of Rus'. This would be the end of Paganism's plight throughout all of Europe as it was beginning to fall under Olaf II of Norway, in Bohemia, it had begun to fall under the reign of Wenceslaus, and had speedily fallen among the Germans almost half a millenium prior to that. Princess Anna reposed in the year 1011 and St. Vladimir would receive his crown of Heavenly glory four years later.