Ukrainian lawyer and human rights activist Igor Poluektov, who researches little-known facts of Ukrainian history, told an interesting story about the Ukrainian trident, which is in the main cathedral of the Vatican.
The lawyer wrote about this on his Facebook page.
Poluektov provides a photo from the famous cathedral and explains:
"Photos from St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican have spread around the world. But few people know that our Volodymyr appeared there much earlier than today's scene with chairs. Below is a photo that my wife and I took in this cathedral. This is the altar of St. Erasmus, on the sides of which you can find mosaic images of the great Kievan Princes, Saints Volodymyr and Olga."
The researcher continues that the mosaics of the holy baptists were donated to the cathedral in honor of the millennium of the baptism of Rus'-Ukraine.
"It is interesting that Saint Volodymyr is depicted with a trident. The peculiarity is that state symbols, coats of arms, are not placed in the walls of the main church of Western-rite Christians. But the Ukrainian trident, as a symbol of our thousand-year-old statehood, has been present here for many years. The mosaics of the holy baptists were donated to St. Peter's Cathedral in honor of the millennium of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine, and were finally completed in 1989. You will rarely find mention of the mosaics of Vladimir and Olga in guidebooks, because they are not intended for general viewing, they are located behind the famous tomb of St. Peter, in a place reserved for special guests," said Poluektov.
The human rights activist also suggested that it would be good if the president drew attention to this live and brought world leaders there.
"It would be the coolest shot, a moment of proper cultural diplomacy, as well as an argument in negotiations (who is really real here, and who is trying to steal not only history, but also land from us). I marked the place with the Ukrainian coat of arms (Volodymyr and Olga) in red on the plan of St. Peter's Cathedral, for those who want to visit this place," Poluektov noted.
Incidentally, the Vatican broke protocol to provide Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a front-row seat at Pope Francis' funeral alongside US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.