Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Grand Prince of Kiev
Grand Prince of Kiev, Equal-to-the-Apostles
- Feast day
- July 15
- Lived
- c. 958–1015
- Patronage
- Converts, rulers, the Slavic Churches
The baptism of Prince Vladimir in 988 and of the people of Kiev in the Dnieper brought the Orthodox faith to the Slavic lands and shaped a thousand years of Christian civilisation.
Life
Vladimir began as a ruthless pagan warlord with many wives and a hilltop of idols. The Primary Chronicle describes his search for a faith: envoys sent to the Muslim Bulgars, the Latins and the Jews returned unimpressed, but those sent to Constantinople reported of the Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia, 'we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth.'
He was baptised at Chersonesus in the Crimea in 988, married the Byzantine princess Anna, and returned to Kiev to overthrow the idols and baptise the city. His grandmother Saint Olga had been baptised a generation earlier and had prayed for exactly this.
After the baptism
The chronicles record a change in the man himself: he abolished capital punishment for a time out of fear of sin, fed the poor of Kiev from carts sent through the streets, and founded churches and schools. His sons Boris and Gleb, who refused to take up arms against their brother, became the first canonised saints of Rus.
When Saint Vladimir is commemorated
The feast falls on July 15 on the Revised Julian (New) calendar used by most Greek, Antiochian and Romanian parishes. Parishes that keep the Julian (Old) calendar — much of the Russian, Serbian and Georgian Churches, and Mount Athos — celebrate it on the civil date July 28, thirteen days later. You can switch between both reckonings anywhere on this site.
See the full liturgical day for July 15, 2027
That page gives the fasting rule in force, the Epistle and Gospel appointed for the day, and every other saint commemorated alongside Saint Vladimir. To keep the feast, look for a parish in the USA, Canada or Australia directory, and read the Akathist hymns appointed for private prayer.
Other saints commemorated in July
- John of Shanghai and San FranciscoJuly 2
- Macrina the YoungerJuly 19
- Mary MagdaleneJuly 22
- Paisios of Mount AthosJuly 12
- PanteleimonJuly 27
- ParaskeviJuly 26