Moscow and Kiev, July 29, 2025
Photo: patriarchia.ru
The Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Churches that grew out of ancient Rus’ celebrated the feast of St. Vladimir the Great and the Baptism of Rus’ with solemnity yesterday.
In Moscow, the main celebration began with the Divine Liturgy at the ancient Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin, served by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with 10 brother hierarchs and a host of clergy, reports Patriarchia.ru.
At the end of the service, the Patriarch offered a homily reflecting on the prince who brought Christianity to Russia and the miraculous preservation of Orthodox faith throughout Russian history. He praised how the Russian people maintained their Orthodox faith even during the Soviet era’s severe persecution, crediting the Martyrs, Confessors, and faithful believers for keeping the faith alive despite official atheism.
Following the Liturgy, the traditional procession to the nearby monument to St. Vladimir was held. A reliquary with a particle of the remains of the Baptizer of Rus’ was carried in the prayerful march. A moleben to St. Vladimir was served before the large memorial.
In Kiev, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine led the service at the Church of St. Agapit of the Caves at the Kiev Caves Lavra, joined by 14 brother hierarchs and monastery and visiting clerics.
Following the reading of the Holy Gospel, Met. Onuphry offered a homily emphasizing that St. Vladimir’s greatness lay not only in baptizing the nation but in his own profound personal transformation through faith, serving as an example of how belief can change a person "”rom dark to light, from deceitful to sincere, from hateful to loving.”
Photo: uoc-news.church
The Metropolitan explained that while Baptism gives people the power to be good, love, endure, and live as builders rather than consumers, these spiritual gifts require constant nurturing through prayer, fasting, repentance, and good deeds—just as Prince Vladimir maintained “the fire of gracious burning in his soul.” He concluded by calling on all spiritual and physical descendants of Prince Vladimir to guard their faith and souls from “sinful water” that seeks to extinguish this inner fire.
After the Liturgy, a special prayer was read to St. Vladimir.
In Belarus, churches and monasteries rang their bells in unison at noon to mark the feast of the Baptism of Rus’.
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