● Orthodox Remembrance Day: September 19
● Name means: the army of the Germanic god Ingwio (from Old High – Russian)
● Grand Duke of Kiev and Chernigov, martyr
● Born on July 1, 1100 in Kiev, Ukraine
● Died on September 19, 1147
Igor was a prominent figure in the history of Kievan Rus. He was Grand Duke of Kiev and
Chernigov/Chernihiv, and his reign was marked by significant ups and downs. He ascended the
throne in 1146, but was forced to abdicate during an uprising.
Despite his precipitous fall from power, Igor maintained a tenacious spirit. He retired to a
monastery, where he assumed the name Gabriel and devoted his life to religious pursuits.
However, Igor’s fortunes were not yet finished. When the inhabitants of Kiev declared Isyaslav,
prince of Pereslav, Grand Duke, Igor reemerged as a contender for the throne. He vied for power
with Isyaslav, but ultimately lost the struggle and returned to his life as a monk.
Tragically, Igor’s time as a monk was cut short by the very people who had once revered him as a
ruler. In 1147, the rebels tore him out of the church and brutally murdered him. Despite this
harrowing end, Igor’s legacy lived on. In 1150, his relics were brought from Kiev to Chernigov
and laid down in the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ, where they remained as a symbol
of his impact on the region.
