Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians celebrate the baptism of Kievan Rus' (AsiaNews)

During the reign of St. Vladimir the Great, the people of Kievan Rus’ (map) were baptized in 988. In Kiev, an estimated 350,000 Orthodox faithful took part in a procession led by bishops of the the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, issued a statement in which he also recalled the 425th anniversary of the Union of Brest, in which several Orthodox bishops entered into full communion with the Catholic Church.