On December 23, 1980, the Holy Synod decided to “begin preparations for the celebration of the upcoming great anniversary by the Russian Orthodox Church,” for which it formed an Anniversary Commission chaired by Patriarch Pimen. Initially, it was assumed that the celebration of the Anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' would be a strictly internal church celebration.
On May 17, 1983, the official transfer of a complex of buildings of the Moscow former Danilov Monastery took place for the creation on its territory of the “Spiritual and Administrative Center” of the Moscow Patriarchate. The decision was perceived not only by the Orthodox in Moscow, but throughout the USSR as an event of extreme importance, as the first sign of a possibly changing attitude of the country's leadership to the needs of the Church. The restoration of the first monastic monastery after 1930 in the capital of the communist state became widely known in society, which attracted interest both in the upcoming Jubilee and in Orthodoxy in general. In 1984, an attempt was made to prevent the creation of a monastery in Danilov monastic community. But after the death of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Konstantin Chernenko, objections from the authorities disappeared. Some concerns among the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate were caused by the appointment in November 1984 of Konstantin Kharchev to the post of Chairman of the Council for Religious Affairs, who replaced Vladimir Kuroyedov. But the revision of state policy regarding religion and the rights of religious citizens, which began in 1986, dispelled those fears: materials began to appear in the media about repressions in the USSR, about the Russian Church as the custodian of folk culture and spirituality, about Optina Pustyn, the fate of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and other destroyed shrines.
Metropolitan Yuvenaly
As Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov) recalled, the upcoming anniversary aroused people’s interest:
They immediately received a “live response” in the atheist press. I remember these articles: “What will the Russian Church celebrate”? “Was there a Baptism of Rus'”? “Was there even a Christ? Science has not yet proven this.” But we were not embarrassed, and by God’s providence it so happened that UNESCO got involved.
The main official festive events were agreed upon two years before the anniversary: on July 29, 1986, the Holy Synod decided “in connection with the celebration to convene a Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and hold it from June 6 to June 9, 1988.” At the same time, the composition of the Commission for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' was published, consisting of 43 people.
The article by academician Boris Rauschenbach, published in August 1987, devoted to the baptism of Rus' and its significance for ancient Russian state. The article was published in many languages and published throughout the world, including by the UNESCO Courier. The development of the situation was also followed abroad: in November 1987, the XXIV session of the UNESCO General Assembly called for celebrating “the 1000th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in Rus' as a major event in European and world history and culture.” This statement attracted the Russian Orthodox Church the widest public attention not only Soviet Union, but also the whole world.
Celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'
In the lead-up to the anniversary, three international scientific conferences were held in Kyiv, Moscow and Leningrad, dedicated to the activities of the church over its entire thousand-year history. In addition to Russian and foreign theologians and church historians, secular scientists also participated in these conferences. More than 250 reports were heard. The materials of the conference, held July 21–28, 1986 in Kyiv, were published in the 28th issue of the collection “Theological Works.” The main church celebrations planned for the beginning of the summer of 1988, including a festive service and a thanksgiving prayer service in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, it was decided to coincide with the Day of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, which, in accordance with church calendar, fell on June 12.
at a meeting of a scientific conference
The Bishops' Pre-Conciliar Conference, held on March 28-31, 1988 in the former Novodevichy Monastery, in the communique, noted, among other things: “The participants in the Bishops' Pre-Conciliar Conference with gratitude consider it necessary to note the positive attitude of the Soviet government to the issues put forward by the Hierarchy of our Church.” On April 29, 1988, in the presence of reporters from all over the world, a meeting of the Patriarch and permanent members of the Synod with Mikhail Gorbachev took place in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin “in connection with the 1000th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in Rus'.” Gorbachev himself called the Baptism of Rus' by Prince Vladimir “a significant milestone on the centuries-old path of development national history, culture and Russian statehood" and noted that thanks to perestroika, more active participation religious figures in the life of society. In response to this, Pimen expressed “full support”, “sincere gratitude” to the “architect of perestroika and the herald of new political thinking” and blessed Gorbachev to continue the work he had begun. This meeting served as a signal for party and Soviet bodies to allow coverage of the Jubilee celebration as a national event.
Meeting with M.S. Gorbachev
A real sensation at that time was the permission of the authorities to build a new temple in the capital in honor of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus', which was agreed upon at a meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and the hierarchs. On May 26, 1988, a ceremonial transfer of sacred relics that were stored in the museums of the Moscow Kremlin took place at the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.
By Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR dated June 3, 1988 “for active peacekeeping activities and in connection with the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'” Patriarch Pimen, Metropolitan of Kiev Philaret (Denisenko), Metropolitan of Leningrad Alexy (Ridiger), Archbishop of Gorky Nikolai (Kutepov), Archbishop of Dmitrov Alexander (Timofeev) ) (rector of the MDA) were awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor; a number of other hierarchs - the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
On the eve of the celebrations, the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Monastery (Kaluga) and the Tolgsky Monastery (Yaroslavl) were transferred to the Church. On the eve of the Millennium itself, part of the buildings of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra were returned to the Church. The relics, which were stored in the state museums of the Moscow Kremlin, were transferred to the church.
The main anniversary celebrations took place on June 5 - 12, 1988 in Zagorsk and Moscow. Participants of the Local Council as well as 517 guests came to Moscow, including the primates of local Orthodox churches: Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch, Patriarch Diodorus of Jerusalem, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Cyprus, Metropolitan Basil of Warsaw, Metropolitan Dorofey of Prague, Metropolitan of All America and Canada Theodosius. Patriarch Demetrius I of Constantinople did not arrive due to some protocol disagreements. The celebrations in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in which a delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church led by Archbishop Kirill of Smolensk and Vyazemsk took part, took place earlier and were timed to coincide with the Week of Orthodoxy, February 28, 1988.
Local cathedral
The anniversary celebrations opened with the Divine Liturgy in the Moscow Epiphany Cathedral.
On June 6, the Local Council opened in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which lasted until June 9. The cathedral glorified a number of ascetics as saints: Demetrius Donskoy, Andrei Rublev, Maxim the Greek, Saints Macarius of Moscow, Ignatius Brianchaninov and Theophan the Recluse, Saints Paisius Velichkovsky and Ambrose of Optina, Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg. The Council made a number of historical decisions that changed the humiliating position of the Russian Church in the Soviet state. At it, with universal support, the amendments imposed on the 1961 Council of Bishops to the “Regulations on the Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church”, which deprived both bishops and parish rectors of any power in the economic and financial sphere, were abolished. (In 1961, these “amendments” were submitted to the bishops for approval by the future Patriarch Pimen). The Council adopted a new “Charter on the governance of the Russian Orthodox Church”, which in its content was significantly supplemented and improved in comparison with the outdated “Regulations...” of 1945. At the council, decisions were made to intensify work in the field of spiritual education and publishing activities of the Church. The council also discussed many other pressing issues of church life. Throughout the week from June 5 to June 12, festive services were held in Moscow churches, and on June 11 an all-night vigil was held.
For public coverage of charitable purposes, the Bolshoi Theater was provided, foreign guests were received by the head of the Council of Ministers N.I. Ryzhkov - while the celebrations continued, the program was constantly growing. And these events were tirelessly covered extensively, throughout the entire USSR, on television. Mikhail Gorbachev did not participate in these stories, but his wife Raisa Gorbacheva was a frequent guest at all non-liturgical events and was always the center of media attention. The culmination of the holiday was June 12, when the hierarchs of almost all the Orthodox churches on the planet gathered in Moscow. On the square of the Danilov Monastery, which had just been restored from a dilapidated state, a festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated; the Divine Liturgy was served, which was performed by: Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch, Patriarch Diodorus I of Jerusalem, Patriarch Pimen of Moscow, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, Patriarch Theoctistus of Romania, Patriarch of Bulgaria Maximus, Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Cyprus.
national celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'
The meaning of the holiday
Celebrations took place in Kyiv, Leningrad and Vladimir, and after June 18 - in all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, speaking at the closing of the anniversary celebrations, noted:
Christianity was the channel along which the culture of the most developed civilization of that time - Byzantium - flowed into the ancient Russian land. This culture has fallen on fertile soil... The first ten centuries of the history of our Church are coming to an end. God! Bless us to enter the second millennium of our existence in the house of God in peace and piety... preserve the Russian land in peace and establish the Orthodox faith in it forever and ever. Amen.
Many festival events were widely broadcast on central television. On June 13, 1988 in Moscow, in the Tsaritsyn Ponds area, near the Kashirskoye Highway, Patriarch Pimen laid the foundation stone of a “temple dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', a temple in memory of all our compatriots who laid down their lives in defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland in Patriotic Wars…».
The year 1988 was a turning point in the public perception of the Church and its role in the history of Russia. The celebrations dedicated to the Millennium became a true triumph for the Russian Orthodox Church, which believers could not imagine before this event.
The Millennium celebrations and the events of the previous months mark a real turn in the church policy of Gorbachev, who used the anniversary to advertise his own activities. Most likely, it was important for him to win the trust of the West.
New churches began to be opened, restored and built (this process began back in 1987, but after the celebrations it began with renewed vigor). After the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', the Soviet rules registration of Orthodox parishes. There was no longer any need to gather the “twenty” into the community; the destroyed churches were handed over en masse by the authorities. Throughout the USSR, more than one and a half hundred communities were registered daily. All more people began to turn to God, the Bible and church literature became available. From that time on, the party and state press (there was no other press in the USSR at that time) began to actively cover the problems of religious life, and spiritual Christian programs appeared on television.
The significance of this holiday is difficult to overestimate. If it wasn't a millennium celebration, it was definitely a century celebration. XX century, in which so much blood of our people was shed, there was a turning point in consciousness, a rejection of spirituality. The 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' revived the foundation of our people - the Orthodox faith. The spiritual uplift that followed the celebration could no longer be stopped. The authorities were forced to make compromises and conduct a dialogue with the Church and society.
Today we continue to live in the spiritual background of this holiday. The construction of new churches, monasteries, church life - all this began in 1988. It is important to remember this and confront new threats to our Russian Orthodox Church.
1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'- events that took place in the USSR in July 1988, timed to coincide with the 1000th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Rus' under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 988.
Initially planned as purely intra-church celebrations, the celebrations received all-Union status. The Millennium celebrations and the events of the previous months mark a real turn in church politics in the Soviet Union.
The Millennium celebrations and the events of the previous months mark a real turn in Gorbachev's church policy. The emergence in 1988 of a trend towards genuine freedom of religion is due to the fact that the Soviet state, at first slowly and then increasingly quickly, plunged into economic, political and moral chaos, as well as the impossibility of further state control over the Church.
Millennium Celebrations became such a genuine triumph for the Russian Orthodox Church, which believers could not imagine before this event. Gorbachev used the anniversary for his own purposes, to advertise his own activities. Most likely, it was important for him to win the trust of the West. Many festival events were widely broadcast on central television. Among other things, at the last moment a gala concert was organized at the Bolshoi Theater, a reception was arranged with Prime Minister Ryzhkov, and so on.
Even on the eve of the celebrations, special courtesy towards the Church on the part of the state was noted. She was given monasteries that were important for Russian Orthodoxy: the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage (Kaluga) and the Tolgsky Monastery (Yaroslavl) - both, of course, in a ruined state. The patriarch and clergy were increasingly able to address the population through the media. Finally, mention should be made of the construction of a temple in honor of the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia, the laying of a foundation stone was accompanied by a service with the participation of Patriarch Pimen. The construction of church buildings in the Soviet Union was very rare, and the construction of a new church in the Moscow region, according to the ideas of that time, literally became a sensation. The Patriarch uttered words that explained the meaning of this event in Soviet conditions: “So, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future temple... in memory of all our compatriots who laid down their lives in defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland in the Patriotic Wars” (Doc. 262).
In his interview with Izvestia on April 9, 1988, Patriarch Pimen, in his characteristic manner, mentioned the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927 as fundamental for the Russian Orthodox Church in the USSR (Doc. 265). The Patriarch still considered it necessary to express the following thoughts: “...The children of the Russian Orthodox Church, who are citizens of the Soviet Union, live in the conditions of a socialist society, the program of which, in our opinion, is truly highly humane and therefore close to Christian ideals.” In 1988, uncompromising criticism of state policy towards the Church still seemed inappropriate to the Russian hierarchs.
April 29, 1988, a few weeks before the start of the Millennium celebrations, Gorbachev received Patriarch Pimen and members of the Holy Synod in the Kremlin. This meeting took place in front of television cameras around the world - the head of the party and the Patriarch, smiling, they shook hands with each other. It was then that Gorbachev defined the Baptism of Rus' in Kyiv 1000 years ago as follows: “... this is a significant milestone on the centuries-old path of development of national history, culture, Russian statehood” (Doc. 256). However, basically, his speech was a typical example of Soviet phraseology, intended to describe the relationship between the Church and the state in the USSR (“In the name of real equality and real freedom, believers and non-believers made the first socialist revolution in history, worked side by side, building building of socialism").
Even before the start of the Church Jubilee the relics, which were stored in the state museums of the Moscow Kremlin, were transferred(Doc. 257) - the first step in the direction that later led to the transfer of the relics of other Russian saints, including St. Seraphim of Sarov. Gorbachev made a significant “gift” to the Church on the eve of the Millennium itself - he returned the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the Russian Orthodox Church, first its oldest part, then later buildings and larger buildings.
Very important event, dedicated to the Millennium, the Local Council appeared. Until this time, Local Councils had been convened only three times in the Soviet Union. The First Council of 1917-1918, convened after the February Revolution under the Kerensky government, was forced to finish its work in mid-1918 after the October Revolution. The following took place: on the occasion of the election of a new Patriarch after the death of Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky) in 1945 and in 1971 - after the death of Patriarch Alexy (Simansky). At the Council of 1971, Metropolitan Pimen (Izvekov) was elected Patriarch. 17 years were to pass before the 1988 Council was convened. Enough problems and questions had accumulated that were awaiting decisions by the Local Council, and Gorbachev’s “new thinking” provided the Church with unexpected opportunities to expand publishing activities and open new educational institutions, for non-liturgical forms of catechesis and charitable activities and mercy.
The rector of the Moscow Theological schools, Archbishop Alexander (Timofeev) of Dmitrovsky, said in his report that no one had previously dared to say about the low level of teaching, the poor state of libraries and textbooks, the lack of highly qualified theologians, that “certain branches of church science are in a neglected state"* (Doc. 264).
The Holy Council called on all Old Believers to enter into fraternal dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate(Doc. 261). A similar call was sent by the Local Council in 1971, but, apart from a few individual projects on joint publishing activities, since then there has been no dialogue or mutual cooperation. A review of the historical path of the Russian Orthodox Church, published in the ICC immediately after the anniversary, shows how much pressure the Church is still under, despite all the optimistic statements. The review states that the so-called Decree on the separation of Church and state on January 23, 1918 led “to a radical change in our church life. Freed from subordination to the state, the Russian Orthodox Church was given the opportunity to establish itself independently... It marked the beginning of new relations based on state non-intervention to the ecclesiastical region..." The Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of July 29, 1927 also receives a certain positive assessment: "The Declaration... clearly defined the positive position of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to the Soviet state" (Doc. 258).
The Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, in force until 1988, was approved by the Local Council in 1945, at which Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) was elected Patriarch. Many important points of this Charter (for example, in Section IV - “On parishes”) were significantly changed at the peak of Khrushchev’s persecution of the Church in 1961, when at a specially convened Council of Bishops the parish rector was deprived of leadership of the parish. The "executive body" became the only governing body of the parish. Article 14 of the Decree “On Religious Associations” of 1929/1975 gave the commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs the exclusive right to independently determine the staffing of the “executive body”, which, from the point of view of the law, was outside church jurisdiction: “Registration bodies are given the right to remove members of the executive body religious society...individuals" (Doc. PO). With the help of this article, the authorities justified each case of their interference in the staffing of the “executive body” (see interview with Bishop Pimen of Saratov, Doc. 248).
The new charter puts an end to this: the parish “... is under the canonical control of the diocesan bishop and under the leadership of the priest-rector appointed by him” (VIII-1). “At the head of each parish community is a rector” (VIII-9). He fulfills all those duties in the parish administration that were taken away from him in 1961. “The rector, who by his position is an indispensable member of the parish, is elected as the chairman of the parish meeting” (VIII-25). In general, we can call the Charter of 1988 an attempt by the Local Council to continue the traditions of the Charter of the Local Council of 1917-1918, the main idea of which was to include the principle of conciliarity in the Charter.
Celebrations will be held throughout Russia today on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the repose of the Most Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of Rus'. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of All Rus' of Moscow will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior. A reception will be held in the Kremlin on behalf of the country's President Vladimir Putin.
Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir
Vladimir the Baptist, Vladimir the Great, Vladimir the Red Sun - that’s all famous names ruler of Rus', who in 978, according to legend, seized the throne in Kyiv. He was known as an aggressive pagan who killed, got drunk and committed adultery, but in 988 he converted to Orthodoxy, and, as a true believer and renounced everything vain and godless, then baptized Rus', starting with his squad. At Holy Baptism, Vladimir was named Vasily. After accepting Christianity, Prince Vladimir performed many feats in the name of Orthodox faith and strengthening the Russian state, uniting tribes in the name of strengthening Rus'. And today this holiday, first of all, has a unifying meaning for all Orthodox Slavic states: it is very important in our time of troubles, When internecine war among the Orthodox Slavic peoples brought a lot of grief and claimed many human lives.
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
Ceremonial services will be held in all Orthodox churches, including in Crimea, on the territory of this peninsula, in Chersonesus, where Prince Vladimir received Baptism in 988. A festive service will be held in all Orthodox churches, followed by a mass prayer service and a procession of the Cross. In Crimea, a mass baptism of children and adults will take place in the waters of the Black Sea.
In Ukraine, festive divine services will be held everywhere, in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra divine liturgy. A lot of events, both secular and church, are planned, but the center of today's celebrations is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, where thousands of people gathered for the morning solemn liturgy. This is the center of attraction for Kyiv Orthodox believers, where 8 Miracle-working icons Mother of God.
Holy relics of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir
The monastery of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra itself is directly connected with the history of the Baptism of Prince Vladimir. It was there, before the founding of the monastery, that the residence of Prince Vladimir was located, and after his death for a long time in the main cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Assumption, a particle of the holy relics, the honorable head of Prince Vladimir, was kept. The 1000th anniversary of the death of Prince Vladimir is widely celebrated here. In Ukraine today is the main day of celebration. Celebrations will take place throughout the country; many events in the Ukrainian capital are dedicated to this important Orthodox life event. Services will be held in Orthodox churches, as well as concerts, exhibitions, and it is expected that today the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, will personally take part in the celebrations.
Baptism of Great Rus'
Sevastopol, along with Vladimir, Kiev, Moscow, celebrates Orthodox holiday Sevastopol. Along with other cities, the feast of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in this city, which is also called “Russian Bethlehem”, “the cradle of Orthodoxy”, the spiritual center of Russia - Chersonese - celebrates the holiday 1027 years after the baptism and adoption of Orthodoxy by Prince Vladimir. Today the celebrations here are special, because today marks the 1000th anniversary of the death of Prince Vladimir. Celebrations for this occasion in Sevastopol began on July 26 with a naval procession of the cross: the relics of St. Vladimir were loaded onto a boat-yacht. He traveled around the entire Sevastopol Bay, and yesterday evening the relics were returned to Sevastopol.
Vladimir the Baptist
Today, the celebrations in Sevastopol began at dawn: at 6 in the morning, a procession of thousands of people from the center of Sevastopol passed to the St. Vladimir Cathedral, where the Holy Divine Liturgy will then take place. Metropolitans of the Kuban region, as well as clergy from Kazakhstan and all regions of Russia, came to this prayer service in order to share this holy holiday with the entire Orthodox world.
After the religious procession in Chersonesus at 6 pm a festive concert will take place.
The great Orthodox holiday of the Baptism of Rus' and the 1000th anniversary of the repose of Vladimir
It's always like this!
You scour, dig the ground... And someone has already written about something like this a long time ago!
I present it to your attention, gentlemen!
I just dug it yesterday...
Just insert pictures...
Bychkov A.A.
1000TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAPTISM OF Rus', OR WHAT FAITH THE PRINCE ACCEPTED
VLADIMIR THE SAINT
The Church claims that Vladimir Svyatoslavich accepted the Orthodox, Christian faith in 988, which is why it considers him a Holy Prince.
Let us carefully consider all the documents and all the evidence about how the faith developed from paganism to Orthodoxy in Rus'.
The main sources about how Vladimir accepted Orthodoxy are the Greek “A detailed narrative of how the Rosov people were baptized” and the Russian “The Tale of Bygone Years.”
The “detailed narrative” reports that Vladimir sat in his city and thought - in the city his people adhere to four religions and cannot unite around the only correct one.
“Some embraced and honored the faith of the Jews as the greatest and ancient, while others respected the faith of the Persians and clung to it, others honored the Syrian faith, and others adhered to the faith of the Hagarians.” So, before adopting Orthodoxy, as we see, the people of Kiev were Judaists, fire-worshipping pagans, Muslims, while the rest adhered to the Syrian faith, under which I suspect Nestorianism, one of the directions of Christian teaching.
And Vladimir sent ambassadors to Rome - they really liked the Catholic worship, he wanted to accept this faith, but then he was advised to check the Greek faith. He sent the same ambassadors again, this time to Constantinople. The ambassadors were presented with rich gifts, and they liked the Greek rituals much more. They returned, praised the Greek faith, and Vladimir decided not to send ambassadors anywhere else - and it was so clear which faith should be accepted, and he accepted the Greek faith. Surprisingly, the ambassadors were not at all interested in the teachings of the faith, but only in rituals. However, one fact remains - they accepted the Greek faith.
What do Russian chronicles say? Vladimir sits in Kyiv and makes sacrifices to the pagan gods. And ambassadors came to him from different nations with an offer to accept the true faith. Jews praise their faith. He asks them: “Where is your land?” Having found out that God had turned away from them and deprived them of their homeland, naturally, he did not accept such a faith, since God himself had turned away from them. He answered the Catholics simply, without further ado: “Our fathers did not accept your faith, and I will not accept it.”
Muslims came and said: “Accept our faith as the most correct one. Pray to one god. You can’t drink vodka, but you can have several wives.” The fact that you can have many wives is good, but the fact that you can’t drink vodka is worthless, because “vodka is fun for us and we can’t live without it.”
If it weren’t for Vladimir’s love for the Green Serpent, they could have converted to Islam, although he was finally dissuaded by the Greeks, who informed Vladimir that Muslim women, oh horror! having oral sex. “Pugh, what an abomination!” - Vladimir exclaimed and flatly renounced the Muslim faith. And, naturally, in gratitude for the warning, he accepted the Greek faith. Which one? Arianism, of course. For it is precisely about the subsistence of Christ that the Tale speaks.
Due to the fact that Arianism was recognized as a heresy several centuries before Vladimir, in 1666 they had to re-accept the faith - and they accepted Greek Orthodoxy. This is how we can briefly convey information from Russian chronicles. But only Greek and Russian legends say this, and both of them report that Rus' was baptized under Vladimir Patriarch of Constantinople Photius. Several questions arise: if Photius and Vladimir were contemporaries, then when were they born and when did they die? Why does Vladimir accept Arianism, which was condemned as a heresy in Constantinople long before Vladimir? Are there Christian graves in Rus' that belong to Russians?
And this is where we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Firstly, Patriarch Photius died in 886. Vladimir was born in 942, that is, 56 years later. Therefore, there was no way that Vladimir could have received baptism from Photius. He did not rise from the dead! Secondly, he could not accept Arianism from Constantinople.
Moreover, Russian chronicles do not even know where exactly Vladimir himself was baptized!
Several cities are named. The Scandinavians, who knew well what was happening in Rus', generally believe that Vladimir was a pagan until his death.
Yes, there is a problem with graves. Excavations by Donetsk archaeologists of cemeteries of northerners give us burials “with lining,” that is, according to the Muslim tradition. Christian tombstones appeared in Russia only in 1498. Before this, it was very difficult to distinguish the graves of Christians from the graves of pagans; they were no different.
What do not Greek or Russian legends tell us, but Latin or Muslim ones? And what does archeology give us? Let's cover this too.
“Hisam-uddin the son of Sheref-uddin from Bolgar says in his history: “The Bulgarian people accepted Islam in the month of Ramadan in the ninth year of the Hijri during the life of the Prophet at the invitation of three respected ashabs: Abdurrahman son of Zubeir, Zubeir son of Jagda and Talha son of Usmanov.
Zubair was very knowledgeable in the Turkic language, and remained in Bolgar, marrying Tuibik, daughter of Aidar Khan. He lived there for another 25 years and died. And his companions both returned to Medina. And since from this Zubeir son of Jagda some residents of Bulgar and its environs accepted the Muslim teaching, then, according to Hisamuddin Sherefuddinov, there were many followers, men and women” (Marjani).
And although Hisamuddin ibn Sherefuddin reports about the Turks of the city of Bolgar, and therefore, this should have nothing to do with the Russians, the Bulgarians of the Volga region are a people of mixed origin - from Slavs and Turks, as eastern authors report. And the Arab scholar Sharaf az-Zaman Tahir Marwazi (12th century) directly classifies Russians as Turks. That is, the Russians of the 12th century were a Turkic people.
And here is what Abu Hamid ibn abd ar-Rahim al-Garnati al-Andalusi, peace be upon him and his ancestors, who visited our region in 1131-1153, says about the Kievans of the 12th century (as we know - the Slavs): “And I arrived in city of the country of the Slavs, which is called Kyiv. And in it there are thousands of Maghrebians, who look like Turks, speaking the Turkic language. And they are known in that country under the name Pechenegs. And I met a man from Baghdad, whose name was Karim ibn Fairuz al-Jauhari, he was married to the daughter of one of these Muslims. I arranged Friday prayers for these Muslims and taught them the khutbah, but they did not know the Friday prayer.”
Well, you have to! They live in Kyiv itself, but they cannot read the Friday prayer correctly! But this means that Kyiv of the 12th century is a Muslim city. Where is Orthodoxy there? The people of Kiev were not very knowledgeable Muslims.
But we know that back in the 10th century the Church of the Tithes was built.
True, the KSIIMK (Vol. I) contains a report on the excavations of the Tithe Church, which states that the church stands on a ditch, which was filled in during the construction of the church. Archaeologically, the filling of the ditch dates back to the 13th century! How Christians were able to build a church in the 10th century on that ditch, which would only be filled in 200 years later - I cannot say. But local Muslims had to pray somewhere, probably in Sofia of Kyiv, because there are no mosques in Kyiv. We have to admit that at that time church and mosque were synonymous. An interesting name in the Old Russian language for the church building is ROPAT, from the Arabic “ribat” - “fortified monastery”. So? Is Sophia of Kiev the burial place in which the Kievans of the 12th century prayed? In “Zadonshchina” it is reported that after plundering the property of the Tatars, Russian soldiers bring “NASYCHEV” to their wives. What is “nasycheve”?
This is the name of a prayer rug in Russian, from the Arabic “nasyj”. It is clear that in a church without a prayer rug it would be difficult for wives to pray.
But let's go back to antiquity. As you know, Kyiv was founded by Kiy, the first prince of Kyiv. What do we know about him? It turns out that Kiy was from Khorezm (his real name was
- Kuya), after the resettlement of part of the Khorezmian Muslims to Khazaria, where they were settled along the borders of the state, Kuya became the wazir of Khazaria, his position after his death went to his son, Ahmad ben Kuya. The 10th century historian al-Masudi writes: “In this Khazar country, the Muslims are the predominant force because they constitute the royal army. They are known in this country as ARSII (yas), and they are newcomers from the country of Khorezm. In ancient times, following the advent of Islam, drought and pestilence appeared in their country, and therefore they came to the Khazar king. They were strong and brave people, and the Khazar king relied on them in his troops. ...In addition, they hold the position of viziers. Currently, the vizier is one of them - Ahmad ben Kuya. ...The inhabitants of Arsia also have Muslim judges.” ARSANIA - after all, this is one of the “Slavic” countries, along with SLAVNYA and KUYAVIA!
Kiev was also ruled by Askold (Askel), who was married to the daughter of the khan of the Volga Bulgars, whose vassal he was (this is evidenced by Ibn Fadlan).
Askold was killed by Oleg, a Norwegian by nationality, but our Grand Duke.
The problem is that he was a subject of the Khazar state, and besides, the Radziwill Chronicle includes a drawing - Oleg is fighting in the Balkans. But under what banner? On the banner is the Arabic inscription “DIN” (which means “FAITH”, “RELIGION”). Why in Arabic?
Well, this is understandable - they have not yet accepted Christianity and therefore are not yet familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet. We are not familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet, but there are no problems with the Arabic alphabet.
It is interesting that in the lands of Belarus and Lithuania a huge number of manuscripts written in Belarusian and Polish by ARABIC have been preserved. At the same time, there is not a single leaf in Turkic. Therefore, in the old days the main alphabet of the Slavs was Arabic! Byzantine writers also report that the Slavs were closely connected with the Arabs back in the 7th century. Thus, Theophanes, under the year 675, reports: “20,000 Slavs from the army of Emperor Justinian II went over to the Arab commander Muhammad, who, with their help, three years later captured many Byzantines.” Nikifor, Leon, and Kedrin talk about the same thing.
Thank God, Olga is not a Muslim! However... If we turn to Russian chronicles, we find out that Olga is the daughter of a Polovtsian Tarkhan, “and the Polovtsians upheld the law of the Mohammeds,” that is, Olga comes from a Muslim family. True, Russian chronicles report that in 955 she was baptized in Constantinople (however, Byzantine sources do not confirm this, and Scandinavian sources refute this) or in Moscow (however, we celebrate the founding of Moscow, dating this event to the 12th century). Svyatoslav was not a Christian - everyone agrees with this. (Although he has a Catholic cross on his seal!) Znoiko, in the article “On Svyatoslav’s campaigns to the East” (ZhMNP, December 1901, pp. 273-274) writes: “In order to sell the raw materials produced in Rus', it is necessary to conduct trade with the Muslim peoples of Asia, which could only be done by Muslims - the Khazars, Bulgarians, or you have to convert to Islam yourself. Therefore, we had to trade with Greece.” He started so well and ended so wrong.
After all, Svyatoslav did not trade with Greece, but fought! They traded with the East.
And what do eastern authors say about Vladimir? Muhammad al-Aufi reports: “The Russians... are constantly engaged in robbery and know only one way to get food for themselves - the sword. If one of them dies and a son and daughter remain after him, then all the property is given to the daughter, and the son is given nothing but a sword, saying to him: “Your father obtained property for himself with a sword.” This was the case until they became Christians in 300 AH. Having converted to Christianity, they sheathed those swords. But since they did not know any other way to earn food for themselves, and the previous one was now closed to them, their affairs now fell into decay, and it became difficult for them to live. Therefore, they felt inclined towards the religion of Islam and became Muslims. They were prompted to this by the desire to gain the right to wage war for faith. They sent envoys to the Khorezm Shah. There were four ambassadors, from the relatives of the king, who ruled completely independently and bore the title BULADMIR, just as the Turkestan king bears the title HAKAN, and the Bulgarian king bears the title VLADAVATS. When the ambassadors came to the Khorezm Shah, he was very happy about their desire to convert to Islam, granted them honorary gifts and sent one of the imams to teach them the rules of Islam. After this they all became Muslims. They make trips to distant lands, constantly travel the sea on ships, attack every ship they come across and rob it.” Who are the Russians constantly fighting with? With Christian countries, of course. Russian chronicles constantly report wars with the Greeks and Bulgarians, Crimean Christian cities and Poles. Only once did they attack Sarkel, and then Igor asked for forgiveness - Emperor Roman knocked him out! Who do they trade with? This is evidenced by eastern dirhams, found in abundance in Russian treasures (Byzantine coins are almost never found). Tolstov S.P. (In the footsteps of the ancient Khorezmian civilization. 1948. P. 261) writes: “In Islam, Vladimir could look for an ideological weapon... the dogma of the struggle for faith and the prospects of an alliance with the countries of Islam promised the successful development of military expansion against the old enemy - Byzantium.” Note that Byzantium is our long-time enemy! Why accept the enemy's faith? Ibn Fadlan reports about the Prince of Bolgar Almaz Vasilyevich Vladavatsa and his adoption of Islam, who on May 12, 922 presented the prince with a turban, which has since been called CHELMA - something that is worn on the forehead. True, with the date 300 AH. Turkish historian Mohammed Katib does not agree, reporting the date of the Russians' adoption of Islam in 333 AH. - and this is the date of Olga’s “baptism”. But the Byzantines also report that Islam was in Kyiv even before St. Vladimir (see above). But after Vladimir - Christianity? Let's see. In 1947, on the ruins of a late 11th century temple in the estate of the Kyiv Art Institute, during archaeological work, shards of broken amphorae were discovered, on one of them there was an inscription ARABIC - the name of the owner of the amphora - KABUS.
Accident? Well, let’s take the book by K.N. Gupalo “Hem in Ancient Kyiv” (Kyiv,
1982. P. 82). It is reported that a casting mold with an Arabic inscription was found in Kyiv, which can be read as YAZID (due to scratches, it can also be read differently - TURK). This find dates back to the X-XII centuries. Late korchagi were also found there, on one of them there is an inscription in CYRILLIC - it reads “MSTSLVL KRCHG”. The inscription is written as a Muslim could write, accustomed to writing in Arabic, not paying attention to vowel sounds. What do written sources say? Letter from Matthew, Bishop of Krakow, to Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clervon, about the conversion of the Russians, which should be undertaken: “But that Russian people, like a countless multitude, like the starry sky, and does not observe the rules of the Orthodox faith and the true religion of the establishment... Christ He admits it only by name, but completely denies it by deeds. The mentioned people do not want to be uniform with either the Greek or the Latin Church. But, different from one and the other, the sacrament does not separate either of them” (Schaveleva N.I. Polish Latin-language medieval sources. M., 1990). “The Oldest Rhymed Livonian Chronicle” (13th century) reports: “Bishop German of Dorpat at that time began to quarrel with the Russians. They wanted to rise up against Christianity as before.”
Let's look at the princely helmets - the Cap of Jericho or the Shishak of Prince F.I. Mstislavsky have inscriptions in Arabic. You can see verse 13 of sura 61 on the helmet of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. Many people think that some eastern masters, even before the prince acquired the helmet, wrote these verses somewhere in Muslim. Alas! The master who made this helmet is known - MIKITA DAVYDOV. “The Arabic inscription, as we see, is a common feature of rich Russian helmets” (Bobrinsky A.A. ZRAO. New series. T.H. Issue 1-2. P. 321).
An interesting fact is that one of the Russian princes was called Ivan Kalita. What is Kalita? Let's take the Old Slavonic text and read: “They (the Latins) honor that pope that we kalita.” That is, KALITA is the same for Russians as the Pope is for Catholics. In the Russian language in the old days there was no sound “F”, so we speak and write according to the tradition of LIBRARY, and not vivliofika, as it should be. So “KALITA” is the Arabic word - “CALIF”. It turns out that Ivan Calif was the leader of a community of Muslim believers! Therefore, Old Russian coins (XIV-XV centuries) up to Ivan the Terrible have either only Arabic inscriptions, or Arabic and Russian at the same time. Some argue that it was supposedly because of fear of the Tatars that we wrote in Arabic. I wonder which Tatars Vasily III was so afraid of that he stamped on his coin the inscription: GRAND DUKE VASILI (in Russian) LA ILLAHI LA ILLAHA MUKHAM-MADDUN RASUL LLAYAHI (in Arabic), which means “there is no Allah but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger"? And who was Tsar Ivan afraid of? On his coin, the entire inscription is in Russian, and the name of the king is in Arabic.
Herberstein met with Vasily III and in his book he places an image of the king - in a Persian robe and turban. Stepan Razin also wore a turban. Mikhalon Litvin reports that Muscovites and Tatars do not drink wine, selling it to Christians. “They are convinced that in this way they are exterminating Christian blood, fulfilling the will of God.”
The author of the book “Haft Iklim” (XVI century) is indignant, reporting about the Russians that those who adorned themselves with the clothes of Islam for some reason retained a passion for pork meat! Can you imagine what a nightmare - Russians eat pork! Oh horror! Well, that’s how we are, we pray to Allah and eat pork! The nickname “Peter the Mufiy” is also of interest; he shouted curses at Hetman Zamoyski from the heights of the fortress walls of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery (1581). Mufiy - who is this? Schema monk? In order not to delay the proceedings, let us consider just one more example, the testimony of Afanasy Nikitin, the author of “Walking across the Three Seas.” Having finished the manuscript, Athanasius writes a prayer to the Lord, which in modern publications is presented as follows: “In the name of the Merciful Lord and Jesus the Spirit of God...” It is not clear why Athanasius calls Jesus the Spirit of God? But in the original it is written somewhat differently, it should be written like this: BISMILLYA RAHMAN RAHIM. ALLAH AKBAR. ISA RUCH OALLO. ALLAH SALAM. ALLAH AKBAR. LA ILLAHY LA ILLAHU. ALLAH IS THE FIRST DIGER... This is not Orthodoxy - this is Islam. BUT... the formula LA ILLAYAHI LA ILLAYAH does not have the ending MUHAMMADUN RASULLU LLYAHI. “The faithful lived in azure tents, but the Prophet was not known on these mountains” (Nizami).
Islam without a Prophet is Russian ORTHODOLOGY. We consider the Koran to be the holy book, we write and pray in Arabic, but we call ourselves Orthodox Christians! Moreover, they quarreled and parted ways with the Tatars only because of the missing ending of the formula, for the Russians recognized only the fact that ISA RUKH OALLO (Jesus the Spirit of Allah), and the Tatars added MAHOMET - ROSSOLLA (Muhammad - the Justice of Allah). The Tatars accepted the Arabic formula “THERE IS NO ALLAH BUT ALLAH, AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER,” while the Russians considered it sufficient reason to consider themselves Christians, since they believe that “JESUS is the SPIRIT OF ALLAH.”
But then the year 1499 came. For the first time, a translation of the BIBLE appears in the SLAVIC LANGUAGE. Before this, no one had a Bible in Slavic. And our ancestors believed that this was simply a complete translation of the same Koran. And they accepted him, continuing to pray to the Lord and observe Muslim customs.
“Bulletin of Europe” No. 4 for 1828 lists 16 common cultural traditions between Muslims and Old Believers. I could add three more. But the main features are the following: like Muslims, Old Believers wash themselves before prayer, and if water is not available, they wash themselves with earth. Shaving a beard is a great sin. Even grabbing a person by the beard is an insult. If an Orthodox or Catholic came to them, then after him the dishes were thrown away as if they were spoiled. (Orthodox - he will ruin the dishes!!!) But, thank God, the year 1666 came. Nikon decided to introduce a new faith and adopted Bogomil Christianity from Bulgaria. After that, we began to call our faith Greek Orthodox, but we cannot unite with the Greeks. Why? I don't know. Not fate, probably.
P.S. Everything that was written above does not apply to the lands of Western Ukraine and the Principality of Novgorod. Novgorod was not originally Russian, it was inhabited by tribes of Lechitic origin (mixed with Chud), they are a West Slavic tribe, until the 13th century they maintained close ties with the city of Volin, and in the villages the faith was pagan, but in the city there really was Christianity. And in Kyiv itself, some princes, also, focusing on the West, converted to Christianity. And the first Christian was Yaroslav the Wise himself. Izyaslav and some others were Christians. But Christianity did not spread beyond the princely family for a long time. Christianity was alien to the people. And only under the influence of the Poles, somewhere in the 14th century, this teaching gradually began to penetrate the people, and primarily in Western Ukraine.
Some Russian princes and princesses had 2 christian name- one is Catholic, the other is Orthodox. Thus, Olisava-Gertrude had a son, Yaropolk, Orthodox name Gavril, and the Catholic one - Peter. Mstislav Vladimirovich - Theodore and Harald. In a Catholic environment they are Catholics, in an Orthodox environment they are Orthodox, there are no problems. And why shouldn’t they respect the local gods when they are in Italy, Germany, Sweden or Greece? For pagans, when they come to any place, they must pray to the local gods, and not meddle with their charter in a foreign monastery. But then, in a Muslim area, naturally, you have to be a Muslim. So the names Svyatoslav-Vladimir-Vasily-Kavus could well have been borne by the same person - Saint Vladimir. - “Hello our sovereign for many years to come, may Mohammed give you glory and honor above all the world.” (Peter Golden Keys.
XVIII century).
Christianity was widespread in the Novgorod land. Christians were called after Christ - PEASANTS.
The Vladimir-Suzdal land was more inclined towards Islam, and its inhabitants were called BESSERMENS. Later, the Besermen, who did not convert to Christianity, joined the Tatar nation. Those who retained faith in the pagan gods were called Pagans (hence the expletive - TRASH).
Interesting message: “The Aramaic language at the end of the Persian period split into three main dialects, leaving a significant written language: a) western - Palestinian, b) eastern - Babylonian, c) Mesopotamian or Syrian. The Aramaic parts of the Bible (the Book of Ezra and the Prophet Daniel) were written in the Palestinian dialect... The Savior and the apostles spoke in it, and the oldest oral gospel tradition was expounded and, perhaps, written down” (“Christianity.” Encyclopedic Dictionary. Vol. 1. M, 1993. P. 113). Therefore, Christ spoke Palestinian, as did Yasser Arafat.
ORTHODOXY AND MUSLIM ON THE DIVISION OF CHURCHES INTO ORTHODOX AND MUSLIM AND ON THE EXCLUSION OF ALLAH FROM THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
(Orthodox Interlocutor. 1878 for October and November)
Abul-Qasim ibn Abdullah ibn Mutalib, after his death nicknamed Muhammad (that is, “The Glorious One”), was the founder of a new Christian sect - Islam.
Morozov (Christ. Vol. 6) indicates that MUSLIM from 578 to 1180 was a Christian sect, for “MUSLIM IS PROTESTANTISM OF THE EASTERN SECT.”
John of Damascus (685-755) served as first adviser at the court of the caliph. His father, Sergius-Mansur, was the state treasurer at the Umayyad court. Under the second caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur (754-775), Christian liturgical books were translated into Arabic, and Christianity was preached in churches in Arabic. Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741), in a letter to Omar II, notes that Christians of his time already owned many lives of Muhammad, “written by Christian bishops during the lifetime of the Prophet himself.”
As you can see, Christians were keenly interested in the personality of the holy man and did not consider his teaching something alien. And why shouldn’t they agree with the Prophet, who recognized Christ as the Word of God, although he rejected his personal, separate existence. (That is, Jesus is not a separate God, but only a part of God, his Word.) He even recognized the incarnation of the Son of God, but rejected the reality of his body and adhered to docetism. The Byzantines translated to Greek The Koran, where troubles begin for the followers of the Prophet.
The Edessa monk Bartholomew writes: “In your Koran I found only fabrications and obscene speech; but I have not found anything that inspires and inspires the Word of God.” When translated, the concept of God SSAMAD is translated by the word “OLOSPHEROS”.
This concept was adopted (appropriated) by the ORTHODOX CHURCH and was included in the ORDINARY OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE MUHAMMEDIANS INTO ORTHODOXY. This is how Muslims began to be considered Orthodox people by the church.
The problems began with the translation of the Koran into Greek.
The word “infinite” was translated as “OLOSPHEROS” - “ALL-SPHERE”, i.e. “permeating all spheres of the universe.” When reading it, it was distorted and understood as “OLOSPHYROS” - “FORGED”.
And in the Byzantine interpretation it turned out: “God is one in himself, solidly, the whole mass, united as if by a hammer and having a spherical appearance, which has not given birth, has not been born, to which there is nothing like in the world.” Surah 112 of the Koran was explained with these words.
So God didn't have children? Therefore, Jesus is not the Son of God. And God is forged
(possibly made of metal).
This was enough for anathema.
And in 1180, the church hierarchs of Constantinople proclaimed an ANATHEMA: “EXCLUSION TO THE GOD OF MAHOMET, OF WHOM IT IS SAID THAT HE IS A GOD, ENTIRELY FORGED BY A HAMMER, WHO WAS NOT BEGOTTEN, WHO IS NOT BIRTH, TO WHOM NO ONE IS LIKE.”
Notice that GOD HIMSELF was excommunicated from the church!
And Manuel Comnenus was embarrassed by the formula of the anathema, seeing in it a blasphemy against the true God, and proposed to remove this anathema from the books.
The Patriarch of Feodosia and his supporters refused to change the text of the excommunication.
But Manuel published the book “DEFENDING THE WORDS OF MAHOMET,” condemning those who, through ignorance and imprudence, anathematize the true God.”
For the emperor, Allah is the true God.
The Patriarch, for his part, called this work dangerous for the church, urging people to beware of it as poison. In response, Manuel called the patriarch and his supporters “worldwide fools” and demanded the convening of a Council.
But... "As Muslims say, GOD GAVE MUHAMMAD THE POWER OF 40 MEN so that he could copulate more often and with more women than anyone else."
This is what “a certain Muslim” said. And this was enough for NIKITAS CHONIATES to declare that in paradise Muslims, both men and women, will be of enormous stature AND WILL HAVE 40 CHILDREN MEMBERS, AND WILL CONTINUALLY PRACTICE LOVE IN THE FACE OF GOD, SINCE GOD IS NOT SUBJECT TO SHAME .
It was too much. Do not take this into arms against heretics...
And at the Council, Bishop Eustathius of Thessaloniki declared: “I would be completely unworthy if I recognized as the true God a bestial molester, a teacher and mentor in all vile deeds.”
And after these words, uttered by the vile lips of the blasphemer, spewing blasphemy against the Lord, not based on a single line holy quran, no one dared to defend Muslims.
So the words of one scoundrel split the united church into Greek Orthodoxy and ORTHODITY. This was in May 1180.
But still, the anathema was corrected: “ANATHEMA TO MAHOMET AND ALL HIS TEACHING AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS.”
Since 602, the faithful and the Orthodox prayed in the same churches, on the domes of which an eight-pointed star in a crescent shone.
Then the faithful left only the crescent, and the Orthodox, having slightly distorted the star, turning it into a cross with rays, left this cross with a crescent.
Such a cross can still be seen on Russian churches.
But in 1180 this excommunication affected only Byzantium. Rus' remained orthodox for a long time, until in 1666 the “CORRECTION OF THE BOOKS” took place, when the old SCRIPTURES (actually, the texts of the Koran) were not confiscated, and the new Scripture (the Bible translated from Hebrew and Latin, and not from Greek to that same) did not begin to be imposed by force. This does not mean at all that in addition to the Koran, the Russians did not have the Gospels. Were. For the Gospels (INJIL) are books considered divine by Muslims. But gradually the Koranic texts were destroyed - sometimes by force, sometimes by fire, sometimes by dilapidation. It was not easy to rewrite them.
Only the Gospels remained in use, which could be ordered from copyists for a certain bribe.
So gradually the Old Believers fell out of use of the incomprehensible Koran and adopted the Gospel. But many Old Believers retained Muslim rituals.
But this is no longer so important. It is important to understand that Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy in Rus' until the 17th century constituted a single cultural layer.
Everyone was ORTHODOX before Nikon. And then the schism began. Separated
GREECO-ORTHODOX (NICONIANS), who for some unknown reason began to call themselves GREECO-Orthodox, since they could not unite with the Greek Church (although they later united with the NESTORIANS, excommunicated by the Greeks).
MUSLIMS, mainly the non-Russian population, separated. Russian Besermen joined the Tatar nation and disappeared into it.
The mass of OLD BELIEVERS has greatly thinned out, confined within national borders and constantly persecuted. Its inequality is evidenced by the fact that the authorities, confiscating churches built BEFORE the schism from museums, return them not to the Old Believers, who built them, but to the Nikonians, who took them away from the Old Believers in their time. That, perhaps, is all I would like to tell you about the adoption of faith in Rus'.
I did everything I could. BUT GOD KNOWS BETTER. Amen.
AFTERWORD
This concludes our book. I tried not to overload it with information about modern customs and traditions, rooted in deep pagan antiquity, because the volume of the book does not allow this.
The emphasis, as the reader has probably already noticed, was on the iconography of the mythological characters themselves. I considered this all the more important since the iconography of pagan gods is not reflected at all in Russian literature. It would be interesting to compare ideas about the appearance of gods in different areas of the Slavic world. As a preliminary, we can only note that the iconography shows the presence of six regions, the boundaries between which cannot yet be clearly delineated.
The first region where the most archaic images of gods (many-headed and beast-headed gods, beast-like, many-faced, very much reminiscent of the Indian pantheon) is LUZITSA. The second region is LECHIT (Poland, Novgorod land and northern Belarus). Unlike the rest of the Slavs, who considered the main deity of Svarog Dyya, the Lechites considered the Lizard to be such. This region has a strong Baltic influence, as well as Germanic and Finnish influences. The third region is MOSCOW, whose iconography is not at all different from Lithuanian. The fourth region is UKRAINE, where Iranian influence is very strong. The fifth region is BALKAN, where traces of Thracian and Turkic influence can be seen. And the sixth region is CZECH-MORAVIAN, where much is taken from the Celts, but the influence of the Iranians is noticeable, especially in Slovakia. However, it can still be argued that despite the differences in ideas about the appearance of the gods, the mythology was the same in all six regions, and even the names of the gods often sound the same, although the gods themselves sometimes look different.
In my book, I did not divide the characters into pagan and Christian; since Christianity is a religion of monotheism, as the Church preaches, then one single character, I think, will not overload pagan mythology. I hope that the reader himself will be able to distinguish this only Christian image, and all other characters, naturally, will, as I understand it, be pagan, that is, common to the people.
Now that Russian readers will be able to familiarize themselves with the iconography of pagan characters, let's hope that in Russian literature they will stop drawing gods as they please, which is especially the sin of neo-pagans who are trying to recreate a new pagan pantheon, based only on their opinion of how this pantheon should have been would look like, as well as in performances inspired by Indian and Iranian legends. The Vedic mythology of the Slavs is an invention of our century.
A prominent representative of the neo-pagan trend in our literature is the science fiction writer A.I. Asov.
I believe that there is no need to invent something that our ancestors already came up with long before us. Let's give priority to them.
Many of the drawings in this book may not always be successful, but I preferred to take ancient images from books of the 15th-17th centuries, in which the paper was often very dark and the printing was not always clear. I deliberately preferred the ancient images as more accurate. I think that readers will also prefer to have graphically, although not always professionally executed, but authentic drawings from ancient books.
