July 28, 2015
Moscow: Epistle of His Holiness, Patriarch Kyrill,
regarding 1000th Anniversary of Repose of Holy Great Prince Vladimir
His
Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow & All Russia, addressed an
epistle to the archpastors, clergy, monastics, and all faithful
children of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the 1000th
anniversary of the repose of the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Great
Prince Vladimir.
Most
reverend archpastors, reverend priests and deacons, monks and nuns,
dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This
year, the whole Russian Church, and with it the whole Orthodox
world, celebrates the 1000th anniversary of the repose of the Holy
Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir.
What did this man bring
us? Why is it that, after so many centuries, we triumphally
celebrate his memory? The Holy Hierarch Hilarion of Kiev remarkably
expressed the nature of the prince’s feat in his renowned "Sermon on
Law & Grace:"
"All countries, and cities, and peoples,"
he writes,
"honor and glorify each its own teacher, who has brought them to the
Orthodox Faith. Let us also, according to our power… praise the one
who did such great and wondrous things, our teacher and preceptor,
the great prince of our land Vladimir."
His wise decision changed the whole course of our history, because
he brought to us the glad tidings of Christ, the Savior of the world
– the Unsetting Sun of Righteousness, Who with His Divine Light
illumines the entirety of human being. Thanks to the Holy
Equal-of-the-Apostles Vladimir, our people came under the protection
of a fervent Intercessor and speedy Helper – the Most Pure Virgin
Theotokos, who spreads her pure omophorion above our land. It was
thanks to this holy ruler that the Russian Church was founded, which
for more than a thousand years has been bringing the people the word
of life, love, and peace, and in which we, like our ancestors before
us, obtain the Kingdom of Heaven.
Having
received the Faith from the Eastern Roman Empire – Byzantium, Russia
fully joined both in Divine Revelation, and in the great cultural
tradition of the age, creatively adopting and developing it further.
Like the Equal-of-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine, Prince Vladimir
was not afraid to stand in opposition to the views of his warriors
and noblemen – the ruling class of Ancient Rus’, which bound the
pagan cults with power, wealth, and growth. Nor was he afraid of the
anger of the crowd, incited by the pagan priests and ready to make
blood-sacrifices. Like Moses, who heard the Lord’s call to "Bring My
people out of Egypt" (Ex. 3:10), Prince Vladimir lifted Rus’ up from
pagan captivity and put her on the radiant path of confessing Christ
as Lord and Savior. This man, equal to the Apostles, came to embody
the Orthodox ideal of righteous authority, guided by authentic
values that lead man and society to God, to life according to His
commandments. The baptizer of Russia, as we know, took care not only
for the piety of this newly enlightened people, but also for their
education, and provided help for those in need.
The Holy Hierarch
Hilarion, praising the Great Prince of Kiev, noted that St. Vladimir
"drew
not just a single person from the delusion idolatrous falsehood, not
just ten, not just a city, but this whole land."
These words were spoken in the 11th century, when the miracle of the
Baptism of Rus was still a recent event. Ten centuries of Christian
history followed. Over this time, the Lord showed forth among our
people many saints, and our culture and civilization took form.
Everything that we live and experience today, our very worldview,
has as its basis the fateful decision of Prince Vladimir to turn to
the true God, and to bring our people with him.
Established in the font of the Dnieper were the foundations of a
new, Holy Rus’, and of our spiritual unity. Over the ensuing
centuries, attempts were made to annihilate Orthodoxy and to sow
dissension and civil discord among our peoples, to entice them with
false ideas and promises of imminent earthly happiness and material
prosperity. But by the grace of the Lord, Holy Rus’ lives hitherto
in our hearts, for to this day our nations have a shared Faith and
Church, shared holy sites and relics, and countless examples of
Christian struggle and shared history.
Today,
we are again experiencing difficult times, when foolish people try
to divide us, to deprive us of peace and harmony, to sow enmity and
hatred between brothers. Such people, acting on the basis of
momentary sentiments and selfish ambitions, adopt dangerous
decisions with long-term and sometimes indelible effects. But wise
people realize that their lives and good deeds can become part of
God’s plan for the salvation of the world. That is why they always
remember eternity, and extend their gaze to history, learning its
lessons and answers to the most pressing issues of our time.
We must
all search out these answers, overcoming the negative informational
noise created by the mass media. And we can find them in examples of
the great individuals who had a benevolent impact on the development
of our peoples and are ranked among the saints by the Church. One of
these is the Equal-of-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, who placed as
the foundation of the life of the peoples of historical Rus’ the
salvific Faith in Christ.
By his
prayers, may our Merciful Lord, the Lover of Mankind, help us to
stand steadfast in Orthodoxy, minding ourselves, like His apostles,
"by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the
Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned" (II Cor. 6:6).
Amen.
+KYRILL
Patriarch of
Moscow & All Russia
Media Office of the Eastern
American Diocese
