One of the
main summer dates widely celebrated in Russia is July 28 - the Day of the
Baptism of Russia. This holiday was officially included in the register of
memorable dates of the Russian Federation back in 2010 and is an important day
for all Orthodox Christians.
The date of
the celebration coincides with the Memory Day of Saint Prince Vladimir, the one
who, so to speak, "brought" Orthodoxy to the Slavs in 988.
The baptism
of Russia was quite a long process. Until then, the Slavs living in Russia were
pagans. According to historians, the main problem of paganism was polytheism,
which made this faith too diversified. Each village worshipped its own god,
which caused numerous problems and remained an obstacle in the way of creating
a unified Slav state.
Initially,
the prince intended to preserve paganism and even created a unified pantheon of
gods. At the same time, most of Russia's "neighbors" already
professed monotheism. One of Vladimir's main goals was to unite the state under
a single faith.
Orthodoxy
was a conscious and well-considered choice he had made. Vladimir carefully
studied different faiths and religions, inviting ambassadors from neighboring
states. However, the prince's choice was influenced not only by the closeness
of Christian ideas to his own personal philosphy, but also by political
motives. Orthodoxy was the official religion in Byzantium, with which Russia maintained
close economic ties.
Bringing a
new ideology to his country, the Prince was the first one to accept the Holy Baptism,
and only after that, he proceeded with the baptism of his people. Since then,
Orthodox churches and temples began to be built all across the country. At the
same time, pagan idols were gradually destroyed.
The Baptism
of Rus was a major event in the history of our country, since it was thanks to
Orthodoxy that the Slavs were able to unite under a single faith and ideology.
The Day of
the Baptism of Russia was first marked as a national holiday in 1888, on July
15 (July 28 new style), on the 900th anniversary of the event. Mass celebrations
were held, along with church services and cross processions.
In 2008, the
late Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia suggested on behalf of the
Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to include this day in
the list of national holidays.
Every year
on July 28, at noon sharp, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, church bells
start ringing. On the Day of the Baptism of Russia, Moscow already developed a
tradition of holding a cross procession to the monument of Prince Vladimir on
Borovitsky Hill, to hold a solemn prayer service to the Saint. And of course,
just like 140 years ago, Divine services are held and people come out to the
streets to celebrate. What the 19th century Russians did not have,
though, are numerous TV shows that also focus on the memorable event.