St Olga of Kiev

 

Giving thy mind wings with the knowledge of God, thou didst soar beyond visible creatures, seeking the God and Creator of all things; and having found Him, thou didst receive rebirth by baptism. Since thou dost enjoy the Tree of Life, thou remainest incorrupt for all eternity, O ever-glorious Olga.

    If ever the church had its own version of John Wick, it would be St. Olga of Kiev. St. Olga was the spiritual daughter of the Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine, Son of Leo, and while conflicting reports are spread about her in regards to her conversion, it is known she was one of the first pagans to convert to Christianity from Kievan Rus.  She was the regent for her son, Sviatoslav, who refused to convert to Christianity, unlike his mother.  Her husband, Igor was the successor to Rurik, founder of the Rurik Dynasty and it was this marriage that caused the John Wick scenario that I alluded to at the beginning of this post. 

    During this pagan period in the eastern part of Europe rival tribes and rival lords competed with each other for control of land, supremacy and wealth. Igor, was the leader of Kievan Rus, the eventual state that would form what we know as Russia today. Igor was the Prince of Kiev and as such had many tribes which paid tribute. One of those was Drevlians.  Igor not satisfied with the tribute given to him by the Drevlians returned to their capital and was subsequently tortured, eventually being torn completely in two.  I will spare the more graphic details, but Olga upon hearing this plotted her revenge by agreeing to marry the Prince of the Drevlians. The diplomatic party was then buried alive by her forces, and at a funeral party she hosted with the Drevlians, 5,000 were executed.  This was not a lady to mess with. She laid siege to Korosten.  She used pigeons to set the city ablaze and executed the surviving members of the city. After this she continued to rule in place of her son, as the Grand Princess of Kiev. 

    This is where Christianity finally enters into the narrative for Olga. She decided some time in the 950s AD, to visit Emperor Constantine VII, son of Leo in Constantinople. While there she was overcome with the beauty of Christianity and the life of the Church.  Recognizing her misdeeds and her desire for more from life than what it had given her, she was instructed by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Emperor in the faith and converted receiving the name Elena, and becoming the spiritual daughter of Constantine to avoid marrying him.  She returned to Kiev and earnestly tried to convert her son, but Sviatoslav refused saying his subjects would laugh at him if he decided to convert to Christianity. However she planted the seeds of faith in her grandson, Vladimir, who would convert the entire nation to Christianity a few decades later. She is known to have built churches in Kiev and Pskov, among other places and is renowned throughout Eastern Europe as equal to the apostles for her undying faith and loyalty to Christ. Though her reign started out as a bloodbath in revenge for the death of her husband, she was able to repent of her sins that she committed to become one of the Church's most beloved saints.  

Amen.