Kyiv
City of the Rus’ on the Dnieper, Vladimir’s seat. The Primary Chronicle, compiled there, tells how Vladimir destroyed its idols, had its people baptized in the river and built a church of the Mother of God.
According to the Primary Chronicle, Vladimir the Great returned from Chersonesus to Kyiv, had the image of Perun dragged down to the Dnieper and summoned the whole city to the river to be baptized. He built a church of St Basil on the hill where the idols had stood (Primary Chronicle, year 988), and then a church of the Mother of God, built by craftsmen from Greece, to which he gave a tenth of his revenues (Primary Chronicle, years 989–996). See the Baptism of Rus’.
What happened here
- AD 988/989, estimated dateThe Baptism of Rus’
Vladimir, prince of Kyiv, accepts baptism from Constantinople and marries the emperor’s sister. The chronicle of Kyiv tells of a choice among faiths and of his people baptized in the Dnieper; Greek and Arabic writers tell of an alliance.
- 6 January 2019, firm dateConstantinople Grants Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew hands Metropolitan Epiphanius a tomos declaring the Orthodox Church in Ukraine autocephalous. The Moscow Patriarchate, which counts Ukraine as its own canonical territory, has already broken communion with Constantinople over the decision.
Primary sources
Primary Chronicle (Tale of Bygone Years)
- Primary Chronicle, year 988mgh-bibliothek.de
- Primary Chronicle, years 989–996mgh-bibliothek.de