The baptism of Rus, according to leading Russian historians, is a landmark event for the development of the Russian ethnos.
In fact, it was from the time of the baptism of Rus that the ancient Russian Kievan state began to actively develop, which absorbed the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. The adoption of Christianity in its Orthodox Byzantine vein led to the creation of a "third" culture by our country, which is not similar either to the culture of the countries of the East, or to the culture of Western countries.
When did the Baptism of Rus take place?
There are hypotheses according to which in Russia one of the first to be baptized according to the Greek model were the Kiev princes Askold and Dir with their wars, servants and other associates. The Greek Church assumes that the princes were "afraid" (that is, they were shocked) of the miracle that the Patriarch of Constantinople performed before their eyes, who, during the Slavs' campaign against Constantinople, plunged the relics of one and the saints into the sea and caused with their help a storm that sank the Slavic ships. In the scientific literature, this event is called the Fotiev Baptism of Rus.
However, some historians cast some doubt on this information, therefore the fact of "Fotiev" of the baptism of Rus is still not fully established.
The date of the baptism of Rus is most often associated with the year 988 (this is the end of the 10th century). At that time, Prince Vladimir, famous in the battles of the Russians, "sat" on the Kiev princely throne, planning to unite his young state not only with the help of military force, but also with the help of a powerful religious ideological system.
At the same time, some historians (for example, V. N. Tatishchev) believe that even the elder brother of Prince Vladimir Yaropolk (whom Vladimir himself killed in the internecine struggle for the throne) was inclined to choose a new faith, while having in mind, first of all, faith Byzantium.
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His brother Vladimir, who was later called a saint, concerned himself with this problem, according to legend, summoned representatives of various religious movements from different states. There were Jews (most likely, Khazars), Catholics (or rather, future Catholics, since the split of the Christian churches into western and eastern ones had not yet taken place, but everything was already heading towards this) and followers of the teachings of Mohammed. The Byzantines also arrived (representatives of the Greek religious Christian movement, which later became Orthodoxy). Among all the proposed teachings, Vladimir chose Orthodox Christianity and was baptized in Byzantium with the name Vasily.
Historians argue why the prince liked this particular faith. The explanations they offer are of a different nature: from playful (for example, those that the prince loved to drink wine and eat pork, therefore he rejected Islam) to serious (which refer to the faith of Prince Olga's beloved grandmother, who also became Christian).
At the same time, there is information according to which Christians already lived in Kiev by 988 (according to historians, there could be about 10-20% of the city's population), so the choice of Prince Vladimir becomes more understandable. It is also known that, while still a pagan, he commanded his soldiers to bring a human sacrifice to the god Perun (the famous East Slavic god of fire and war). As a victim, a Christian youth was chosen, whose father resisted the prince's soldiers, trying to explain to them all the disgust of human sacrifice. The warriors, on the order of the prince, killed both father and son, but their courage before death was remembered for a long time by Vladimir.
How did the baptism of Prince Vladimir take place?
The tale of bygone years tells us that Prince Vladimir, in order to receive holy baptism, decided to besiege the Byzantine city of Korsun. The siege of the city ended with the victory of the prince. In return for indemnities, the prince demanded that the Byzantine emperor give him his relative Anna as his wife. The emperor agreed to such a marriage, but in turn demanded that Vladimir accept the Greek faith. The prince willingly agreed to this.
According to legend, before the baptism itself, the prince's eyes began to hurt, he actually began to go blind, but after the baptism was completed, Vladimir (who became Basil in baptism) received his sight. Observing such a miracle, Vladimir's companions and squad also asked to be baptized, which was done by the priests of the Greek Church. After baptism, Vladimir took Princess Anna as his wife.
How did the Baptism of Rus take place?
According to legend, reflected in the annals, Vladimir, having baptized himself and baptizing his family, ordered the people of Kiev to come to the Dnieper to be baptized with their families, with servants and other household members. At the same time, he threatened the disobedient to his command with personal enmity. The people of Kiev, knowing about the character of their prince, obeyed the order.
Also, Vladimir ordered in shame to destroy the statues of the pagan gods, who were worshiped by his subjects before. This process caused a certain resistance among the population of the country, as well as from the Magi, who are a kind of priests of pagan cults.
At the same time, the process of Christianization of the country itself stretched out over many decades, which gives historians reason to talk about the era of "dual faith" in Russia.
Initially, Christianity spread as a new religious scholar of people close to the prince himself, in Kiev. Then the process of Christianization of the entire region began. Some historians argue that this was a violent process (for example, they cite the resistance of the population of the rich and great Novgorod), but others believe that the bishops who came from Byzantium did not seek to instill the word of God in non-Greek peoples by force, but acted with caution and due understanding.
This is how the Baptism of Russia itself is described in the "Tale of Bygone Years": "… Ісъс Хсъ like, love the new people of the Russian land and enlighten the baptism of the world / Jesus Christ loved the Russian land and enlightened it with the baptism of saints."
Baptism of Rus and the organization of the Russian Church
The first Russian bishops were not of Slavic origin at all. As a rule, they were the Greeks, "discharged" by Prince Vladimir to Russia for its religious, spiritual and moral enlightenment.
According to the chronicles, Michael (Syrian) is considered the first Metropolitan of Kiev, he also had the job of organizing the first monasteries in Russia, organizing the first parishes, creating dioceses, etc.
The process of creating such dioceses was often quite difficult. Thus, the chronicles have preserved the story that not only proud Novgorodians, but also residents of the northern territories (Rostov and Murom) actively resisted the coming of Christianity to Russia. For example, the Rostovites expelled the first two bishops who were sent to them, but accepted the third - who entered the chronicle as St. Leonty. This man was by nature kind and merciful to everyone, he offered the harsh Rostovites a voluntary choice of faith, talked a lot about Christianity and was eventually accepted by the population. At the same time, the Rostov land was finally baptized by the successor of Leonty, Bishop Isaiah.
Continuation of the process of Christianization of Rus
Historians argue a lot about when the process of Christianization of Rus can be considered complete. Some of them speak of the 12th century, while others believe that this happened only in the 16th century. With all this, no one denies the fact that the Christian worldview was, as it were, "layered" on the old pagan customs and rituals. Thus, the pagan holiday of spring and the burning of Shrovetide was adopted by the Russian Church as a kind of folk celebration preceding the time of the beginning of Great Lent, the autumn holiday of the final harvest was associated with the celebration of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Pagan chants to the god of prosperity Kolyada became Christmas carols and so on.
All this was reflected in the folklore of the Russian people: in the riddles, traditions, customs and beliefs that remained in the peasant environment until the beginning of the 20th century.
The attitude of the Russian people to the Baptism of Rus
The attitude of the Russian people to the choice of faith by Prince Vladimir can be generally called positive. The very figure of the prince, before his baptism, became famous for fratricidal strife, love for married and unmarried women and girls, after baptism became a devout and merciful person (as you know, in his state, Vladimir banned the death penalty, which was an unprecedented grace in those harsh times) is considered in in a positive way.
The image of the prince in the folk epic was endowed with bright features, Vladimir received the nickname "Red Sun", a wise and humble father of a large family, who took care of his children as if they were his own children. The Russian Church canonized Vladimir, giving him the characterization of an Equal-to-the-Apostles saint.
Before the revolution in tsarist Russia, the date of the baptism of Rus was celebrated as a nationwide church holiday (this is July 28 of each year). In the Russian Federation, this tradition was continued, July 28 in the calendar is the Day of the Baptism of Rus.
What are the results of the Baptism of Rus?
Undoubtedly, the choice of faith by Vladimir was of a geopolitical nature, because if you chose a prince for your subjects a different religious trend, then the history of Kievan Rus' would develop in a different way, and the subsequent history of the Moscow state, the Russian Empire, etc.
If the choice of faith was associated with Islam, Russia would eventually become one of the eastern countries and, perhaps, with the power of its fire and sword, military valor and fortitude, would help the East to conquer the Catholic West. If Vladimir chose Catholicism, then his country would gradually begin to identify itself with Western states (as, for example, Poland is a Catholic country). And then it would be "bad" for the eastern countries, which the West with the help of Russia could easily conquer.
As for the choice of the Jewish faith, one can argue about its prospects, but perhaps the territory of modern Russia would become the “promised land” for people belonging to the Jewish ethnos.
The choice of faith by the Russian prince made it possible to maintain the "balance of power" in the world, and this is its great significance. Therefore, the very fact of the Baptism of Rus is the beginning of a new round in the development of all mankind.