This Wednesday Russia marks the Day of Christening of the Ancient Russia for the first time. The Federation Council (Russia’s Parliament upper house) introduced this holiday because, as they believe, Christianity kept the Russian state strong through centuries. The date was chosen because on this day the Orthodox Christian Church commemorates St. Vladimir, a Russian duke who made Christianity Russia’s official religion in 988. In Moscow, the holiday will be marked by church services, exhibitions, fairs and concerts.
The holiday will also be marked in Ukraine. Russian Patriarch Kirill, who is now visiting Ukraine, will lead a church service in the city of Sebastopol on the Black Sea coast, where the font in which duke Vladimir himself was baptized still remains. The initiative to introduce this holiday came from Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian scientists in 2004.
