Russians to mark Day of Baptizing of Kievan Rus.

MOSCOW July 28 (Itar-Tass) - Russia is marking for the first time in
its history the Day of Baptizing of Kievan Rus - a new 'commemorative
date' that has been established to commemorate the Grand Duke Vladimir,
who adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the official religion of the
early medieval duchy of Rus.
"The establishing of the Christian faith in the olden Rus helped
promote the consolidation and flourishing of the state and exerted a great
influence on the maintenance of Russia's unity at knotty periods of
history," members of the upper house of Russian parliament said in their
decision as they added July 28 to the list of commemorative dates.
In Moscow, the main gala events and functions will be held by the
Resurrection Gate on Red Square, in the St Vladimir's Church on the
downtown Solyanka street, and on Pushkin Square.
The feast will begin with bell ringing and a festive liturgy, while
the rest of the day will see exhibitions, fairs and concerts.
Ukraine, too, will mark the day of memory of Grand Duke Vladimir, who
baptized the population of the olden city of Kiev in the waters of the
River Dnieper in 988.
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill I is expected to lead a
festive liturgy in the world-famous Kievan Monastery of the Caves.
Another important festive service will be held in Sevastopol on the
territory of the ancient Chersonesos, a Greek colony founded around 500
BC. It was there that St Vladimir - also known in the folk tradition as
Vladimir the Red Sun - himself received baptism.
A group of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian scholars put forward the
idea of marking the day of St Prince Vladimir in 2004. They proposed to
observe it on an analogy with the Feast of Slavic Writings and Culture
that coincides with the date on which the Russian Orthodox Church
venerates St Cyril and St Methodius, the Greek monks who designed the
authentic Slavic alphabet.
Patriarch Alexis II, the then supreme hierarch of the Russian Church
issued an appeal to state leaders of the three Slavic countries to
institute a new date.
Ukraine marks it for the second time.


.Kim Jong Il attends gala concert on occasion of national holiday.

PYONGYANG, July 28 (Itar-Tass) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who
is chairman of National Defense Commission and Supreme Commander of the
Korean People's Army, on Tuesday attended a concert of the State Merited
Choir on the occasion of the national holiday, the 57th anniversary since
the victory in the Patriotic Liberation War of 1950-1953.
The national holiday was marked broadly across the country Tuesday.
Korean Central News Agency /KCNA/ said the audiences in the hall
welcomed their leader with a standing ovation. On his part, Kim Jong Il
congratulated the gathering on the occasion of the anniversary.
The performers sang the patriotic songs with titles like 'July 27 is
the Day of Our Victory', 'Ahead of a Decisive Battle', 'The Parade of
Winners', and others. All the works glorified the deeds of the Korean
people and soldiers of the People's Army, "who are ready to inflict a
defeat on the American imperialists and to defend their country's honor
and dignity under Kim Jong Il's leadership."
The North Korean leader thanked the performers for "the artistic
presentation with a rich ideological content."
"Historic victory in the Patriotic Liberation War offered one more
proof there is no force in the world that could defeat the Korean people,
which is successfully moving forward along the path of independence and
socialism," he said.
Kim Jong Il voiced the hope that the State Merited Choir "will
continue inspiring the people and the Armed Forces for new deeds and
achievements with its revolutionary performances."
A number of high-rank government and defense officials were present at
the same concert.
National flags and party banners were hoisted in Pyongyang on the
occasion of the holiday. The streets were decorated with the posters
reading 'The Great Victory 7.27'.
Young people held meetings with veterans of the war and ceremonies of
laying flowers to the monuments dedicated to the Korean War were held
across the country.
Crowds of visitors came to the Museum of Victory in the War that
exhibits historical documents, relics, photos, paintings, sculptured
models, and samples of weaponry used by the North Korean Army during
hostilities in the early 1950's.
The Korean War of 1950-1953 carried away numerous human lives and
resulted in the signing of a truce.
-0-kle