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- 2500 lire "Mother of God in Prayer" single
2500 lire "Mother of God in Prayer" single
Object Details
- Description
- On June 16, 1988, the Vatican issued a series of three stamps commemorating the millennium of the conversion of Kievan Rus. The 2,500-lire stamp depicts "The Mother of God in Prayer," a mosaic preserved in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev.
- Kievan Rus was the ancient name of the territory located along the Dnieper River in Eastern Europe. Its principal city, Kiev, eventually became the capital of the Ukraine. Non-Slavic peoples called this territory Rhos, Rossia, or Russia. The Christianization of Rus began in the early centuries after Christ when missionaries introduced the new religion in its southernmost regions along the shores of the Black Sea. In 988, St. Vladimir the Great, prince-ruler of the Kievan Rus, proclaimed Christianity the official religion of his state.
- The Church in Kievan Rus was originally part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the mid-eleventh century, the Patriarch and the entire Eastern Church broke with Rome. However, in 1596 the Ukrainian Church officially reunited with Rome.
- The stamps, vertical in format, measure 30 x 40 mm and have a perforation of 13 1/4 x 14. The Italian State Polygraphic Institute and Mint printed 500,000 complete series on white chalky paper in multicolor rotogravure print. The Vatican issued the stamps in sheets of twenty.
- Mario Codoni designed the stamps, which include the inscription MILLENNIO BATTESIMO DELLA RUS' DI KIEV, the denomination, and the words POSTE VATICANE.
- Crimando, Thomas. "Baptism of Kiev Rus." Vatican Notes 37, no. 2 (September 1988): 1.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- June 16, 1988
- Object number
- 1989.0496.10414
- Type
- Postage Stamps
- Place
- VATICAN CITY (independent city state)
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Title
- Scott Catalogue Vatican City 815
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_1989.0496.10414
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
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