St. Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles

Vladimir began as a pagan prince with many wives, who set up idols in Kyiv. Seeking the true faith, he sent envoys to study the religions of his neighbours, and at the Liturgy in Hagia Sophia they “knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth.” He was baptized at Chersonesus in 988 and married the Byzantine princess Anna. Back in Kyiv he threw the idol of Perun into the river and called the people to be baptized in the Dnieper. He built churches and schools, and he fed the poor of the city from his own table.

• Feast: July 15 (New Calendar)
• Lived: died 1015
• Place: Kyiv