The Kiev river Pochayna hides the real secrets of the Baptism of Rus, which no one remembers for a long time ...
In the history of most ancient cultures, one can find unique natural objects, lost on the map and in time. One of these was the Kiev river Pochayna - the right tributary of the Dnieper, in which, according to historical facts, the Baptism of Rus took place. Existing in reality, it was erased from maps and human memory, but rose again.
History of Pochaina
School books say that in the Dnieper, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 988, held the first rite of baptism of the inhabitants of Kiev. Everyone knows that this very moment was the starting point for Orthodoxy in the territory of Kievan Rus, but very few people are interested in details. The exact place of the sacrament was precisely Pochayna or Smorodina, as it is called in some sources. On the feast of the Epiphany, after the conversion to Christianity in these places, the Great Sanctification of the water was arranged, before which the religious procession was arranged each year. This is evidenced by the vast majority of ancient chronicles and even textbooks of the Soviet period at a time when modern historians have overlooked this fact.
The choice of the place of baptism was beneficial from all points of view. Firstly, the river meant for the ancient Kiev people much more than the Dnieper itself. Secondly, most of the population and the basic infrastructure of the city were just on its shore. And the third, the most weighty, reason for baptism in Pochayna was the unpopulated banks of the Dnieper with thorny thickets, to wade through which no one wanted.
How was Baptism?
In the pre-Orthodox epic and fairy tales, Pochayna also managed to leave a mark. It was considered an analogue of the ancient Greek Styx, by which the dead were transported to the next world. It was in it lived the Serpent Gorynych with three heads and twelve tails, against which the heroes Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich and Ilya Muromets spoke. Here, before the Baptism, the idol of Veles - the patron saint of animals, traders and magicians, second after Perun in importance in the pantheon of the gods, was overthrown. Another proof, confirming the role of Pochayna in the adoption of Orthodoxy: in 1975 archaeologists discovered here the sacred oak of Perun and Veles, which served as a ritual place for worship.
After the destruction of the temples of the former gods, Prince Vladimir called on the people to be baptized and turn to the Church of Constantinople. During the ceremony all participants of the ceremony were offered a prayer:
"Great God, creating heaven and earth! Look to the new people, and give them, O Lord, to thee, the true God, as I have brought thee to the Christian country, and establish the faith in them right and unconditional, and help me, O Lord, against the adversary, and hoping for thee and thy power, Run off his plots! "
Unexplained abilities of the sacred river
Surprisingly, as the people's faith in the ideals of the religion they adopted was weakened, the river began to move away from them. At first she "concealed" her source: all historians were divided into two groups, arguing about whether he is in the Jordanian or Kirillovsky lake. Analysis of the chronicles and historical records of past centuries does not give any clarity: the river as if "disappeared" from the visibility of people for decades. In the course of time, even a group of historians, confident in the "independence" of Pochayny from the Dnieper, appeared.
An activist and researcher of the history of the ancient river Annabel Morina believes that historians still managed to come to a compromise:
"The main water tributaries ran from the mainland from the west, and not from the east, where the Dnieper flows. This chronicle of the river Voditsa, considered the first right tributary of Pochayna. This is a Muscle, Linnet, Chicken Brod, Zapadinka, Syrets. By the way, on the map of 1695 prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Ushakov at the request of Peter I, it is seen how the Syrets flows into Lake Dolgoe (Kirillovskoe), with which Pochayna was connected. In the area of the Khreshchatyk natural boundary, in the vicinity of the column of Magdeburg law, you can see a memorial tablet with the words that in 988 the Rus was baptized in the confluence of the Dnieper and Pochaina waves. "
And later Pochayna and at all seemed to prefer to disappear from people's eyes. Even in the XIX century it was a large pond, separated from the Dnieper long oblique. Once upon a time in its upper reaches was a large ancient harbor, which was even improved with the help of a canal system. The last such was dug in 1712 to facilitate access to ships ashore.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, when people's faith in higher powers fell, Pochayna began to become very chalky. The construction of the Northern Railway Ring began, cutting off the legendary river from the harbor. In the 70s, the remaining branches of the river began to fall asleep, despite the protests of local residents. From the river there was only Lake Opechen - and then, thanks to a well-placed dam. Pochayna "left" under the ground, becoming a system of lakes in underground reservoirs, from which flows a small river in the vicinity of Moscow Avenue. People finally offended the great river, giving it the status of "technical reservoirs."
Several years ago, developers from Kiev began to insist that there was no more Pochayny. Annabelle gathered activists to obstruct the road along the natural riverbed. Volunteers have made Pochayny entering the registers and maps, as well as protecting it from destruction. Annabel comments on his act like this:
"We must not become the generation that will ultimately finish this chronicle river."
Obviously, in gratitude for this the river showed her in 2017 a new miracle, about which the girl had already told the press:
"On the Feast of Baptism, on the night of January 18-19, the water was consecrated in the river Pochayna and the lake of Jordan, which belongs to its old bed. For the first time in many decades of oblivion. I was present and, of course, bathed. It was an extraordinary feeling, strong and bright. And the next day we saw how the current reversed in Pochayne ... Miracles are nearby, they are just worth noticing, and the world is immediately transformed. "