The prayer of St. Olga - the princess of Kiev

The miraculous icon of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga pray along with other great saints, it is venerated not only in the Orthodox faith, but also in the Catholic faith. The prayer of St. Olga always helps those who sincerely and sincerely do it. In the sixteenth century, she was canonized, her imperishable relics were placed in the Church of the Tithes , but later much time passed and they disappeared without a trace. In order to understand what the Grand Duchess deserved such holiness, under what circumstances she can be prayed and when the day of St. Olga, it is necessary to get acquainted with the description of her life, which is very contradictory, sufficiently voluminous and requires careful study. However, let's go through the most important and interesting moments of her life.

Princess Olga and Christianity

The prayer of St. Olga is most powerful when you understand what this great ruler experienced and how she achieved her goal. By the way, the Slav name Olga became a derivative of the ancient Scandinavian name Helga, which translates as "wise", "sacred", "clear". And this left a certain imprint on her fate, her character and her behavior. Certainly, it was a very wise and strong woman, everyone knew this perfectly, and even the enemies agreed with this.

Before answering the question about the prayer of St. Olga in what helps, it should be noted that Princess Olga was the first woman who, after the death of her husband, ruled Kievan Rus until 962. She was born in about 890, almost a hundred years before the baptism of Rus, and spent a very dignified and pious life, having lived up to 80 years. St. Olga went down in history as the first Russian princess, who adopted Christianity and changed the centuries-old pagan foundations and culture of her state.

The life of the saint

From the "Tale of Bygone Years" it is known that Olga was from the village of Vybuty, located on the Pskov land. The names of her parents are unknown, most likely, they were not altogether noble Varangian clan, at least this fact is hinted at by the Old Scandinavian origin of her name. The presence of Scandinavians in those places is indicated by a number of archaeological finds.

Olga's acquaintance with the Grand Duke in the annals is described as follows: once Igor hunted in the Pskov forests, where, hunting down another prey, he found himself at the river Velikaya and wanted to cross to the other shore. At that time a boat was passing by with a girl whom the prince at first took for a young man. She was dressed in a man's apparel, and he was very surprised when he saw in her a beautiful girl. She liked the prince very much, he wanted to deceive her with his sweet speeches. But the chaste Olga immediately shamed the traveler with wise words. Thus ended their first meeting.

Prophetic Oleg

Prince Igor was the only heir to Prince Rurik, after the death of his father, his guardian became Novgorod governor Oleg, who loved him and brought him up as a real warrior. Soon it was time to marry Igor, and they began to look for a decent bride, but he did not choose anybody. In the heart of Igor has already left its mark Pskov girl Olga. Then he sent his messengers there to find her. After a while, she was brought to the capital city of Kiev with honors, where she became the wife of the Grand Duke.

Voevoda, after marrying Igor, began to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods, so that they gave Igor an heir, but, without waiting for this, Oleg dies from the bite of a poisonous snake.

Olga was disappointed by pagan gods, who for many years of sacrifice did not bring results, because she did not have children. The Grand Duchess was very worried about the fact that the prince would start looking for another wife who would give him an heir. Then she began to tear and fervently pray to the one Christian God, and He heard her prayers. Soon Olga gave birth to an heir named Svyatoslav. Prince Igor, distraught with happiness, as a token of gratitude, piled up his wife with various expensive gifts, which she donated to the Kiev temple of the Holy Prophet Elijah (this is the first Christian church that still exists in Kiev on the Dnieper).

Epiphany

In the study of the theme "The Prayer of St. Olga - the Protector of the Name", it must be noted that the princess believed in the Christian God so that she soon became baptized with the name Elena. Patriarch of Constantinople blessed her with a cross carved from the life-giving tree of the Cross of the Lord. On it was an inscription in which it was said that the Russian land was resurrected together with this Holy Cross, which was today accepted by Princess Olga of Kiev.

Since then, Princess Olga has become an ancient woman who revived the Christian faith in Russia. She returned to her homeland and began preaching the Christian teaching to the Gentiles and building temples.

The main miracle, which occurred thanks to the spiritual asceticism of St. Olga, is the baptism of Rus. Prince Vladimir of Kiev, her grandson, did this on the instructions of his grandmother. Therefore, Orthodox Christians very often in their prayers mention Saint Olga and St. Vladimir together.

Prayer of St. Olga: features

In 1547 Princess Olga was ranked as the Equal of the Apostles. In Christian history, this treatment applies only to five women: St. Mary Magdalene, martyr of Apphia, the first martyr Fekla, the holy queen Elena (the mother of Emperor Constantine I) and the educator Nina Georgian.

The prayer of St. Olga is read before the icon in order to receive her patronage in various everyday affairs. But especially women pray to her that she would ask the Lord for the birth of a child, and if there are children, especially sons, to protect them from troubles and misfortunes.

There is also the prayer of St. Olga about marriage, which begins with the words: "Oh Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga, Russian First-year-old ..."

Before the icon of St. Olga pray from enemies and from anyone who wants to come into the house with unclean thoughts. She is prayed for by women who have lost a child or husband in order to cope with grief and find peace in their souls.

Prayer to St. Olga, patroness of the name

St. Olga is the heavenly patroness of women with this name, so it is especially important for them to seek prayer protection from their saint with the words "Pray for me, Olga, God's saint ...".

St. Olga's day is celebrated on July 24 (11) and on July 17 (4). Only the first date of the Orthodox Church honors in honor of the princess of Kiev Princess Olga, and the second - in honor of the holy passion-bearer of the Grand Duchess Olga (the eldest daughter of Nicholas II).