It was said that July 24 was the time of suffering and thunderstorms. On this day, they prayed to the holy princess Olga, so that she would send good weather and help finish the harvest as quickly as possible. Also on July 24, they hurried to harvest rye and collect hay in shocks, since the weather during this period was rainy, and morning dew also did not contribute to keeping the mowing in good condition. They said, in accordance with signs, that the time to grow is very harmful for garden crops and, in particular, for cucumbers - they tried to cover them from moisture. The weather on Olga's day was humid and hot.
In Russia, the constellation Ursa Major was called Stozhary. In the Orthodox Church on July 24 they honored St. Olga, who did a lot for the adoption of Christianity in Russia. According to legend, Olga was the wife of Prince Igor, and the latter already noted her pious disposition when meeting with his future wife. Igor, seeing the girl, immediately ignited a passion for her and tried to persuade her to sin. However, Olga said that first he must marry her. Igor and Olga got married, and soon Prince Svyatoslav was born to them. However, the happy family did not live together for long, because Igor was killed by the Drevlyans during the collection of taxes. After that, the ruler of the Drevlyans invited Olga to marry him. She pretended to agree to do this, and lured the embassy of the Drevlyans to Kyiv, where she put them to death. After that, she ordered to burn the city of Iskorosten, the capital of the Drevlyans. The inhabitants of the city were either killed or sold into slavery. Of course, these legends say that Olga was a very cruel person. At the same time, her good deeds are known. So, the chronicles will contain information according to which Olga was actively engaged in arranging the economic and political life of her state. It was she who declared that the people for their own well-being need to accept the faith and become followers of religious teachings. First, Olga herself went to Constantinople to get acquainted with Christian doctrine and observe the church service. Convinced of the righteousness of the Christian faith, Olga was baptized, given the name Elena, and returned to Kyiv with icons and books. She converted many of her relatives to the faith and laid the foundation for the veneration of the Holy Mother of God. It is noteworthy that Olga's son, Svyatoslav, did not want to be baptized, and was a pagan. Despite Olga's efforts, there were very few adherents of the Christian faith during his reign. True, Olga nevertheless attracted her grandchildren to the Christian faith, and this paid off, because one of her grandchildren, Vladimir, was able to continue her work, under whom the baptism of Russia took place.
The people nicknamed Olga the Stradnitsa, since during this period the height of field work was observed. On July 24, the whole village usually went out to the meadows and fields. Someone was engaged in harvesting hay, and someone was picking mushrooms in the forest - in general, they did not sit at home.
Folk omens for July 24
- Thunder thundered on Efimya - it will be good to catch fish
- The booming thunder on July 24 portends quite heavy rain
- Shining Stozhar - a sign that predicts a good bear hunt
On July 24, Orthodox believers commemorate the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. First of all, she became famous not only for the fact that she cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for the death of her husband, Prince Igor, but also managed to strengthen the Old Russian state and, having been baptized herself, actively preached a new faith and contributed to the formation of Orthodoxy in Russia. Under Olga, the first Christian churches were built, preparations were made for the general baptism of Russia.
In the people this day is called "Olga-hay worm". Although the hay season continues, on this day there is a high probability of heavy rains with thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall and morning dew can destroy hay and make it unsuitable for livestock feed.
In the old days, on July 24, rye was harvested from the fields. Therefore, reapers and reapers have long prayed to Princess Olga. It was believed that such a prayer would help finish the work faster and contribute to a good harvest.
Elderly and younger members of the family went to the forest during the day to pick raspberries, from which they cooked tasty and healthy jam for the winter.
The constellation Ursa Major (Stozhary) is especially well seen on this day. Many signs are associated with him among the people. It is believed that this huge bucket, woven from stars, affects the weather, as well as the life of some plants and animals. Previously, people believed that it was around this constellation that all the heavenly bodies revolve.
Key points for the day:
- The constellation Ursa Major is located low - towards late leaf fall.
- The Big Dipper is bright, clearly visible - to a successful hunt for bears.
- Leeches rose to the surface of the water - to a strong wind, to a storm.
- The spider sits in the middle of the web - to the downpour.
- Thunder rumbles - the next day there will be good fishing. If the day is lean, the bite will be especially good.
- Deaf peals of thunder are heard in the distance - the rain will soon stop. Thunder rumbles loudly - to a heavy downpour.
The day of St. Princess Olga is a holiday known to the entire Orthodox world, and, of course, any true Christian believer knows what to do during it. The date of this celebration falls annually on July 24th.
The life of the great Kievan ruler is an example for modern women. The wise decisions and holy deeds of Princess Olga were not only reflected in the annals, but also earned high recognition from the Orthodox Church. In order to behave correctly on the day of remembrance of this extraordinary woman, you should learn more about her.
On Holguin's day, all birthday girls must definitely go to the temple and pray there, bowing before the icon of their heavenly patroness.
Princess Olga patronizes mothers and widows. A prayer is offered at the holy image to console a woman whose husband has died.
Unmarried girls can ask for a successful marriage. Mothers pray for the protection of their children.
If the husband left the family, the wife can turn to St. Olga with a request that he return.
Also, July 24 is believed to be harvest time, and thunderstorms often occur on this day. Therefore, Saint Olga is asked to send a fine day and help in the speedy completion of field work.
Folk signs on this day report that rainy weather on July 24 portends a rich catch for fishermen. If the sun comes out on Holguin and the sky is clear, then the peasants will be able to harvest a generous harvest.
The first mention of Princess Olga
Nobody knows when the Grand Duchess was born. The place of her birth is considered to be a village in the Pskov region. Initially, she was called the Varangian name Helga, meaning "holy." With her later life, the future princess fully justified this characterization. From a young age, the girl was very smart and reasonable. You also need to pay tribute to her beauty and moral virtue.
The first mention of Olga in the writings is associated with the marriage of the Kyiv prince Igor to her. There were even legends about the history of their acquaintance. After the wedding, a son was born in the princely family, who was named Svyatoslav. However, Olga's family happiness was short-lived - her husband Prince Igor soon died in a battle with the Drevlyans.
Reign of Holy Princess Olga
The young princess Olga had to take over the administration of the large principality of Kyiv. In this seemingly unfeminine affair, the Grand Duchess showed herself to be a reasonable politician and a courageous ruler, confidently holding power in her hands and skillfully repelling enemies. In addition, in her possessions, she founded stone construction and, in general, many transformations were carried out under her control in Kievan Rus.
Despite the fact that at that time she was not familiar with Christian doctrine, nevertheless, she demonstrated genuine Christian virtue. She mercifully and generously behaved towards her people, not bypassing the poor and the poor.
In the annals of St. Nestor it is said that since childhood Olga was in search of the truth, which she found in the faith of Christ.
Christian deeds of the holy princess Olga
Olga got acquainted with Christianity in the middle of the 10th century, and this gave her the understanding that she had finally found what she had been looking for for a long time. In 957 she was baptized and blessed by the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Baptism gave Olga a new name, she was named Elena, in honor of the saint who spread Christianity in ancient Rome. Just like her heavenly patroness, Princess Olga, she began to enlighten the Russian people, introducing Christianity in Russia, and many people turned to God thanks to her. She built Orthodox churches and tried to eradicate paganism in her territories.
Olga failed to convert her son Svyatoslav to the Christian faith, but her grandson Prince Vladimir became the answer to her prayers. Following in the footsteps of his great grandmother, he finally introduced the Orthodox faith in Russia.
The name of the future enlightener of Russia and her homeland, the oldest of the annals - "The Tale of Bygone Years" calls in the description of the marriage of the Kyiv prince Igor: "And they brought him a wife from Pskov named Olga." The Joachim Chronicle specifies that she belonged to the family of the princes of Izborsk, one of the ancient Russian princely dynasties.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga
Igor's wife was called the Varangian name Helga, in Russian pronunciation - Olga (Volga). Tradition calls the birthplace of Olga the village of Vybuty near Pskov, up the Velikaya River. The life of St. Olga tells that here for the first time she met her future husband. The young prince was hunting "in the Pskov region" and, wishing to cross the Velikaya River, he saw "a certain person floating in a boat" and called him to the shore. Having sailed from the shore in a boat, the prince found that he was being carried by a girl of amazing beauty. Igor was inflamed with lust for her and began to incline her to sin. The carrier was not only beautiful, but chaste and intelligent. She shamed Igor, reminding him of the princely dignity of the ruler and judge, who should be a "bright example of good deeds" for his subjects. Igor broke up with her, keeping in mind her words and a beautiful image. When it came time to choose a bride, the most beautiful girls of the principality were gathered in Kyiv. But none of them pleased him. And then he remembered the "wonderful in girls" Olga and sent for her a relative of his prince Oleg. So Olga became the wife of Prince Igor, the Grand Russian Duchess.
After the marriage, Igor went on a campaign against the Greeks, and returned from it as a father: his son Svyatoslav was born. Soon Igor was killed by the Drevlyans. Fearing revenge for the murder of the Kyiv prince, the Drevlyans sent envoys to Princess Olga, offering her to marry their ruler Mal. Olga pretended to agree. By cunning, she lured two embassies of the Drevlyans to Kyiv, betraying them to a painful death: the first was buried alive "in the prince's courtyard", the second was burned in a bathhouse. After that, five thousand Drevlyansky men were killed by Olga's soldiers at the funeral feast for Igor near the walls of the Drevlyan capital Iskorosten. The next year, Olga again approached Iskorosten with an army. The city was burned with the help of birds, to whose feet a burning tow was tied. The surviving Drevlyans were captured and sold into slavery.
Along with this, the chronicles are full of evidence of her tireless "walking" on the Russian land in order to build the political and economic life of the country. She achieved the strengthening of the power of the Kyiv Grand Duke, centralized state administration with the help of the "pogost" system. The chronicle notes that she, with her son and her retinue, passed through the Drevlyansk land, “setting tributes and dues”, marking villages and camps and hunting grounds to be included in the Kyiv grand ducal possessions. She went to Novgorod, arranging graveyards along the rivers Msta and Luga. “Catching her (hunting places) were all over the earth, established signs, her places and graveyards,” the chronicler writes, “and her sleigh stands in Pskov to this day, there are places indicated by her for catching birds along the Dnieper and along the Desna; and her village Olgichi exists to this day. Graveyards (from the word "guest" - a merchant) became the mainstay of the grand duke's power, the centers of ethnic and cultural unification of the Russian people.
Life tells the story of Olga’s labors in this way: “And Princess Olga ruled the regions of the Russian land subject to her, not as a woman, but as a strong and reasonable husband, firmly holding power in her hands and courageously defending herself from enemies. And she was terrible for the latter by her own people, loved as a merciful and pious ruler, as a righteous judge and offending no one, imposing punishment with mercy, and rewarding the good; she inspired fear in all the evil, rewarding each in proportion to the dignity of his deeds, but in all matters of management she showed foresight and wisdom. At the same time, Olga, merciful at heart, was generous to the poor, the poor and the needy; fair requests soon reached her heart, and she quickly fulfilled them ... With all this, Olga combined a temperate and chaste life, she did not want to remarry, but remained in pure widowhood, observing her son until the days of age his princely power. When the latter matured, she handed over to him all the affairs of government, and herself, having abstained from rumors and care, she lived outside the cares of management, indulging in the deeds of doing good.
Russia grew and strengthened. Cities were built surrounded by stone and oak walls. The princess herself lived behind the reliable walls of Vyshgorod, surrounded by a faithful retinue. Two-thirds of the tribute collected, according to the chronicle, she gave at the disposal of the Kyiv Council, the third part went "to Olga, to Vyshgorod" - to the military structure. The establishment of the first state borders of Kievan Rus belongs to the time of Olga. The heroic outposts, sung in epics, guarded the peaceful life of the people of Kiev from the nomads of the Great Steppe, from attacks from the West. Foreigners rushed to Gardarika (“country of cities”), as they called Russia, with goods. Scandinavians, Germans willingly joined the Russian army as mercenaries. Russia became a great power.
As a wise ruler, Olga saw on the example of the Byzantine Empire that it was not enough to worry only about state and economic life. It was necessary to take care of the organization of the religious, spiritual life of the people.
The author of the “Book of Powers” writes: “Her / Olga / achievement was that she recognized the true God. Not knowing the Christian law, she lived a pure and chaste life, and she wished to be a Christian of her own free will, with her heart eyes she found the path of knowing God and followed it without hesitation. The Monk Nestor the chronicler narrates: “From an early age, Blessed Olga sought wisdom, which is the best thing in this world, and found a valuable pearl - Christ.”
Having made her choice, Grand Duchess Olga, entrusting Kyiv to her grown son, sets off with a large fleet to Constantinople. Old Russian chroniclers will call this act of Olga "walking", it combined both a religious pilgrimage, a diplomatic mission, and a demonstration of the military might of Russia. “Olga wanted to go herself to the Greeks in order to see with her own eyes the Christian service and be fully convinced of their teaching about the true God,” narrates the life of St. Olga. According to the chronicle, in Constantinople Olga decides to become a Christian. The sacrament of Baptism was performed over her by Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople (933 - 956), and the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (912 - 959) was the godfather, who left in his essay "On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court" a detailed description of the ceremonies during Olga's stay in Constantinople. At one of the receptions, the Russian Princess was presented with a golden dish adorned with precious stones. Olga donated it to the sacristy of Hagia Sophia, where he was seen and described at the beginning of the 13th century by Russian diplomat Dobrynya Yadreykovich, later Archbishop Anthony of Novgorod: Christ is written on the same stones.
The Patriarch blessed the newly baptized Russian princess with a cross carved from a single piece of the Life-Giving Tree of the Lord. On the cross was the inscription: "Renew the Russian land with the Holy Cross, it was also received by Olga, the noble princess."
Olga returned to Kyiv with icons, liturgical books - her apostolic ministry began. She erected a temple in the name of St. Nicholas over the grave of Askold, the first Christian prince of Kyiv, and converted many people of Kiev to Christ. With the preaching of faith, the princess went to the north. In the Kyiv and Pskov lands, in remote villages, at crossroads, she erected crosses, destroying pagan idols.
Saint Olga marked the beginning of a special veneration in Russia of the Most Holy Trinity. From century to century, the story of a vision that she had near the Velikaya River, not far from her native village, was transmitted. She saw that "three bright rays" were descending from the sky from the east. Addressing her companions, who were witnesses of the vision, Olga said prophetically: “Let it be known to you that by the will of God there will be a church in this place in the name of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Trinity and there will be a great and glorious city abounding in everything.” On this place Olga erected a cross and founded a temple in the name of the Holy Trinity. It became the main cathedral of Pskov, the glorious Russian city, which has since been called the "House of the Holy Trinity". By mysterious ways of spiritual succession, after four centuries, this veneration was transferred to St. Sergius of Radonezh.
On May 11, 960, the church of Hagia Sophia, the Wisdom of God, was consecrated in Kyiv. This day was celebrated in the Russian Church as a special holiday. The main shrine of the temple was the cross received by Olga at baptism in Constantinople. The temple built by Olga burned down in 1017, and in its place Yaroslav the Wise erected the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Irina, and transferred the shrines of St. Sophia's Olga Church to the still standing stone church of St. Sophia of Kyiv, founded in 1017 and consecrated around 1030. In the Prologue of the 13th century, it is said about Olga's cross: “Izhe now stands in Kyiv in Hagia Sophia in the altar on the right side.” After the conquest of Kyiv by the Lithuanians, Holgin's cross was stolen from St. Sophia Cathedral and taken by the Catholics to Lublin. His further fate is unknown to us. The apostolic works of the princess met with secret and open resistance from the pagans. Among the boyars and combatants in Kyiv, there were many people who, according to the chroniclers, “had a hatred for Wisdom,” like St. Olga, who built temples for Her. The zealots of pagan antiquity raised their heads more and more boldly, looking with hope at the growing Svyatoslav, who resolutely rejected his mother's persuasion to accept Christianity. “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells about it this way: “Olga lived with her son Svyatoslav, and she persuaded his mother to be baptized, but he neglected this and plugged his ears; however, if someone wanted to be baptized, he did not forbid him, nor mocked him ... Olga often said: “My son, I have known God and rejoice; so you too, if you know, you will also begin to rejoice.” He, not listening to this, said: “How can I want to change my faith alone? My warriors will laugh at this! She told him: “If you are baptized, everyone will do the same.”
He, not listening to his mother, lived according to pagan customs, not knowing that if someone does not listen to his mother, he will get into trouble, as it is said: "If someone does not listen to his father or mother, then he will die." Moreover, he was also angry with his mother ... But Olga loved her son Svyatoslav when she said: “God's will be done. If God wants to have mercy on my descendants and the Russian land, may he command their hearts to turn to God, as it was given to me. And saying this, she prayed for her son and for his people all day and night, taking care of her son until he matured.
Despite the success of her trip to Constantinople, Olga was unable to persuade the emperor to agree on two important issues: on the dynastic marriage of Svyatoslav with the Byzantine princess and on the conditions for restoring the metropolis that existed under Askold in Kyiv. Therefore, St. Olga turns her eyes to the West - the Church was at that time united. It is unlikely that the Russian princess could have known about the theological differences between the Greek and Latin creeds.
In 959, a German chronicler writes: “The ambassadors of Elena, the queen of the Russians, who was baptized in Constantinople, came to the king and asked to consecrate a bishop and priests for this people.” King Otto, the future founder of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, responded to Olga's request. A year later, Libutius, from the brethren of the monastery of St. Alban in Mainz, was appointed Bishop of Russia, but he soon died (March 15, 961). Adalbert of Trier was consecrated in his place, whom Otto, “generously supplying with everything necessary,” finally sent to Russia. When Adalbert appeared in Kyiv in 962, he "did not succeed in anything for which he was sent, and saw his efforts in vain." On the way back, "some of his companions were killed, and the bishop himself did not escape mortal danger," - this is how the chronicles of Adalbert's mission tell.
The pagan reaction manifested itself so strongly that not only the German missionaries suffered, but also some of the Kyiv Christians who were baptized along with Olga. By order of Svyatoslav, Olga's nephew Gleb was killed and some churches built by her were destroyed. Saint Olga had to come to terms with what had happened and go into matters of personal piety, leaving control to the pagan Svyatoslav. Of course, she was still reckoned with, her experience and wisdom were invariably referred to in all important cases. When Svyatoslav left Kyiv, the administration of the state was entrusted to Saint Olga. Her consolation was the glorious military victories of the Russian army. Svyatoslav defeated the ancient enemy of the Russian state - the Khazar Khaganate, forever crushing the power of the Jewish rulers of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the lower Volga region. The next blow was dealt to Volga Bulgaria, then came the turn of the Danube Bulgaria - eighty cities were taken by Kyiv warriors along the Danube. Svyatoslav and his warriors personified the heroic spirit of pagan Russia. Chronicles have preserved the words of Svyatoslav, surrounded with his retinue by a huge Greek army: “We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lay our bones here! The dead have no shame!” Svyatoslav dreamed of creating a huge Russian state from the Danube to the Volga, which would unite Russia and other Slavic peoples. Saint Olga understood that with all the courage and courage of the Russian squads, they would not be able to cope with the ancient empire of the Romans, which would not allow the strengthening of pagan Russia. But the son did not listen to his mother's warnings.
Saint Olga had to endure many sorrows at the end of her life. The son finally moved to Pereyaslavets on the Danube. While in Kyiv, she taught her grandchildren, the children of Svyatoslav, the Christian faith, but did not dare to baptize them, fearing the wrath of her son. In addition, he hindered her attempts to establish Christianity in Russia. In recent years, in the midst of the triumph of paganism, she, once revered by all the mistress of the state, baptized by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the capital of Orthodoxy, had to secretly keep a priest with her so as not to cause a new outbreak of anti-Christian sentiment. In 968 Kyiv was besieged by the Pechenegs. The Holy Princess and her grandchildren, among whom was Prince Vladimir, were in mortal danger. When the news of the siege reached Svyatoslav, he hurried to help, and the Pechenegs were put to flight. Saint Olga, already seriously ill, asked her son not to leave until her death. She did not lose hope of turning her son's heart to God, and on her deathbed she did not stop preaching: “Why are you leaving me, my son, and where are you going? Looking for someone else's, to whom do you entrust yours? After all, Your children are still small, and I am already old, and sick, - I expect an early death - a departure to the beloved Christ, in whom I believe; now I don’t worry about anything, but about you: I regret that although I taught a lot and urged me to leave idol wickedness, to believe in the true God that I knew, and you neglect this, and I know what your disobedience is a bad end awaits you on earth, and after death - eternal torment prepared for the pagans. Fulfill now at least this last request of mine: do not go anywhere until I pass away and be buried; then go wherever you want. After my death, do not do anything that pagan custom requires in such cases; but let my presbyter with the clergy bury my body according to the Christian custom; do not dare to pour a grave mound over me and make funeral feasts; but send gold to Constantinople to the most holy patriarch, so that he makes a prayer and an offering to God for my soul and distributes alms to the poor.
“Hearing this, Svyatoslav wept bitterly and promised to fulfill everything bequeathed by her, refusing only to accept the holy faith. After three days, blessed Olga fell into extreme exhaustion; she partook of the Divine Mysteries of the Most Pure Body and the Life-Giving Blood of Christ our Savior; all the time she remained in fervent prayer to God and to the Most Pure Theotokos, whom she always, according to God, had as her helper; she called all the saints; Blessed Olga prayed with particular zeal for the enlightenment of the Russian land after her death; seeing the future, she repeatedly predicted that God would enlighten the people of the Russian land and many of them would be great saints; Blessed Olga prayed for the speedy fulfillment of this prophecy at her death. And another prayer was on her lips when her honest soul was released from the body, and, as a righteous one, was accepted by the hands of God. On July 11, 969, Saint Olga died, “and her son and grandchildren and all people wept for her with great weeping.” Presbyter Gregory fulfilled her will exactly.
Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga was canonized at the council of 1547, which confirmed her widespread veneration in Russia back in the pre-Mongol era.
God glorified the "master" of faith in the Russian land with miracles and incorruptible relics. Under the holy Prince Vladimir, the relics of St. Olga were transferred to the Church of the Tithes of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and laid in a sarcophagus, in which it was customary to place the relics of saints in the Orthodox East. There was a window in the church wall above the tomb of St. Olga; and if someone with faith came to the relics, he saw the power through the window, and some saw the radiance emanating from them, and many who were possessed by diseases received healing. But for those who came with little faith, the window was opened, and he could not see the relics, but only the coffin.
So, after her death, Saint Olga preached eternal life and resurrection, filling the believers with joy and admonishing the unbelievers.
Her prophecy about the evil death of her son came true. Svyatoslav, according to the chronicler, was killed by the Pecheneg prince Kurei, who cut off Svyatoslav's head and made a cup out of the skull, bound it with gold, and drank from it during feasts.
The prophecy of the saint about the Russian land was also fulfilled. The prayerful works and deeds of St. Olga confirmed the greatest deed of her grandson St. Vladimir (Comm. 15 (28) July) - the Baptism of Russia. The images of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga and Vladimir, mutually complementing each other, embody the maternal and paternal principles of Russian spiritual history.
Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga became the spiritual mother of the Russian people; through her, their enlightenment with the light of the faith of Christ began.
The pagan name Olga corresponds to the male Oleg (Helgi), which means "saint". Although the pagan understanding of holiness differs from the Christian one, it presupposes in a person a special spiritual attitude, chastity and sobriety, intelligence and insight. Revealing the spiritual meaning of this name, the people called Oleg Prophetic, and Olga - Wise. Subsequently, Saint Olga will be called God-wise, emphasizing her main gift, which became the basis of the entire ladder of holiness of Russian wives - wisdom. The Most Holy Theotokos herself - the House of the Wisdom of God - blessed Saint Olga for her apostolic labors. Her construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv - the mother of Russian cities - was a sign of the participation of the Mother of God in the Dispensation of Holy Russia. Kyiv, i.e. Christian Kievan Rus, became the third Lot of the Mother of God in the Universe, and the establishment of this Lot on earth began through the first of the holy women of Russia - the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga.
The Christian name of St. Olga - Elena (translated from the ancient Greek "Torch"), became an expression of the burning of her spirit. Saint Olga (Elena) accepted the spiritual fire, which has not been extinguished in the entire thousand-year history of Christian Russia.
Prayers
Troparion to Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, in Holy Baptism Elena, tone 1
The god -blessings who had shown your mind,/ enthusiastically, the vice -to -see,/ recovering the whole,/ and, and that obtuity, the casualties of the perishable,/ I was alive.
Kontakion to Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, in Holy Baptism Elena, Tone 4
Appear today the grace of God of all, / glorifying Olga the Wise in Russia, / through her prayers, Lord, / grant people / / forgiveness of sins.
Magnification Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, in Holy Baptism Elena
We magnify you, / the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, / like the dawn of the morning in our lands / and the light of the Orthodox faith / / foretelling your people.
First Prayer to Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, in Holy Baptism Elena
Oh, holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga, first-timer of Russia, warm intercessor and prayer woman for us before God! We resort to you with the faith and pray with the love: we will help us in all to Blag, and, as well as more likely, more carefully, the great -grandfathers of the sake of holy belie help us with your prayers to God in enlightening our minds and hearts with the light of the Gospel of Christ, may we prosper in faith, piety and love of Christ. В нищете́ и ско́рби су́щия уте́ши, бе́дствующим пода́ждь ру́ку по́мощи, оби́димыя и напа́ствуемыя заступи́, заблу́дшия от пра́выя ве́ры и ересьми́ ослепле́нныя вразуми́ и испроси́ нам у Всеще́драго Бо́га вся блага́я и поле́зная жи́зни вре́менней и ве́чней, да та́ко благоуго́дне зде пожи́вше, сподо́бимся насле́дия благ ве́чных in the infinite Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit is due all glory, honor and worship always, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
JULY 24 - ST. OLGA'S DAY. NAME DAYS FOR ALL WHO BEAR THIS NAME. And since in baptism St. Olga received the name ELENA, then also the NAMEDAY OF ELENA, WHO WERE BORN FROM JUNE 9 TO JULY 24. The establishment of Christianity in Russia under the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir was preceded by the reign of Grand Duchess Olga, who in ancient times was called the root of orthodoxy. During her reign in Russia, the seeds of the faith of Christ were successfully planted. According to the chronicler, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga is “the first destroyer of idols and the foundation of orthodoxy throughout the Rustei of the earth.” Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga was born in the Pskov land, her family tree goes back to Gostomysl. The Joachim Chronicle reports that Saint Olga belonged to the family of the ancient Russian princely dynasty of the Izborskys. She was born into a pagan family in the village of Vytuby not far from Pskov, standing on the Velikaya River. Already in her youth, she was characterized by a deep mind and an exceptional moral purity in a pagan environment. The ancient authors call the holy princess the wisest, the wisest in the family, and it was purity that was the good soil on which the seeds of the Christian faith bore such a rich fruit. Saint Olga was also distinguished by external, bodily beauty. When the future Prince of Kyiv Igor saw her while hunting in the northern forests, he was inflamed with unclean lust for her and began to incline her to carnal sin. However, the wise and chaste girl began to admonish the prince not to be a slave to his passions. “Remember and think,” she said, “that you are a prince, and a prince for people should be, as a ruler and judge, a bright example of good deeds.” She talked so wisely with Igor that the prince was ashamed. When Igor established himself in Kyiv, he decided to choose his wife among the most beautiful girls in the principality. But none of them pleased him. Then he remembered Olga and sent his guardian and relative Prince Oleg after her. In 903 Saint Olga became the wife of Prince Igor. Since 912, after the death of Prince Oleg, Igor began to rule in Kyiv with autocracy. He successfully carried out several military campaigns. During the reign of Igor, who was loyal to the Christian religion, the faith of Christ spread in Kyiv so much that Christians made up a significant part of society. That is why the peace treaty with the Greeks, concluded shortly before the death of Prince Igor, was approved by two religious communities in Kyiv: Christians and pagans. In 945, Prince Igor was killed by the Drevlyans. Fearing revenge for the murder of the Kyiv prince and wanting to strengthen their position, the Drevlyans sent ambassadors to Princess Olga, offering her to marry their ruler Mal. But Olga, then still a pagan, rejected the offer of the Drevlyans. By cunning, having lured the elders and all the noble men of the Drevlyans to Kyiv, she avenged them with a painful death for the death of her husband. Olga repeatedly took revenge on the Drevlyans until they submitted to Kyiv, and their capital Korosten was burned to the ground. As a pagan, she could not ascend then to the commandment of forgiveness and love for enemies. After the death of Prince Igor, she successfully ruled the state and strengthened the power of the Kyiv Grand Duke. The Grand Duchess traveled around the Russian land in order to streamline the civil and economic life of the people. Under her rule, the Russian land was divided into regions, or volosts, in many places she set up churchyards, which became administrative and judicial centers. God-wise Olga went down in history as a great creator of the culture of Kievan Rus. She resolutely refused a second marriage, retaining the throne of the grand duke for her growing son Svyatoslav. The Holy Princess Olga put a lot of work to strengthen the defense of the country. By the time of Olga's reign, historians attribute the establishment of the first state borders of Russia - in the west, with Poland. History has not preserved the names of the first Christian mentors of St. Olga, probably because the conversion of the blessed princess to Christ was associated with Divine admonition. One of the ancient texts says this: “Oh wonder! They themselves do not lead the Scriptures, they have not heard the Christian law and the teacher about piety, but diligently study the disposition of piety and love the Christian faith with all your heart. O inexpressible providence of God! Not from a blessed person did I learn the truth, but from above a teacher I have God's Wisdom. Saint Olga went to Christ through the search for Truth, seeking satisfaction for her inquisitive mind; an ancient author calls her "God's chosen guardian of wisdom." The Monk Nestor the chronicler narrates: “From an early age, Blessed Olga sought wisdom, which is the best in this world, and found a valuable pearl - Christ.” In 955, the princess went to Constantinople, where she was received with honor by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) and Patriarch Theophylact (933-956). According to the chronicle, she soon received holy Baptism with the name Helena, in honor of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helena (1327; Comm. 21 May). Emperor Constantine himself became her successor. Patriarch Theophylact instructed the Russian princess in the truths of the Orthodox faith and gave her commandments about the preservation of the Church Charter, about prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and keeping clean. “She, bowing her head, stood, listening to the teachings, like a drunken sponge,” writes the Monk Nestor. Saint Olga returned to Kyiv, taking with her the holy cross, icons, liturgical books. Here began her apostolic ministry. She led many people of Kiev to Christ and holy Baptism, and made attempts to influence her son, a convinced pagan, cowardly afraid of the condemnation of the squad. But Prince Svyatoslav remained deaf to his mother's calls. Without forcing her son, Saint Olga prayed with humility: “God's will be done. If God wants to have mercy on my family and the Russian land, may he lay it on their hearts to turn to God, as God is a gift to me. Saint Olga built in Kyiv, on the grave of Prince Askold, a church in the name of St. Nicholas, laid a wooden church in the name of Hagia Sophia the Wisdom of God. Then, with the preaching of the holy faith, the holy princess went to the north. Along the way, she crushed idols and installed stone crosses in the places of pagan temples, from which numerous miracles occurred to admonish the pagans. At the confluence of the Pskov River with the Velikaya River, Saint Olga saw the "beam of the Tri-radiant Deity" - a sign of God's care for Russia. The blessed princess put up a cross in that place and founded a temple in the Name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity. She prophetically announced that "a great city" would be erected here. It is historically reliable that Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga was the founder of Pskov. Upon her return to Kyiv, she sent a lot of gold and silver to the construction of the Pskov temple. At the end of her life, blessed Olga endured many sorrows. Svyatoslav, who did not accept holy Baptism, left his elderly mother and moved to the city of Pereyaslavets on the Danube. In addition, he interfered with her activities to establish Christianity in Russia. In 968 Kyiv was besieged by the Pechenegs. The Holy Princess and her grandchildren, among whom was Prince Vladimir, were in mortal danger. When the news of the siege reached Svyatoslav, he hurried to help, and the Pechenegs were put to flight. The holy princess, being already seriously ill, asked her son not to leave until her death. She did not lose hope to turn her son's heart to God, and on her deathbed she did not stop preaching. On July 24, 969, Saint Olga reposed in the Lord, bequeathing not to arrange feasts on her own, but to perform a Christian burial. After 19 years, the grandson of the Holy Princess Olga, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, was baptized. He built in Kyiv a stone church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos (Church of the Tithes), where the incorruptible relics of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga were transferred. A window was built over her tomb, which opened by itself if people approached the relics with faith. By faith, Christians were vouchsafed to see the radiant relics of the holy princess and receive healing from them. The Russian people honor Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga as the founder of Christianity in Russia, addressing her with the words of St. Nestor: “Rejoice, Russian knowledge of God, the beginning of our reconciliation with Him.” PRAYER TO THE HOLY PRINCESS OLGA Equal to the Apostles About the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga, the first year of Russia, a warm intercessor and prayer book for us before God. We resort to you with faith and pray with love: be our helper and helper in everything for the good, and, as if in temporary life, you tried to enlighten our forefathers with the light of holy faith and instruct me to do the will of the Lord, so now, in heavenly being grace, favorable help us with your prayers to God in enlightening our minds and hearts with the light of the Gospel of Christ, may we prosper in faith, piety and love of Christ. In poverty and sorrow of the present comfort, give a hand of help to the needy, intercede for the offended and the afflicted, those who have strayed from the right faith and heresy blinded by heresy, enlighten us, and ask us from the All-Generous God all that is good and useful in temporary and eternal life, yes, it is pleasing to live here, we will be honored with the heritage eternal blessings in the infinite Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit all glory, honor and worship is due, always, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen. PRAYER TWO O Great Lady of God, God-chosen and God-glorified, Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga! You rejected evil faith and pagan wickedness, you believed in the One True Trinitarian God, and you received holy Baptism, and you laid the foundation for the enlightenment of the Russian land with the light of faith and piety. You are our spiritual ancestor, you, according to Christ our Savior, are the first culprit of the enlightenment and salvation of our kind. You are a warm prayer book and intercessor for the All-Russian fatherland, the army and all people. For this sake, we humbly pray to you: look at our infirmities and implore the most merciful King of heaven, may he not be angry with us, for we sin all the days due to our weaknesses, may he not destroy us with our iniquities, but may he have mercy and save us by His mercy, may our saving fear plant His fear in our hearts, may our minds enlighten with His grace, in order to understand the ways of the Lord for us, leave the paths of wickedness and error, lurk in the paths of salvation and truth, the unswerving fulfillment of the commandments of God and the ordinances of the holy Church. Moth, blessed Olgo, the Lover of mankind, may He grant us His great mercy, may He deliver us from the invasion of foreigners, from internal discords, rebellions and strife, from hunger, deadly diseases and from all evil, may He give us the goodness of the air and the fruitfulness of the earth, yes save our country from all the machinations and slander of the enemy, may he observe justice and mercy in judges and rulers, may he give pastors zeal for the salvation of the flock, all the people haste, about diligently fulfilling their services, have love among themselves and have one mind, for the good of the fatherland and the Holy Church may strive faithfully, may the light of the saving faith shine in our country in all its ends, may the unbelievers turn to the faith, may all heresies and schisms be abolished. Yes, having lived like this in peace on earth, let us be vouchsafed with you eternal bliss in Heaven, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.