Not surprisingly, Vladimir turned to world religions, which centered on the divinity of all power. Any one of them could kill three birds at the same time — to strengthen the power of the Grand Prince, to keep the country united, and to introduce Russia into the circle of the civilized world of the time. But why does Vladimir prefer Greek Christianity?
The Muslim paradise with the Gurias attracted sensual Vladimir, but he did not want to be circumcised, nor could he give up pork and wine: "Russia has the pleasure of wine, can not do without wine!" "。 Jehovah God exiled them into the world for their sins, and the harsh faith of the Jews did not suit him. He asked the rabbi, "How can you teach others while you yourself are abandoned and dispersed by God?" He also rejected the Roman faith. The Greek faith was better understood by Vladimir. Close relations with Byzantium, a part of the Vikings who lived in Kiev had long embraced the Byzantine version of Christianity – in Kiev they even built the Church of St. Elijah for them. Finally, Boyar whispered in Vladimir's ear: "If the Greek law were bad, your grandmother Olga would not accept it, she is the smartest of all". Vladimir respected his grandmother. He chose the Greek religion, especially since sacred rituals should be performed in the Slavic language.
However, having chosen faith, Vladimir was in no hurry to be baptized. He said, "I'm going to wait a little longer." Really, was it easy for him to refuse the free life of the pagans, to break up with his favorite harem in Belistovo and two others, in Vyszgorod and Belgorod? It is clear that Vladimir's baptism was first and foremost a political event, provoked by considerations of the pragmatic interests of a stubborn pagan, and not the result of some divine enlightenment.
On the eve of these events, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II hired Vladimir to lead an army to suppress the rebellion that had broken out in Asia Minor. Vladimir made a condition that if the Emperor's sister Anna could help the Emperor, she could help the Emperor. At first, the emperor had agreed. Russ helped the Byzantines suppress the rebellion, but gave Vladimir's words, Basil II had broken and sister- Christianity for which it was not given out.
Vladimir then seized a wealthy Byzantine town in Crimea, Colson, and again proposed to Anna, using the town as a bride price. The emperor agreed, but demanded that the prince himself be baptized. At the baptism of the prince in 987, it is said that there was a miracle - the blindness that began before Vladimir has disappeared. Everyone saw signs from God in this enlightenment, a confirmation of the right choice. In 989, Anna arrived, and Vladimir married her, taking with her rich inheritance to Kiev.
He brought not only Greek wives, but also sacred relics, as well as popes from Corson. Vladimir first baptized his sons, relatives, and servants. Then he took action against the people. All the idols were thrown from the temple, burned, cut down, and Peren, dragged across the city, was thrown into the Dnieper. The Kievs looked at the act of blasphemy and wept. On the streets, Greek priests persuaded people to be baptized. Some Kievs are happy to do it, some don't care, some don't want to deny their father's faith. Vladimir then realized that the new faith would not be accepted here in good faith, so he resorted to violence.
He ordered a decree in Kiev ordering all pagans to come to the riverbank tomorrow to be baptized, and those who did not come would be regarded as enemies of the prince. In the morning, the unclothed Kievs were herded into the water and baptized en masse. No one is interested in the truth of this treatment. To justify their weakness, it is said that boyars and princes have a hard time accepting unpleasant beliefs – they will never wish they had anything bad about themselves! But they said, "I don't know. Nevertheless, a rebellion against the new faith broke out in the city.
People immediately began to build churches on the site of the temple so that, as they said in Ross, the holy place would not remain empty. At the Temple of Perron, they built the Church of Holy Basil – in fact, Vladimir himself received a Christian name basil at the time of his baptism. All the churches are made of wood, and only the main hall– the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – was built in stone by the Greek masters. Vladimir donated the tenth part of his income to the Uspensky Cathedral. For this reason, the church is called Desyatinna. In 1240, along with the city, it was occupied by the Mongols and destroyed. The Greek Pheophylact was the first archbishop.
Baptism of populations in other cities and lands is also accompanied by violence. This situation is not common in the West. Under the influence of the first Christians, the peoples who had previously worshipped pagan gods were collectively baptized voluntarily, and their rulers were often the last to accept the Christian faith that was widely spread among the people. In Russia, the ruler first became a Christian and then insisted on the baptism of pagans.
In 989, when Dobrinya, the maid of Prince Vladimir, arrived in Novgorod with Bishop Joachim of Korsson, persuasion and threats were to no avail. The Novgorods, led by the wise Solovy, gained a foothold for the ancient gods, and in their rage even destroyed the only church, which was built a long time ago. It was only after an unsuccessful struggle with the forces of Dobrinya's maid Putyata and threatening to burn down the city that Novgorod woke up: they went to Volkhov for baptism. Stubborn people were forcibly dragged into the water and then checked if they were wearing crosses. Subsequently, a proverb was born: "Putyata is baptized with a sword, Dobrynia - baptized with fire". The stone Peren was submerged in the Volkhov River, but people's belief in the power of the ancient gods was not destroyed. They prayed to them privately, made sacrifices, and many centuries after the "Baptist" of Kiev came, a citizen of Novgorod sat on a boat and tossed a coin into the water, which was a sacrifice to Peren, so as not to drown him.
But Christianity was gradually introduced to Russia. The Bulgarians, the Slavs, adopted Christianity earlier and contributed to the development of Christianity to a large extent. Bulgarian priests and scribes came to Russia and brought Christianity in the intelligible Slavic language. Thus, Bulgaria became a bridge between Byzantine and Russian-Slavic cultures.