Saint Olga of Kiev

Life story

Olga's date of birth is unknown. According to the Primary Chronicle she came from Pskov; her origins are otherwise uncertain. She married Prince Igor of Kiev. In 945 the Drevlians killed Igor, and Olga became regent for her young son Sviatoslav, until about 957–964.

The chronicle says she took revenge on the Drevlians in several harsh ways: burning envoys in a bathhouse, killing guests at a funeral feast, and burning the city of Iskorosten with sulphur carried by birds. Historians regard this as the legendary part of her story, with only a little of it likely to be reliable. She is also credited with reorganising tribute collection and setting up administrative and trading posts called pogosty.

Sources disagree about when and where she was baptised. Church Slavonic sources and many historians place it on a journey to Constantinople around 957, and the emperor Constantine VII's own account describes her reception there. Some scholars think she was already Christian earlier in Kiev. The story of the emperor proposing marriage is probably a literary addition. She failed to convert Sviatoslav, and in 959 she sent an embassy to Otto I asking for a bishop; the mission failed.

Olga died at Kiev on 11 July 969, having asked for a Christian burial. Her grandson Vladimir made Christianity the state religion of Rus' in 988. The Russian Orthodox Church honours her as a saint equal to the apostles, with a feast on 11 July.

Works and witness

• Regent of Kiev for her son Sviatoslav after 945
• Reorganised tribute collection and set up administrative posts
• Baptised, most often placed on a journey to Constantinople around 957
• Sent an embassy to Otto I in 959 asking for a bishop (it failed)

Saints from the same country

Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych, Blessed Omelyan Kovch, Blessed Theodore Romzha, Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky

References

• Britannica, Saint Olga
• Orthodox Church in America, Equal-to-the-Apostles Blessed Great Princess Olga (oca.org)
• Primary Chronicle, as summarized in the above
• OrthodoxWiki, Olga of Kiev (orthodoxwiki.org)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.