Prince Alexander Nevsky: biography, years of reign

• August 29, 2019
• Personalities
• Pankova Oksana Vladimirovna

Prince Alexander Nevsky is a national hero, collector and defender of the Russian land. He was a truly great Christian ruler, a talented commander and a particularly revered saint among the people. Dates of the reign of Alexander Nevsky as Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252, 1257-1259), Kyiv (1249-1263), Vladimir (1252-1263). His canonization took place in 1547.

Prince Alexander's childhood

Alexander (in monasticism Alexy) was born on May 30, 1220 in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (in baptism - Fedor) - was his father, “meek and merciful”, at that time he ruled the Kyiv and Vladimir lands. Rostislav's mother Mstislavna was a princess of Toropetsk.

Alexander's older brother died when he was 13 years old. But there were still seven younger brothers and two sisters left.

At the age of four, Alexander underwent a rite of passage in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of his hometown of Pereyaslavl and became a warrior-prince. This rite was performed by Bishop Simon of Suzdal, who participated in the compilation of the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon. This pious elder blessed the defender of the Russian land to serve for the Glory of the Lord and Kievan Rus.

Voivode. Battle of Neva

Since 1230, his father installed him and his older brother, Fyodor, as princes in Novgorod. But Fedor dies and Alexander becomes the sole legal successor.

In 1236, Grand Duke Yaroslav left to rule in Kyiv, then to Vladimir, and Alexander, who was 15 years old at that time, began to independently rule Novgorod.

In general, the entire biography of Prince Alexander Nevsky is closely intertwined with wars.

He made his first campaign with his father, participating in the battle for Smolensk with the Livonians, which brought victory to the Russian troops.

On July 15, 1240, a great battle took place, which is significant in that the troops led by Alexander defeated the Swedes’ camp located at the mouth of the Izhora River, the left tributary of the Neva. After this event, the people nicknamed the prince Nevsky.

Alexander Nevskiy. A tale of valor and courage

At the same time, the Novgorod boyars began to fear the growing influence of the young prince and, using various intrigues and incitements, achieved their goal: the brave young commander left Novgorod, going to Vladimir to his father.

Taking advantage of this moment, the German army began to gradually capture Rus', taking away the Pskov, Volga, and Izborsk lands, and then took the city of Koporye. And when they got close to Novgorod, the Novgorod nobles trembled, and they themselves began to ask the prince to return.

In 1241, Nevsky arrived in Novgorod and liberated Pskov. And on April 5, 1242, the historically significant and famous Battle of the Ice took place on Lake Peipsi.

Prince Alexander deliberately resorted to cunning, and when the lake froze, he lured the knights to the place where there was a thin layer of ice. And then the Russian cavalry, attacking from the flanks, completely completed the defeat of the enemy.

After this brilliant victory, the knightly order was forced to abandon the conquered territories and even cede part of Latgale.

And three years later, Prince Alexander Nevsky liberated the cities of Toropets, Torzhok and Bezhetsk from the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Then, without the help of the Novgorodians and Vladimirites, on the way back he finished off the remnants of the Lithuanian army, and then another enemy formation near Usvyat.

Assault on Koporye

“Alexander will retain the charge of vivacity received in 1240 on the Neva until the end of his life”5. It is not for nothing that his “Life” contains so many details about the Battle of the Neva - like no other of his victories. After all, according to the author of the “Life,” the prince himself told him about the slaughter on the Neva, along with other participants.

It turns out that memories of other battles did not evoke so many emotions in him, did not warm his soul so much...

And that is to say - on the Neva “Alexander, as it were, grabbed the “bird of luck”, acquired the aura of a brave and successful warrior”6.

Apparently, it was after the dashing attack on the Swedes and the duel with Birger that he received the nickname “Brave”. (Russian scribes began to call him Nevsky only in the 15th century.)

However, the young commander avoided resting on his laurels - and he spent his second military campaign by no means “falling off the branch.”

Because the situation was completely different.

In the winter of 1241 - while Alexander, who had quarreled with the Novgorodians, was in his ancestral Pereyaslavl - the Germans from the Teutonic Order (from its branch in the Baltic States, which we call the Livonian Order) and the “Chud” (current Estonians) subject to them, seized the land of the Finnish Vod tribe that belonged to Novgorod - on the southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland. And they built a castle there - in the Koporye churchyard, near the current village of the same name in the Leningrad region.

Relying on it, the Germans approached - robbing villages and merchants on the Luga River - 30 miles to Novgorod itself. They will come closer only exactly 700 years later - in 1941...

You can't take the fortress with a bang. And Alexander, who returned in the same 1241 after persuasion to the Novgorod land, gathers all its forces - the Novgorodians, the Ladoga residents, the Karelians, and the Finnish Izhora tribe - and only then approaches the castle.

And takes it by storm.

Destruction of the Koporye fortress. Miniature of the Facial Chronicle Code.

The historical role of Alexander Nevsky

As the Prince of Novgorod, he fought almost all the time with enemies from the west, but at the same time there was a certain admiration for Khan Batu. Nevsky himself visited the Mongol Empire several times to honor the ruler of the Golden Horde and the Khan's allies.

Such maneuvers were previously used in order to turn the Tatars from enemies and robbers of Rus' into allies, since the meekness of a dove and the wisdom of a snake were required here.

For the first time, Alexander and his father visited the Horde in 1242. Their campaign was blessed by Metropolitan Kirill.

This sacred mission was crowned with success by the will of the Lord, and it took many years of work and sacrifice.

Used materials

• A. V. Nazarenko. N. V. Kvlividze “Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky” // Orthodox Encyclopedia, vol. 1, p. 541-544
• Menaion-November, part 2, edition of the Moscow Patriarchate, p. 233, 234, 241:
• - troparion
• - glorification
• - kontakion

• - troparion
• - glorification
• and - kontakion

[1] J. Fennell

[2] In publications of the 1980s and later, the words “the power of your relatives” are replaced with: “the Russian power” or “our country.”

Political relations with the Horde

For this, Prince Yaroslav paid with his life. Having concluded an alliance with Batu, in 1246 he had to go to the capital of the nomadic empire of Mongolia. However, for Batu himself the situation was not an easy one: wanting to separate the Golden Horde from distant Mongolia, where they did not trust either the Russians or Batu himself, he also sought support from the Russian princes.

As a result, Prince Yaroslav was poisoned, and he died in agony. The alliance bequeathed with the Golden Horde, so necessary to prevent another defeat of Rus', was continued by his son, Alexander Nevsky. One of Batu’s sons, Sartak, who was in charge of Russian affairs in the Horde, converts to Christianity and becomes a friend and brother-in-arms of Prince Alexander.

Batu, hoping for the support of the latter, goes on a campaign against Mongolia in order to become the main and most powerful force in the Great Steppe, and to place Khan Mongke, the leader of the Christian Tatars, on the throne.

Orthodox Rus'

During the years of his reign, Alexander Nevsky in Rus' was distinguished by his foresight, since not all princes had this feeling, because they hoped more that help would come from Europe, and conducted frequent negotiations with the Pope, which began with Prince Mikhail of Chernigov (the future saint ), Alexander's brother - Andrey.

But Nevsky knew well the fate of Constantinople, which was defeated and devastated in 1204 by the crusaders. He did not trust the West at all.

Daniil Galitsky changed Orthodoxy and entered into an alliance with the Pope, concluding a union with Rome. But the holy noble prince Alexander did not want such an outcome, and in 1248 he wrote to the Pope that he was faithful to the Russian Church of Christ and did not accept Catholicism, since he did not want spiritual death for his people.

In 1252, many Russian cities rebelled against the yoke of the Tatars and killed the tribute collectors, and Alexander's brothers - Andrei and Yaroslav - decided to oppose the horde. The Tatars defeated their troops, after which Yaroslav began to rule in Pskov, and Andrei had to flee to Sweden, and therefore Alexander began to rule the Principality of Vladimir.

And then a war with the Lithuanians and Teutons followed.

Alexander is the second son (the first is Fedor) of the Pereslavl appanage prince Yaroslav II (Fedor) Vsevolodovich and Feodosia Mstislavovna (second marriage), in monasticism Euphrosyne (daughter of the prince of Novgorod and Galicia Mstislav the Udal). Grandson of Vladimirsky led. Prince Vsevolod III Big Nest. Alexander Yaroslavich was born in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky (now Yaroslavl region) on May 13, 1221. Regarding the year of birth of St. There are discrepancies regarding Alexander, since his year of birth is not indicated in the chronicles. Historian V.I. Tatishchev believed that he was born in 1219. Volume I of the encyclopedia “Domestic History” indicates 1220 or 1221. The book “Pantheon of Russian Sovereigns” indicates 1221 year of birth. We find the most reasonable date of birth of Alexander Nevsky from V.A. Kuchkin, who believes that he was born on May 13, 1221. However, most researchers recognize the year of birth of Alexander Nevsky as 1220. 1225 - the rite of princely tonsure was performed by Bishop Simon in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the city of Pereyaslavl. See Origin, birth of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky In 1228, the arrival of Alexander with his father and brother in Novgorod the Great. Yaroslav soon leaves, leaving his sons as princely governors, giving them Fyodor Danilovich and tyun Yakim to help them. February 20, 1229 departure of the princes to Vladimir due to the boyar conspiracy in Novgorod. December 30, 1230 Prince Yaroslav and his sons returned from Pereslavl to Novgorod. Continuation of their viceroyship. June 10, 1233 death of Saint Theodore's brother in Novgorod on the eve of his wedding. Winter of 1234, young Alexander took part in his father’s campaign with an army to Dorpat (Tartu) and in the “ice” battle on the Omovzhe (Emajõgi) River with the Livonian knights. 1236 Victory of the Lithuanians in the battle with the German knights of the Order of the Sword at the city of Siauliai and the formation of the Lithuanian state led by Prince Mindaugas. Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich goes to Kyiv to take the princely table, and in Novgorod he leaves Alexander as a full-fledged prince. Alexander from 1236 to 1240 - Prince of Novgorod.
The invasion of Mongol hordes led by Batu into North-Eastern Rus' (1237-1238). For all their ferocity and cruelty, the Tatar-Mongol khans showed tolerance towards religions alien to them. This tolerance was prescribed by their law. Servants of religions were exempt from paying tribute. In these most difficult conditions, Alexander determined his foreign policy line: repulse invaders from the West and peaceful relations with the Golden Horde, which did not yet have the strength for an armed struggle. The Tatar-Mongols did not reach Novgorod, turning south. In the summer of 1238, Prince Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. 1239 Marriage of Prince Alexander with Alexandra, daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, in the city of Toropets, in the Church of St. George. Continuation of the wedding feast in Novgorod. Construction of fortresses and defensive lines along the Sheloni River and on the southwestern border of the Novgorod Republic. According to legend, the Suzdal Alexander Monastery was founded in 1240 by Alexander Nevsky. Before the campaign against the Swedes, the prince vowed to build a monastery in Suzdal, the homeland of his ancestors, in honor of his heavenly patron Alexander the Roman. Alexander Nevsky originally built a wooden church in honor of his Angel - the torment. Alexander Rimsky. The Prince of Suzdal at this time was Alexander's younger brother Andrei II Yaroslavich (1246-1252 - Grand Duke of Vladimir).

Alexander Monastery of Suzdal
On July 15, 1240, Alexander fought with the Swedes, whose army was led by Earl Ulf Fasi, at the confluence of the Izhora River with the Neva. Victory and the prince was subsequently nicknamed “Nevsky”. See Battle of the Neva.

Alexander Nevskiy. The left part of the triptych “For the Russian Land”.

August-September 1240 Invasion of the German knights of the Livonian Order on the lands of Pskov and Novgorod.
See Capture of Pskov by the Livonians. November 1240. Quarrel between Prince Alexander and the Novgorod boyars. Soon after the Neva victory, the Novgorod boyars rose up against Alexander and unrest arose in the city. Alexander Nevsky in the winter of 1240 went to his father in Vladimir along with his wife and retinue. Then he moved from Vladimir to Pereslavl-Zalessky. Autumn 1240 Intensification of Livonian German raids on Novgorod land. Capture of the towns of Tesovo, Sabli; reconstruction of the Koporye fortress in the Vodskaya land. The Novgorodians send for help to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in Vladimir and first receive the squad of Prince Andrei Yaroslavich, and then the squad of Alexander Nevsky after a special appeal to the latter by Archbishop of Novgorod Spiridon. Alexander from 1241 to 1252
- Prince of Novgorod. Autumn 1241. The Novgorod army under the command of Prince Alexander expelled the German knights from Koporye and razed the fortress itself.
Liberation of Koporye. December 1241 Expulsion of German knights from Pskov by Prince Alexander and his army. Liberation of Pskov. April 5 (18 New Art.) 1242 “Battle of the Ice”: the battle of Alexander Nevsky with the German knights on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Victory and the end of the German movement to the east. May 5, 1244 death of Alexander Nevsky's mother Theodosia, dying adoption of the schema with the name Euphrosyne, burial in the Yuryev Monastery next to Prince Fedor. 1245 Alexander Nevsky's campaign against the Lithuanians in connection with their attack on the Smolensk lands and their defeat at Lake Zhitsa. October 1246. Funeral of the father of the holy prince Alexander Yaroslav in Vladimir, who died on the way upon returning from the Horde. In 1247, from his uncle, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, Prince Alexander took possession of the cities of Pereslavl, Zubtsov, Nerekhta, but returned to Novgorod and continued to reign there. Summer 1248. The legates of Pope Innocent IV arrived in Novgorod to Prince Alexander with a letter from the pope and a proposal for an alliance treaty. At the same time, the pope referred to the fact that the father of Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav, promised to convert to Catholicism. Prince Alexander's refusal to the papal ambassadors. See Papal letters to Alexander Yaroslavich with proposals for the merger of Orthodoxy with Catholicism. 1248-1249 Alexander Yaroslavich's first trip to the Horde: to Sarai-Batu (Ak-Orda) and Karakorum (Mongolia) at the call of Batu Khan and the Great Khansha Ogul-Kaimish. As a result, Prince Alexander receives a label for “Kyiv and the entire Russian land” with Novgorod, but without the Vladimir-Suzdal principality: in the latter, Andrei Yaroslavich was declared Grand Duke by the Mongols. Alexander 1249-1252
- Grand Duke of Kiev and Prince of Novgorod. Autumn 1249 Return of Prince Alexander to Vladimir.
February 1250 Return of Prince Alexander to Novgorod. In 1251, an embassy was sent from Novgorod to Norway, to Trondheim, to King Hakon with a proposal to conclude a treaty of friendship and alliance. The prince's serious illness and his recovery. June-July 1252. Second trip of Prince Alexander to Sarai-Batu. July 23, 1252 The invasion of the Mongols under the leadership of Nevryuy into Rus' for the disobedience of the Vladimir prince Andrei to the Tatars. "Nevryuev's army." Battle near Pereslavl. In 1252, Andrei Yaroslavich fled to Sweden. The imprisonment of Prince Vasily Alexandrovich in Novgorod. July-August 1252 Return of Prince Alexander from the Horde to Vladimir as Grand Duke of Vladimir. A solemn meeting in Vladimir, organized for him by Metropolitan Kirill. 1252-1263 - Grand Duke of Vladimir.

Seal of Alexander Nevsky

1253 Raid of German knights on Pskov and their defeat at Toropets (see War with Lithuanians and Livonian Germans). Negotiations between Prince Alexander in Pskov and Novgorod with ambassadors of the Livonian Order. Confirmation of the peace treaty of 1242. Birth in Vladimir of the son Dimitri, the future prince of Pereslavl, Novgorod and Grand Duke of Vladimir. 1255 Birth in Vladimir of the son Andrei, the future prince of Gorodetsky and Nizhny Novgorod. The death of Khan Batu and the accession of Khan Sartak in the Horde. The uprising of the Novgorodians against Prince Vasily Alexandrovich. Prince Alexander and his army rush to the rescue of his son and suppress the uprising. 1256 Swedish Jarl Birger came with an army to the Narova River and began to build his towns there. Prince Alexander with his retinue and the Novgorod army drive out the Swedes and raze the towns. Then a large army under the command of Prince Alexander goes on a campaign against the Tavasts (em) in Southern Finland against the Swedish crusaders and conquers them. Leaving Novgorod, he again hands it over to his son Vasily. End of 1256 - beginning of 1257. Third trip of Prince Alexander to the Horde. He goes with gifts to the khan to ask for his brother Andrei. 1257 Prince Alexander's fourth trip to the Horde, to Sarai-Batu, to the new Khan Ulagchi, son of Sartak. A decision was made to conduct a census of the Mongol-Tatars. 1258 News of the census reaches Novgorod. The people, under the command of the governor Alexander, rebel against the local authorities. Prince Vasily also joins the rebels. At the call of the “great boyars,” Prince Alexander comes to Novgorod with an army and pacifies the uprising. Prince Vasily flees to Pskov, but then returns. His father puts him in disgrace and no longer allows him to participate in government activities. See Fight led. prince with Novgorod regarding the population census and tribute during 1256-1259. Winter 1258. The fifth trip of Prince Alexander to the Horde together with Prince Andrei Yaroslavich, Boris Vasilkovich of Rostov, Yaroslav Yaroslavich of Tverskoy in order to achieve the abolition of the census. The trip was unsuccessful. Winter 1259. Tatar census takers Berkai and Kasachik conduct a census in Novgorod. Prince Alexander and his retinue calm the worried population and help those conducting the census. 1260 Prince Alexander leaves Novgorod and leaves in his place his young son, Prince Dimitri. He lives in Vladimir. Lithuanians resolutely rebel against German rule in Lithuania. 1261 Birth in Vladimir of the youngest son Daniel, the future prince of Moscow, the ancestor of the Moscow great princes. Formation of the Orthodox diocese in Sarai. Popular unrest in 1262 over the collection of tribute by tax farmers from the population with interest in 1262. Campaigns of the allied Lithuanian and Novgorod troops into the lands of the Livonian Order. Conclusion of a peace treaty with the Lithuanian state in Novgorod. Princes Mindovg and Alexander are participating in the negotiations. This alliance was directed against the aggression of the Livonian Order. 1262-1263 The sixth trip of Prince Alexander to the Horde, to Sarai-Berke on the call of Khan Berke, who separated his state from the Mongol Empire led by Khan Mongke. Khan Berke is preparing for war with the Iranian Khan Hulagu and demands the recruitment of Russian recruits. The prince prayed the Russian people out of trouble, he himself fell ill in the Horde and, seriously ill, left for Rus'.

Alexander Nevsky in the schema. Drobnitsa. Mid-17th century

Death of Alexander Nevsky on November 14, 1263. Having adopted the schema under the name Alexy, Alexander died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets Volzhsky, in the Fedorovsky Monastery of the Holy Mother of God. Metropolitan Kirill III announced to the people in Vladimir about his death with the words: “My dear children, understand that the sun of the Russian land has set,” and everyone cried out with tears: “We are already perishing.” His body was brought and laid in the Bogolyubsky Monastery. Metropolitan Kirill of Vladimir with many clergy and people, informed of his death, arrived here from Vladimir. Taking the coffin with the body of the noble prince, they honorably carried it to Vladimir, where they performed a funeral service and buried the remains of the prince in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the monastery. “Know that the sun has already set on the land of Suzdal! There will no longer be a single prince like him in the land of Suzdal! There was a cry and a cry and a groan such as had never happened before - so that the earth shook” (Life of Alexander Nevsky about his death).

Nativity Monastery in Vladimir

He was buried in the Nativity Monastery in the city of Vladimir under the arches of the white stone cathedral. The ancient copies of the “Life of Alexander Nevsky” say little about this: “His body was laid down at the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos, in the Great Archimandrite... When his holy body was laid down in the shrine....” A later manuscript from the Vladimir Bishop's House is more detailed: “The body of the saint... was honestly buried in the earth, in the honorable Church of the Most Pure Mother of God of Her Honorable Birth, in general monasteries.” 1263 Private veneration of St. Alexander Nevsky. Daniil Leonidovich Andreev in the book “Rose of the World” about the posthumous life of Alexander Nevsky wrote, “With light breathing, barely touching the ground of those worlds, Alexander the Blessed ascended through the layers of Enlightenment into Heavenly Russia. There his creativity grew, there a ladder of new and new enlightenments awaited him, while decades passed among us. The one who, in a time of greatest danger, led the defending people and ensured the liberation of Europe, was given the opportunity to become the head of the enlightened forces of Russia in their struggle against the forces of anti-humanity, against the Witzraors of our metaculture and against Gagtungr himself. The Archangel of the Heavenly Kremlin, he is still there today, in Holy Russia. But his spiritual power, his lightness increases; he admires higher and higher, he already enters the Heavenly Jerusalem - the blue luminous pyramid, the highest Transmyth of Christianity. The one who has broken the loops and knots of royal karma through his own feat will in the future become the liberator of those whom this karma led into centuries-long captivity: the giant prisoners in the citadel of the igvas and the Witzraors. To the one who once founded a great temple in the capital of Russia, which remained unfulfilled by the second demon of the great power, it was given to lead, together with the immortal architect of this temple, the construction of a unique sanctuary: it will soon become the abode of Zventa-Sventana, the most pure daughter of Yarosvet and the People's Soul. He leads the battles that follow one after another between the Synclite of Russia and anti-humanity. But when the demiurge’s struggle with the demon of great power ends with the liberation of Navna and Zventa-Sventan takes on enlightened flesh in the Heavenly Kremlin, he will leave the pinnacle of Russian metaculture to enter the Synclite of the World - those spheres that have already seen him as a shining guest. A rushing light-foggy horseman, whose approach raises in the corporeal environment of those worlds, as it were, sparkling waves of strength and joy, he rushes with the angels, with the daimons, with the armies of Synclite to the walls of Drukkarg. He is a horseman, but his horse is beautiful and highly intelligent, one of the creatures of the animal kingdom that has risen above Hungwilla. And the meaning of the roads they travel together and the battles they carry out together is the meaning of the union between enlightened humanity and the enlightened animal kingdom. Thus Alexander untied the knots of his karma.” In the Laurentian Chronicle for 1377, Alexander Nevsky was called a saint for the first time. See Iconography of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander, Miracles of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky In 1381, his relics were discovered in Vladimir. See the Relics of Alexander Nevsky The Life of St. Alexander tells about many miracles: healings of the sick, the blind, and the possessed at his shrine. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as wonderworkers under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547. In Vladimir in 1607, the first temple in Rus' dedicated to Nevsky was built - a gate temple in the name of Prince. Alexander Nevsky in the Mother of God Nativity Monastery. In 1710, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded in St. Petersburg. According to the journal of Sovereign Peter the Great, it appears that the foundation of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was laid in 1710, when “the Sovereign, examining the places where the buildings should be located, at the mouth of the Chernaya River, saw a fair place called Victory.” Then some believed that it was at this place that Alexander Nevsky won a glorious victory over the Swedish, Danish and Livonian troops united under the leadership of the Swedish king himself. But since the chronicles say that this victory was won on the Izhora River, therefore, the place where the Lavra is now located was called Victory for some other reason. Subsequently, it turned out that ancient legends connect with this place the historical battle of July 15, 1240, when the Novgorodians defeated the troops of Earl Birger who invaded Rus'. Thus, the foundation of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, laid at the height of the Northern War on the conquered lands of their fathers and grandfathers, emphasized the inviolability of the newly acquired Russian borders. In May 1723, while in the Lavra, Tsar Peter the Great “commanded that the relics of Alexander Nevsky located in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery be transferred here.”

Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra 1727

In February 1722, the relics were examined by Archbishop Theodosius and Archimandrite of the Nativity Monastery Sergius. On August 11, 11 – October 1, 1723, the holy relics of Alexander Nevsky were transferred from the city of Vladimir to the Annunciation Church in Shlisselburg. On August 30 (September 12, new style), 1724, the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg. See: Transfer of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to St. Petersburg Peter I ordered annually on August 30 (the date associated with the Peace of Nystadt in 1721 and the victorious end of the Northern War, which lasted 21 years.) in all Orthodox Russian churches to celebrate the transfer of the relics of the blessed prince, and Also, every year on this day, bring your “Botik” to the monastery for celebrations. At the same time, he intended to establish an order in honor of Alexander Nevsky, but this intention was fulfilled in 1725 by his wife, Catherine I. In 1725, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was established. In 1797, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was named a monastery.

“May St. serve us as an example of zeal for the Faith and the Orthodox Church. bl. V. K. Alexander Nevsky, whom our brotherhood chose as their heavenly patron. He firmly and unshakably confessed to St. Faith before the Tatars, when they forced him to bow to fire and the sun. “I am a Christian: it is not fitting for me to bow down to the creature,” he said to the Tatars, deciding better to accept martyrdom than to allow any humiliation of the saint. Vera. Another time, the Pope suggested St. Alexander left Orthodoxy and, together with the people, converted to Catholicism, in gratitude for which he offered Russia help against the Tatars, who oppressed our fatherland. Why would it be better for Russia then to take advantage of the pope’s offer? Betrayal of Orthodoxy could bring her freedom from the intolerable Tatar yoke. But Alexander and the Russian people together with him did not think so! For them, the Orthodox faith was dearer than anything in the world, dearer than freedom, dearer than life itself. “We know the true teaching of the church and we do not accept yours,” answered Right-Believing Alexander to the flattering offer of the pope. So sacredly did he honor the faith of his fathers, the Orthodox faith, and was so deeply devoted to it. Inspired by the example of the Holy Prince, the Guardian Angel of the Land of Vladimir, as his contemporaries called him, we too will love the Orthodox faith and help by all means to strengthen it in our neighbors. Full member of the Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Bl. V. K. Alexander Nevsky, priest. Vasily Kosatkin" (V.E.V. 1880).

In Vladimir, His Eminence Theognost, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, on November 1, 1879, established a Brotherhood under the name of the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, at the church of the Vladimir Bishop's House. In Vladimir in 1921, the “relief with a particle of relics”, along with other property, was transported to the Trinity Church of the Mountains. Vladimir, where the last rector of the Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery, Archim. sacred Afanasy (Sakharov). see Relics of Alexander Nevsky

Cancer with a particle of the relics of St. Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky in the Assumption Cathedral Currently, a particle of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky from it resides in the Assumption Cathedral, in another gilded shrine, on the north side of the central nave.

In 1938, the film “Alexander Nevsky” was released by director Sergei Eisenstein and screenwriter Pyotr Pavlenko. Its creators received the Stalin Prize. The leader himself, in his speech on July 3, 1941, called Nevsky one of the heroes of Russian history. The following year, a new Soviet military order of St. Alexander Nevsky was established, which was received by 42 thousand commanders of the Red Army during the war years. In 1942, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established. In the former place in the newly opened Trinity Cathedral in 1943, a place for worship in memory of Nevsky was built, decorated with red banners. June 3, 1989 The second transfer of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky from the State Museum of Religion and Atheism to the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. November 25, 1994 Resumption of monastic life in the Lavra. April 6, 1996 Transfer of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra complex to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Holy Blag. Prince Alexander Nevsky Yuri Kuznetsov. Wood, gesso, tempera, varnish

Memory

— May 23 (June 5) in the Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints. — June 23 at the Cathedral of Vladimir Saints. - August 30 (September 12) - the day of transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg (1724). - September 9 (22) - in the Cathedral of the Tula Saints (since 1987). - November 14 (27) - day of death in Gorodets (1263) - cancelled. - November 23 (December 6) - the day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263) - Iconography of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander. — Veneration of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky in Russia and abroad

Monument to Alexander Nevsky in Vladimir

— In connection with the 700th anniversary of the death of Alexander Nevsky, in 1963 in Vladimir, a bust monument to Nevsky was erected next to the museum.

A holiday dedicated to the Grand Duke of Vladimir Alexander Nevsky in the city of Vladimir. 2000

— On June 12, 2003, on City Day, a monumental monument to Alexander Nevsky was unveiled in Vladimir. Alexander is depicted in full growth in princely clothes: a shirt, ports, boots and a cloak-basket (a sign of princely power). His left hand rests on a shield with the image of the Vladimir coat of arms, his right hand is pressed to his chest. This is a tribute to the deepest respect of descendants for the Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', commander, politician Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky. The monument was opened on his birthday - May 30 (old style). Sculptors: I.A. Chernoglazov and I.N. Novikov.

Bust of Alexander Nevsky near the building of the Law Institute (Bolshaya Nizhegorodskaya St., 67e).

The bust was moved to the building of the Law Institute.

Monument to Alexander Nevsky in the city of Alexandrov “The monument to the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, with God’s help, was opened on December 6, 2013 by sculptor Yuri Pavlovich Khmelevskoy at the expense of Viktor Anatolyevich Kirillov and also donors: A. N. Mironov. Sevrinova V.P. Krivonosova M.M. Kuzika A.G. Yurelya P.F.”

— In the city of Alexandrov, near the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, a monument to Alexander Nevsky was erected. The ceremonial event on the occasion of the opening of the monument took place on December 6, 2013, on the day of the 750th anniversary of the repose of the holy noble prince. As an old legend says, the Pereslavl prince Alexander, who received the glorious addition “Nevsky” to his name in 1240, came to these places to hunt, staying in the Staraya Sloboda, says Alexander Mironov, a local historian, thanks to whose boundless enthusiasm the initiative group was created for the installation of a monument to Nevsky in the city. – Perhaps that is why the settlement later began to be called Alexandrova.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

— The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, where Alexander Nevsky was buried, was completely destroyed. In 1999, work began on the construction of a new cathedral, which is a memorial church to the holy prince. On August 21, 2004, the cathedral was consecrated.

Temple-monument to Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. 2005

— Temple of the Blgv.
Prince Alexander Nevsky in Vladimir was built in 2005, on the site of a tent-roofed bell tower destroyed in 1930. — VLADIMIR REGIONAL SOCIAL-PATRIOTIC ORGANIZATION “ALEXANDER NEVSKY”
has been operating since July 14, 1997. Chairman Alexander Fedorovich Bolshakov. Address: Vladimir city, Lunacharskogo street, 3, 51. The organization was liquidated on May 15, 2021.

Alexander Nevsky Museum in the city. Vladimir

On May 12, 2021, in the Mother of God Nativity Monastery, in the church ancient repository under the Church of the Nativity, a church-historical museum of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky was opened.

The symbolic red ribbon at the opening of the museum was cut by the Governor of the Vladimir Region Vladimir Sipyagin, Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society Sergei Stepashin, Senator Sergei Ryabukhin, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Vladimir Kiselyov and Metropolitan Tikhon of Vladimir and Suzdal. The exhibition includes books and things, information stands and architectural models revealing the stages of the life of the great Russian commander associated with the Vladimir land - 1252-1263. A number of events are planned in the Vladimir region in 2021 to mark the 800th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Nevsky. The region will host the international scientific conference “State. Church. Society", interregional local history conference at the regional scientific library, interregional campaign "Wreath of Glory of Alexander Nevsky", "Nevsky. 800" - cultural and educational project of the Vladimir Regional Scientific Library, All-Russian festival of sacred music and bell ringing "Summer of the Lord" in Suzdal (August 21-22), production of the Vladimir Academic Regional Drama Theater "Arrival in Karakorum", exhibition in the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum -reserve. In addition, it is planned to consecrate the temple in honor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Righteous Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Grand Dukes of Vladimir. The birthday of Alexander Nevsky is not known exactly; it is assumed that it falls at the end of May - beginning of June (May 30). On September 12, the day of transfer of the saint’s relics to St. Petersburg, a religious procession is planned from various churches to the Mother of God Nativity Monastery, where the relics of the Grand Duke were originally kept. On the same day, a round table will be held on the topic “Military exploits of the sons of the Fatherland.” December 6 is the date of the prince’s death; the day before there will be a round table on the topic “Military exploits of the sons of the Fatherland.” Tours will be organized for pilgrims to places in the city and region associated with the actions of the prince. On December 5, a large religious procession will take place in Vladimir. Vladimir-Suzdal Principality Tatar-Mongol invasion. 1235 - 1242 Prince Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich. 1238-1246 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Svyatoslav III Vsevolodovich. 1246-1248 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Michael II Yaroslavich Khorobrit. 1248 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Andrei II Yaroslavich. 1249-1252 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Alexander Nevsky. Bishop Kirill II of Rostov. † 1262 Metropolitan Kirill III. Prince Yaroslav III Yaroslavich Tverskoy. 1263-1272 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Vasily Yaroslavich of Kostroma. 1272-1276 - Grand Duke of Vladimir.

Death of Batu

In 1256, Batu died, and soon his son, Sartak, was poisoned. The holy prince was again forced to seek peace agreements with the Horde and with its new khan, Berke. A diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was created in the capital of the Golden Horde in the city of Saray.

The onset of the era of Christianization of eastern paganism was associated with this moment. Over all the years of his life, Alexander Nevsky looked for every opportunity to ease the hardships of the lot of the cross and the rise of his native land.

In this combination of Russian and Tatar peoples and lands, a huge future multinational Russian state was created and strengthened over time, which received almost the entire legacy of Genghis Khan, territorially stretching to the very coast of the Pacific Ocean.

The fourth trip to Sarai was the last for Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky. On the way back from the Horde, he fell ill and, stopping near Vladimir at the Gorodets Monastery, died. With the name Alexei, he accepted the monastic schema. He put all his strength and life into serving Rus' and the Orthodox Church, which canonized him.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 4

Like the pious root / most honorable branch you were, O blessed Alexander: / Christ revealed to you, like some Divine treasure of the Russian land, / a new wonderworker, glorious and God-loving tna./ And today came together in memory of you through faith and love,/ in psalms and songs Rejoicing, we glorify the Lord,/ who has given you the grace of healing./ Pray to Him to save this city,/ and the power of your kinsmen [2] to be more pleasing to God// and for the sons of Russia to be saved

.

Troparion for the transfer of relics, same voice

Know your brotherhood, Russian Joseph,/ not in Egypt, but reigning in Heaven,/ blessed Prince Alexander,/ and accept their prayers,/ multiplying the lives of people with the fruitfulness of your land,/ protecting the cities of your dominion with prayer// and Orthodox Christians against the opposition, helping

.

Kontakion, tone 8

(Similar to: Like the firstfruits)

'Like a bright star, we honor you, / who shone from the east and came to the west: / for you enrich this whole country with miracles and kindness / and enlighten with faith those who honor your memory, blessed is Alexandra. / Of this For today's sake, we celebrate your dormition, your people. :/ pray to save your Fatherland and all those who flow to the race of your relics/ and those who truly cry out to you // Rejoice, the establishment of our city

.

Kontakion for the Transfer of Relics, Tone 4

Just like your relatives Boris and Gleb / appeared from Heaven to help you, / who strives for Welger of Svejsk and his warriors, / so you too now, / blessed Alexandra, / come to help your relative // ​​and overcome those who fight us

.

Greatness

We magnify you,/ blessed Prince Alexandra,/ and honor your holy dormition,/ and now pray for us// Christ our God.

(November 23)

We magnify you,/ blessed Prince Alexandra,/ and honor your holy memory,/ for you pray for us// Christ our God.

(August 30)