Shortly after founding Kiev, the pagan warlords Askold and Dir attempted to take Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire, with a fleet of two hundred ships. However, the clergy of the Christian city touched the waters of the Black Sea with a sacred relic, the mantle of the Virgin Mary, triggering a storm that destroyed the invading fleet.

In 911, Oleg of Novgorod brought Constantinople to its knees, but did not pursue his advantage. It was said that the Virgin Mary appeared to the beleaguered citizens as they prayed to her for deliverance, and cast her mantle over them as a sign of her protection, a miracle still celebrated every year, especially in Russia.

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