FEATURES OF ADOPTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN RUSSIA

UDC 947

The first news about the penetration of Christianity in the territory of the settlement of the Slavic tribes associated with the name of St. Andrew. The author of "The Tale of Bygone Years" wrote with absolute certainty, that Andrew was not just climbing the Dnieper, but also erected a cross on the site of Kiev. Legendary character of this news set another famous historian of the Orthodox Church E. Golubinsky based on other evidence Chronicle, whereby, territorii the Russians did not even Odin propovedoval Apostle.

More reliable fact, permit to fix the appearance of Christianity in the Slavic tribes, is the mention of "Circular Epistle" Patriarch Photios the baptism of the Rus. Other sources of the same era, mentioning about this event, credited with a leading role in it brothers Cyril and Methodius - the creators of the Slavic alphabet. Other researchers see the news Photius evidence that part of the baptism of the Rus, that inhabited the Crimean peninsula. In favor of the latter assumption is the fact of the establishment of a diocese Chersonesos. From this point on, Christianity began to penetrate into the territory of East Slavs.

Of course, Christianity spread not in all populations, and among the noble and knyazheskoy administrations. Extant testify, Christians are not subjected to infringement of rights as compared to the Gentiles. In favor initially loyal attitude of the Eastern Slavs to Orthodox religion is the fact, that Princess Olga, widow of Prince Igor, embrace Orthodoxy during his trip to Constantinople in 952 of, does not lose the ability to control the country.

The next step in familiarizing the Slavs to Christianity was made the grandson of Olga, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. In the middle of the 980-s. he accepted the Christian faith in its Byzantine form, and 988 g. made Christianity the official religion of the new emerging Russian state. This step preceded by an attempt to create a unified East Slavic pantheon of deities, dictated by domestic political interests of Prince Vladimir. Create a new state, composed of different tribes, possessed within the linguistic and cultural unity and religious originality, should have been accompanied by the establishment of a state religion, but the mechanical connection of the supreme gods of different tribes were not viable because of the inability to reconcile the contradictions that arise. Adoption of Christianity, which was not completely unfamiliar religion, and had another obvious plus - there is an opportunity to establish international contacts on the basis of religious community, that would have been difficult in the case of conservation of paganism.

The first act of the baptism of Rus residents occurred in 988 g. on reke Pochayna (tributaries Dnepra), then diverging wave compulsory baptism rites swept limits endless plains of East Slavic. However, baptism is not always passed peacefully. Evangelization in Novgorod 990 g. became a symbol of the struggle, which was to lead the Christian religion for full approval in the new territory. Only by military force Dobrnya, uncle and governor of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, Novgorod managed to get thrown into the river and idols to accept Christianity.

Some indirect news that, how hard it was on the Baptism of Russia in the north and north-east, where this process is hampered by most of the population belonging to the Finno-Ugric community, Donoso us chronicles. Already 1024 g. was raised a rebellion against Christianity in Suzdal. Unrest 1071 of, erupted in Novgorod, soon spread throughout northern Russia, developing into such large-scale riots, that suppress their possible only by means princely. Instigators of unrest against the new religion were, according to the chronicles, Magi - the priests of pagan cults, whose preservation, albeit in latent form, indicates, that the process of the Christianization of Rus lasted for hundreds of years.

But even in those cases, when no external hostility, and residents dutifully agreed to accept Christianity and discard the old idols, it was difficult to talk about the undoubted successes of the new religion. Ostensible Christianization provided combined with shelter from prying eyes preserving faith in the former tribal deities, and ancestor spirits. Thus arose the peculiar phenomenon of Russian religious culture, dubbed dvoeverie. Two religious systems do not exist independently of each other, and closely intertwined: new Christian realities found himself in a familiar analogy pagan cults. Coexistence of Christianity with pagan polytheism, contributed outward signs of the new religion, that could easily be perceived as evidence of a cult of individual deities. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and Virgin, apostles and numerous saints and saints - they are all endowed with pagan functions. Interweaving paganism and Christianity reflected also in the field of religious: new churches are often built on the same place, housed the temple of the pagan gods, thus to bring to their visit ordinary people, not yet had time to get into the spirit of the new religion.

The church is Russian Orthodox Church was created much later than the date of the adoption of Christianity: only 1037 g. Patriarch of Constantinople appointed to Kiev first metropolitan. The next step towards achieving at least the relative independence of the church was made in 1047 of, when Prince Yaroslav the Wise succeeded in placing on Russia first Russian Metropolitan Illariona, became famous Russian scribe and author of the treatise "Word on Law and Grace", is one of the must-read books of medieval Russian human.

References

1. Dukhanin, In. The hidden world of Orthodoxy. - M., 2006.
2. Zenkovsky, VV. Problems of education in the light of Christian anthropology. M., 1996.

References

1. Dukhanin, In. Sokrovennihyj mir Pravoslaviya. – M., 2006.
2. Zenjkovskiyj, V.V. Problems vospitaniya in the Holy khristianskoyj Antropología. M., 1996.

Received 24.05.12