Ukraine: First Christian nation consecrated to the Mother of God

In 1036, Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978-1054, son of St Vladimir the Great), defeated the nomadic Pechenegs who were attacking the lands of Kievan Rus’ (present day ‘Ukraine’) and out of gratitude to God and His most Holy Mother, he built the beautiful and still standing Cathedral of St Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Kiev and erected the Church of the Annunciation at the Golden Gates of the city.

In 1037, in that same Church of the Annunciation, he placed the entire nation of Kievan Rus’ under the protection of the Mother of God. Thus, by the will of the God-fearing Monarch Yaroslav the Wise, the land of Rus’ Ukraine was the first Christian nation to be officially consecrated by its leader to the protection and patronage of the All Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.(1)

The Virgin Oranta (Ukrainian: Оранта - from the Latin: “praying”) is a well-known Eastern Christian depiction of the Virgin Mary in prayer with extended arms. She is found in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine. The 6-meter-high mosaic is located in the apse of the Sanctuary. The icon has been present in the cathedral since its foundation by Yaroslav I the Wise in the 11th century.

The image is considered as one of the greatest sacred symbols in Ukraine, a palladion defending the people of the country. It has been called the “Indestructible Wall" or "Unmoveable Wall." Legend says that as long as the Theotokos is extending her arms in prayer over Kiev, the city will stand indestructible.

The embroidered handkerchief on the belt of the Mother of God is popularly thought to be for wiping away the tears of those who come before her with their problems and concerns.(2)

(1) Excerpt from “A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year” by Julian Katrij, 1983. cf p.229 ‘The Feast of the Pokrov (Patronage) of the Most Holy Theotokos

(2) Oranta

Contribution from Hieromonk Teodosy, a Ukrainian reader of A Moment with Mary, August 2019 

(Hiermonk Teodosy resides at the Monastic Skete (monastery) of the Precious and Life-creating Cross (Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church) in the Eparchy of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.)