The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-11-08
RUssIA's CONVERSION.

How Russia was Made Christian State by
the Will Of One Man.
New York Evening Post.
The prospect we have now Of war
between Russia, in her capacity of
Christian power, and Turkey as the
leader OF Mohammedanism, gives in
terest to the strange story that history
tells OF the way in which Russia be-.
came Christian, wrestling her CONVEX
sion by force of arms from the Empe.
rors Basil and Constantine in their cap
ltal, Constantinople.
In the latter half of the tenth CEN
tury the Grand Prince Sviatozlaf man.
aged to get his own skull trimmed
with gold, inscribed with legend and
made more useful as a drinking cup
than it had ever been as skull, and
his three sons divided Russia between
them. 1t happened, however, that
one Of the sons, Vladimir, had ability
and courage, two useful qualities
which his brothers lacked, and, hay
ing ambition also, he was not long in
depriving himself of brothers, and
providing himself with a united empire
whose borders he diligently labored to
tACt1U Ill every ulIeCClOn.
Failing to secure the affections of a
princess whom he desired to marry,
Vladimir made war upon her father,
slew him with his own hand, and,
without washing off the blood with
which his palm was stained, compelled
the lady to become his wife.
Vladimir was pagan. and after win
ming this and other wars in which he
had been engaged, he piously resolved
to give public thanks to his gods, and
especially to PERFUME, the god of the
golden Whiskers, upon whom he con-
ferred new and costly beard for the
occasion. He planned to sacrifice a
Christian youth upon this gods altar,
and was prevented only by the obsti.
macy of his chosen victim, who resist
ed so stoutly that he was slain in the
attempt to win his consent by force.
Pious as he was, however, Vladimir
was not by any means satisfied that
his religion was the best that could be
had, or that his gods were altogether
worthy of his countenance. He listen
ed to the missionaries of various faiths
who sought to convert him, and tried
to choose between them by process
of elimination. Judaism he rejected
as unfit for a great young empire be.
cause their followers had been unable
to preserve their own national exist
ence, and were wanderers on the face
of the earth. MOhammedanism did
not please him because it's sacred book
forbade the use of wine, and Vladimir
esteemed wine one of the necessary
things of life. The Roman Church
recognized in it's Pope person super
ior to himself, and therefore he would
have nothing to do with it. Thus one
faith after another was rejected for
ause,and only that of the Greek Church
seemed possible to him. He had pur-
sued his studies of theology diligently,
and sent commission of learned men
to study each faith in it's home.
Finally he determined to become a
Christian of the Greek school, and
straigjtway determined to!be baptized,
but here a difficulty presented itself.
To be baptized he must have a priest.
There were priests enough in his cap
ital, Of course, but they we're despised
missionaries, belonging to the lower
order of the clergy, and Vladimir pos
itivelv would not become a Christian
through the agency of less person
than an Archbishop. AS there was
no Archbishop in Russia the great
pagan Emperor must Of course import
one from the Byzantine Empire to con-
vert and baptiZe him, and he knew
very well that the royal heads of the
Greek Empire and Church would glad
ly send him dozen or score of their
most exalted ecclesiastics in regal state
for the purpose but the young con.
vert to Christianity was not accostom-
ed to ask favors of the Byzantine En-
perOrs, and he would rather have re.
manned an unconverted pagan than ask
for the means of conversion.
He had made up his mind. however,
to become Christian, and he deter
mined to march an army into the
neighboring nation and capture an
Archbishop by force, taking the King
dom of Heaven by violence, as it were
His followers approved this plan right
heartily, as it would give them ample
opportunities for plumber, and war
was at once declared by this convert
in search of an Archbishop to baptize
him.
His first point of attack was the City
of Kaffa, in the Crimea, but the resist
ance made was so vigorous that his
siege Of six months threatened to end
in failure. When matters were at
their worst. however, treachery came
to his aid, and, learning the source of
the city water supply, he cut it off
and compelled a capitulation.
Vladimir now had Archbishops in
plenty, and, the water having been re-
stored to it's channels, there was no
obstacle to his Immediate baDtism