Excerpts from the Russian Primary Chronicle: The Founding of the City of Kiev; The Christianization Of Russia
The Russian Primary Chronicle (or as it is alternatively known, The Tale Of Bygone Years) is a compilation by various writers probably assembled during the period 1040-1118 AD. After a short introduction, which hearkens back to Noah and probably served as a kind of creation myth, the Chronicle gives a year-by-year account of important events (when there were any) in the history of Kievan Rus'. It contains many vivid accounts of the exploits of princes and clergy, along with legal documents including treaties between Rus' and Byzantium. It also offers rich descriptions of the wars, feuds, succession struggles, etc. that occupied much of the time of the Kievan nobility. Like all such works, it contains a mixture of fact, fiction, and (especially since it was kept by Church scribes) morality play. The illustrative excerpts below provide a glimpse into how the Kievan Rus' imagined themselves: who they were, and how they got to be that way. The first describes the alleged foundation of the city of Kiev; the second recounts the conversion of Rus' to Orthodox Christianity.
1. According to the Chronicle, who founded Kiev? Does the tale sound plausible to you? Why or why not?
2. How did the Kievan Rus' come to learn about Christianity?
3. How and why did Prince Vladimir come to be baptized? And the rest of Kievan Rus'?
4. What (if anything) does the Chronicle account suggest about the depth of the commitment of ordinary Kievans to Orthodoxy?
The Founding Of The City Of Kiev
The Polianians were brothers, but lived apart and governed their own families. Each lived with his clan on his own lands, ruling over it. There were three brothers, Kii, Shchek, and Khoriv, and their sister was named Lybed. Kii lived upon the hill where the Borich path now is, and Shchek on the hill now named "Shchekovitsa." (1) Khoriv lived on the third hill, named "Khorivitsa" (2) after him. They built a town, naming it "Kiev" (3) after the oldest brother. The town had a grove around it, and a great pine forest in which they used to catch wild beasts. These men were wise and prudent. They were called Polianians; Polianians descended from them are living in Kiev to this day. Some ignorant persons have claimed that Kii was a ferryman. At the time, there was a ferry from the other side of the river to Kiev and people used to say, "We're going to Kii's ferry." However, if Kii had been a mere ferryman, he would never have gone to Constantinople.... He was then the chief of his line and received great honors from the Emperor when he went to visit him there. On his homeward journey, he arrived at the Danube. The place pleased him, and he built a srnall town, wishing to live there with his kinfolk. Though those who lived nearby would not grant him this privilege, even now the Danube-dwellers still call this town "Kievets." (4) Kii retumed to Kiev, his native city, and ended his life there. His brothers Shchek and Khoriv, as well as their sister Lybed, died there also....
The Christianization Of Russia
The Year 6495. (5) Vladimir summoned together his vassals and the city elders, and said to them: "Behold, the Bulgars came before me urging me to accept their religion. Then came the Germans, praising their own faith, and after them the Jews. Finally the Greeks (6) appeared, criticising all other faiths but commending their own. They spoke at length, telling the history of the whole world from its beginning. Their words were clever, and it was extraordinarily pleasant to listen to them and to hear them. They preach the existence of another world: 'Whoever adopts our religion and then dies shall rise and live forever. But whosoever embraces another faith, shall be consumed with fire in the next world.' What is your opinion on this subject, and what do you answer?"
The vassals and the elders replied: "Great Prince, you know that no man condemns his own possessions, but praises them instead. If you wish to get to the bottom of these matters, you have servants at your disposal. Send them to inquire about the rituals of each religion and how they worship God." Their advice pleased the Prince and all the people. Ten good, wise men were chosen, and directed to go first among the Bulgars to inspect their faith.
The emissaries went their way. When they arrived at their destination, they saw the disgraceful actions of the Bulgars and their worship in the mosque and so returned to their own country. Vladimir then instructed them to go likewise among the Germans, and examine their faith, and finally to visit the Greeks. They thus went into Germany, and after viewing German rites, they proceeded to Constantinople where they appeared before the Emperor. He asked their mission, and they reported to him all that had occurred. When the Emperor heard their words, he rejoiced, and did them great honor that day.
The next morning, the Emperor sent a message to the Patriarch informing him that a Russian delegation had arrived to examine the Greek faith. The Patriarch was to to prepare the church and the clergy, and to put on his sacerdotal robes, so that Russians might behold the glory of the God of the Greeks. When the Patriarch received these commands, he ordered the clergy to assemble, and they performed the customary rites. They burned incense, and the choirs sang hymns. The Emperor accompanied the Russians to the church, and placed them in a wide space. While he explained to them the worship of his God, he called their attention to the beauty of the edifice, the chanting, and the offices of the Archimandrite (7) and the ministry of the Deacons. The Russians were astonished, and in their wonder praised the Greek ceremonies. Next the Emperor Constantine and Basil invited the emissaries to their presence, and said, "Go back to your homeland," and dismissed them with valuable presents and great honor. The emissaries then returned to their own country.
Vladimir again called together his vassals and the elders. The Prince announced the return of the envoys who had been sent out, and suggested that their report be heard. He commanded them to speak out before his vassals. The envoys reported: "When we traveled among the Bulgars, we saw how they worship in their temple, called a mosque, while they lounge about slackly. Bulgarians bow, sit down, and look here and there as if possessed. There is no happiness among them, but instead only sadness and bad smells. Their religion is not good. Next we went among the Germans. We saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples, but we saw no glory there. Then we went on to Greece. The Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth. On earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God lives there among men, and that the Greek service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. We cannot forget that beauty. Once he has tasted sweetness, no man is willing to settle for bitterness. Therefore we will not dwell on these points...." Then the vassals spoke. They said to Vladimir, "If the Greek faith were evil, it would not have been adopted by your grandmother Olga, who (after all) was wiser than anyone else." Vladimir then asked whether they might all accept baptism, and they replied that the decision rested with him.
A year passed. In 6496, Vladimir marched with an armed force against the Greek city of Kherson. (8) The people of Kherson barricaded themselves inside. Vladimir set up camp on the far side of the city, a bowshot from it along the bay. While he besieged it, its residents resisted energetically. Eventually, however, they became exhausted. Vladimir warned them that if they did not surrender, he was prepared to remain on the spot for three more years. When they failed to heed this threat, Vladimir gathered his men and ordered the construction of an earthwork facing the city. While this parapet was under construction, the inhabitants dug a tunnel under the city wall, stole the heaped-up dirt, and carried it into the city. There they piled it into a mound in the middle of the town. Vladimir persisted, however, and his soldiers kept on building. Then a man of Kherson, one Anastasius by name, shot an arrow into the Russian camp. On it he had written: "There are springs behind you to the east. Water from them flows into here in pipes. Dig down and cut them off." When Vladimir received this information, he raised his eyes to heaven. He swore that if this hope was realised, he would be baptized. At once he gave orders to dig down to the pipes, and Kherson's water supply was duly cut off. The inhabitants were overcome by thirst, and surrendered.
Vladimir and his retinue entered the city. He sent messages to the Emperor Constantine and Basil, saying: "See, I have captured your glorious city. I have also heard that you have an unmarried sister. Unless you give her to me as my wife, I shall deal with your own city as I have with Kherson." When the Emperors heard this message, they were troubled. They replied: "It is not proper for Christians to be given in marriage to pagans. If you are baptized, you may have her as wife, inherit the Kingdom of God, and be our companion in the faith. Unless you do so, however, we cannot give you our sister in marriage." When Vladimir learned their response, he directed the Imperial envoys to report that he was willing to accept baptism, having already given some study to their religion. The Greek faith and rituals, as described by the emissaries sent to examine them, had pleased him well. There was rejoicing at this report, and Anna was persuaded to consent to the match.
They requested Vladimir's baptism before they sent their sister to him. However Vladimir desired that the princess should herself bring priests to baptize him. The Emperors complied with his request. They dispatched their sister, accompanied by some dignitaries and priests. Anna departed with reluctance. "It is as if I were setting out into captivity," she lamented. "It would be better if I were to die here." But her brothers protested: "Through you, God turns the Russian land to repentance. You will relieve Greece from the danger of grievous war. Don't you see how much evil the Russians have already brought upon the Greeks? If you do not go, they may bring the same misfortunes on us." Thus they overcame her hesitation, but only with great difficulty. The princess boarded a ship. After tearfully embracing her relations, she set out across the sea and arrived at Kherson. The locals came to greet her, and led her into the city, where they settled her in the palace.
By divine agency, Vladimir was suffering at that moment from a disease of the eyes. In great distress, he could see nothing. The princess told him that if he wanted refief from the disease, he should be baptized immediately -- otherwise it was incurable. When Vladimir heard her, he said, "If this proves true, then the God of the Christians is great indeed." He ordered that he be baptized. The Bishop of Kherson, together with the princess's priests, announced the tidings and baptized Vladimir. As the Bishop laid his hand upon him, he immediately received his sight. After this miraculous cure, Vladimir glorified God. He said "Now I have seen the one true God." When his followers saw this miracle, many of them were also baptized.
Vladimir was baptized in the Church of St. Basil. It stands in a square in the middle of Kherson, where the residents trade. The palace of Vladimir stands beside this church to this day, and the palace of the princess is behind the altar. After his baptism, Vladimir took the princess in marriage. Those who do not know the truth say he was baptized in Kiev. Others assert that this event took place in Vasil'ev, (9) while still others mention other places.
Vladimir took in the princess and Bishop Anastasius and the priests of Kherson, together with the relics of St. Clement (10) and of Phoebus his disciple, and also selected sacred vessels and images for worship services. He founded a church on the mound that had been heaped up in the middle of the city with the dirt removed from his parapet. This church is standing at the present day. Vladimir also found and appropriated two bronze statues and four bronze horses, which now stand behind the Church of the Holy Virgin, and which ignorant people think are made of marble. As a wedding present for the princess, he gave Kherson back to the Greeks. He then departed for Kiev.
When the prince arrived at his capital, he ordered that its idols should be overthrown. Some were to be cut to pieces, others burned with fire. He ordered that Perun (11) should be bound to a horse's tail and dragged along the Borich trail to the river. He appointed twelve men to beat the idol with sticks, not because he thought the wood was sensitive, but to affront the demon who had deceived man in this form and to chastise it at the hands of men. How great thou are, O Lord; how marvellous thy works! Yesterday men honored Perun; today they scorn him. While the idol was being dragged along the stream to the Dnepr, the unbelievers cried since they had not yet received holy baptism. After the idol had been dragged around, it was cast into the Dnepr. Vladimir had ordered: "If it catches anywhere, push it out from the bank until it goes over the falls. Then let it go." His command was duly obeyed. When it went through the cataract, the men let it go. The wind cast it out on the downstream bank, which since that time has been called Perun's Shore. It bears that name to this very day.
Vladimir sent messengers throughout the whole city. They proclaimed that any inhabitant, rich or poor, who did not go to the river would risk the Prince's displeasure. When people heard these words, they wept for joy. They exclaimed in their enthusiasm, "If this were not good, the prince and his boyars would not have accepted it." The next morning, the Prince went forth to the Dnepr with the priests of the princess and those from Kherson. A countless multitude assembled. The people all went into the water. Some stood up to their necks, others to their breasts. The younger ones stood near the bank, some of them holding children in their arms, while the adults waded farther out. The priests stood by and offered prayers. Heaven and earth rejoiced to see so many souls saved. But the devil groaned, lamenting: "Woe is me! How I've been driven out! I thought I could live here, since the apostolic teachings do not abide in this land and its people did not know God. Once I rejoiced in the service they rendered me. Now I have been beaten by the ignorant, not by the Saints and the Martyrs, and my reign in these regions is at an end."
....
[Vladimir] ordained that churches should be built, established where pagan idols previously had stood. He founded the Church of St. Basil (12) on the hill where the idol of Perun and the other images had been set, and where the Prince and the people had offered their sacrifices. He began to found churches and to assign priests throughout the cities, and to invite baptism in all the cities and towns. He took the children of the best families, and sent them to schools for instruction in book learning. The mothers of these children wept bitterly over them, for they were not yet strong in faith, but mourned as for the dead....
Notes:
1. "Shchekovitsa" = "Shchek's hill."
2. "Khorivitsa" = "Khoriv's hill."
3. "Kiev" = "Kii's city."
4. "Kievets" = "City of the Kievans."
5. Through the end of the 15th Century, years in Kievan Rus' and Muscovy were counted from the supposed start of the world, which the Byzantine Church fixed at September 1, 5509 BC. 6495 - 5509 = 986 AD.
6. "Greeks" here means Byzantine Christians.
7. "Archimandrite" = a clerical figure ranking below a Bishop.
8. Kherson = city strategically located on the estuary formed by the Dniepr River as it flows into the Black Sea near Odessa.
9. The location is obscure. Possibly Vasil'evkov, a small city southwest of Kiev.
10. St. Clement = Clement I (Clement of Rome), Pope in Rome from 88-97 AD. Author of the New Testament's First Epistle to the Corinthians.
11. Perun = Slavic pagan god of warriors, associated with victory over enemies, lightning and thunder, etc. Son of Svarog, God of Gods.
12. St. Basil (Basil the Great) was Christian Bishop of Cappadocia circa 370 AD and a vigorous opponent of the so-called Arian heresy (belief that Jesus was not one with God, but merely the highest non-divine being).
Non-attributed translation from the Internet, revised (syntax clarification, re-translation, re-punctuation, etc.) by Jon Bone.