Primate of UOC says how to follow the path of the Holy Princess Olga (VIDEO)

On the feast day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine addressed believers with the words of a sermon at St. Olga’s Cathedral in Kiev. Vladyka said how one should live to really feel a follower of the saint.

"The Holy Princess Olga was named Equal-to-the-Apostles, because she initiated the period of enlightenment of Holy Rus, marked the beginning of the adoption of our holy Orthodox faith by our people," said His Beatitude Onufry. " Olga, a woman from Pskov, met her future husband Prince Igor on the hunt. The prince had his heart set on her beauty and wisdom. They got married, and St. Olga was a faithful wife and assistant to the prince."

Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine said how St. Olga, while still a pagan, was able to take revenge on the Drevlians who killed her husband.

"He was killed by the Drevlians in Korosten – a town in today’s Zhitomir region," said the Primate of the UOC. – The princess with the army placed the town under siege but failed to storm it. And then she resorted to a tricky thing. She asked for pigeons or sparrows from each house, since she did not want to burden the town people any further with the tgribute they couldn’t pay. Then Olga requested soldiers to attach to a leg of each bird a piece of inflammable staff. When night fell, Olga ordered to release the pigeons and the sparrows. The birds flew to their nests, setting the town on fire. Thus she managed to conquer Korosten. The local prince, amazed by the beauty and intelligence of the princess, wanted to marry her, but she refused. Ten years after the death of Prince Igor, Princess Olga went to Constantinople was baptized there."

Vladyka said that even the Greek emperor insisted on marrying the princess. But her sharp mind allowed her to avoid an unwanted marriage.

"She decided to devote her life to the service of God," said His Beatitude Onufry. "The princess built churches and enlightened people." And so she laid the foundation for the baptism of Rus, which was later done by her grandson, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. We glorify Princess Olga as God's servant, as an enlightener, as a saint who took upon herself work equal to the apostles. We wonder how St. Olga adopted Christianity: no one preached to her, and no one taught her. She came to everything with her own mind. When a person has high intelligence, an ability to compare and analyze events and phenomena of life, this intelligence will lead a person to Christ. When the princess was a pagan, her intelligence gave her an opportunity to take revenge on enemies, to defeat them by cunning. But when she got to know Christ, she focused her mind on serving people in order to teach people that eternal truth of God which makes a human happy and blessed. And, honoring the memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles princess, we must ask ourselves a question: are we her followers? We are her followers and descendants. But are we her descendants in spirit? Do we love Christ the way she loved him? Do we care that our land is decorated with temples and monasteries to glorify the name of God there? Because the task of man on earth is not to collect as much earthly goods as possible, but to glorify God's name on earth with their own life, their own lips and their own heart. It is such a man that the Lord grants eternal life in Heaven."

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