In the Orthodox church calendar, August 6 is Memorial Day of the pious brothers Boris and Hleb. Among the 12 sons of Prince Volodymyr the Great, they were distinguished by positive character traits: kindness, decency, mercy and humility before God. Their older brother Svyatopolk was the complete opposite: ambitious and power-loving.

When the father died, the younger sons were far from Kyiv. Boris was returning home from a campaign against the Pechenegs, and Hleb was ruling in Murom. Svyatopolk took advantage of their absence and took the throne. In order to strengthen his power, he decided to sneakily kill the younger brothers.

The princes were informed of the evil intentions of the elder brother, but not wanting discord, they readily met death. Boris died on August 6, 1015 on the banks of the Alta River, and 1.5 months later, Hleb was killed near Smolensk.

Fearing the anger of angry residents, Svyatopolk was forced to flee from Kyiv. Another son of Volodymyr, Yaroslav, took power into his own hands. He immediately ordered to transfer the relics of Boris to the Vyshhorod Church of St. Basil the Great. Hleb’s remains were found only 4 years later and buried in the same church.

• For the humble acceptance of martyrdom at the hands of co-religionists, Boris and Hleb were canonized as holy martyrs for the first time in the history of the Orthodox Church.