At a given signal, the whole multitude waded slowly into the stream. Some boldly advanced up to their necks; others, more timid, ventured only up to their waists. Fathers and mothers led their children by the hand. When all were standing quietly in the stream, the clergy upon the shore offered baptismal prayers, chanted hymns of thanksgiving, and then declared that all were Christians, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The multitude then came up from the water nominal Christians.
Vladimir, who was sincere and truthful in all these strange movements, was in a transport of joy. Profoundly excited by the sublimity of the scene, he raised his flooded eyes to heaven, and, with great fervor, offered the following simple and touching prayer:—
“O thou Creator of heaven and earth! extend thy blessing to these thy new children. May they know thee as the true God, and be strengthened by thee in the true religion! Come to my help against the temptations of the Evil Spirit, and I will praise thy name.”
Thus, at a blow, paganism was demolished throughout nearly all Russia, and Christianity was introduced in its place. Imperial energies were expended in rearing artistic churches of stone all over the empire. Christian missionaries, under the patronage of the emperor, traversed the realm, teaching the people the new religion. Nearly all the population gladly received the Christian faith. Some, however, still adhered to paganism. Vladimir respected their rights of conscience, and for a few years the wretched delusions of idolatry lingered in secluded spots; but Russia became nominally a Christian land.
Light dawned rapidly upon the mind of Vladimir, and he became a warm-hearted Christian,—one of the most loving and lovable of men. War had been his passion. In this respect his whole nature seemed to be changed. Nothing but dire necessity could lead him to an appeal to arms. ThePrincess Anne appears to have been a sincere Christian. She found a happy home in the Palace of Kief. Her virtues and piety won the love and reverence of her husband. Her whole life was devoted to doing good; and, when this Christian sister fell asleep in Jesus, she was soon followed to the tomb by her grief-stricken husband.
The name of Vladimir is still revered throughout all Russia. He was the greatest benefactor Russia ever knew. In his career we see how noble is the life of the Christian: it is the only life which is truly noble. Christianity, as a principle, embraces every virtue which can glow in an angel’s bosom: as an agent of beneficence, it promotes all conceivable good for time and eternity; as an agent of happiness, it fills all homes and all hearts with joy; as a motive to action, it combines all the conceivable joys of an endless life to inspire one with tireless energies to promote God’s glory and man’s welfare.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE REFORMATION.
Two Aspects of Catholicism.—Jubilee at Rome.—Infamy of Philip of France.—Banditti Bishops.—Sale of Indulgences.—Tetzel the Peddler.—The Rise of Protestantism.—Luther and the Diet at Worms.—Intolerance of Charles V.—Civil War and its Reverses.—Perfidy of Charles V.—Coalition against the Protestants.—Abdication of Charles V.—His Death.
