About the illness and death of Vladimir Vasilkovich, Prince of Volhynia. Some medical, homiletic and liturgical observations

The article is dedicated to a number of questions connected with the disease and the death of Vladimir Vasilkovich, Prince of Volyn. Vladimir, inspite of a seeming lack of brightness was a digny ruler of Vladimir Volyn princedom and a true Christian on the throne. His chronist bishop Eusignius paid a special attention to his disease and martial death. If we take in account the description of the disease given in the "Chronicle of Vladimir Vasilkovich" we may propose, that the prince was ill with osteomyelitis of mandibula, connected with caries or paradontosis of teeth of mandibula. It caused inflammation, which struck at first bone texture and then of mandibula and pharynx. Mandibula was destroyed in result of fistula process and pharynx opened, which caused the problems with nourishing, sepsis and death of the sick person. We learn from the Chronicle of Vladimir Vasilkovich, that the prince met his death with dignity, reason and high spirit and fortitude. A philosopher and booker appeared to be pragmatic. He testamented his princedom to a digny inheritor, he distributed his treasures among the poor, who had suffered from the Tatars and he prepared himself to death through prayers, the confession and the Holy Communion. The Praise to Vladimir Vasilkovich is based on "The Sermon about the Law and the Grace" in virtue of both prepared canonization of Vladimir Vasilkovich and justification of his status as a czar.Varia lectiones in quotations from "The Sermon about the Law and the Grace" have semantic character and they reflect adequately activity of the pious prince - both building of the churches and assembling of Church councils, possibly connected with the problems of Church discipline. Vladimir Vasilkovich's prayer before the Holy Communion is based on the deathbed prayer of prince David Rostislavich, however different readings say about Vladimir Vasilkovich as a second Job. They also reveal his thanksgiving to the God for his disease, connected with a special Orthodox understanding of philanthropia (kindness to men) and his fatih to the Divine Power.

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