Who is Alexander Shumsky
Priest Alexander Shumsky was born in Moscow on May 25, 1954. Married, has eight children.
Birth and childhood
Sasha grew up in a family of scientists - Soviet intellectuals. His father worked as a journalist, his mother as a teacher. And grandmother Tatyana Vlasova was an academician of pedagogical sciences with a specialization in defectology. Grandfather Ivan Alimarin is also a scientist, a famous chemist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Although the family was non-church, it could not be called atheistic either. The children were raised in strictness and honesty, in accordance with Christian values.
Tatyana Vlasova at one time worked in the Central Committee of the CPSU, was personally acquainted and was friends with Ekaterina Furtseva, the legendary Minister of Culture of the Soviet Union. Naturally, she was a member of the Communist Party, but she did not blaspheme God.
The Shumsky family was considered wealthy by Soviet standards. Spacious apartment in Moscow on Zubovsky Boulevard, Zhiguli car. As Alexander recalls, he was even ashamed in front of his peers for such “wealth.”
Student times
After school, Sasha entered the history department of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, which then bore the name of V.I. Lenin. I followed in the footsteps of my mother and grandmother, but I didn’t forget about my school passion for history.
Shumsky remembers his student years with warmth. The Pedagogical Institute taught me a lot, and not only in the field of knowledge, but also in everyday experience.
Like most Soviet universities, the Moscow Institute had a military department, and upon completion of studies it was necessary to undergo training in military camps for two months.
Alexander recalls the lesson that a military teacher, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, Colonel Ivan Fedorovich Karaikoza, taught future teachers.
When university graduates, immigrants from the eastern republics (now the CIS countries) began to once again make foolish jokes about the military order in the Soviet army, a military officer brought them to their senses.
Here is my disabled team, they can’t walk or run. But if you bury guys like these, their tongues will hang out in the grave for another three days.
The future priest graduated from the history department of Moscow State Pedagogical Institute named after. Lenin not only excelled, but also defended his PhD thesis in pedagogy.
After college, he worked as a simple history teacher in a Moscow school.
Spiritual education
As the clergyman says in one of his interviews, classical literature brought him to the temple. Specifically, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky.
Because he is a guide to Christ for the entire Russian intelligentsia, and many came to God by reading his novels.
All of Dostoevsky's novels are deeply religious, Orthodox and Christ-centric. The main theme in each of them is Christ: Beauty saving the world. Through Dostoevsky's work I turned to God. Alexander Shumsky
Alexander often went to church and prayed; at first he did not think about any spiritual education. But a spiritual mentor appeared, thanks to whom he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary, and then he himself began to lead services in one of the most popular churches in Moscow.
In 1993 he was ordained to the rank of deacon, and 12 years later he became a priest.
Church service
Both ordination - both to the rank of deacon and to the rank of priest - were performed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki is located in the center of Moscow and is one of the most ancient and revered by believers in the capital. It is also famous for the fact that it contains the miraculous image of the icon of the Mother of God “Helper of Sinners.”
This is where a former student of the pedagogical institute conducts his service. In 2013, for 20 years of service in the priesthood, he was awarded the right to wear a pectoral cross.
Services in the Church of St. Nicholas are held every day. On Sundays and holidays there are two Divine Liturgies at 7 and 10 am; evening services begin at 5 pm. And on other days - at 8 am and at 17 pm.
The church has introduced duty for priests; during the daytime you can talk to them at any time.
Major milestones on the path to serving God in the priesthood:
- Faculty of History of MGPI (Moscow State Pedagogical Institute) named after. Lenin;
- history teacher at school;
- defense of a candidate's dissertation in pedagogy;
- Moscow Theological Seminary (Sergiev Posad);
- ordination to the rank of deacon;
- ordination to the priesthood.
TV presenter's new protégé
As for Evelina, she also has everything under control. The TV presenter is happy with the New York expressionist artist of Russian origin, Dmitry Semakov. Evelina personally monitors the image and PR of her lover. Khromchenko controls all issues in Russia, in particular, reviews interviews, organizes exhibitions, and promotes Dmitry’s works on his Instagram page. Evelina reacts quite sharply to the criticism of some users of this social network directed at the work of her protégé, always defending Dmitry, defending his exceptional talent.
The couple often visits the Cervetti restaurant, which is located on Nikitsky Boulevard and is not far from their apartments. While the lovers live separately, Dmitry often visits the TV presenter.
It is worth recalling that Evelina Khromchenko previously touched upon the topic of the birth of her second child.
Preaching activities
Patriotism, the mystery of the Russian soul, opposition to the West and the fifth column in Russia, love for the Motherland - these are the main themes that cleric Shumsky develops in his sermons. The words of the elder run through them like a red thread.
The Fatherland is the threshold of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Saint Philaret (Drozdov)
Many are shocked by the parallels that the rector of the St. Nicholas-Khamovnichesky Church draws between Emperor Alexander I, Generalissimo Stalin and President Putin.
Alexander the First won his great war, Stalin won his.
Vladimir Putin has yet to win with all of us in our great war with the West. Alexander Shumsky
You can listen to the priest’s sermons not only in church, but also on the Internet, for example, on the Orthodox YouTube channel “Russian People’s Line.” Its author is distinguished by a furious manner of expression. The preacher expresses his views openly and directly, without fear of sometimes going against the opinion of the Orthodox Church.
He stigmatizes the actor and banned priest Ivan Okhlobystin, comparing him to a false porcini mushroom, beautiful on the outside, but rotten on the inside. He opposes thoughtless television series, in particular, “Interns.”
Attacks TV presenter Urgant, considering him a disgrace to Channel One. “Mockery of the Russian anthem,” which “Khokhmach” committed in one of his programs, is nothing more than “a sign of preparation for a new liberal revenge.”
The First State Federal Channel is increasingly beginning to resemble NTV from the period of the “wild nineties”, when crazy liberals reigned supreme in the media.
Even the current NTV sometimes looks preferable to Channel One. A. Shumsky
YouTube is not the only online resource where you can watch videos of missionary preachers. They are posted on Yandex, Mail.ru, and other well-known video hosting sites.
The sermon titles speak for themselves:
- Putin is a God-given President who performs the functions of a Tsar;
- Russia is not an occupied country;
- We would not have lived without the Great Victory;
- Without family there is no Russia.
The priest’s sermon at the Patriarchal Liturgy in the Epiphany Cathedral, “Metropolitan Alexy as a symbol of Russian unity,” became especially widespread.
The preacher warns that Russia is surrounded on all sides by enemies who want to conquer it:
We all remember the terrible historical moment when the great country called the USSR collapsed. And Russia was kept from further disintegration, first of all, by our Orthodox Church, the only spiritual and moral force that remained faithful to its high calling to unite and pacify.
A. Shumsky
Family
In his marriage to Evelina, Alexander had a son, Artemy. After a divorce from the famous presenter, the businessman met and started a relationship with Lyudmila Taborskaya, a colleague who currently works as the general director of Artifact. For a long time, the star couple hid the divorce. Even when information about Alexander’s new passion and Evelina’s affair with the artist Dmitry Semakov leaked to the press, the most stylish family in Russia tried to maintain the appearance of well-being. But the pregnancy of Alexander’s beloved and the birth of the baby, which occurred in 2015, could not be hidden from the press.
Evelina has repeatedly stated in interviews that she is thinking about a second child. Perhaps we will soon learn about a new addition to the famous presenter’s family.
Today, the former spouses maintain friendly and business relations. They take part in various shows, lead several joint projects, and are raising their son.
Writing activity
Priest Alexander is the author of over 500 publications. He is a member of the Writers' Union of Russia, laureate of the Eduard Volodin Imperial Culture Prize in the category of Criticism for the promotion of Russian Orthodox literature. Among other things, he heads the Nikolo-Khamovnichesky training center.
His journalistic articles can be equated to sermons - just as hot and frank.
The author responds vividly to pressing problems and writes what is being said on the topic of the day. Recently, he has limited his cooperation only to the Russian People's Line portal.
Here are the most recent publications in October 2021:
- An endless nationalist labyrinth. Let’s not “feed the Caucasus” - we will “feed” the NATO occupation forces: response to V. Gabrusenko’s article “How long will peace in the Caucasus last?”
- Love and curse are incompatible things. The priest considers Valery Novoskoltsev’s poem “Russia 2018” to be a rhymed revolutionary proclamation.
- Bartholomew is a student of the Grand Inquisitor. For our Church, the efforts of Bartholomew Aloizovich of Istanbul will serve to strengthen the Orthodox core, weaken the neo-renovationist liberals and establish clarity that is gratifying to the Russian Orthodox heart.
- Pension reform: not a mistake, but a necessity. The most important thing now is not to stir up the internal situation in the country, but to show patience and pray for our President.
- No matter how much the cord twists, it will still end. About the “Moscowphobic” video clip of the Leningrad group “I don’t want to be a Muscovite.”
As for books, they are also distinguished by their active civic position and patriotism. The author dedicated the most famous one, “For Christ to the End,” to his father, Vladislav Stanislavovich Shumsky.
The book is written in the genre of spiritual and moral journalism. Essentially, these are the same articles collected in book format. They express the author’s optimism: the Orthodox faith has lived and will live, Russia and the Russian people will show the whole world the true ways of salvation.
Status and position in society
Celebrity magazine Harper's Bazaar once described Shumsky as one of the most influential figures in Russian fashion. According to Om magazine, Alexander is one of the 35 most influential Russian businessmen.
The Fashion Industry awarded him the title of Producer of the Year. And the famous magazine “Face” named the businessman one of the most influential people in Russia.
The businessman’s fortune, as you might guess after all of the above, is estimated as one of the largest in the Russian Federation.
