July: Day 11: Holy Right-Believing Princess Olga

 

July: Day 11:
Holy Right-Believing Princess Olga
 
(In the Christian Faith There Is a Great and Invaluable Blessing)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Right-Believing Grand Princess Olga, whose memory is celebrated today, according to tradition, was a native of the Pskov region. By chance she became the wife of the Grand Prince of Kiev, Igor, and after his death in 946 she became the ruler of the state, due to her son Svyatoslav being a minor. At the beginning of her rule, she first of all tried to take revenge on a neighboring tribe - the Drevlians, who were hostile to the Russians and especially aroused Olga's anger by the fact that they had treacherously killed her husband Igor. Olga carried out this revenge with such cunning and cruelty, which in those days were common among pagans, whose hearts were not softened by the love of Christ. The chronicler tells of Olga's revenge and tricks: when the Drevlian prince Malk sent to ask for her hand, Olga deceived the ambassadors, lured them to her and ordered them to be buried alive in a pit; she also burned the ambassadors sent by the Drevlians from among the famous citizens in a bathhouse, and killed the others at her husband's grave, having lured them by cunning for his commemoration. She took the Drevlian city of Korosten itself by another trick: having imposed three pigeons and three sparrows from each household as a tribute on the inhabitants, she ordered that burning tinder with sulfur be tied to these birds and released into the wild: they returned with the fire to their nests and started a fire. Having thus taken possession of the city, Olga condemned the oldest citizens to death and imposed a heavy tribute on the rest. 

Gifted with great intelligence, she could not help but notice the superiority of the Christian faith over the pagan one. Soon her heart was changed by evangelical purity and Christian love, completely alien to pagan vindictiveness, and was completely reborn. After accepting baptism in Constantinople, Olga became completely different. Instead of vindictiveness and cruelty, she everywhere showed humility and Christian love. Traveling through various regions and cities of Russia, she everywhere appeared merciful and benevolent in fulfilling just requests, built churches and decorated them; in a word, she took care that the light of true knowledge of God illuminated the entire Russian land. These are the good fruits that the Christian faith brought, both to the most faithful Grand Princess Olga herself and to her subjects!

II. Christian brethren! Only in the Christian faith is there a great and, moreover, inestimable blessing.

a) Without a firm faith in Christ, we would remain children of the wrath of God and eternal condemnation would inevitably await us. But glory and thanksgiving to the Lord God, who called us from darkness into His marvelous light and gave us the right to be sons and heirs of His Heavenly Kingdom!

After all, we have not experienced the terrible state of being outside the light of the gospel, in the darkness of the soul, in the languor and torment of conscience, in fear of heavenly wrath, without hope of forgiveness and mercy. From the day of our birth, the Holy Church has taken us under her protection, revived us with the font of Baptism into eternal life and united us in the Mystery of Holy Communion with Christ. Therefore, let us cherish our Orthodox Christian faith, in which we were born and without the light of which we have not lived.

b) Faith arranges for the well-being of people. Our dear fatherland provides amazing proof of this. How many good consequences has the Orthodox Christian faith produced since its introduction in Russia? Was it not the Orthodox faith that raised the Russian kingdom to the degree of glory and greatness that it now enjoys? Was it not the Orthodox faith that inspired the people in difficult times of public calamities? Was it not the Orthodox faith that taught them patience and submission in all misfortunes? Was it not the Orthodox faith that consoled and encouraged the people during the Tatar yoke? Was it not the Orthodox faith that inspired the people to fight for their homeland and the Church? Was it not the Orthodox faith that stirred up the people to the greatest feats and sacrifices? Was it not the Orthodox faith that finally saved Russia from foreign enslavement? Yes, brethren, we can with all justice repeat the words of the Holy Apostle Paul about our fatherland, that it achieved righteousness through faith, conquered kingdoms, received promises, shut the mouths of lions that sought to devour it or its steadfast defenders, made strong out of weakness, was valiant in battles, and turned foreign armies to flight (Heb. 11:33-34).

III. Let us treasure our holy faith, let us guard it as the apple of our eye. Let us not betray it, let us not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, but let us always remember our Christian calling. Let us strive not only to be considered Christians in name, but also in life itself. Let us avoid that which is characteristic only of pagans, who are not enlightened by the light of true knowledge of God. For he who tramples upon the Son of God and does not count the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, as holy (Heb. 10:36), will be guilty of the gravest condemnation, says the Holy Apostle Paul.

Thus, for the sake of the memory of the Holy Right-Believing Princess Olga, we pray you with the Holy Apostle not to receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor. 6:1). Therefore, let us value this grace of God, let us try to kindle in ourselves the spirit of that faith with which the first Christians went to the stake and were ready to endure all kinds of torture, but not to betray it. After all, our earthly and heavenly happiness and that of our fatherland depend on this. Amen.  

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.