Introduction

After a long internecine war in 980 the son of Svyatoslav Vladimir (980-1015) ascended the Kiev throne. Under him, Kievan Rus expanded its limits even more. Vladimir undertook a number of campaigns between the Oka and Volga rivers. During this period, an attempt was made to gain a foothold on the shores of the Baltic. Vladimir strove to strengthen his state. Under him, instead of the tribal princes in the localities, his protégés were installed as managers. He stubbornly fought the Pechenegs and continued to strengthen the southern borders of the state. In order to culturally integrate the lands, Vladimir first attempted to create a single pantheon in Kiev. pagan gods... However, this attempt was unsuccessful. After that, in 988, Vladimir converted to Christianity. The history of the adoption of Christianity testifies that this process was long and bears little resemblance to the "triumphal march" of the new faith across Russia. It was difficult and stretched for many decades, and even centuries. With the adoption of Christianity, Russia became one of the states of the then cultural part of the world's population. It was from this time that literacy spreads in Russia, schools appear. In the monasteries that have appeared, the tradition of annals is developing. There is an active process of temple building. We can say that the adoption of Christianity in decisively helped to flourish Kievan Rus, and largely determined the further trajectory of the Russian historical path.

Reasons for the adoption of Christianity

The earliest news of the penetration of Christianity into Russia dates back to the first centuries A.D. In the IX century. Russia twice adopted Christianity: the first time under Olga - 957; the second - under Vladimir 988

After Olga was baptized, the Christianization of Rus went faster. Russia maintained good relations with both Byzantium and the Roman Church; there were both Muslims and Jews. But it was necessary to convert to Christianity for several reasons:

1. This was necessary in the interests of the development of the state, in order to avoid isolation from the whole world.

2. Monotheism corresponded to the essence united state led by the monarch.

3. Christianity strengthened the family, introduced a new morality.

4. Contributed to the development of culture - philosophy, theological literature.

5. Social stratification required a new ideology.

The adoption of Christianity introduced Russia into the family of European nations, and paganism doomed it to isolation and hostility on the part of Christianized neighbors who treated pagans as non-humans. It should be borne in mind that the final split of Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox branches occurred only in 1054.

Vladimir's desire to strengthen the state and its territorial unity by creating a single pantheon of pagan gods led by Perun did not lead to overcoming tribal separatism and strengthening the princely power. In this case, Vladimir's hopes were pinned, apparently, on the fact that the god of lightning was considered the main one in the retinue environment. Only monotheism could unite the country and illuminate the authority of the sole princely power.

And Vladimir himself thought about his life, where there was fratricide during the struggle for power, violence, polygamy. Christianity could forgive sins and cleanse the soul.

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the development of the culture of the people may become possible: literacy, chronicle writing, architecture and church building; all this could in many respects determine the formation of a proper Russian Christian culture.

The growing social heterogeneity, as well as the changing spiritual needs of the upper strata of society, created the conditions for the transition to a more complex worldview system.

Such reasons could not but force Vladimir to think about adopting a particular faith for Russia.

Municipal budget educational institution

"Average educational school No. 30 "Abakan

Adoption of Christianity in Russia

Completed by: A.O. Tropina

Abakan, 2014

Introduction

Olga

Svyatoslav

Yaropolk

Vladimir

Conclusion

Bibliographic list

Introduction

Conversion to Christianity is one of the most important events in the history of the Russian people. The history of Russia, like the ancient Russian state and the feudal principalities that preceded it, is characterized by a close connection between the secular political organization of power and religion. This connection has changed over the centuries, and that is why the significance of the adoption of Christianity in the organization and management of ancient Russian society is of undoubted scientific interest.

The object of research in this work is the history of Ancient Rus during the adoption of Christianity. The subject is the essence and meaning of the baptism of Rus.

The purpose of the work is to study the history of the baptism of Rus. To achieve this goal, I will highlight the following research tasks:

· Consider the reasons for adopting Christianity;

· Explore Baptism grand duchess Olga;

· Describe the religious reform of 980 by Vladimir I;

· Show the historical significance of the adoption of Christianity.

The chronological framework of the study covers the period from the 10th to the 11th centuries, and the geographical framework covers the territory of Kievan Rus and the nearest lands.

The most important sources of research are numerous letters, chronicles "The Siege of Korsun by Vladimir and the Baptism of Rus", the church charter of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, treaties of Russian princes with Byzantium.

The study of this topic has a long tradition in historical science. In the history of Russia, religion has had a deep and comprehensive influence on the life of society and the state, therefore the problems of the history of religion and its relationship with state power are of particular interest. Major historians of the past laid the foundation for the study of these problems. Traditionally, in Russian historiography, the importance of adopting Christianity was reduced to the development of writing and culture, while in foreign literature this fact was recognized as decisive and paramount for the formation of Kiev statehood.

Historian S.M. Soloviev believed that Orthodoxy contributed to the replacement of clan relations by state ones, and thereby the establishment of autocracy. According to him, "the estate, which enjoyed; powerful moral influence, the spiritual estate, from the beginning acted in favor of autocracy." According to V.O. Klyuchevsky, the Orthodox Church created in Russia a special society, parallel to the state one: in fact, it consisted of exactly the same elements that were part of the state.

Modern historians consider the adoption of Christianity in line with the synthesis of civilizational and class approaches and emphasize the special role of Orthodoxy in the formation of the East Slavic community. The book by Ya.N. Shchapova, "The State and the Church in Ancient Rus", for example, is specially devoted to the problem of the relationship between church and state in Russia in the X-XIII centuries.

From the above review of historiography, it follows that the study of the history of the adoption of Christianity requires the development of new methods, rejection of the usual schemes.

christianity rus olga vladimir

Reasons for the adoption of Christianity in Russia

With education the old Russian state there have been major changes in the socio-political life of society. Meanwhile, the spiritual life of society still rested on attitudes dating back to pagan religion. As a result, spiritual tension arose. Paganism, with its idea of ​​the world and the place that it assigned to man in it, no longer corresponded to the needs of power. The worship of tribal gods more met the needs of the tribal system: paganism reproduced tribal separatism, engendered collective responsibility for all actions, and justified blood feud. The new conditions presupposed a person's personal responsibility for the deeds accomplished, the recognition of moral rules that would unite, not discredit.

And here political reasons the adoption of Christianity are as follows: the new religion was supposed to spiritually strengthen the state, give legal and sacred foundations of princely power. Paganism with its polytheism (polytheism) in this sense was inferior to Christian monotheism (monotheism). One god in heaven and one ruler on earth, uniting people according to religious, not tribal, ethnicity- all this contributed to the political strengthening of the state.

A man of the Middle Ages, in his spiritual and moral searches, felt the need for a religion that would most fully and intimately answer life's questions. So challenging tasks paganism was too strong. It was devoid of the depth and universalism, inherent features of Christianity and other world religions.

Finally, it was impossible to remain a pagan country in the vicinity of Christian countries. The international status of the rulers of Ancient Russia was directly dependent on the religious choice that they had to make.

The main stages of the Christianization of Russia

Olga

The question of the time of the adoption of Christianity by Princess Olga, known to us, is rather confusing, as well as her origin and the age at which she was baptized. For example, the most detailed description of Olga's trip to Constantinople in the fall of 957, contained in the treatise of Constantine Porphyrogenitus on the ceremonies of the Byzantine court, does not even mention the baptism of the Russian princess. It does not directly say who she is - a Christian or a pagan.

A number of circumstantial circumstances, however, can be used as an argument in favor of the fact that, at least by the time the princess arrived at the palace of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, she was already a Christian. This is evidenced by the description of the reception that was provided to her, and the mention of the presence in the retinue of the princess of the Orthodox priest Gregory.

One way or another, the path of the princess to baptism is evidence that true faith is acquired only by the insight of the heart, burning with a thirst for comprehension of the Perfect One and union with Him. In a conversation with her son Svyatoslav, she testifies about herself: "I recognized God, my son, and I rejoice: if you learn, you will also begin to rejoice."

This means that before knowing God, there was no joy in Olga's soul. The tragic death of her husband, bloody revenge on the Drevlyans should have darkened her heart even more. Illumination with divine truth changed sorrow into joy in the princess's soul.

Svyatoslav

Returning from Constantinople, St. Olga begins missionary work, but the unyielding position of her son, Svyatoslav, turns out to be a significant obstacle on her way. The idea of ​​the baptism of Russia, which was to follow the baptism of the prince, was quite natural for the 60s of the 10th century. And this means that Christianity could easily become the religion of the entire people, if the main obstacle to that - the state status of the pagan religion - were removed.

The baptism of st. Olga and her missionary activity further strengthened the position of Christians in Kiev, but the stubborn rejection of the new faith by Svyatoslav and his squad created a rather difficult religious and political situation in the Old Russian state. The victorious war of 964 - 965, which ended in the complete defeat of Khazaria, which then ceased its state existence, brought the prince and his squad a resounding glory, but this did not weaken the position of the Christians who were surrounded by St. Olga, who was the real ruler during the constant departure of Svyatoslav to the war.

St. Olga died in 969, having bequeathed "not to perform feasts on oneself," but to bury in a Christian way. Shortly thereafter, a grave danger loomed over the young Christian community in Kiev. According to the Joachim Chronicle, at the same time there was a reprisal of the pagans against the Russian Christians who were part of the army of Svyatoslav.

Yaropolk

During the reign of Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich (972 - 980), the Christian community continued to exert increasing influence on the life of Kiev. In 979, Yaropolk successfully negotiated with the Byzantine embassy in Kiev, since a year earlier he had defeated the Pechenegs that were traditionally allied by Byzantium and imposed a tribute on them. Following the Byzantine embassy, ​​Kiev was visited by a mission sent by the Pope. All this testifies to the transformation of Kiev in the 70s of the X century. v christian center European significance.

Vladimir

It is important to emphasize that at the beginning of his reign, Vladimir tried to consolidate spiritual unity within the framework of paganism. The religious reform of 980 was supposed to give paganism a broader socio-political meaning. In Kiev, in front of the princely tower, a temple was created, which represented the official pagan pantheon (instead of many local gods), with the supreme deity in the person of Perun. But soon Vladimir abandoned the reform, recognizing the incompatibility of the old religion with the goals set: a simple highlighting of the pagan gods, whom the prince considered the main ones, could not entail a revision of the entire system of beliefs and rituals. Paganism, by its very nature, proved incapable of becoming a regulator of social relations.

Then Vladimir turned to world religions. In the "Tale of Bygone Years" there is a short story about the choice of faith by Prince Vladimir (986).

Vladimir seized the Kiev throne with brute force. In the same way, he expanded the boundaries of his state, thereby acquiring many enemies both among his neighbors and among his subjects. It takes strength and popularity to stay in power. The first was, the second was missing. Vladimir's advisers understood this. They also took into account the complexity of the foreign policy situation, especially after two Bulgarian failures: Svyatoslav's campaign on the Danube and Dobrynya's campaign on the Kama. The problem of the allies has become very urgent. But it was solved by adopting one or another religion. Consequently, it was necessary to choose a program that would be acceptable for the subjects, for the rulers, and for one of the strong neighbors.

The people of Kiev did not like the evil Baltic gods, among whom Orthodoxy had spread since 864, although it had not yet become the state religion. Therefore, missionaries from the South (Greeks), from the East (Bulgarians) and from the West (Germans) began to penetrate into Kiev again, and the prince listened to sermons, because a mistake in choosing a faith could cost the throne and head. We had to weigh everything.

Vladimir refused to convert to Islam because of the ban on drinking wine. It was not the prince's personal addiction to alcohol, but the ritual of communication with the squad - a joint meal, at which they drank alcoholic beverages - beer and honey - for the sake of fun, not intoxication. The rejection of the tradition of joint gifts promised the prince the loss of the squad, which would see this as an insulting disregard. Vladimir refused to talk with Catholics at all: he believed that this would not bring any result.

That is why the prince converted to Orthodoxy. The significance of the step taken was so great that in its light the personal qualities of the prince, the sins for which he had to answer at the Last Judgment as a person, but not as a ruler, faded. Baptized in 987, Vladimir reconciled with himself his warriors, baptized the Kievites in the Dnieper in 988 and the Novgorodians in Volkhov in 989, overthrowing Perun.

The overthrow of the idol of Perun was not unpleasant for the Novgorod Slavs, because Perun was an alien god, but the Novgorodians were not ready for the perception of Christianity, as we will see when describing and analyzing subsequent events. As for other cities, even large ones, the adoption of the new faith there proceeded even more slowly. Chernigov, close to Kiev, was baptized only in 992, and Smolensk, which lies on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks", in 1013. ), retained their familiar worldview.

In fact, the circumstances of Vladimir's baptism are extremely confusing, and therefore the so-called "Korsun legend" even arose, according to which Vladimir converted to Orthodoxy in exchange for the hand of the Byzantine princess Anna, presenting her brothers with the newly taken Korsun.

In any case, for the victorious, albeit slow advance of Orthodoxy, the resistance of the ancient cults was not scary. Ancient beliefs are stable, but passive, they can only defend themselves, which dooms them to extinction. But the time of the indisputable predominance of Christianity over pagan cults came only in the 12th century. So far, we can only note the next political victory of Kiev and the Kievites over the Slavic and Baltic tribes and the fact that it was accomplished thanks to the continuation of the line of St. Olga and alliance with the mighty Byzantium.

However, again, not everything went smoothly. Since 990, Byzantium subjugated Georgia and part of Armenia with tough methods and renewed the war against the Bulgarian king Samull. Not without military clashes with Russia. In such conditions, it would seem that it was natural to reject the accepted confession, but here the similarity of the historical destinies of Byzantium and ancient Russia... The process started by Konstantin and Vladimir turned out to be irreversible and went like an avalanche. City after city adopted Orthodoxy as the state religion, providing consolation and hope for eternal life. This fascinated people who, along with religion, received the benefits of culture through writing into the visual arts. Orthodoxy in Russia seized the initiative from paganism and went from victory to victory.

The historical significance of the adoption of Christianity

The meaning of adopting Christianity:

· The adoption of Christianity strengthened state power and territorial unity of Kievan Rus. "God's servant" - the sovereign was, according to Byzantine traditions, a just judge in domestic affairs, and a valiant defender of the borders of the state;

· There was a change in the status of Russia in the system of international relations. Russia has become a civilizational subject, adhering to generally accepted norms and rules of behavior;

· The adoption of Christianity led to a flourishing Kiev state and the spread of a new culture, which manifested itself in the building of churches and the acquisition of writing. An important role was played by the presence of educated Bulgarians who fled to Kiev after the conquest of their country by Byzantium. By introducing the Cyrillic alphabet, they passed on their knowledge. The Old Church Slavonic language became the language of worship and religious literature. On the basis of the synthesis of this language and the East Slavic linguistic environment, the Old Russian literary language was formed, in which such literary monuments as "Russian Truth", chronicles, "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" were written. Doctors and teachers appeared among the monks. Schools began to open at the monasteries;

· The adoption of Christianity led to a softening of morals: they began to look at robbery and murder as the greatest sins, and before they were considered a sign of valor. Christian morality limited (though, as a rule, only in words) the greed of the rich, forced them to see commoners and even slaves of people;

· Christianity in Russia was adopted in the Eastern, Byzantine version, later called "Orthodoxy", i.e. "true faith". Russian Orthodoxy guided a person towards spiritual transformation and had a huge impact on the formation of the mentality (public consciousness) of ancient Russian society. Unlike Catholicism, it was more an artistic, cultural, aesthetic value system than a political one. Orthodox Church characterized by freedom inner life, detachment from secular power;

· The Orthodox worldview spread - the desire to understand the meaning of life not in worldly wealth, but in inner spiritual unity. The traditional compassion of the Russian people received its confirmation in Christianity, in its attention to the poor, sick and poor, in the demand to help a person in trouble.

In general, the choice of Byzantine Orthodoxy by Ancient Russia as a state religion determined the peculiarities of the development of Russian civilization. Gradually, the country developed political, economic and cultural traditions similar to the Byzantine ones:

· The predominance in the church functions of teaching a person, and not explaining the structure of the world;

· Striving to embody the divine ideal in worldly life.

But Russia was not a passive object of application of Byzantine culture. Acquiring the Byzantine heritage, she herself had a strong influence on political organization society.

Conclusion

Thus, it was impossible to remain a pagan country in the vicinity of Christian countries. The international status of the rulers of Ancient Russia was directly dependent on the religious choice that they had to make. The process of adopting Christianity in Russia went through several stages:

· baptism of Princess Olga in 944

· religious reform of Vladimir I in 980

The impetus for the adoption of Christianity was the events that took place in Byzantium. At the end of the 90s of the X century. the empire was going through difficult times. To suppress the rebellion, Emperor Vasily II turned to the Kiev prince for help. Vladimir agreed on the terms of marriage with Princess Anne, the emperor's sister. The baptism of Vladimir became an indispensable condition. In Chersonesos, Vladimir and his squad converted to Christianity, after which the prince went with Anna to the crown. Returning to Kiev, Vladimir destroyed the pagan pantheon and urged the people of Kiev to be baptized. This happened in 988, which is considered the year of the adoption of Christianity in Russia.

The new religion did not take root immediately. The strength of pre-Christian beliefs allows us to speak of a kind of dual faith as a historical and cultural phenomenon folk life medieval Russia. The establishment of Christianity in Russia as a state religion is a major event. historical significance... Yet greater importance Christianity had for the approval of a new public system... Local, tribal differences were gradually eliminated, which contributed to ethnic consolidation. However, Byzantine Christianity, Orthodox version led to political and cultural alienation from Latin, Catholic Europe, the approval of a different model of historical development. With the adoption of Christianity, the church and church hierarchy began to build up, which took an important place in ancient Russian society.

Bibliographic list

1.G.V. Vernadsky Russia in the Middle Ages / Ed. E.P. Berenstenya. - M, 1997 .-- 352 p.

2.Grekov B.D. Kievan Rus. - M, 1953 .-- 394 p.

.Ancient Russia: the intersection of traditions / Ed. By V. V. Milyukov. - M, 1997 .-- 464 p.

.Hieromonk Nikon (Lysenko). The beginning of Christianity in Russia // Questions of history. - 1990. - No. 6. - p. 36 - 53.

.Kotlyar N.F. Old Russian statehood. - SPb, 1998 .-- 448 p.

.Litavrin G.G. Russian-Byzantine relations in the middle of the 10th century. // Questions of history. - 1986. - No. 6. - p. 41 - 52.

.Madorsky A. Russian Chronograph: All Orthodox Russia from Rurik to Nicholas II. - M., 1999 .-- 400 p.

.Mezin S.A., Rapov O.M. Russian Church in the 9th - first third of the 12th century. Adoption of Christianity // Questions of history. - 1990. - No. 1. - p. 165 - 168.

.Skrynnikov R.G. Russian history. IX - XVII centuries - M, 1997 .-- 498 p.

.Skrynnikov R.G. State and Church in Russia 14th - 16th centuries - Novosibirsk, 1991 .-- 397 p.

.A. L. Pogodin A brief outline of the history of the Slavs. - M, 2003 .-- 132 p.

.Pushkarev S.G. Review of Russian history. - Samara, 1993 .-- 111 p.

.Platonov D.M. Lectures on Russian history. - M., 2000 .-- 742 p.

.Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin. From the baptism of Russia to the invasion of Batu // Questions of history. - 1991. - No. 4-5. - p. 34 - 42.

.Shchapov Ya.N. State and Church of Ancient Rus X - XIII centuries - M., 1989 .-- 232 p.

.Church, society and state in feudal Russia: collection of articles. Art. - Mn., 1990 .-- 352 p.

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Nothing is more striking than a miracle, except for the naivety with which it is taken for granted.

Mark Twain

The adoption of Christianity in Russia is a process during which Kievan Rus in 988 passed from paganism to the true Christian faith. So, at least, the textbooks on the history of Russia say. But the opinions of historians differ on the issue of the Christianization of the country, since a significant part of the scientists assure that the events that are described in the textbook, in fact, did not take place in the same way, or not in such a sequence. In the course of this article, we will try to understand this issue and understand how the baptism of Russia actually took place and the adoption of a new religion - Christianity.

Reasons for the adoption of Christianity in Russia

The study of this important issue should begin with a consideration of what religious Russia was like before Vladimir. The answer is simple - the country was pagan. In addition, such faith is often called Vedic. The essence of such a religion is determined by the understanding that, despite the vastness, there is a clear hierarchy of gods, each of which is responsible for certain phenomena in the life of people and nature.

An indisputable fact - Prince Vladimir Saint long time was an ardent pagan. He worshiped the pagan gods, and for many years tried to instill in the country a correct understanding of paganism from his point of view. This is also evidenced by official history textbooks, which present unambiguous facts saying that in Kiev Vladimir erected monuments to pagan gods and called on the people to worship them. Many films are being shot about this today, which tell about how significant this step was for Russia. However, the same sources say that the prince's "crazy" striving for paganism led not to the unification of the people, but, on the contrary, to its disunity. Why did this happen? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the essence of paganism and the hierarchy of gods that existed. This hierarchy is presented below:

• Svarog
• Alive and Alive
• Perun (14th in the general list).

In other words, there were the main gods who were revered as the true creators (Rod, Lada, Svarog), and there were also minor gods who were worshiped only by a small part of people. Vladimir, however, fundamentally destroyed this hierarchy and appointed a new one, where Perun was appointed the main deity for the Slavs. This completely destroyed the postulates of paganism. As a result, a wave of popular anger arose, since people who had been praying to Rod for many years refused to accept the fact that the prince, by his own decision, had approved Perun as the main deity. It is necessary to understand the whole absurdity of the situation created by St. Vladimir. In fact, he undertook by his decision to control divine phenomena. We do not say how significant and objective these phenomena were, but simply state the fact that Kiev prince did it! In order to understand how important this is, imagine that tomorrow the president will announce that Jesus is not God at all, but God is, for example, the Apostle Andrew. Such a step will blow up the country, but Vladimir took this step. What guided him in taking this step is unknown, but the consequences of this phenomenon are obvious - chaos began in the country.

We went so deeply into paganism and the initial steps of Vladimir in the role of a prince, because this is precisely the reason for the adoption of Christianity in Russia. The prince, honoring Perun, tried to impose these views on the entire country, but failed, since the bulk of the population of Russia understood that the true God, who had been prayed for for years, was Rod. This is how the first religious reform of Vladimir in 980 failed. They write about this in the official history textbook, forgetting, however, to tell that the prince completely turned paganism, which led to unrest and the failure of the reform. After that, in 988, Vladimir adopted Christianity as the religion most suitable for himself and his people. Religion came from Byzantium, but for this the prince had to capture Chersonesos and marry a Byzantine princess. Returning to Russia with his young wife, Vladimir turned the entire population into new faith, moreover, people accepted religion with pleasure, and only in some cities there were insignificant resistances, which were quickly suppressed by the princely squad. This process is described in The Tale of Bygone Years.

It was such events that preceded the baptism of Rus and the adoption of a new faith. Let's now understand why more than half of historians criticize such a description of events as not reliable.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" and the Church Catechism of 1627

Almost everything that we know about the baptism of Russia, we know on the basis of the work "The Tale of Bygone Years." Historians assure us of the reliability of the work itself and the events that are described in it. Baptized in 988 Grand Duke, and in 989 the whole country was baptized. Of course, at that time there were no priests in the country for the new faith, so they came to Russia from Byzantium. These priests brought with them the rituals of the Greek Church, as well as books and scriptures. All this was translated and formed the basis of the new faith of our ancient country. This is what the "Tale of Bygone Years" tells us, and this version is presented in official history textbooks.

However, if we look at the issue of the adoption of Christianity from the point of view of church literature, we will see serious discrepancies with the version from traditional textbooks. For demonstration, consider the Catechism of 1627.

The Catechism is a book containing the foundations of Christian teaching. The Catechism was first published in 1627 under Tsar Mikhail Romanov. This book outlines the foundations of Christianity, as well as the stages of the formation of religion in the country.

Notable in the Catechism is the following phrase: “Itako commanded to be baptized throughout the land of Rustei. In the summer, six thousand UChZ (496 - the Slavs from ancient times designated numbers with letters). from the saints the patriarch, from NIKOLA KHRUSOVERT, or from SISINIA. or from Sergius, Archbishop of Novgorod, under Mikhail Metropolitan of Kiev. " We have cited an excerpt from page 27 of the Great Catechism, having specially preserved the style of that time. It follows from this that at the time of the adoption of Christianity in Russia there were already dioceses, at least in two cities: Novgorod and Kiev. But we are told that there was no church under Vladimir and the priests came from another country, but church books claim the opposite - Christian church, albeit in a state of birth, but it was already with our ancestors even before baptism.

Modern history interprets this document rather ambiguously, saying that it is nothing more than medieval inventions, and in this case the Great Catechism distorts the true state of affairs in 988. But this leads to the following conclusions:

• At the time of 1627, the Russian Church was of the opinion that Christianity existed before Vladimir, at least in Novgorod and Kiev.
• The Great Catechism is an official document of its time, according to which both theology and partly history were studied. If we assume that this book is really a lie, then it turns out that at the time of 1627 no one knew how the adoption of Christianity in Russia happened! After all, there are no other versions, and everyone was taught the "false version."
• The "truth" about baptism did not appear until much later and is represented by Bayer, Miller and Schletzer. These are court historians who came from Prussia and described the history of Russia. As for the Christianization of Rus, these historians based their hypothesis on the tale of bygone years. It is noteworthy that before them this document had no historical value.

The role of the Germans in the history of Russia is very difficult to overestimate. Almost all famous scientists admit that our history was written by the Germans and in the interests of the German. It is noteworthy that, for example, Lomonosov sometimes came to fights with visiting "historians", since they brazenly rewrote the history of Russia and all Slavs.

Orthodox or Faithful?

Returning to the Tale of Bygone Years, it should be noted that many historians are skeptical about this source. The reason is the following: throughout the story it is constantly emphasized that Prince Vladimir the Holy made Russia Christian and Orthodox. There is nothing unusual or suspicious about this. modern man, but there is a very important historical discrepancy - Christians began to be called Orthodox only after 1656, and before that the name was different - the faithful ...

The name change happened in the process church reform, which was conducted by Patriarch Nikon in 1653-1656. There is no big difference between the concepts, but again there is one important nuance... If people who correctly believe in God were called the orthodox, then those who correctly glorify God were called Orthodox. And in ancient Russia, glorification was actually equated with pagan deeds, and therefore, initially, the term orthodox Christians was used.

This, at first glance, insignificant point radically changes the idea of ​​the era of the adoption of the religion of Christianity among the ancient Slavs. After all, it turns out that if until 1656 Christians were considered faithful, and the term Orthodox is used in the Tale of Bygone Years, this gives rise to suspicion of the Tale of the fact that it was not written during the life of Prince Vladimir. These suspicions are confirmed by the fact that for the first time this historical document appeared only at the beginning of the 18th century (more than 50 years after Nikon's reform), when new concepts had already become widely used.

The adoption of Christianity by the ancient Slavs is very important step, which radically changed not only the internal structure of the country, but also its external relations with other states. The new religion led to a change in the way of life and lifestyle of the Slavs. Literally everything has undergone changes, but this is a topic for another article. in general, we can say that the meaning of the adoption of Christianity was reduced to:

• Rallying the people around a single religion
• Improvement of the international position of the country, due to the implementation of relations that existed in neighboring countries.
• The development of a Christian culture that came to the country along with religion.
• Strengthening the power of the prince in the country

We will return to the consideration of the reasons for the adoption of Christianity and how it happened. We have already noted that in an amazing way in 8 years, Prince Vladimir turned from a convinced pagan into true christian, and with it the whole country (the official history speaks about it). In just 8 years, such changes, and through the implementation of two reforms. So why did the Russian prince change religion inside the country? Let's figure it out ...

Preconditions for the adoption of Christianity

There are many assumptions about who Prince Vladimir was. The official history does not answer this question. We know for sure only one thing - Vladimir was the son of Prince Svyatoslav from a Khazar girl and with early years lived with a princely family. The brothers of the future Grand Duke were convinced pagans, like their father, Svyatoslav, who said that the Christian faith is an ugliness. How did it happen that Vladimir, who lived in a pagan family, suddenly easily adopted the traditions of Christianity and changed himself in a few years? But for now, it should be noted that the very adoption of the new faith by ordinary inhabitants of the country is described in history extremely carelessly. We are told that without any unrest (minor revolts were only in Novgorod) the Russians adopted the new faith. Can you imagine a people who, in 1 minute, abandoned the old faith, which they had been taught for centuries, and adopted a new religion? It is enough to transfer these events to our days in order to understand the absurdity of this assumption. Imagine that tomorrow Russia will declare Judaism or Buddhism as its religion. Unrest in the country will rise terrible, and we are told that in 988 the change of religion took place to a standing ovation ...

Prince Vladimir, whom later historians called the Saint, was the unloved son of Svyatoslav. He understood perfectly well that a "half-breed" should not rule the country, and was preparing the throne for his sons Yaropolk and Oleg. It is noteworthy that in some texts one can find a mention of why the Saint so easily accepted Christianity and began to impose it on Russia. It is known that, for example, in the Tale of Bygone Years, Vladimir is called nothing other than "robichich". This is how the children of the rabbis were called in those days. Subsequently, historians began to translate this word as the son of a slave. But the fact remains - there is no clear understanding of where Vladimir himself came from, but there are some facts indicating that he belongs to the Jewish family.

As a result, we can say that, unfortunately, the issue of adopting the Christian faith in Kievan Rus has been studied very poorly by historians. We see a huge amount of inconsistencies and objective deception. We are presented with the events that took place in 988, as something important, but at the same time, ordinary for the people. This topic is quite extensive to consider. Therefore, in following materials, we will take a closer look at this era in order to understand thoroughly the events that took place and preceded the baptism of Russia.

The earliest news of the penetration of Christianity into Russia dates back to the first centuries A.D. In the IX century. Russia twice adopted Christianity: the first time under Olga - 957; the second - under Vladimir in 988. After Olga's baptism, the Christianization of Rus proceeded faster. Russia maintained good relations with both Byzantium and the Roman Church; there were both Muslims and Jews. But it was necessary to convert to Christianity for several reasons:

• - it was necessary in the interests of the development of the state, - in order to avoid isolation from the whole world;
• - monotheism corresponded to the essence of a single state headed by a monarch;
• - Christianity strengthened the family, introduced a new morality;
• - contributed to the development of culture - philosophy, theological literature;
• - social stratification required a new ideology;

The adoption of Christianity introduced Russia into the family of European nations, and paganism doomed it to isolation and hostility on the part of Christianized neighbors who treated pagans as non-humans. It should be borne in mind that the final split of Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox branches occurred only in 1054. Vladimir's desire to strengthen the state and its territorial unity by creating a single pantheon of pagan gods led by Perun did not lead to overcoming tribal separatism and strengthening of the princely power. In this case, Vladimir's hopes were pinned, apparently, on the fact that the god of lightning was considered the main one in the retinue environment. Only monotheism could unite the country and illuminate the authority of the sole princely power. And Vladimir himself thought about his life, where there was fratricide during the struggle for power, violence, polygamy. Christianity could forgive sins and cleanse the soul.

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the development of the culture of the people may become possible: literacy, chronicle writing, architecture and church building; all this could in many respects determine the formation of a proper Russian Christian culture. The growing social heterogeneity, as well as the changing spiritual needs of the upper strata of society, created the conditions for the transition to a more complex worldview system.

Such reasons could not but force Vladimir to think about adopting a particular faith for Russia.

The problem of the “choice of faith,” on the solution of which the entire course of development of Russian history depended, is also important. Under the year 983, at the beginning of Vladimir's reign, the chronicler places a story about the following event. After the campaign against the Yatvyags, Vladimir returned to Kiev and sacrificed to idols along with his people; the elders and boyars said: “Let us cast lots for the youths and maidens; on whom it falls, we will sacrifice to the gods. " At this time, a Varangian lived in Kiev, who came from Greece and kept the Christian faith. He had a son, beautiful in face and soul; on this young Varangian the lot fell. People sent from the people came to the old Varangian and said to him: "The lot has fallen on your son, the gods want to take him for themselves, and we want to sacrifice him to them." The Varyag replied: “You have not gods, but a tree; today it is, and tomorrow it will rot, neither eat nor drink, nor speak, but are made by human hands of wood; but there is only one God, whom the Greeks serve and bow down to, who created the heavens and the earth, the stars and the moon, and the sun, and man, gave him to live on earth; and what did these gods do? made by themselves; I will not give my son to demons! " The messengers recounted these speeches to the people. The crowd took weapons, went to the house of the Vikings and broke the fence around it; the Varangian stood in the entryway with his son. The people shouted to him: "Give your son to the gods." He replied: "If they are gods, then let them send one god to take my son, and what are you bothering about?" A furious click was the response of the crowd, which rushed to the Varangians, hooked up the canopy under them and killed them. Despite the fact that the brave Varangian fell victim to triumphant paganism, this event could not but make a strong impression. A solemn challenge was made to paganism, idols, they were solemnly abused; the sermon was delivered loudly; the people in the heat of rage killed the preacher, but the rage passed, but the terrible words remained: “your gods are a tree; God is one, to whom the Greeks bow, who created everything, "and Vladimir's idols stood before these words, and in fact, what could the Slavic religion say in its favor, that it could answer the high demands set by the preachers of other religions? The most important of these were questions about the beginning of the world and the future life. That the question of the future life had a powerful effect on the pagan Slavs, as on other peoples, is evident from the legend about how the Bulgarian Tsar converted to Christianity as a result of the impression made on him by the painting doomsday... According to Russian tradition, a Greek preacher used the same remedy with us and also made a strong impression on Vladimir; after a conversation with him, Vladimir, according to legend, calls the boyars and city elders and tells them that preachers came from different nations each praised his faith. Finally, the Greeks came, they blaspheme all other laws, praise their own, talk a lot about the beginning of the world, about its existence, speak cunningly, love to listen to them, and talk about a different world. If someone enters into their faith, then, having died, he will be resurrected and will not die after forever, but if he enters into another law, then in the next world he will burn in fire.

Thus, representatives of three religions came to Vladimir in Kiev: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The prince rejected Islam on the pretext that he forbids the use of wine. "The merriment of Russia is drinking, without drinking Russia is not being", - so, allegedly, he responded to the temptations of Muslims. He did not accept Judaism because the Jews did not have their own state, as a result of which they were scattered throughout the earth. He did not accept the offer made by the pope's envoys, referring to the fact that his grandmother had rejected Catholicism. Only the sermon of a representative of the Byzantine Orthodox Church made a favorable impression on him. But Vladimir was in no hurry to make a decision and sent his ambassadors to different countries. When they returned, they called the Greek faith the best, and the Greek temples and church service- the most beautiful.

Behind all this there are real facts that stopped the choice of Russia on the Orthodox form of Christianity.

These are, first of all, strong cultural and economic ties with Byzantium, the presence of its own influential Orthodox community. In addition, the international situation, the relationship of the church with the state, as well as some features of various religions were taken into account. So, the claims of the Pope for secular power, the unwillingness of the Catholic Church to take into account local peculiarities and its belligerence could not help pushing the head of the young state away from this form of Christianity. The Orthodox Church was subject to secular authority. This corresponded to the East Slavic tradition, according to which the prince was at the same time the head of a religious cult. Orthodoxy was more tolerant of local traditions, and Byzantium at that time seemed to be the center of civilization, the heir to the great Rome, the most developed and cultured country in Europe.