State-Forming Principles Of Kyivan Rus: Spirituality, Education, Diplomacy (Dedicated To The 1030th Anniversary of Rus-Ukraine Baptism)

In the article, the author describes the features of Christian culture, which, in his opinion, represents the spiritual face of the era. It is stated that the Church in Kyivan Rus as a social creation contributed to the national unification and formation of Rus statehood, and on the basis of the unity of the Orthodox faith, national consciousness also increased. The author of the article emphasizes that with the adoption of Christianity, Rus became a full participant in the world historical process and the cultural Byzantine tradition. In particular, international trade and diplomatic relations developed more actively, and the national consciousness of young Rus was formed. The author summarizes the historiographical references and literary monuments of the 11th century. First of all, he examines the chronicle of Nestor the Chronicler, a monk of the Kyiv-Pechersk monastery, Instruction of Volodymyr Monomakh. A wide range of socio-political, religious and philosophical issues of the then society is defined. He reconstructs the school system of education of the then era and shows that the spread of Christianity contributed to the spread of education in the territory of Rus-Ukraine. The author believes that the historical experience of the achievements of the Christian life of Kyivan Rus will certainly serve the development of social and religious relations at the present stage, and the creation of a single local Orthodox Church is one of the most important national goals of Ukraine. The study of state-Church relations is impossible without taking into account the peculiarities of secular and confessional scientific circles, because they form an idea of understanding the problem within the Church and the state. Only the totality of this and other knowledge can form an idea of modern models of state-Church relations, determine ways of improvement, approve democracy, and so on. The article notes that there are very few domestic scientists who study Ukrainian religious and philosophical opinion in Ukraine. Keywords: Kyivan Rus, Christianity, cultural and spiritual life, Church, education system.