In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Beloved brethren, children of the Light,
Today we gather in festal joy to celebrate the glorious memory of our father among the saints, the blessed prince and illuminator of the Russian land, Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. Like the great Constantine before him, Vladimir was called from the shadows of idolatry into the marvelous light of Christ; and not for himself alone did he receive this grace, but for a multitude—for the people entrusted to him by God’s providence.
Behold, brothers and sisters, the wondrous mystery: how the Lord raises up rulers not merely to govern according to the sword, but to shepherd according to the Cross. For Vladimir, once a prince of passions and a son of the flesh, became by grace a prince of virtue and a son of the Spirit. As once Saul was struck blind on the road to Damascus and arose as Paul, so too was Vladimir illumined by the preaching of the Gospel and the vision of the Light uncreated, and arose a new man, a new prince, a new father of a Christian nation.
Let us recall how he sought after wisdom among the nations, desiring to find the true God. The envoys went east and west, observing the Latin rites, the Muslim discipline, and the Jewish customs; but when they beheld the Divine Liturgy in the Temple of Hagia Sophia, they confessed, “We knew not whether we were on earth or in heaven.” And thus, by the beauty of holiness and the majesty of true worship, was Vladimir’s heart moved.
And what is this beauty, beloved? It is the shining forth of the Kingdom of God on earth. It is the victory of Christ, who reigns from the throne of His Cross. It is the mystery of the Church, wherein the weak are made strong, the sinful made righteous, and the dead made alive. Vladimir beheld this and was pierced in the heart. Casting down his idols, he entered the holy waters of baptism in the name of the All-Holy Trinity, and emerged as a second Constantine, a new apostle, a father of the Orthodox people.
O blessed prince, who planted the Cross upon the rivers of Kiev as a standard of life! O shepherd, who turned the hearts of a nation from the darkness of many gods to the one Light of Christ! O builder of churches, defender of widows, lover of the poor! Even now, in the courts of heaven, you intercede for the children of your baptism, for the lands that sprang forth from the Dnieper, and for all the Orthodox faithful who call upon your name.
And let us, beloved, follow his example. Let us cast aside our idols—of pride, of wealth, of lust, of vainglory—and enter daily into the baptismal font of repentance. Let us seek first the Kingdom of God, whose beauty excels all the glories of this passing world. And let us sing with the angelic hosts and with Saint Vladimir: “Glory to Thee, O Christ our God, who hast shown us the Light!”
Through the prayers of our holy and God-bearing father Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, may Christ our true God have mercy on us and save us.
Amen.
