Saint Olga of Kiev laminated blassing orthodox icon for your wallet

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Saint Olga of Kiev laminated blassing orthodox icon for your wallet:
$2.32

Agia Olga Kiev

Agia Olga

Birth Pskov 879

Wife Igorof Kiev

ChildrenSviatoslav A of Kiev

Celebrationsaint July 11

MultimediaCommons page on the topic

Agia Olga (Ольга, 889 - 24 July 969) is the first saint coming from theRus, the ancestors of today\'s Russian and Ukrainian. Born in Pskov and daughter were Varangiannobility - the original Scandinavian name was Helga (Helga). For the exact yearof birth we are not sure. The later First Time places 879, but based on this chronologyseems born only son of Sviatoslav older than 60 years! Most likely born in 889.

At a veryyoung age (~ 903) Olga pantrefthike the Rurik Dynasty Igor, the future leaderof the Kievan Rus\', and settled in Kiev. Her husband was murdered in 945 byDrevlianous when collecting tribute, so the throne to pass to their little sonSviatoslav was still an infant. So Olga he became guardian until he came ofage, exercising for almost two decades, the real power in the state.

Firstconcern was to take revenge for the death of her husband, which she did withgreat ferocity. At a time when there was no written record and it is difficultto distinguish fact from fable, he said Drevlianous massacred many and closedothers living on board vessels, which then sank. Others were executed at thestake, and finally witnessed the following typical story: While besieging acity, promised to leave if each house give her a domestic pigeon forpropitiation. The besieged believed it and they delivered the gifts, but as Olgawas leaving he fired at the feet of pigeons. These frightened instinctivelyturned to their homes, setting fire to the roofs of houses. So burned the wholecity.

Atreligious level, Olga was the first leader of the Rus who left paganism toChristianity. The baptism became the 955m.Ch with great solemnity in Istanbul and took the Christian name of thegodmother Helen Helen Lekapenos, wife of Emperor Constantine VII. Another visitto the City, two years later, described in detail by Constantine in his book De Ceremoniis AulaeByzantinae. Slavic sources say that Constantine impressed by her beauty and askedin marriage, fame however contradicted both by age and by the fact that Constantine was already married.

The lastyears of her life, after his adulthood Sviatoslav and termination ofguardianship (965) were spent in the castle of Visgkoront near Kiev with her grandchildren. One of thegrandsons, Vladimir, would later become the leader of the Rus introducedChristianity as the state religion. Simultaneously Olga pursued his internaladministration, since Sviatoslav absent continuously in long campaigns. Deathfound in advanced age in 969. For its efforts to spread Christianity in theterritories of Rus and Equal to the Apostles proclaimed saint by the Orthodoxchurch in 1587. Her memory is celebrated on the date of her death (according tothe Julian calendar) on July 11.