Volodymyr the Great: (956-1014) Prince of Kiev, Ukraine

Volodymyr I was born on July 15 in the year 956 and was made prince of Novograd in 970.  He was born into pagan lineage and in 988, he merged military alliances with the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and married Basil’s sister Anne. (Christianity, Religion, and Spirituality Directory)

It was through marriage, that Volodymyr became a Christian and sought to Christianize the towns of Kiev and Novograd. 

He took down the statues of pagans and idols and established churches and monasteries throughout the Ukraine.  “These acts impressed the people with the helplessness of their gods, and when they were told that they should follow Vladimir's example and become Christians they were willingly baptized, even wading into the river that they might the sooner be reached by the priest for baptism.”  (The Catholic Encyclopedia, v. XV)

Volodymyr was the first Christian ruler in the Ukraine and made the Rus-Christian worship adopted by the Byzantine rite the official religion of the land. (The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15^th Edition)

Photographs:

Bust of Volodymyr the Great The Cleveland Memory Project

Photographs of the Garden

Further Reading:

The Catholic Encyclopedia, v. XV

The Christianity, Religion, and Spirituality Directory

Cleveland State University Special Collections Library

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15^th Edition, vol. 12, p. 411-12, 2002