St. Boris

St. Boris was a son of St. Vladimir, the grand prince who led the Rus' to Christianity, and a prince of Kievan Rus' in the early eleventh century. When Vladimir died in 1015, a struggle for the throne broke out among his sons, and Boris's elder brother Svyatopolk, seeking to seize sole power, sent men to kill him.

Forewarned of the plot, Boris had at his command soldiers who would have fought for him, yet he refused to raise arms against his own brother or to shed the blood of fellow Christians in a struggle for earthly power. Choosing instead to imitate the meekness of Christ, he awaited his murderers in prayer and was killed without resistance. His younger brother Gleb was slain soon after in the same way. Together Boris and Gleb were among the very first saints canonized by the Church of the Rus', honored not as martyrs for the faith but as "passion-bearers" who accepted innocent death in the spirit of Christ. They are celebrated on 24 July.