Memory of the world: The exhibition “Now I know the true God” to the millennium anniversary of the Saint Prince Vladimir in Saint-Petersburg

The Museum of the History of Religion (St. Petersburg) opened an exhibition dedicated to one of the most important political figures in the history of the Russian state - the Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev Svyatoslavich, the Baptist of Rus’.

More than 150 exhibits are the most important stages of development of the country's history the era of St. Vladimir.

The exhibition begins with the story of the pagan beliefs of ancient Russia as an example of a unique complex never showed to the public exhibits. This burial items of the IX – the first half of the X century of the Pyatnitskiy burial of tribe muroma of the Volga-Finnish funeral rites (burial ground excavations and research expedition led by K. Y. Vinogradov in 1937 near the town of Murom).

Semantic center of the exhibition is the section devoted to the choice of faith, Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Russia. According to the chronicle of traditional chronology, the baptism of Rus’ usually attributed to the 988, which originates from the official history of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the "Tale of Bygone Years" Prince Vladimir in the Byzantine city of Korsun (Khersones) received Christian baptism by Byzantine model. Events related to the baptism of Rus', presented at the exhibition of the famous picture of I. L. Eginnka "Grand Prince Vladimir chooses religion" (1822), large-format canvases of V. M. Nazaruk "Christianization of Rus’" and "Farewell of Perun" (1988 ), as well as icons of St. Prince Vladimir, the holy Princess Olga, St. Emperor Constantine, the Apostle Paul and others.

The spread of Christianity in the Russian lands and the establishment of Russian Christian culture are dedicated to the third section of the exhibition. Christianity came to Russia with portrait tradition, new architectural techniques, iconography and chronology. The development of new for the Russian state and the written book tradition in the exhibition show the icons of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a facsimile edition of the Gospel of the Archangel (Moscow, 1902), prepared by D. S. Likhachev in 1950 edition of the first part of "The Tale of Bygone Years", a sculpture of M. M. Antokolsky "Nestor the Chronicler" (1889) and other exhibits.

The exhibition concludes with a section about the history of the veneration of St. Vladimir. The memory of Saints Vladimir was reflected in iconography and painting, in Russian chronicles and literary works in the objects of arts and crafts. The exhibition widely presents icons of Prince Vladimir. And as a reward, a special place in the veneration of saints: four degrees of the Order "St. Vladimir", founded in 1782 by Empress Catherine II.

The exhibition will run until November 22, 2015.