Born in 1096, Igor Olgovich was a Grand Prince of Kiev who reigned for only ten days!
Upon his brother's death in August 1146, he succeeded him to the throne of Kievan Rus', an ancient Slavic principality that had existed for more than 350 years!
Considered unpopular, he was imprisoned by the people of Kyiv but was later allowed to escape.
Igor retired to the Monastery of Saint Theodore and became a monk.
Yet the public is convinced that Igor is trying to regain power.
On September 19, 1147, while he was praying before an icon of the Virgin Mary, the townspeople entered the monastery, brutally murdered him, and dragged his body through the streets of the town.
Three years later, his relics were enshrined in the Church of the Transfiguration in Chernihiv. The site gradually became a place of pilgrimage where people came to honor the former monarch, who was credited with performing miracles.
Because he agreed to die for his nation, he was canonized as a "passion-bearing" prince and is primarily celebrated by the Byzantine Churches on June 5.
