Russians Russian saints Boris and Gleb (Roman and David in Holy Baptism) are the first Russian saints canonized by both the Russian and Constantinople Churches. They were the youngest sons of the Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles (+ July 15, 1015). Born shortly before the Baptism of Rus, the holy brothers were raised in Christian piety. The eldest of the brothers, Boris, received a good education. He loved to read the Holy Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers, and especially the lives of the saints. Under their influence, Saint Boris had a fervent desire to imitate the feat of the saints of God and often prayed that the Lord would grant him such an honor.
Saint Gleb was brought up with his brother from early childhood and shared his desire to devote his life exclusively to the service of God. Both brothers were distinguished by their mercy and kindness of heart, imitating the example of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, who was merciful and sympathetic to the poor, the sick, and the destitute.
During his father's lifetime, Saint Boris received Rostov as his inheritance. While ruling his principality, he showed wisdom and meekness, caring above all about the establishment of the Orthodox faith and the establishment of a pious lifestyle among his subjects. The young prince also became famous as a brave and skilled warrior. Shortly before his death, Grand Duke Vladimir summoned Boris to Kiev and sent him with an army against the Pechenegs. When the death of equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir followed, his eldest son Svyatopolk, who was in Kiev at that time, declared himself the Grand Duke of Kiev. Saint Boris was returning from a campaign at that time, having not met the Pechenegs, who were probably afraid of him and went to the steppes. When he learned of his father's death, he was very upset. The squad persuaded him to go to Kiev and take the grand ducal throne, but the holy Prince Boris, not wanting internecine strife, dismissed his army: "I will not raise my hand against my brother, and even against my elder, whom I should consider my father!"
However, the treacherous and power-hungry Svyatopolk did not believe Boris's sincerity; in an effort to protect himself from the possible rivalry of his brother, who had the sympathies of the people and the army on his side, he sent assassins to him. Saint Boris was informed of Svyatopolk's treachery, but he did not hide and, like the martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity, willingly met death. The assassins caught up with him when he was praying for matins on Sunday, July 24, 1015, in his tent on the banks of the Alta River. After the service, they broke into the prince's tent and pierced him with spears. The beloved servant of the holy Prince Boris– George Ugrin (a Hungarian by birth), rushed to his master's defense and was immediately killed. But Saint Boris was still alive. Coming out of the tent, he began to pray fervently, and then turned to the murderers: "Come, brothers, finish your service, and peace be upon Brother Svyatopolk and you." Then one of them came up and pierced him with a spear. Svyatopolk's servants took Boris's body to Kiev, and on the way they met two Varangians sent by Svyatopolk to speed things up. The Varangians noticed that the prince was still alive, although he was barely breathing. Then one of them pierced his heart with a sword. The body of the holy Passion-bearer Prince Boris was secretly brought to Vyshgorod and laid in the church of St. Basil the Great.
After that, Svyatopolk just as treacherously killed the holy Prince Gleb. Having cunningly summoned his brother from his inheritance, Murom, Svyatopolk sent his warriors to meet him in order to kill Saint Gleb on the way. Prince Gleb already knew about his father's death and the villainous murder of Prince Boris. Deeply grieving, he preferred death rather than war with his brother. The meeting of St. Gleb with the murderers took place at the mouth of the Smyadyn River, near Smolensk.
What was the feat of the holy Princes Boris and Gleb? What's the point of dying at the hands of murderers like this?
The life of the holy passion–bearers was sacrificed to the basic Christian act of kindness - love. "Whoever says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother is a liar" (1 John 4:20). The Holy brothers did something that was still new and incomprehensible to pagan Russia, accustomed to blood feuds – they showed that evil cannot be rewarded with evil, even under threat of death. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28). The Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb gave their lives for the sake of obedience, which is the foundation of a person's spiritual life and all life in society in general. "Do you see, brothers," observes the Monk Nestor the Chronicler, "how high is the obedience to the elder brother? If they had resisted, they would hardly have received such a gift from God. There are many young princes nowadays who do not obey their elders and are killed for resisting them. But they are not like the grace that these saints have received."
The pious passion-bearing princes did not want to raise their hands against their brother, but the Lord Himself took revenge on the power-hungry tyrant: "Vengeance on me and I will repay" (Rom.12:19).
In 1019, Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev, also one of the sons of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, gathered an army and defeated Svyatopolk's squad. By God's providence, the decisive battle took place on the field by the Alta River, where Saint Boris was killed. Svyatopolk, called the Accursed by the Russian people, fled to Poland and, like the first fratricide Cain, found no peace or refuge anywhere. Chroniclers testify that even from his grave a stench emanated.
"Since that time," writes the chronicler, "sedition has died down in Russia." The blood shed by the holy brothers in order to prevent internecine strife was the fertile seed that strengthened the unity of Russia. The pious passion-bearing princes are not only glorified by God with the gift of healing, but they are special patrons, defenders of the Russian land. There are many cases of their appearance in difficult times for our Fatherland, for example, to St. Alexander Nevsky on the eve of the Battle of the Ice (1242), to Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy on the day of the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). Veneration of Saints Boris and Gleb began very early, shortly after their death. The service to the saints was composed by Metropolitan John I of Kiev (1008-1035).
Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev took care to find the remains of St. Gleb, which had been unburied for 4 years, and buried them in Vyshgorod, in the church of St. Basil the Great, next to the relics of St. Prince Boris. After some time, this temple burned down, but the relics remained unharmed, and many miracles were performed from them. One Varangian stood reverently at the grave of the holy brothers, and suddenly a flame came out and scorched his feet. A lame boy, the son of a resident of Vyshgorod, was healed from the relics of the holy princes: saints Boris and Gleb appeared to the boy in a dream and made the sign of the cross over his sore leg. The boy woke up from his sleep and got up completely healthy. The Venerable Prince Yaroslav the Wise built a five-domed stone church on this site, which was consecrated on July 24, 1026 by Metropolitan John of Kiev with a cathedral of the clergy. Many churches and monasteries throughout Russia were dedicated to the Holy Princes Boris and Gleb, frescoes and icons of the holy Passion-bearing brothers are also known in numerous temples of the Russian Church.