The baptism of Russia occurred in 988. Count Vladimir had invited Greek clergy to baptize the Russian people. This fact had immeasurable influence on all the Russian people. When other people accepted Christianity they already had a pagan culture (in the wide sense of this word). Therefore, it was frequently difficult for them to accept Christianity. Russians did not have a well developed culture, and also some pagan beliefs were similar to Christian beliefs and, consequently, Christianity took root rather easily. Russian culture and national history actually begins with the baptism.
Ccontents: (3.1) Review of the Kievan period; (3.2) Saint equal to apostles Count Vladimir; (3.3) Baptism of Russia; (3.4) Further spread of Christianity; (3.5) Beneficial influence of the Christian faith; (3.6) Church Administration; (3.7) Most remarkable metropolitans of this period; (3.7.1) Saint Michael; (3.7.2) Saint Ilarion (Hilarion).

3.1 Review of the Kievan period
The Kievan period (862-1240) starts with the beginning of Russian statehood, that is with the calling of Viking [варяжских] counts to Novgorod. This period includes the baptism of Russia in 988, the teaching of and the establishment of Christianity. At that time Greek metropolitans, who were under the Patriarch of Constantinople, governed the Russian Church. The first metropolitan of the Russian Church was metropolitan Michael and his diocese seat was in Kiev. He and other metropolitans after him were appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Kievan period ends with the invasion of the Mongols and their capture of Kiev in 1240.

3.2 Saint equal to apostles [равноапостольный] count Vladimir (980-1015)
Count Vladimir, younger grandson of St.Olga was a zealous pagan. In 983 year, after a successful campaign, he decided to offer a human sacrifice to his pagan gods. It was decided to choose a victim by drawing lots. The lot fell on a young man named John, the son of Viking [варяг] Feodor (Theodore) who was a Christian. Feodor did not want to give up his son and started to condemn the pagan idols and to glorify the Christian faith. The angry crowd of pagans killed Feodor and his son on the spot. They were the first Christian martyrs in Russia.
    Memory of the holy martyrs Feodor and his son John is observed on July, 12/25th.
    This public condemnation of the pagan gods forced count Vladimir to have second thoughts regarding the validity of his pagan faith. Neighboring people heard about this doubt in his faith, and started to send preachers to count Vladimir, offering their religion.
    Jews (Khazars) came to him and told about their faith. When count Vladimir found out that for their sins, the Lord had dispersed them all over the world he was not pleased.
    He did not like the German Catholics sent by the Pope of Rome as they were disliked by his ancestors.
    Count Vladimir also did not like the Moslem (lower-Volga Bulgarian) faith with the dryness of their divine service, their distortion about the afterlife, about wives and the prohibition to drink wine.
    The strongest impression on count Vladimir was made by the Greek preacher. At the end of the conversation, he showed a picture of The Last Judgement.
    At the suggestion of his boyars [ruling class] count Vladimir sent nine envoys to check out, in each place, whose faith was better. When the Russian ambassadors were in Constantinople, the magnificence of the St. Sofia church, the harmonious singing of the choir, the solemnity of the patriarchal service -- touched their souls very deeply. They then told count Vladimir: "We did not know, whether we were on earth or in heaven". Listening to this the boyars said: "if the Greek faith was not better than the other faiths your grandmother Olga -- wisest of people -- would not have accepted it. And the ambassadors said: "And as one who has tried something sweet will not want anything bitter, so we do not wish to remain pagans any longer".

After all this initial work, the count did not accept Christianity immediately. A year after the ambassadors returned he declared war on the Greeks and took the city of Kherson. From here he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to emperors Basil [Василий] and Constantine demanding the hand of their sister, tzarevna [царевна, princess] Anna. They answered him that their sister can only be the wife of a Christian. Then Vladimir announced that he wished to be baptized. But at that moment he fell ill and became blind.
    When tsarevna Anna arrived in Kherson she advised him to be baptized as soon as possible. So, count Vladimir was baptized in the year 988 and was given the name Basil [Василий]. When he came out of the baptismal font, he regained his sight and with great happiness he exclaimed: "now I have come to know the true God!"
    After returning to Kiev, accompanied by Kherson and Greek priests, Vladimir first of all baptized his twelve sons. All of them were baptized in one location known in Kiev under the name of Kreschatik. After them many boyars were also baptized. Count Vladimir began to destroy pagan idols and the main idol, Perun, was attached to a horse's tail and thrown into the river Dnepr.
    With the acceptance of Christianity the moral outlook and behavior of st. count Vladimir was changed completely. Before, when he was a pagan, he was cruel, aggressive, vindictive and had many vices. Having accepted Christianity he became merciful, humble and kind, and also an exemplary Christian. In the chronicles it is written, that the count enjoined every beggar and poor to come on his court and to receive "drink and food" and "money from the treasury". Alms were delivered to the houses of those who were ailing and sick and could not come to the count's court.
    Holy Count Vladimir died at the age of 56 on July, 15/28th, 1015. That is why the memory of Saint Equal to the Apostles [равноапостольный] Great Count Vladimir is observed on July, 15/28th (4 days after saint Equal to the Apostles Great Countess Olga).

3.3 Baptism of Russia (988)
Having returned to Kiev from Kherson, count Vladimir announced that all the people rich and poor, notable and simple were to come, on a certain day, onto the river Dnepr in order to be baptized. Those who did not come would be considered as not having obeyed the order of the count himself. The people of Kiev hastened to obey the will of count saying: "if the new faith was not better, the count and boyars would not have accepted it".
    At the appointed day the residente of Kiev gathered on the shores of the Dnepr. All Kievans entered into the river, some up to their neck, some chest-high. The adults held children and babies in their arms. The priests on the shore read prayers and saint Vladimir, overcome with joy, prayed to God and entrusted himself and his people to Him with the words from the Psalms:

"O Lord My God!
Look down from heaven and behold,
And visit this vineyard and confirm it,
That was planted by Your right hand". (Psalm 79:15-16)

3.4 Further spread of Christianity
After Kiev and the surrounding areas, the holy faith was established in Novgorod with the baptism of its citizens. From Novgorod, metropolitan Michael, accompanied by four bishops and Dobrynia, went to Rostov, then to Suzdal, to Smolensk, to Pskov and other cities.
    The Christian faith spread mainly near Kiev and along the Great Waterway to Novgorod. From Novgorod it spread along the Volga river. Under the influence of the Orthodox faith a strong great-Russian tribe was established and prospered here.
    The Christian faith spread by peaceful means - by preaching and conviction, (instead of by fire and the sword, as some other faiths) and owing to the works of saints Cyril and Mefody (Methodius), in the native slavic language.
    In the western part of Russia the spread of the Orthodox faith met strong competition which came from the Roman Catholic Church. Later popes try to separate the southwestern dioceses from unity in the Russian church and also, to introduce there the so-called Lithuanian Union.

3.5 Beneficial influence of the Christian faith
Christianity exerted beneficial influence on the Russian people. Beneficial Christian customs start to spread: prayer, charity and travel to holy places. Churches, instead of pagan idols, were being constructed. The earnestness in building churches was so strong, that sometimes small wooden churches were built in one day (so-called "one-day").
    The beneficial influence of Christianity on the life and customs of the Russian people promoted the development of writing. Church hierarchs and counts, in particular, took care of the Christian education of the people. On the advice of the first metropolitan of Kiev, Michael, count Vladimir opened schools in Kiev and in other cities. Metropolitan Michael himself instructed teachers how to treat children. He taught to affect children not with anger and punishment, but with care and love.

Holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, children of count Vladimir, also were examples of high Christian piety in their life. Among Russian metropolitans well-known for the sanctity of their life are Michael, Ilarion and others. Many examples of a saintly life were especially known among monastics.
    The son of count Vladimir, Jaroslav Mudryj (Yaroslav the Wise), built churches in cities and villages and ordered the priests to teach the people. In Novgorod he set up a school for 300 children. He read "day and night" and gathered around himself "writers many" who copied books and translated from Greek into the slavic language. Jaroslav (Yaroslav) also built the church of st. Sofia-Wisdom of God, in Kiev, similar to the one in Constantinople.
    Vladimir's and Jaroslav's example was followed by the counts that ruled after them, and also the clergy and especially monks in monasteries.

In monasteries the book-writing effort was looked upon as God's work. Therefore, in their free time from prayers, the monks devoted themselves to the copying of books and their translation. Sometimes, in order to copy books, the monks even travelled to the East - to Constantinople and to Mount Athos.

Besides taking care of the Christian education of the people, the hierarchs and priests of the Russian Church tried to promote civil order and laws in Russia based on the Christian faith. Especially effective was their influence on the enmity and disputes between the counts. Metropolitans tried to either stop the disputes between the counts themselves or sent their bishops for this purpose. All this promoted the unification and strengthening of the Russian land.
    The baptism of Russia had an immeasurable influence on all Russian people. When other people accepted Christianity they already had a pagan culture. Therefore, Christianity was frequently difficult for them to accept. Russians did not have a well-developed culture, and also some of their pagan beliefs were similar to the Christian and, consequently, Christianity could take root rather easily. Russian culture and national history actually begins with the acceptance of Christianity.
    With the acceptance of Christianity Russians receive the true faith, Orthodox-Christian world outlook, writing, literature, schools, form of government, law, etc. And all this has its beginning in the Orthodox faith. Also, the Russian temperament was formed under the influence of 1000 years of Christian preaching. This explains the abundance of Christian qualities in Russian people which are often noticed by observant foreigners who have had extended contacts with Russians. It is possible to say, unquestionably, that the Orthodox faith is the cradle of Russian culture and the creator of the Russian temperament.

3.6 Church Administration
Soon after Vladimir's baptism our first metropolitan, Michael (988-992), with several bishops came to Kiev from Constantinople. These bishops did not receive any specific diocese but only assisted the metropolitan in spreading the faith in the Russian land.
    At the time of the second metropolitan, Leontii (992-1008), bishops were placed in Novgorod, Chernigov, Rostov, Vladimir in Volhynia, in Belgorod, in Tmutarakan, Poletsk and Turov.
    In XI century dioceses were known in Yuriev and Pereyaslavl; in the XII century - in Smolensk, Ryazan and Galich; in the beginning of XIII century in Vladimir on the Klyazma, Peremyshl and the Kholmsk diocese. The largest diocese was the Novgorod one which occupied all of northern Russia. The Novgorod diocese was headed by an archbishop.
    At the head of the Russian Church was a metropolitan whose diocese seat was in Kiev. The metropolitan was been placed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. All the bishops and also the Novgorod archbishop were subordinate to the metropolitan. The metropolitan placed the bishops, convoked them to church councils, judged them with the council of other bishops and issued orders concerning the entire Russian Church.

As Russia had received the Christian faith from the Greek Orthodox Church the first hierarchs were Greek. After that the Russian Church, for a long time (up to 1448), was dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Kievan metropoliya was one of his metropoliya. As the Russian state was independent of the Greek empire, the Russian metropoliya had the rights of an exarchate. (An exarch is someone who is above a metropolitan but below a patriarch). Patriarchs only placed Russian metropolitans but, except in very rare cases, did not interfere in the internal business affairs.
    The Russian Church always had respect for its mother, the Greek Church, but also always aspired to independence. Therefore, she always wished to have Russian metropolitans which would be placed independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Two cases (in the Kievan period) are known when two metropolitans were selected independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople: metropolitan Ilarion (Hilarion)(1051-1055) and metropolitan Kliment (Clement) (1147-1155). Both of them were among the best governors of the Church.

The Russian Church gradually became stronger, flourished and followed the road to full independence. At first the Greek clergy baptized Russia (988) and spread Christianity. Therefore, initially the metropolitans were Greek and under the Patriarch of Constantinople. Later, in the year 1488, (500 years after the baptism) the metropolitans were chosen from the Russian clergy, but the Church still was under the Patriarch of Constantinople. And finally the Russian Church receives its own patriarch in 1589 (600 years after the baptism) and becomes independent of the patriarch of Constantinople.

Metropolitans and the other hierarches of our Church were highly respected by the counts and people and easily could have achieve significant secular power. The counts allowed them to control and judge affairs which were not directly related to spiritual issues. For example: disputes about inheritance, supervision of the fidelity of measures and weights and other issues. The Archbishop of Great Novgorod was especially influential. But true to the spirit of Christ's teachings and the traditions of the Orthodox Church, our hierarchs did not aspire to secular authority and tried to use their influence and importance for the benefit of the Church and the people. They tried to establish civil order on the basis of Christian doctrines and saw to the education of the people. The relation of the hierarchs to the counts was as the relation of father confessors to their spiritual children.

3.7 Most remarkable metropolitans of this period
The most remarkable metropolitans of this period, were Saint Mikhail (Michael) (988-992) and Saint Ilarion (1051-1055).

3.7.1 Saint Mikhail (988-992)
Saint Mikhail (Michael) was the first metropolitan in the Russian Church. He was a Greek and he performed the christening of Russia and her further firm establishment in Christianity. He was distinguished by apostolic zeal for spreading the Christian faith. Because of this he would go to Novgorod and Rostov to establish schools. By his advice, Count Vladimir began opening schools in Kiev and in other cities, and took there children of the best citizens.
    Metropolitan Mikhail (Michael) taught teachers how to treat children. He taught to affect children not with anger and punishments, but with care and love. (Note: Note that this was over 1000 years ago, when Russians just emerged from paganism).
    The memory of St.Mikhail (Michael), the first Metropolitan of Kiev is observed on the day of transferring his relics (moshchej) (1730) in Great Uspenskaya Church, in "Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra", on September 30th/October 13, and also on the day of his repose on June, 15/28th.

3.7.2 Sainted Ilarion (1051-1055)
Saint Ilarion was the first Russian Metropolitan. Before the becoming a Metropolitan ha was a senior priest in village near Kiev. There was a summer residence of count Yaroslav which was known for enlightment and piety. While still a priest he wrote an article about "Law and Grace" together with praise (pokhvala) to count Vladimir and a prayer to God for Russian land.
    Saint Ilarion did not limit himself with ordinary duties, but, and imposed on himself special "podvigs" (spiritual feats). Very often he would go out of his village onto a nearby mountain, where he dug for himself a cave. There in solitude he prayed and reflected on God.
    This cave later became the basis of the great "Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra" (monastery). The "podvigs" (spiritual feats) of St. Ilarion earned the respect of the Great Count, by whose wish he was elected a Metropolitan.
    At consecration he solemnly read written by him the "Confession of our Faith" which has reached our times. During his time three Greek singers arrived from Tzaregrad and Kiev and introduced correct and harmonious singing by "voices".
    The most important event for Russian Church at that time, was springing up of the occurrence "Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra" (1051).
    The memory of "Saint Prepodobnago Ilariona skhimnika", the Metropolitan of Kiev is observed on October 21/November 3.

Литература на интернете.
• История Русской Церкви. Оглавление (по прот. Смирнову) [ДД-74(0)]
• ИРЦ. Московский период (по прот. Смирнову) [ДД-74(3)]
• История Христианской Церкви (прот. Смирнов) (ДД-68р)
• История России (Будзилович) http://www.russia-talk.com/history/hist-contents.htm
• Russian Alphabet (SE-03)