92 Vladimir I and Christianization
Learning Objective
- Outline the shift from pagan culture to Orthodox Christianity under the rule of Vladimir I
Key Points
- Vladimir I became the ruler of Kievan Rus’ after overthrowing his brother Yaropolk in 978.
- Vladimir I formed an alliance with Basil II of the Byzantine Empire and married his sister Anna in 988.
- After his marriage Vladimir I officially changed the state religion to Orthodox Christianity and destroyed pagan temples and icons.
- He built the first stone church in Kiev in 989, called the Church of the Tithes.
Terms
Constantinople
The capital of the Byzantine Empire.
Perun
The pagan thunder god that many locals, and possibly Vladimir I, worshipped before Christianization.
Basil II
The Byzantine emperor who encouraged Vladimir to convert to Christianity and offered a political marriage alliance with his sister, Anna.
Vladimir I
Vladimir I, also known as Vladimir the Great or Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great, ruled Kievan Rus’ from 980 to 1015 and is famous for Christianizing this territory during his reign. Before he gained the throne in 980, he had been the Prince of Novgorod while his father, Sviatoslav of the Rurik Dynasty, ruled over Kiev. During his rule as the Prince of Novgorod in the 970s, and by the time Vladimir claimed power after his father’s death, he had consolidated power between modern-day Ukraine and the Baltic Sea. He also successfully bolstered his frontiers against incursions from Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads during his reign.
Early Myths of Christianization
The original Rus’ territory was comprised of hundreds of small towns and regions, each with its own beliefs and religious practices. Many of these practices were based on pagan and localized traditions. The first mention of any attempts to bring Christianity to Rus’ appears around 860. The Byzantine Patriarch Photius penned a letter in the year 867 that described the Rus’ region right after the Rus’-Byzantine War of 860. According to Photius, the people of the region appeared enthusiastic about the new religion and he claims to have sent a bishop to convert the population. However, this low-ranking official did not successfully convert the population of Rus’ and it would take another twenty years before a significant change in religious practices would come about.
The stories regarding these first Byzantine missions to Rus’ during the 860s vary greatly and there is no official record to substantiate the claims of the Byzantine patriarchs. Any local people in small villages who embraced Christian practices would have had to contend with fears of change from their neighbors.
Vladimir I and His Rise to Power
The major player in the Christianization of the Rus’ world is traditionally considered Vladimir I. He was born in 958, the youngest of three sons, to the Rus’ king Sviatoslav. He ascended to the position of Prince of Novgorod around 969 while his oldest brother, Yaropolk, became the designated heir to the t