Equal-to-the-Apostles
The All-Praised Olga of Kiev
The All-Praised Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Princess of Kiev
New Calendar July 11 Old Calendar July 24
Why they are a saint
The Church remembers The All-Praised Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Princess of Kiev. Numbered among the apostles (of the Twelve or of the Seventy); commemorated with the apostolic Church. Feast day: July 11. Tradition noted: Russian.
Limited historical information is available about this saint.
Life
Saint Olga was the wife of Great Prince Igor of Kiev. After Igor was murdered by the Drevlyans, she ruled in her own right, and the chronicles tell of her terrible revenge on them.
In the summer of 954, having entrusted Kiev to her young son Svyatoslav, she sailed to Constantinople. There she was baptized by Patriarch Theophylactus, with the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos as her godfather, and received the name Helen.
She reposed in 969, having lived as a Christian for fifteen years. She raised her grandson, Saint Vladimir, the future baptizer of Rus', and her tomb later stood in the Church of the Tithes in Kiev beside his. She is honoured as Equal of the Apostles.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Orthodox Christians usually take The All-Praised Olga of Kiev as a patron when they bear the name The at baptism, or were born or baptized near the feast on July 11. As an apostle, she is also asked to pray for missionaries and those who spread the Gospel.
Prayer
O holy The All-Praised Olga of Kiev, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.