The name is Olga. Temple in the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia

July 24 is the day of memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga. Read about her and other saints who bore this name in the material on the website of the magazine "Thomas".

Origin of the name Olga

Exist various theories Origin of the name Olga

According to the first version - Old Russian Olga comes from a Middle Greek name Ελγα.

According to another, "Germanic" version - from the Old Norse Nelga(from other Scandinavian heilagr - “holy”, “sacred”).

Duchess Olga

Prince Igor's wife Olga was from the Pskov village of Vybuty. The chronicle says that she or her father kept a crossing there across the Velikaya River. She was still a very young girl when Rurik's son, Prince Igor of Kyiv, wooed her.

Prince Igor died at the hands of the Drevlyans (an East Slavic tribe) after repeatedly trying to collect tribute from them. Igor's son Svyatoslav was then only three years old, and the rule of the young Kyiv state passed into the hands of the prince's widow, Olga. Only at the end of her life Olga took off this heavy burden: her son Svyatoslav spent almost all his time in military campaigns, and his mother conducted all internal affairs.

Olga severely punished the Drevlyans. But then came to grips with what led to the death of her husband. She established a fixed amount of tribute for all Slavic tribes, as well as for the lands of the Pskov and Novgorod regions; introduced a system of churchyards - administrative and shopping centers through which taxes were collected.

Olga was the first of the rulers of Russia to accept Christianity. In baptism, she received the name Elena. An old Russian chronicle legend reports that she was baptized in Constantinople (Constantinople), and the godfather was Emperor Constantine himself. This legend does not find confirmation in the Byzantine chronicles, however, they reliably testify that Kyiv princess indeed she came to Constantinople, and, among others, she was accompanied by a priest.

Olga tried to persuade her son, Prince Svyatoslav, to Christianity, but he did not listen to her words, fearing that he would not find understanding among the squad.

M. Nesterov. Saint Olga. 1892

The monk Jacob in the 11th century essay “Memory and Praise to the Russian Prince Volodimer” preserved for us the exact date of Olga’s death: July 11, 969. According to the new style - July 24. Olga was buried according to Christian custom in the ground. Her grandson, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the baptizer of Russia, transferred her imperishable relics to the Church of the Tithes built by him in Kyiv.

M. Nesterov. Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. 1927

The veneration of Grand Duchess Olga as a Christian saint began under her grandchildren - Yaropolk, and then Vladimir. Church-wide glorification took place at the Makarievsky Cathedral in 1547: Olga was canonized as a saint in the rank of Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Other famous saints named Olga:

Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Grand Duchess Olga (Romanova)

Grand Duchess Olga is the first child of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Born in 1895 in Tsarskoye Selo. After the February Revolution, she was under house arrest. On the night of July 16-17, 1918, she was shot along with all royal family in the basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg. Buried in Ganina Yama. In 1998, Olga's ashes were reburied in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Canonized together with her parents, sisters and brother in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, glorified in the host of New Martyrs of Russia by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.

In the calendar of the Russian Church there are 5 more saints with the name Olga. Four of them are New Martyrs who suffered during the persecution of the Church at the beginning of the 20th century.

Interesting facts about Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga

1. Pskov is first mentioned in the chronicle in connection with the name of Olga, in the Tale of Bygone Years for 903:“In the year 6411 (903), when Igor grew up, he accompanied Oleg and listened to him, and they brought him a wife from Pskov, named Olga.”

Sergei Kirillov. Fragment of the painting “Princess Olga (Baptism). The first part of the trilogy "Holy Russia"

2. Prophetic Oleg - an associate of Rurik, Novgorod, and then the Kyiv prince. Being the guardian of Rurik's son Igor, he married Olga for him. The name Olga in Scandinavian transcription sounds like Helga and is a female version of the Scandinavian name Helg - Oleg.

Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople. Engraving by F. A. Bruni, 1839

3. Emperor Konstantin Porphyrogenitus mentions the visit of Princess Olga to Constantinople in the essay "On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court". However, the legend about how the emperor himself became the godfather of the Russian princess does not find confirmation anywhere, except for the Russian chronicles themselves.

Radziwill Chronicle: Olga in Constantinople in 955

4. The Trinity Cathedral of Pskov, one of the oldest in Russia, was built, according to legend, at the behest of Grand Duchess Olga. When the princess stood on the banks of the Velikaya River, she had a vision: three rays from the sky converged on the opposite bank. Olga ordered to build a cathedral there in honor of the Holy Trinity. Until our time, however, the first building of the cathedral has not survived.

5. Holgin Krest - a former graveyard on the Narva River. Princess Olga put a cross on this place in honor of her deliverance from the shipwreck on Narva. In the Middle Ages, the churchyard of Holgin Krest was the administrative center of the Narva Bay, the Gdovsky district of the Pskov Republic. In 1944, the Nikolsky Church of the churchyard was blown up by the retreating German troops. Today, on the site of its ruins, a worship cross has been erected. On July 24, on the day of St. Olga, a solemn prayer service is served here.

6. In the rank of the Equal-to-the-Apostles, in addition to Princess Olga, only 5 women were glorified: Mary Magdalene, First Martyr Thekla, Martyr Apphia, Empress Elena, and Enlightener of Georgia Nina.
Olga is one of the generic names of the ruling dynasties of Russia. Among the Romanovs, the name Olga as a generic name was introduced by Catherine II.

Self-portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

7.Sign of St. equal to ap. book. Olga - reward Russian Empire for women for public and civil service. Established by Nicholas II in 1913. The only one awarded is Vera Panaeva, who lost in the First world war three sons.

8. Order of St. equal to ap. book. Olga is an award of the Russian Church. Established in 1988. They are awarded only to women - for merits in church, state and public service.

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. 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 Kyiv prince, the Drevlyans sent ambassadors 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 painful death: the first was buried alive "in the princely courtyard", the second - burned in the bath. 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.
Life tells the story of Olga’s work 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, loved by her own people, 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's princely power until the days of his age. 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.
As a wise ruler, Olga saw by example Byzantine Empire that it is 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 Power Book writes: “Her (Olga’s) feat 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 your 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 a religious pilgrimage, a diplomatic mission, and a demonstration of the military might of Russia. “Olga wanted to go to the Greeks herself 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), who left in his essay "On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court" detailed description ceremonies during Olga's stay in Constantinople.
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."

Sergei Kirillov. Duchess Olga. Baptism. The first part of the triptych "Holy Russia"

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.
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. Last 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 Gentiles. Fulfill now at least this one of mine last request: 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. 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.
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 Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga is known in Russia as a preacher of Christianity, as the founder of the special veneration of the Holy Trinity during the time of confrontation between Christians and pagans. Very often, the Christian icon of the Holy Princess Olga is found in the homes of Orthodox Christian women with the name Olga or Elena. The Order of Princess Olga in Russia is awarded to women who have great services to the Motherland. During her reign, Princess Olga paid great attention not only to state affairs, but also to the spiritual, religious life of the people. She constantly studied and forced others to learn. Having voluntarily accepted Baptism, Olga made a lot of efforts to spread the Christian faith. In this regard, Princess Olga began to be called "the pro-mother of Christianity in Russia." She put a lot of work on strengthening the defensive power of her state. The miraculous icon of the Holy Princess Olga is very revered by Orthodox people who care about spiritual development Russia. For her great deeds and devotion to the faith, Princess Olga is considered a saint. The memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga is celebrated.

What do they pray for in front of the icon of the Holy Princess Olga

Many believers try to buy an icon of the Holy Princess Olga for their homes. The Orthodox industry offers many options for depicting this holy icon. For a gift or home prayers, icons are offered: painted on canvas, made of precious metals, as well as icons of St. Olga, embroidered with beads. It is believed that prayers before this beautiful icon admonish believers, fill their hearts with grace, and bestow wisdom. Before her highly respected image, they pray for the strengthening of their native country, for protection, for the enlightenment and softening of offenders. Prayers before the icon and relics of St. Olga in the Church of the Tithes healed those possessed by various diseases. In addition, the icon of the Holy Princess Olga is very popular among women who bear the name of Olga, they pray before her for protection and patronage.

Icon of the Blessed Olga, embroidered with beads

Among the variety of masterpieces of Orthodox iconography made by folk craftsmen, a special place is occupied by the icon of the Blessed Olga, embroidered with beads. This beautiful icon has a very unusual colorful appearance. A variety of colors and richly decorated clothes of the princess make the icon very festive and desirable for those who want to buy it in the online store. issued in beautiful frame self made, a wonderful icon of the Blessed Olga, embroidered with beads, will become a gift dear to the heart.

Blessed Princess Olga, in holy baptism Elena (†969) - the first all-Russian Christian ruler. Her homeland is the entire Vybutskaya (now the village of Labutino near Pskov up the Velikaya River). According to legend, she came from the family of Gostomysl, on the advice of which Rurik was called.

She became the wife of the Kyiv prince Igor Rurikovich, who was treacherously killed by the Drevlyans in 945. Igor's wife was called the Varangian name Helga, in the Russian "round" pronunciation - Olga, Volga. Woman's name Olga corresponds to the male Oleg (Helgi), which means "saint".

Although the pagan understanding of holiness is completely different from the Christian one, it also presupposes a special spiritual attitude in a person, chastity and sobriety, intelligence and insight. revealing spiritual significance name, the people called Oleg Prophetic, Olga - Wise. The pagan Olga took revenge on the murderers of her husband for a long time, until she exterminated almost the entire Drevlyane tribe.

But formidable for enemies, the Princess was distinguished by wisdom in relation to the people, the combination of firmness and justice in her strengthened her authority as a ruler in the early childhood of her son Svyatoslav (945–957).

The so-called "first Baptism of Kyiv" by the then Kyiv rulers Askold and Dir in 860-882. covered only a small part of their entourage and was not long.

Paganism was still very strong and relying on it, Prince Oleg, the son of Rurik, who came from the north, took power into his own hands (ruled from 879 to 912), dealt with Askold and Dir in 882 and stopped the Christianization that had begun from above.

But it continued spontaneously from below and intensified under Oleg's son. Prince Igor(ruled from 912 to 945). From the treaty between Russia and Byzantium, concluded in 944, it is known that part of the ancient Russian merchants and the princely squad were Christians and that in Kyiv there was a “team church” of St. prophet Elijah , "Mnozi bo besha Varazi Khresteyani" ("The Tale of Bygone Years").

We are talking about the Varangians - warriors who were mercenaries in the Byzantine service (which was already provided for by the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911 under Prince Oleg) and were baptized there, like that "baptized Russia" that carried guards in the palace of Emperor Constantine VII, or the first Russian martyr of the Varangian (St. Theodore), about whose death, together with his son (St. John), the Tale of Bygone Years reports under 983 (Comm. 12/25 July): “Because that Varangian came from the Greek and held the faith Christian."

The struggle of Christianity against paganism under Igor and Olga, who reigned after Oleg († 912), enters a new period. The Church of Christ in the last years of the reign of Igor († 945) becomes a significant spiritual and state force in the Russian state. This is evidenced by the surviving text of Igor's treaty with the Greeks in 944, which is included by the chronicler in the Tale of Bygone Years, in an article describing the events of 6453 (945).

The peace treaty with Constantinople had to be approved by both religious communities of Kyiv: "Baptized Russia", that is, Christians, were sworn in in the cathedral church of the Holy Prophet of God Elijah; "Unbaptized Russia", the pagans, swore on weapons in the sanctuary of Perun the Thunderer. The fact that Christians are placed in the first place in the document speaks of their predominant spiritual significance in the life of Kievan Rus.

Obviously, at the moment when the treaty of 944 was drawn up in Constantinople, people in power in Kyiv were sympathetic to Christianity, aware of the historical necessity of introducing Russia to the life-giving Christian culture. Perhaps Prince Igor himself also belonged to this trend, whose official position did not allow him to personally convert to a new faith without resolving the issue of the Baptism of the entire country and the establishment of Orthodox Christianity in it. church hierarchy. Therefore, the contract was drawn up in cautious terms that would not prevent the prince from confirming it both in the form of a pagan oath and in the form of a Christian oath.

But while the Byzantine ambassadors arrived in Kyiv, the situation on the Dnieper changed significantly. The pagan opposition was clearly defined, headed by the Varangian governors Sveneld and his son Mstislav (Mstisha), to whom Igor gave the Drevlyane land to hold.

Already in the middle of the 10th century in Russia, both in everyday life and in state-administrative practice, Cyrillic writing was widely used (inscriptions on cylindrical seals of princely swordsmen from Novgorod in the 970s, princely letters, which, according to the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944 ., were obliged to bring Russian merchants with them to Tsargrad, etc.), which also contributed to the penetration of Christian culture into Russia.

Unable to overcome the inertia of custom, Igor remained a pagan and sealed the contract according to a pagan model - an oath on swords. He rejected the grace of Baptism and was punished for unbelief. A year later, in 945, the rebellious pagans killed him in the Drevlyane land, tearing him between two trees. But the days of paganism and the way of life of the Slavic tribes based on it were already numbered. The burden of public service was assumed by the widow of Igor, Grand Duchess Olga of Kyiv, with her three-year-old son Svyatoslav.

The second stage in the Christianization of Russia from above begins just during the reign of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. Gifted with a bright, penetrating mind, Olga, seeing the immaculate life of Christians, was captivated by the gospel truth and, according to legend, she herself, with a huge retinue (more than a hundred people) and a retinue, went to Constantinople to receive Baptism from Patriarch Polievkt, and Emperor Konstantin Porphyrogenitus himself was the Princess's successor . (Soon the Byzantine and Russian ruling dynasties will also tie the knot of dynastic marriages.)

Scientists argued a lot about the exact date of Princess Olga's journey to the shores of the Bosphorus. The Tale of Bygone Years dates this to 954-955, but it is possible that there were actually two trips to Constantinople by Olga. As the most probable date of her baptism in the "History of the Russian Church" by Metropolitan Macarius, 957 is accepted.

After the baptism of the Russian ruler, it was natural for her to take care of the restoration of the church diocese in Russia. The testimonies of Western contemporaries indicate that in 959 Olga sent an embassy to the German king Otto I, and, perhaps, therefore, in 961, the German bishop Adalbert went to Kyiv, but the next year he was forced to return, “failing to succeed in any than from that for which he was sent, and convinced of the futility of his efforts.

The reasons for Adalbert's failure may have been due to the greater inclination of Russia to Constantinople, and not to Rome, between which rivalry developed. (Note that at that time the Church was still united, and Russia was in the sphere of the Moravian mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and they acted in the area of ​​Roman, and not Constantinople jurisdiction, and it was the German bishops, with the sanction of Rome, who had the right to independently organize missionary dioceses in the eastern pagan lands.)

Having become Orthodox at an advanced age (more than 60 years), Princess Olga indulged in feats of piety: she spread the faith, built churches. In Kyiv, Olga built a wooden St. Sophia Church, which was consecrated on May 11, 960. Its main shrine was a cross carved from a piece of the Life-Giving Tree of the Lord. On the cross was the inscription: The Russian land was renewed with the holy cross, which was received by Olga, the blessed princess". With this holy cross, Princess Olga was blessed and admonished by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

This temple, built by Olga, burned down in 1017, and the shrines of St. Sophia's Olga's temple Yaroslav the Wise transferred to the still standing stone church of St. Sophia of Kyiv, founded in 1017 and consecrated around 1030. After the conquest of Kyiv by the Lithuanians, Holgin's cross was stolen from St. Sophia Cathedral, there is no information about its further fate. Princess Olga also built the Church of the Annunciation in Vitebsk, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Pskov over the Velikaya River, at the place indicated to her, according to the chronicler, from above "by the ray of the Tribious Deity."

The ruler was also engaged in personal preaching, many Russians, “marveling at her verbs, hearing them no one else before, kindly received the Word of God from her mouth and were baptized,” the Degree Book testifies. With this, Princess Olga to a great extent prepared the work of the Baptism of Russia by her grandson, St. Prince Vladimir, which is why she was named Equal-to-the-Apostles with him.

However, the affirmation of Christianity by St. Olga at the princely court was not confident and long. Her son, the warlike Svyatoslav Igorevich (reigned: c. 957–972), judging by the chronicle story, did not show interest in Christianity, fearing that the squad would “laugh” at us.

Yes, and in Kyiv, Svyatoslav rarely appeared with his mother: his main occupation was campaigns and wars (including a providential victory over the Khazar Khaganate of Christ-haters). Only the grandson of St. Princess Olga St. Prince Vladimir was destined to become the Equal-to-the-Apostles Baptist of Russia.

In the spring of 969, Kyiv was besieged by the Pechenegs: "and it was impossible to bring the horse to drink, the Pechenegs stood on Lybid." The Russian army was far away, on the Danube. Having sent messengers to her son, Saint Olga herself led the defense of the capital. Svyatoslav, having received the news, soon rode to Kyiv, "greeted his mother and children and lamented what happened to them from the Pechenegs."

But, having defeated the nomads, the militant prince again began to say to his mother: “I don’t like to sit in Kyiv, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - there is the middle of my land.” Svyatoslav dreamed of creating a huge Russian state from the Danube to the Volga, which would unite Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and stretch its borders to Constantinople itself. The wise Olga understood that with all the courage and courage of the Russian squads, they could not cope with the ancient empire of the Romans, Svyatoslav was in for failure. But the son did not listen to his mother's warnings. Then Saint Olga said: “You see, I am sick. Where do you want to go from me? When you bury me, go wherever you want."

Her days were numbered, her labors and sorrows undermined her strength. On July 11, 969, Saint Olga died, "and her son, and grandchildren, and all the people wept for her with great weeping." In recent years, in the midst of the triumph of paganism, she, once a proud mistress who was baptized by the 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 fanaticism. But before her death, having regained her former firmness and determination, she forbade pagan feasts to be performed on her and bequeathed to openly bury her according to the Orthodox rite. Presbyter Gregory, who was with her in 957 in Constantinople, exactly fulfilled her will.

Saint Olga lived, died and was buried as a Christian. “And having lived like this and glorifying God well in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, rest in good faith, end your life in peace in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As her prophetic testament to subsequent generations, she confessed her faith about her people with deep Christian humility: “God's will be done! If God desires to have mercy on the family of my Ruskian Land, may he lay it on their hearts to turn to God, as God has given me this gift.

God glorified the holy worker of Orthodoxy, "the head of the faith" in the Russian land with miracles and incorruptible relics. Jacob Mnich († 1072), a hundred years after her death, wrote in his “Memory and praise to Vladimir”: “God glorify the body of His servant Olena, and her honest body is in the tomb, and indestructible remains to this day. Blessed Princess Olga glorified God with all her good deeds, and God glorified her.” Under the holy Prince Vladimir, according to some sources, in 1007, 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 special sarcophagus, in which it was customary to lay the relics of saints in the Orthodox East.

“And you hear a different miracle about her: a small stone coffin in the church of the Holy Mother of God, that church was created by the blessed Prince Vladimir, and there is the coffin of blessed Olga. And on the top of the coffin a window was created - yes, to see the body of blessed Olga lying whole. But not everyone was shown the miracle of the incorruption of the relics of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess: “Whoever comes with faith, the window opens, and sees an honest body lying whole and marvels at such a miracle - the undestroyed body lying in the coffin for so many years. Worthy of praise is every honest body: in the coffin it is whole, as if sleeping, resting. And for others, who do not come with faith, the tomb’s window will not open, and they will not see the body of that honest one, but only the tomb.

So, after her death, Saint Olga preached eternal life and resurrection, filling the believers with joy and admonishing the unbelievers. She was, according to the words of the Monk Nestor the Chronicler, "the forerunner of the Christian land, like a day before the sun and like a dawn before the light."

Offering his thanks to God on the day of the Baptism of Russia, he testified on behalf of his contemporaries about the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga with significant words: “The sons of Russia want to bless you, and your grandson to the last generation.”

Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga and the historical fate of Russia

Our national memory forever captures the majestic image of a woman with an invincible will and high dignity, invincible courage and a truly statesmanlike mind. Holy Blessed Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga- an unusually whole person, a truly great woman, who by force of circumstances stood at the head of a huge, still emerging state. Saint Olga turned out to be worthy of the historical lot that fell to her. Moreover, by the providence of God, it was she who had the honor of making a choice that determined the subsequent fate of Russia, and the princess herself determined church veneration as equal to the apostles.

"Chief of the Faith" and "Root of Orthodoxy" in the Russian land since ancient times people called the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga. There is no point in falling into complex, not indisputable and, in fact, meaningless research about the “national” - Slavic or Varangian origin of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess. Her name - Olga- Scandinavian, it exists to this day in Denmark and Sweden in the form of "Helga". And to St. Olga at the head of the beginning of Russia, we see some Scandinavian, "Varangian" ("glorified" or distorted) names of the Vikings of Swedish, Norwegian or Danish origin - Rurik, Truvor (Swedish - Trevor), Sineus (Swedish - Senius), Askold, Dir (originals these names are difficult to establish), Oleg (Danish - Helge), Igor (Swedish Ingvar), Sveneld.

On Princess Olga, the Varangian series of Rurikovich names is interrupted. Next come the Slavic names. Olga's son is Svyatoslav, her grandson is Vladimir. This is no coincidence.

Normans, Varangians quickly mastered the language of the ethnic majority with which they tied their fate. And in this there is no damage to those peoples who experienced the Norman influence. This impact was felt throughout Europe, at the dawn of the formation of its nations and states. There is no damage to the dignity of Russia from the Varangian vocation, because its “Slavdom” is not in ethnic “purity” (there is no such thing), but in primacy Slavic language among the diversity of its peoples and ethnic groups ...

And one more important circumstance. She, St. Olga, the first of the family, from the Rurik dynasty, converted to Christianity. The liturgical language of the Christians of Russia at that time was undoubtedly already Slavonic. For her, a Varangian aristocrat, the Christian faith was revealed by its deepest side, which is still not completely clear to our contemporaries.

Christian faith- this faith is noble, this is the faith of noble people. Noble in spirit, not in class origin, social position. At the heart of Christianity are all the signs of true nobility: love for one's neighbor to the point of self-sacrifice, mercy, self-sacrifice. Even enemies are shown mercy, indulgence and forgiveness, paradoxically combined with indisputable steadfastness in following the principles of faith and in upholding these principles. Honesty, rejection of lies, moral purity, high personal dignity, different from pride and not subject to it - all this was in the high perfection of the corporate manifestations of the ancient Christian community. In it, each person is priceless and respected, since each person is unique, since each is valuable to God. After all, the Founder of this faith came to Earth and opened the gates of salvation for everyone and for every person.

In their own way, the ancient wanderers of the seas, the Vikings, were not alien to this nobility. Without these qualities, the squads of the Varangians could not live - robber merchants, harsh, cruel warriors and fearless sailors. They - the Normans-Varangians - circled Europe and reached the African shores of ancient Carthage. They, the heroes of the northern waters, reached polar ice, inhabited Iceland and the south of Greenland, came to pre-Columbian America. They, the Vikings-Varangians, traveled by waterways to the Caspian Sea and to the coast of Persia. They shook the walls of the "capital of the world" Constantinople-Tsargrad, where they were more impressed by the wonders and beauty of the "Greek" Faith, and where their fellow tribesmen had long served in the elite mercenary guards of the emperors. The Varangians knew well that without mutual assistance, without the devotion of the warriors to the squad and the prince-king, without selflessness and the ability to sacrifice, neither their boat-drakkar on the sea-ocean, nor on land the squad in mortal combat could survive. And in external comparison Christians had something akin to them, the Varangians. Even Christian churches are built according to the principle and shape of a ship, and the surrounding life itself is the “sea of ​​life”, and the community is like a ship’s crew, sailing through the storms and misfortunes of the “sea of ​​life”. And the Guide in this stormy journey is the Founder of this Faith himself, who showed an amazing, paradoxical example of the highest nobility in sacrificial love until death on the cross.

Baptism of Olga was marked by the prophetic words of the patriarch who baptized her: “Blessed are you in Russian wives, for you have left the darkness and loved the Light. Russian sons will glorify you to the last generation!

At baptism, the Russian princess was honored with the name of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena, which worked hard in spreading Christianity in the vast Roman Empire and found the Life-Giving Cross, on which the Lord was crucified.

Like your heavenly patroness, Olga became an Equal-to-the-Apostles preacher of Christianity in the vast expanses of the Russian land.
There are many chronological inaccuracies and mysteries in the chronicle evidence about her, but doubts can hardly arise about the reliability of most of the facts of her life, brought to our time by the grateful descendants of the holy princess - the organizer of the Russian land.

The name of the future enlightener of Russia and her homeland is 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. 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 hunted "in the Pskov region" and, wishing to cross the Great River, he saw "a certain boatman" 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 their subjects. Igor broke up with her, keeping in mind her words and a beautiful image.

When the time came 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 "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 court of the prince", the second - burned in the bath. 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 annals are full of evidence of her tireless "walking" across the Russian land with the aim building 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 system "graveyards".

The chronicle notes that she and her son and 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, its places and graveyards- writes the chronicler, - 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 about the works of Olga: “And Princess Olga ruled the regions of the Russian land subject to her, not as a woman, but like a strong and sensible husband, firmly holding power in his hands and courageously defending himself from enemies. And she was terrible for the latter. She is loved by her own people, 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's princely power until the days of his age. 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 works of goodness..

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 squad. Two-thirds of the tribute collected, according to the chronicle, she gave at the disposal of the Kyiv veche, the third part went "to Olga, to Vyshgorod"- on the military structure.

By the time of Olga, the establishment of the first state borders Kievan Rus. The heroic outposts, sung in epics, guarded the peaceful life of the people of Kiev from the nomads Great Steppe, from attacks from the West. Aliens 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 feat(Olga) it was that she knew 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 eyes of the heart she found the path of knowing God and followed it without hesitation..

The Monk Nestor the chronicler narrates: “Blessed Olga from an early age sought wisdom, which is the best in this light, and found a precious 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 and a religious pilgrimage, and a diplomatic mission, and a demonstration of the military power of Russia. “Olga wanted to go to the Greeks herself in order to look at the Christian service with her own eyes and be fully convinced of their teaching about the true God”, - tells the life of St. Olga.

According to the chronicle, in Constantinople Olga decides to become a Christian. The sacrament of Baptism performed over her Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople (933 - 956), and the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (912 - 959), who left in his work "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: “The dish is great gold serving Olga the Russian, when she took tribute, going to Constantinople: in Olga’s dish is a precious stone, Christ is written on the same stone”.

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: “The Russian land was renewed with the Holy Cross, and Olga, the noble princess, accepted it”. 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 from the east descend from the sky "Three Light Rays". 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 here, 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 been called since then "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 warriors in Kyiv there were many people who, according to the chroniclers, "hated wisdom", as well as Saint 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" talks about it like this: “Olga lived with her son Svyatoslav, and 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 come to know 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.” 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 providing everything you need", finally sent to Russia.

When in 962 Adalbert appeared in Kyiv, 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 tell about the mission of Adalbert. 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 happened and go into matters of personal piety, giving 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.

The glorious military victories of the Russian army were also a consolation for her. 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 the turn of the Danube Bulgaria came - eighty cities were taken by Kyiv warriors along the Danube.
Svyatoslav and his soldiers personified the heroic spirit 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 down 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, who was 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 to turn 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 imminent 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 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 received by the hands of God..

July 11 (24) Saint Olga died in 969, “and her son and grandchildren and all the people wept with a great cry for her”. Presbyter Gregory fulfilled her will exactly. Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga was canonized at the cathedral in 1547, which confirmed the widespread veneration of her 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 did not open, 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.
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga became the spiritual mother of the Russian people, through her began their enlightenment with the light of the faith of Christ.

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. Herself Holy Mother of God- 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 participation Mother of God in Housebuilding of Holy Russia. Kyiv, that is, 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 wives 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.

• The Repose of Blessed Princess Olga, in Holy Baptism Elena / St. Demetrius of Rostov »

PRINCESS OLGA
Troparion, tone 1

Having fixed your mind with the wings of divine understanding, / you flew above the visible creature, / seeking God and the Creator of all kinds, / and having found Him, you received the birth of Baptism again, / enjoying the tree of the animal, abide incorruptible forever, / Olga the most glorious.

Another troparion, tone 8

In you, the God-wise Elena, the image of salvation is known to be in the country of Russia, / as if, having received the bath of holy Baptism, you followed Christ, / doing and teaching, to leave the idol charm, / take care of the soul, things are immortal, / the same and rejoices with the Angels, Equal-to-the-Apostles, your spirit.

Another troparion, tone 4

Leaving the flattery of idols, / followed Christ, the Immortal Bridegroom, Olga the God-wise, / rejoicing in His devil, / praying unceasingly / for those who honor your holy memory with faith and love.

Another troparion, Hellenic, tone 3

Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles, the chosen one of Christ, Princess Olga, / having given your people a drink of Christ’s pure and verbal milk, / praying to the Merciful God, / for forgiveness of sins / will give our souls.

Kontakion, tone 4

Let us sing today the Benefactor of all God, / who glorified God-wise Olga in Russia, / let her prayers / give our souls / forgiveness of sins.

Another kontakion, tone 4

Appear today the grace of all God, / glorify God-wise Olga in Russia, / with her prayers, Lord, / give people / remission of sins.

magnificence

We magnify thee, / the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, / like the dawn of the morning in our lands that shone / and the light of the Orthodox faith / foreshadowed to her people.

Prayers of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga

1.
Oh, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga, Russian first-year-old, 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 the holy faith and instruct me to do the will of the Lord, so now, in heavenly being grace, favorable with your prayers to God, help us 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 gone astray from the right faith and heresy blinded by heresy, enlighten us, and ask us from the all-merciful God all that is good and useful in life temporal and eternal, yes, it is pleasing to live here, let us be worthy of 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.

O holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olgo, receive praise from us, unworthy servants of God (names), before your honest icon, praying and humbly asking: protect us with your prayers and intercession from misfortunes and troubles, and sorrows, and fierce sins; also deliver us from future torments, honestly creating your holy memory and glorifying God glorifying you, glorified in the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

O great saint of God, God-chosen and God-glorified, Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga! Thou hast rejected evil faith and pagan wickedness, thou hast believed in the One True Trinitarian God, and thou hast accepted holy baptism and 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 kingdom of all Russia, for its kings, rulers of the people, the army and for all people. For this sake, we humbly pray to you: look at our infirmities and beg 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, pursue 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 God, grant us His great mercy: may He save us from the invasion of foreigners, from internal discords, rebellions and strife, from hunger, deadly diseases and from all evil; may it give us the goodness of the air and the fruitfulness of the earth, may it give the shepherds zeal for the salvation of the flock, but all the people hastening to diligently correct their services, have love among themselves and unanimity, for the good of the Fatherland and the Holy Church, strive faithfully, may the light of saving faith shine in Our Fatherland, in all its ends; may unbelievers turn to faith, may all heresies and schisms be abolished; yes, having lived in peace on earth, let us be vouchsafed with you eternal bliss in heaven, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.