LUDMILA OF BOHEMIA

The joint memory of Cyril and Methodius, Apostles of the Slavs, was first established in May in the nineteenth century in Bulgaria on the day of the founding of Constantinople. This emphasized the independence and self-sufficiency of the Slavic Orthodox tradition in the face of its Constantinople foundation. The life and suffering of Saint Ludmila, compared with Russian saints of the same period, testifies to the special similarity and brotherhood of holiness that existed among Slavic righteous people.

1 A person can live for a relatively long time without food, a certain number of days without water, a few moments without breath, but cannot live without hope. In the Christian understanding, hope is called trust. Modernity, especially the phenomenon of social networks, increasingly reveals to us the truth that a person cannot live alone.

2 At the same time, saints are often perceived as lonely. “I believe in the communion of saints,” proclaims the Symbol of Faith of the Holy Apostles. In fact, saints are not lonely. They always follow the example of the Lord and other saints, and, by the power of grace, they add something of their own. In this sudden burst of grace lies the very essence of holiness.

3 On the penultimate day of September, the Orthodox Churches of the Julian calendar celebrate the memory of Saint Princess Ludmila of Bohemia (860–921). Ludmila was baptized by St. Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia, whom we honor as an equal-to-the-apostles enlightener of the Slavs. Ludmila’s grandson was Prince Vyacheslav, or Wenceslaus of Bohemia. This gives rise to a comparison.

4 St. Olga of Kiev was about half a century younger. Olga’s grandson was Saint Prince Vladimir, and her great-grandsons were Boris and Gleb. The difference between Lyudmila and Olga is that Olga ended her days peacefully and was later glorified as an equal-to-the-apostles saint, while Lyudmila was killed by pagans. The Church glorified her as a martyr.

5 Vyacheslav of Bohemia was a Christian. His reign was not easy, but the prince was loved by the common people. At some point, he learned that assassins would be sent to him and that death was inevitable. Then he voluntarily came to the place of his personal Calvary at the entrance to the church, where the assassins were waiting for him. Like the future Russian princes Boris and Gleb, he was “killed voluntarily.” The holy brothers were inspired by the examples of their recent predecessors, even if they weren’t required to know about it. This dramatic episode inspired the great writer and true theologian Franz Kafka in the ending of his unfinished novel “The Trial”, where the murderers literally slaughtered the protagonist like a sacrificial lamb.

6 Holiness cannot be invented. It is never the case that a person “invents” holiness for himself. Like the faith from which it springs, it is an unaccountable, absolute, anarchic gift of divine grace. Grace is communication. Holiness is the crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord, communicated to believers whom the Heavenly Father has adopted as His children and whom the Son of God, according to the Gospel of John (15:15), called His friends and brothers.