Who is Alexander Svirsky and what do believers ask him for?

Alexander Svirsky
(1448 - 1533), abbot, reverend Memory April 17 on the day of the discovery of relics, August 30 on the day of death, in the Cathedrals of Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Karelian saints

Born on June 15, 1448, on the day of remembrance of the Prophet Amos, and at baptism he was named after him. His parents, Stefan and Vassa (Vasilisa), were peasants in the Ladoga village of Mandera, on the banks of the Oyat River, a tributary of the Svir River. They had two children who were already grown up and living separately from their parents. But Stefan and Vassa wanted to have another son. They prayed earnestly and heard a voice from above: “Rejoice, good marriage, you will give birth to a son, in whose birth God will give consolation to His Churches.”

Amos grew up to be a special youth. He was always obedient and meek, avoided games, laughter and foul language, wore scanty clothes and exhausted himself with fasting so much that he worried his mother. Upon reaching adulthood, he once met with Valaam monks who came to Oyat to buy things necessary for the monastery and for other economic needs. By this time, Valaam was already known as a monastery of high piety and strictly ascetic life. After talking with them, the young man became interested in their story about the hermitage (two or three together) and hermit life of the monks. Knowing that his parents wanted to marry him, the young man at the age of 19 secretly went to Valaam. Under the guise of a companion, an Angel of God appeared to him and showed him the way to the island.

Amos lived in the monastery for seven years as a novice, leading a harsh life. He spent his days in labor, his nights in vigil and prayer. Sometimes naked to the waist, covered with mosquitoes and midges, he prayed in the forest until the morning birdsong.

In 1474 Amos took monastic vows with the name Alexander. A few years later, the parents accidentally learned from Karelians who came to Mandera where their son had disappeared. Following the example of their son, the parents also soon went to the monastery, took monastic vows with the names Sergius and Varvara, and were honored with the life of a monk. After their death, the Monk Alexander, with the blessing of the abbot of the monastery, settled on a secluded monastic island, where he built a cell in a cleft in the rock and continued his spiritual exploits.

The glory of his exploits spread far. Then the monk in 1485 left Valaam and, according to instructions from above, chose a place in the forest on the shore of a beautiful lake, which later became known as the Holy Lake. Here the monk built himself a hut [1]. and lived alone for seven years, eating only what he collected in the forest. At this time, the saint experienced severe suffering from hunger, cold, illness and devilish temptations. But the Lord constantly supported the spiritual and physical strength of the righteous man. Once, when, suffering from painful illnesses, the monk not only could not get up from the ground, but also raise his head, he lay and sang psalms. And then a glorious husband appeared to him. Placing his hand on the sore spot, he marked the saint with the sign of the cross and healed him.

In 1493, the neighboring owner Andrei Zavalishin accidentally came across the saint’s home while hunting for a deer. Struck by the appearance of the righteous man, Andrei told him about the light he had seen earlier over this place, and begged the monk to tell him about his life. From then on, Andrei began to often visit the Monk Alexander and, finally, according to his instructions, he himself retired to Valaam, where he took monastic vows with the name Adrian. Subsequently, he founded the Ondrusovo Monastery and became famous for his holy life (+ 1549).

Andrei Zavalishin could not keep silent about the ascetic, despite the promise given to him. The glory of the righteous man spread widely, and monks began to gather to him. Then the monk secluded himself from all the brethren and built himself a retreat hermitage 130 fathoms from the common dwelling. There he encountered many temptations. The demons took on an animal form and whistled like a snake, forcing the saint to flee. But the saint’s prayer, like a fiery flame, scorched and scattered the demons.

In 1508, in the 23rd year of the saint’s stay in the reserved place, the Life-Giving Trinity appeared to him. The monk prayed at night in the waste hermitage. Suddenly a strong light shone, and the monk saw Three Men entering him, dressed in light, white clothes. Sanctified by Heavenly glory, They shone with purity, brighter than the sun. Each of them held a rod in His hand. The monk fell in fear, and, having come to his senses, bowed to the ground. Lifting him by the hand, the Men said: “Trust, O blessed one, and do not be afraid.” The monk received orders to build a church and establish a monastery. He fell to his knees again, crying out about his unworthiness, but the Lord raised him up and commanded him to do what was specified. The monk asked in whose name the church should be. The Lord said: “Beloved, as you see Him speaking to you in Three Persons, so build a church in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial Trinity. I leave you peace and I will give you My peace.” And immediately the Monk Alexander saw the Lord with outstretched wings, as if walking on the earth, and He became invisible. In the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, this Divine descent is known as the only one. After this phenomenon, the monk began to think about where to build a church. One day, while praying to God, he heard a voice from above. Looking up into the heights, the monk saw an Angel of God in a mantle and a doll, just as St. Pachomius the Great saw. The angel, standing in the air with outstretched wings and raised hands, said: “One is Holy, One is Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, amen.” And then he turned to the monk: “Alexander, on this place may a church be built in the Name of the Lord who appeared to you in Three Persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Indivisible Trinity.” And, having crossed the place three times, the Angel became invisible.

In the same year, the wooden Church of the Life-Giving Trinity was built (in 1526 a stone one was erected in its place). Immediately after the church was built, the brethren began to beg the monk to accept the priesthood. He refused for a long time, considering himself unworthy. Then the brethren began to pray to Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod (+ 1516), so that he would convince the monk to accept the rank. That same year the monk traveled to Novgorod and received dedication from the saint. Soon after, the brethren begged the monk to accept the abbess.

Having become abbot, the monk became even more humble than before. His clothes were all in patches, he slept on the bare floor. He prepared food himself, kneaded dough, baked bread. One day there was not enough firewood and the steward asked the abbot to send those of the monks who were idle to fetch firewood. “I am idle,” said the monk and began to chop wood. Another time he started carrying water the same way. And at night, when everyone was asleep, the monk often ground bread for others with hand millstones. At night, the monk walked around the cells and, if he heard vain conversations somewhere, knocked lightly on the door and left, and in the morning he instructed the brethren, imposing penance on the guilty.

Towards the end of his life, the Monk Alexander decided to build a stone church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. The foundation of the temple was laid. One evening, after performing an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, the monk sat down to rest in his cell and suddenly said to his cell attendant Athanasius: “Child, be sober and watchful, because at this hour there will be a wonderful and terrible visitation.” A voice like thunder was heard: “Behold, the Lord is coming and she who gave birth to Him.” The monk hurried to the entrance of the cell, and a great light shone around him, spreading over the entire monastery brighter than the rays of the sun. Having looked, the monk saw above the foundation of the Church of the Intercession, sitting on the altar, like a queen on a throne, the Most Pure Mother of God. She held the Child Christ in Her arms, and many angelic ranks, shining with indescribable lightness, stood before Her. The monk fell, unable to bear the great light. The Mother of God said: “Arise, chosen one of My Son and God! For I have come to visit you, My beloved, and to see the foundation of My church. And because you prayed for your disciples and your monastery, from now on it will abound for everyone; and not only during your life, but also after your departure I will constantly be from your monastery, generously giving everything you need. Look and observe carefully how many monks have gathered into your flock, who must be guided by you on the path of salvation in the Name of the Holy Trinity.” The monk stood up and saw many monks. The Mother of God said again: “My beloved, if anyone brings even one brick to build My church, in the Name of Jesus Christ, My Son and God, he will not lose his reward.” And She became invisible.

Before his death, the monk showed amazing humility. He called the brethren and commanded them: “Tie my sinful body at the feet with a rope and drag it into the swampy wilds and, burying it in the moss, trample it with your feet.” The brethren answered: “No, father, we cannot do this.” Then the monk indicated not to bury his body in the monastery, but in the waste hermitage, near the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Having lived 85 years, the saint departed to the Lord on August 30, 1533.

Relics and veneration

The Monk Alexander of Svirsky became famous for his wondrous miracles during his life and after his death. In 1545, the disciple and successor of the monk, Abbot Herodion, compiled his life. In 1547, local celebrations of the saint’s memory began and a service to him was compiled [2].

A whole host of students was instructed and educated by the Monk Alexander Svirsky. These are the venerables: Ignatius Ostrovsky (XVI), Leonid Ostrovsky (XVI), Cornelius Ostrovsky (XVI), Dionysius Ostrovsky (XVI), Afanasy Ostrovsky (XVI), Theodore Ostrovsky (XVI), Ferapont Ostrovsky (XVI). In addition to these saints, the disciples and interlocutors of St. Alexander of Svirsky are known, having separate days of remembrance: St. Athanasius of Syandem (XVI), St. Gennady of Vazheozersky (+ 1516), St. Macarius of Oredezh (+ 1532), St. Adrian of Ondrusovsky (+ 1549), St. Nikephoros Vazheozersky (+1557), Rev. Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd (1565) [3].

In 1641, the relics of St. Alexander were discovered and examined.
The discovery was accompanied by special signs: on April 15 and 16 there was extraordinary thunder and lightning that shone on the ground above the burial place of the holy founder of the monastery. Then on April 17, on the Saturday of Righteous Lazarus, during the Divine Liturgy, workers were digging a ditch for the walls of the new, stone Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and on the altar site of the old church they found the saint’s tomb, and the ground above it stood in the form of a cave, unsupported by anything. When the entire monastery came to the rotten coffin (only the bottom board was well preserved), Abbot Abraham removed the top board, and a strong fragrance spread around. The saint’s body turned out to be intact, in a mantle and schema, his face was covered, and part of his beard was visible from under the schema; both legs lay like those of someone who had recently died, the right foot up, and the left foot turned to the side, both wearing sandals. His body, “like some growing flowers,” spread and poured out fragrant myrrh. The Metropolitan of Novgorod, St. Afphonius, was present at the opening of the relics. In horror and joy, the relics were transferred to a new coffin and taken to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the same desert. The monks, who saw the incorruptible flesh of their heavenly patron, were shocked by their complete incorruption and compiled a detailed description of the shrine. The face was especially surprising - it looked so alive that the monk seemed to be sleeping. The face fully corresponded to the icon faces of the saint, which were painted by his contemporaries. The compilers of the description also noted the unusual position of the saint’s arms and legs and the amber-yellow color of his skin. Soon the relics were placed in a silver shrine donated by Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and transferred to the newly built Transfiguration Cathedral. At the same time, a church-wide celebration was established for St. Alexander on two dates: the day of his repose, August 30, and the day of the discovery of his relics, April 17. At the end of the 1870s, a new silver shrine weighing 11 pounds was built for the relics of the saint, and the old one was moved to the Trinity Cathedral (the lid has been preserved to this day in the collection of the Russian Museum).

After the godless hard times, the second discovery of the relics of St. Alexander followed in 1998. The search was carried out with the blessing of the abbot of the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery Lucian (Kutsenko), with the close participation of the nun Leonida (later nun Alexandra (Safonova). The discovery followed on July 30 of that year. Details of the description 400 years ago helped to verify the authenticity of the shrine.

Alexander Svirsky's parents were devout peasants, but his dedication to faith worried them

Alexander Svirsky's parents named him in honor of the prophet Amos, the third of the twelve minor prophets, who preached in the Kingdom of Judea long before the birth of Christ.

The father's name was Stefan, the mother's name was Vassa. They lived in the village of Mandera (in other sources - the village of Mandera), which no longer exists. Now this place is decorated with the Vvedeno-Oyatsky Monastery.

The life of Stefan and Vassa took place in the usual peasant routine. They gave birth often then. It is known that before Amos, this family raised two children, who had already moved to separate homes.

For his parents, Alexander was a long-awaited child.

At least from his life we ​​learn that his parents prayed for him with zeal. And then they heard a voice from above, assuring:

“Rejoice, good marriage, you will give birth to a son, in whose birth God will give consolation to His Churches.”

And although it is clear that Stephen and Bassa were devout people, young Amos's zeal for spiritual life came as a big surprise to them. The boy behaved meekly, tried to impose severe restrictions on himself, did not argue, and fasted zealously - to the point of exhaustion. But things weren’t going well for him with his studies.

This behavior worried the mother, who wanted a calmer life for her son. Together with their father, they decided to marry the young man, but these plans were not destined to come true.

Prayers

Troparion

From your youth, O God-wise, you settled in the desert with spiritual desire, / you desired the one Christ to follow diligently in the footsteps, / and in the same way you did the angelic work, seeing you, marveling at how / how you labored with the flesh against invisible wiles, O wise, / you conquered the armies of passions by abstinence / and you appeared as an equal angel on earth, / Reverend Alexandra, / pray to Christ God, / that he may save our souls.

Kontakion

Like a multi-bright star today, Father, you have shone in the Russian countries, having settled in the desert, / You have zealously desired to follow Christ’s footsteps, / And the holy cross has lifted the holy yoke on your side, / You have put to death, your labors, your feat, your bodily struggles: / we also cry out you: save your flock, which you have gathered wisely, / let us call you: Rejoice, Reverend Alexandra, our father.

Young Amos fled to a monastery, where his parents found him and also became monks.

Amos believed that he needed more severe conditions to understand the spiritual. He found a way out by talking with monks who had arrived from the island of Valaam on their own business.

This meeting turned the young man's life upside down. He wanted to leave with the monks, but they refused to take the child with them without the permission of the parents. This required at least the blessing of the abbot.

However, the elderly monk turned to Amos and said that he should hurry to become a monk before the devil took possession of his heart. So the young man decided to settle in the monastery at all costs.

Realizing that it would be difficult to gain his parents' approval, Amos secretly ran away. He had to travel a distance that was significant even by modern standards. And this is without transport and clear ideas about the route. But legend says that the way was shown by an Angel, pretending to be a companion.

Valaam Monastery - young Amos aspired there

So 19-year-old Amos ended up on the island of Valaam and in 1474 took monastic vows with the name Alexander. For seven years he led a difficult monastic life, but did not lose his determination to continue.

1474

the year when Amos took monastic vows in the Valaam monastery with the name Alexander

At the monastery, Alexander met with his parents. Whether by coincidence or by God's will, they started talking with the travelers who told about the fate of young Amos. Mother and father came to Valaam, where they also took monastic vows. From that moment on, their names were Varvara and Sergius. Thus the family was reunited.

When his parents died, Alexander wished to live as a hermit on an island six kilometers from the monastery. The abbot blessed him, and he left Valaam.

Used materials

• Life on the DECR website of the Russian Orthodox Church:
• “Holy Reverend Alexander of Svirsky. The first discovery of the relics of Alexander Svirsky", private site Miracles of Orthodoxy
  :

[1] Subsequently, on this place, near the Holy Lake, 36 versts from the future city of Olonets and 6 versts from the Svir River, the Monk Alexander founded the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity, and 130 fathoms from it, near Lake Roshchinsky, he built himself a “waste hermitage” ", on the site of which the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery then arose

[2] According to other sources, he was glorified at the Moscow Council in 1547 for widespread veneration.

[3] Almost all of these saints (except for St. Gennady of Kostroma) are included in the Council of Karelian Saints.

Prayers to Saint Alexander

In order to venerate the relics, you should not go to the monastery itself on the Svir River, because particles of the incorrupt body of Alexander Svirsky are in many churches throughout Rus':

• in Moscow;
• In Petersburg;
• in Vologda;
• in Petrozavodsk;
• in Veliky Novgorod.

In Russia alone there are about seventy churches dedicated to the holy ascetic.

People come to pray to Alexander Svirsky with many requests:

• about health;
• about the gift of a child (they also often ask for the birth of a boy when only girls are born, since the prayer for the birth of a son to this particular saint is especially effective);
• about strengthening in faith.

Often priests send young monks or people who are just about to take monasticism to the icon of an ascetic.

After all, the ascetic himself took monastic vows at a very young age, so people come to him for advice on the correctness of such a decision.

If you want to pray to Alexander Svirsky for health or anything else, you should follow some basic rules:

• It is advisable to come to the temple in honor of this ascetic during the period outside the service and light a candle and pray in front of the icon.
• For home prayer, an icon of Alexander Svirsky can be purchased, but believers can also pray without an icon, simply reading the corresponding prayer.
• If you convert sincerely, then you don’t need to look at what others are asking for: Saint Alexander will pray to the Lord for everyone who turns to him in faith.
• While in prayer, you should throw away other worries and thoughts from your mind, you need to focus only on your appeal and request.
• The icon of St. Alexander of Svirsky should be kept on the home altar, it is wrong to place icons on bookshelves and mix them with worldly objects.

Venerable Alexander Svirsky. The significance of his feat in the history of Russia

The fifteenth century is the era of the highest rise in spiritual culture, state and church building, a century of intense prayer and an unprecedented growth in the number of holy ascetics. This time was imbued with prayer and repentance of the monastic brethren, praying for the whole world. There were many of them, true ascetics, constantly walking before the face of God. Among them are God’s special chosen ones, whose names are engraved in the people’s memory. One of these chosen ones was the Monk Alexander of Svirsky, the seer of the Holy Trinity.

Year of birth of St. Alexander of Svirsky - the chosen one of God the Trinity 1448

This year is a historical milestone in the life of the Russian state. This year, the Russian Church moved away from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and gained independence. For the first time, the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus', St. Jonah, was elected by the Council of Russian Bishops. Soon he began to be called the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus', because. there was a division of Kievan and Moscow Rus'. The acquisition of independence by the Church became a significant event for the entire subsequent church and church-political life of Russia. This was the time of the formation and strengthening of Rus' around the Moscow Principality.

Much in the unity of the state depended on the Church and its First Hierarch. By God's providence, he became a zealous servant of the Lord, Metropolitan Jonah. The ecclesiastical work of Metropolitan Jonah was great and significant for the Russian Church: he eliminated the consequences of the Union of Florence, defended Orthodoxy and the independence of the Russian Church, and actually established Russian autocephaly. He, like no one else, raised the authority of the metropolitan authorities; he did not hesitate to remove bishops from church authority even for small errors against church canons. The holiness of Metropolitan Jonah for his contemporaries was undoubted - his canonization occurred 11 years after his death - in 1461.

Five years after the birth of the future seer of the Holy Trinity, another important historical event occurred - the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. It could not but affect the position of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since that time, the hopes of Orthodox Christians around the world have been directed to Rus'.

It seems no coincidence that it was in the year that the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church was affirmed that the future holy ascetic, chosen by God the Trinity, was born. Assessing this event in time, you cease to doubt that the Monk Alexander was chosen by God to carry out a special spiritual mission, important for him. Additionally, this “non-randomness” is emphasized by the fact that the day of remembrance of the Old Testament prophet Amos, the birthday of the Monk Alexander of Svir and the day of remembrance of the Metropolitan Moscow and all Rus' Jonah falls on the same date - June 15, Art.

The Novgorod land, which included the Vepsian village of Mandera - the birthplace of St. Alexander, became part of the then emerging Moscow state in 1478 and has since lost its independence. Novgorod, the oldest Russian city, then experienced one of the most tragic moments in its history. The Moscow authorities, in order to put an end to the republican order of Novgorod, organized the largest evictions of Novgorodians from the Novgorod land. The chronicle reports that more than 7,000 families were resettled in Moscow. History has preserved the prophecy of St. Mikhail Klopsky about this event. In 1440, the Novgorod ruler Euthymius visited the Klop monastery, then Mikhail Klopsky said to him: “And today there is great joy in Moscow... the Grand Duke of Moscow has given birth to a son, who was given the name Ivan, he will destroy the customs of the Novgorod land and bring destruction to our city.” .

Now, after centuries, one can understand why St. rejoiced. Mikhail Klopsky: Ivan III managed to unite many appanage principalities around Moscow and turn his Moscow principality into a strong national state capable of resisting the enemy.

* * *

St. Alexander of Svirsky, both during his life and after his righteous death, fulfilled a special mission - he was a prayer book for the kings.

This is evidenced by monastery archival documents. One of them, a letter from the monks of the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, tells of the appearance of St. Alexander to the organizer of the Rekon monastery, Elder Amphilochius: when he prayed to the Svir miracle worker, asking him for help. Saint Alexander blessed him for “the feat of interceding before the deceased Monarchs in God.” I believe that Rev. Alexander Svirsky not only gave advice to Elder Amphilochius, but also gave us a revelation about the power of the prayer of the Anointed of God before the throne of the Most Holy Trinity. Thus, the Venerable One also testified to his deep veneration for God’s anointed ones. It is noteworthy that in the Trinity Cathedral of the Rekon monastery, created by Elder Amphilochius, the images of the Life-Giving Trinity, the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and the icon of St. Alexander Svirsky.

Another archival document confirms the status of a “prayer book for kings.” In a report to the Synod for 1863, the rector of the Svirsky Monastery, Archimandrite Pavel, wrote about his trip to St. Petersburg regarding the construction of a metochion: “The Holy Wonderworker, Rev. Alexander of Svirsky is the prayer book of the Kings and the inhabitants of St. Petersburg...”

How difficult the mission of a prayer book for kings is can only be partially imagined if we proceed from the postulate arising from the Old Testament story that a monarch can be for the people not only a blessing from above, but also a scourge of the Lord. The connection between the monarch and the people he rules is inextricable with the dominant role of God's Anointed One. The piety of the king elevates his entire power; royal sins can fall on the people with heavy blows. Evidence of this is preserved by Old Testament and New Testament history. This explains the high mission of the prayer books for the kings - to atone for the royal sins in order to protect the people from the wrath of the Lord.

It is noteworthy that the first anointing of the Russian kingdom - the grandson of Vasily III - Dmitry took place in 1498 during the life of the Monk Alexander of Svirsky, but this anointed one was not destined to rule.

The first crowned tsar to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Ivan the Terrible, was also born during the life of the Monk Alexander of Svirsky and at the age of three in 1533 he was declared tsar. The life of St. Alexander of Svirsky mentions Tsar Vasily III’s request for prayers from St. Alexander for the birth of a son. This means that through his prayers the first Russian Tsar was born.

In 1533, the Monk Alexander left the earthly vale. The crowning of the seventeen-year-old Grand Duke John IU into the Russian kingdom took place in 1547. Before this event, coronation did not take place in Rus'. It took place in Constantinople or Rome. After 14 years, the Patriarch of Constantinople confirmed the royal wedding of Ivan the Terrible. A few days after the wedding to the Tsar’s throne, a Council was held, at which the Monk Alexander of Svirsky and eleven other saints were canonized in the presence of the Tsar.

History preserves the memory that, starting from the time of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, the son of the first Anointed Ivan the Terrible, all the queens of Moscow Rus' prayed with hope to the Monk Alexander of Svirsky, asking his prayers to the Lord for the gift of a child, and received what they asked for. Evidence of these requests are the precious covers on the saint’s shrine, embroidered by their hands, decorated with pearls, beads, gold and silver threads, stored in museums, in particular in the State Russian Museum. To this day, barren people still call on the saint, asking for his prayers for the birth of a child.

Since the end of the 19th century, starting with Tsar Boris Godunov, the election of Russian Tsars to the kingdom began with a solemn word - a word of appeal to the Holy Trinity: “The Great Lord God the Father, terrible, omnipotent and containing everything, sitting on the throne of the Cherubim with His eternal and only begotten Son, and by His divine and life-giving Spirit the Kings reign, and from Him the Russian land has its Sovereigns.” Subsequent kings also turned to the Trinity when they were anointed to the Kingdom. God's anointed received special grace-filled gifts in the sacrament of confirmation in order to be King and Judge of the people of God.

The relics of St. Alexander were discovered during the reign of the first king of the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov perceived the discovery of the saint’s relics as God’s blessing on the kingdom and thanked the saint by arranging for him in the Kremlin Armory a 40-pound silver gilded shrine, decorated with precious stones.

The first king of the Romanov dynasty received many signs of God's favor to the new dynasty that replaced the 735-year-old Rurik dynasty: the tunic of the Lord Jesus Christ (a gift from the Persian Shah Abbas), the famous cross of King Justinian from Metropolitan Dionysius of Irakli, three staves from the bush from which Moses took the rod - a gift from the Archbishop of Sinai Jeremiah, the Honorable Robe of the Most Pure Virgin Mary and, as mentioned above, the relics of the prayer book for the kings, St. Alexander Svirsky. “Blessed from the Lord God is the king and blessed is the kingdom, in which and under which great signs of the persistence of the all-saving Providence of God are performed...”

Nothing under the sun is accomplished without the will of God, the Lord gives life and death, exalts and humiliates, and even more so, nothing can be accomplished without His will in the whole state. It was not without the will of the Lord that His last Anointed One, Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, made his last earthly journey. Is it a coincidence that Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich was brought to Yekaterinburg on Holy Week, on the day of remembrance of the prayer book for the tsars - April 17/30, 1918. It was Great Tuesday - then the Royal Prisoners were brought to the Ipatievs' house - Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. Again, as during the reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the name of God’s Anointed One from the Romanov dynasty and the name of St. Alexander of Svirsky came together before a great change in the life of the state. From this day of Passion Week - April 30, 1918, the last journey began - the way of the cross to Golgotha ​​of the royal passion-bearers and the beginning of a terrible long-term trial for Russia.

Three months after the murder of the king, the atheists came to the Svirsky monastery in order to deal with the chosen one of the Most Holy Trinity, the prayer book for the kings - the Monk Alexander of Svirsky. Apparently, the ancient serpent knew the spiritual power of this saint and the mission that he carries before the throne of the Most Holy Trinity: his relics were the first to be subjected to autopsy, blasphemy and lies, 3.5 months before the start of the officially announced campaign to liquidate the relics. This is the destiny of the prayer book for the Kings to be close to the King. They were side by side during the formation of the Romanov dynasty, and side by side at the end.

* * *

God the Trinity appeared to St. Alexander of Svirsky in 1507.

Due to our human structure - the desire to understand everything with our minds, we involuntarily look for the answer to the question why God - the Trinity appeared for the second time to the people of New Testament times, precisely then, in 1507. At the same time, you understand that God came out of His love for people, which means He came when the need arose for this unusual visit, visible to earthly eyes.

And there really was a need for special God’s help then: 470 years after the Baptism of Rus', the threat of apostasy from the Orthodox faith arose over it. The so-called “heresy of Judaizers” began to spread throughout the Russian land. It must be especially noted that the words “Jew” and “Judaizers” in Rus' at that time did not have any abusive anti-Semitic meaning, which they began to see in them later. This was a designation of religious ethnicity; the word “Jew” was a Slavic transcription of the word “Jew.” Hence the name of the sect – “Judaizers”, i.e. "Judaizers". The heresy contained the greatest danger to which Rus', Russian Orthodoxy, Russian statehood had ever been exposed - this is how the Monk Joseph of Volotsky assessed this danger then.

The heresy had a truly all-encompassing character: it affected all aspects of the doctrine, captured the minds of many people of the most different classes and conditions, penetrated to the very heights of church and state power, so that both the first hierarch of the Russian Church and the Grand Duke were affected by it, as in Orthodox Rus' Unthinkable outrages were happening.

In the 70s of the 16th century, the hospitable Vladychny court of Novgorod, which always received European guests, was visited by the Lithuanian prince Mikhail Olelkovich and with him a certain “Jew named Skhariya,” and with him two princes in his retinue, Moses Hanush and Joseph Shmoilo Skorobey. They denied the Divine nature of Christ, the possibility of God entering human flesh, recognized Christ as a prophet, took the Trinity for tritheism, arguing that this contradicted the Old Testament in its teaching about the one God, and also denied icon veneration. With them, sorcery, witchcraft, and astrology became widespread. During the 17 years of the illegal existence of the sect in Novgorod, the number of adherents of the heresy became very significant.

Moreover, propaganda was deliberately carried out among the clergy, and then the priests - successors - spread heresy among the flock. From Novgorod, the heresy spread to Beloozero and the Vologda forests, where it found shelter in the poor hermitages and monasteries there; then it was moved to Moscow. Skhariya's first students were the priests Dionysius and Alexei, the Sofian archpriest Gabriel and the most educated of the townspeople. The heretics were distinguished by outward piety, had many books of learning that the Orthodox did not have, and easily captivated the latter with skillful debates. In 1480, Grand Duke John III visited Novgorod. Skhariya's capable students gained confidence in the prince and delighted him with their education and eloquence. The prince transferred them closer to him in Moscow. Here Alexey became the archpriest of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, Denis became the archpriest of the Archangel Cathedral - the grand ducal tomb. Thus, the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the main temple of the Orthodox world, which replaced the Sophia of Constantinople turned into a mosque, paradoxically received a heretic archpriest as its rector. Among the hierarchs infected with heresy was Moscow Metropolitan Zosima. At first, adherents of heresy conquered the Grand Duke Ivan III himself.

The first warrior against heretics was Archbishop Gennady, who was elevated to the Novgorod See on December 12, 1484. The Volotsk abbot Joseph also took up arms against the heretics, directing his gift of writing against Tsar John III himself. Together with the Novgorod ruler, he mobilizes supporters, enlists the support of diocesan rulers and appanage princes; Even physical violence is used against heretics. In 1488 and 1490, Councils were held in Moscow on the “heresy of the Judaizers,” where the perpetrators were convicted, some of them were sent to prison. In 1494, Metropolitan Zosima was removed from the Moscow metropolitan see - the Monk Joseph of Volotsky was not afraid to expose the hierarch of his inclination towards Judaism.

In 1503 and 1504 there were two more Councils dedicated to the condemnation of the “heresy of the Judaizers.” At these Councils, Abbot Joseph of Volotsky presided over the trial: some of the heretics convicted at the Council of 1504 were burned, others were sent to Novgorod. Everyone was accused of unbelief, of desecrating the seven Councils of the Holy Fathers and denying the dogmas of the church, and above all, the heretics were accused of denying the symbol of faith - the Trinity. Hegumen Joseph of Volotsky, contrary to the assertion of the heretics that Abraham accepted God with two angels, and not the Trinity, states the only true, orthodox thing: Abraham accepted God in three persons. “They are all three sitting in one place, equal in glory, equal in part, and neither greater nor less, equally serving and worshiping from Abraham.” The great contemporary of St. was also a participant in the cathedral. Alexander Svirsky - Rev. Nil of Sorsky, his views on the fate of heretics differed from the views of St. Joseph of Volotsky: the loving Nile called for mercy for the fallen; St. Joseph sought to radically eradicate heresy.

After 1504, the heretical movement died out, but was not completely destroyed. Passions were still boiling in Moscow, Novgorod, and the villages.

The formidable accuser and fighter against heresy, the Rev. Joseph of Volotsky, in the final sixteenth word of his work “The Enlightener,” writes with sorrow: “We have not found a single medicine to heal this disease.” It was not in vain that the Monk Joseph grieved. The modern priest Alexander Kruglov continues with no less sorrow on the same occasion: “The most terrible symptom of the illness generated by heresy is the defeat of the repentant feeling. This heresy destroyed not only the dogmas of faith or traditions of the church, it attacked the very foundation of the church - the humble spirit of repentance. This is what made the disease an incurable social phenomenon.”

How subtly everything was calculated by the enemy of the human race - the ancient serpent: he crawled into the thoughts and thoughts of people not with some teaching that sharply departed from the New Testament Christian teaching. He approached the same biblical stories, where the main character is God, but not in Three Persons. Everything was perceived as understandable, relatively familiar - this was the stumbling block.

The Monk Alexander of Svirsky was far from these passions; he did not take part in the condemnations of heretics and did not leave his desert anywhere until 1508. But he could not help but know about this scourge that struck the spiritual and political life of Novgorod and Moscow. The holy ascetics saw the world around them with spiritual eyes, from which nothing could hide. His soul and mind were occupied by prayer, which, without a doubt, was offered for the strengthening of the Orthodox Church, just as St. Sergius of Radonezh prayed for those fighting the Tatar horde and he knew everything that happened on the battlefield.

Apparently, it was for the purity of prayer and love for God that it was given to the Monk Alexander to perceive God the Trinity. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” \Matt. 5.8.\.

After thirty-three years of intense monastic prayer (counting from the time of arrival at the Valaam Monastery), in 1507 God, in the form of three Light-Bearing Angels, visited the ascetic. At this time the Monk Alexander was sixty years old.

God did not come to the warriors fighting for the truth of the Trinity to confirm that they were right in the fight. God appeared to the meek, humble monk during his usual solitary night prayer on the same Novgorod land where the struggle for the purity of the faith took place.

The appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to St. Alexander did not remain secret; very soon many people knew about it. Did St.’s contemporaries know about him? Alexander Svirsky?

The “Life” of the Monk Alexander of Svirsky was written by his disciple Herodion just 12 years after the repose of the saint. Many of his disciples were still alive, and the Rev.’s confessor, Hieromonk Isaiah, was also alive, who, after the saint’s departure, was freed from the secret of his confession and could reveal much about Heavenly visits to the holy ascetic. The Life mentions five visits by angels to St. Alexandra: the first time an Angel came to heal an ascetic from heart disease; another time - he informed him that he had been chosen by God for the salvation of many and must build a temple; the third is the appearance of the Holy Trinity Itself; fourth - the Angel indicated the place for the construction of a temple in the name of the Holy Trinity; the fifth is the appearance of the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms and a host of Angels. It was with such generous Heavenly visits that the Lord delighted the soul of His chosen one.

The monks of the Joseph-Volotsk Monastery were the first to understand that Saint Alexander of Svirsky was chosen by the Lord, therefore, hymnographically and iconographically, this saint was glorified here even before he was glorified conciliarly in Moscow in 1547. I learned about the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity. Alexander and Metropolitan Macarius, who occupied the Novgorod see from 1526. In 1542, Metropolitan Macarius became Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'. In his icon-painting workshop an icon of St. Alexander of Svirsky with 128 marks telling about the main events of the life of the Monk Alexander, including the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to the Rev.

By the providence of God, the Monk Alexander occupies a special position in the life of St. Macarius. Among the saints he canonized, the saint’s life line intersected only with one saint, whom he canonized at the Council of 1547. This saint was Alexander Svirsky. There is indirect evidence that Grand Duke Vasily III and Metropolitan Macarius visited the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery. It is known that, while at the Novgorod See, the Bishop often made trips around the diocese he ruled. At that time, the Monk Alexander was already 78 years old; The Lord allotted another 7 years of the Rev.’s earthly life for their common prayers and deeds for the glory of the Orthodox Church.

Hegumen Herodion, the author of the Life of his teacher, left us a story in which he talks about his spiritual vision, which testified that even after his death the Reverend was inseparable from Metropolitan Macarius. A tangible sign of their inextricable spiritual unity is the large icon of St. Alexander, located at the tomb of Metropolitan Macarius in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

The phenomenon of the Trinity to St. Alexander became especially widely known after the Council of 1547 - the time of the canonization of St. Alexander Svirsky. This is evidenced by the growth in the number of monasteries dedicated to the Life-Giving Trinity, built after the Council. During the 50 years after 1547, the number of monasteries in Rus' built in honor of the Holy Trinity became 23; This means that it took an average of 2 years to build one monastery. For comparison: in 550 years, from the time of the Baptism of Rus' until 1547, 41 monasteries dedicated to the Life-Giving Trinity were built. If we do a simple calculation, it becomes obvious that the enthusiasm and desire to build a monastery in honor of the Holy Trinity increased after the Council of 1547.

What caused such a rapid increase in the construction of temples in honor of the Trinitarian God? It can be assumed that this growth of monasteries was evidence that at the Council, during the canonization of Alexander Svirsky, the attention of the council was again drawn to the glorification of the Holy Trinity, as was already the case at the Councils dedicated to the condemnation of the “Novgorod heresy”. Only now the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity in the form of Three Angels was spoken of as a recently occurring phenomenon, which the quiet and meek abbot of the then small northern monastery, Alexander Svirsky, personally saw and spoke with.

Thus, the Holy Trinity, through Her appearance to St. Alexander, came closer to people, became more real for them - by the grace of God, knowledge of Her appearance in Russia was given and the name of Her eyewitness was given. We must admit that to strengthen faith, many of us even today need visibility, we need miracles.

* * *

In the 50s of the 16th century, the veneration of St. Alexander as the ideal of monastic piety and asceticism was firmly connected with one of the major military and diplomatic victories - the capture of Kazan and the transition of the Kazan Khanate to Russian rule. Tsar Ivan the Terrible noted the importance of the prayerful intercession of St. Alexander Svirsky in the battle with the Tatars - the victory occurred on August 30, the day of the saint’s repose. The king perpetuated the memory of this victory by building a chapel of St. Alexander Svirsky in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, now called St. Basil's Cathedral on the main square of Moscow. At the same time, the already mentioned icon for the Assumption Church of the Kremlin was painted. Also, after the capture of ancient Polotsk by Russian troops during the Livonian War, the tsar wrote to Metropolitan Jonah that the victory was achieved through the prayers of Russian saints and in particular St. Alexander Svirsky.

Another victory over the enemy was won on the day of memory of St. Alexander of Svir. The Northern War ended on August 30, 1721 with the Peace of Nystadt, according to which Russia returned all its lands along the Neva and along the shores of the Gulf of Finland, previously seized by Sweden. However, Emperor Peter I departed from the tradition accepted in Rus': he did not pay tribute to the saint on whose memory day, and therefore through whose prayerful intercession, the victory was won.

For this victory, the tsar offered thanks to the noble prince Alexander Nevsky, who defended the banks of the Neva in the 13th century. At the same time, Tsar Peter treated the Monk Alexander of Svir with reverence, lived in the monastery twice for several days, did a lot for the Svirsky monastery, in particular, made a donation for the restoration of the Church of the Holy Trinity and decorating it with frescoes.

In the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg there is an amazing icon of the mid-18th century, which depicts the majestic warrior prince Alexander, and in front of him the kneeling humble monk Alexander Svirsky with his hands raised to God.

* * *

Our ancestors not only understood the greatness of St. Alexander of Svirsky, but also, having understood, imprinted the memory of him for centuries. The hagiography of St. Alexander is one of the richest in terms of the number of copies made in Rus', the hymnography is also rich - liturgical texts dedicated to the Saint; already in the 16th century and later, many iconographic images were created.

Temples in honor of St. Alexandra were built in Moscow, Novgorod and other cities of the Russian state. In the middle of the 19th century, the memory of the saint was immortalized in the very center of the capital in the church in the name of the Kazan Mother of God on Red Square. A part of his relics is kept in the newly rebuilt temple on the same historical site.

At the Council in 1547, Saint Macarius, during the canonization of the Svirsky ascetic, said that the spiritual exploits of Alexander of Svirsky equate him with the Monk Sergius of Radonezh. Subsequently Rev. Sergius began to be called the Hegumen of the Russian Land, and the name of another saint, the Venerable Alexander of Svir, a New Testament contemplator of the Holy Trinity, was erased from the memory of believers by the enemy of the human race throughout the 20th century. Today, few people know that Rev. Alexander was called a prayer book for kings, and therefore for the destinies of the people.

Historians of the 19th century, tracing the life of the Holy Trinity Alexander-Svirsky Monastery over the centuries, left us the following lines, allowing us to understand the significance of this monastery on an All-Russian scale: “The sovereigns\Russian tsars and princes\ showed mercy to the monastery unlike other monasteries, nobles and boyars They honored her and, despite the distance, did not stop coming to pray at the shrine of the Svir Wonderworker. The Svirsky Monastery was not inferior in splendor to the best monasteries in the populated regions of Russia and served not only as a school of piety, but also as a place of Christian charity, especially generous towards the local population.”

The significance of the monastery for the Russian North was great; it was not only a spiritual center - 22 monasteries arose around it in the 16th century, it was the richest monument of artistic church antiquity. The icons of the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery today constitute one of the significant collections of 100 monuments of the State Russian Museum.

The Svir monastery for a long time served as a center of trade and economic revitalization of the region, which was facilitated by the Trinity Fair, which existed at the monastery since the time of the monk and subsequently developed, as historians testify, to the level of the main fairs in Russia. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the Monk Alexander founded a monastery on the site of a dense forest, far from people. How powerfully the lamp of spiritual fire had to burn in order to attract masses of people with all their spiritual and earthly needs.

The monastery created by St. Alexander became a school of piety for many ascetics and monks and lay pilgrims over the centuries. And now thousands of admirers of St. Alexander from all over the world flock to the shrine with his relics with gratitude, hope and prayer requests.

Nun Leonida (Safonova)

The Righteous Alexander founded the church, became abbot, contemplated the Trinity, angels and the Mother of God

In 1485, Alexander left Fr. Saint and settled on the shore of the Holy Lake. This is not far from the Svir River, which gave the saint his nickname - Svirsky. Here he built a hut and ate what he could find in the forest.

It was a difficult period when the saint was tormented by hunger, illness and cold. It happened that he could not find the strength to get up. But then psalms and prayers came to the rescue. On one of these occasions, the monk saw a glorious man who healed him with the sign of the cross.

Alexander Svirsky lived quietly and could have remained a secret to everyone. But it happened differently. In 1493, a man living nearby named Andrei Zavalishin came across his hut. The meeting with the hermit so amazed the guest that it changed his life.

He himself became a monk and subsequently founded his own monastery - Ondrusovsky. But the main thing is that Andrei Zavalishin told the world about Alexander Svirsky.

St. Nicholas Adrian-Ondrusovsky Monastery was created by Adrian Andrusovsky after a meeting with Alexander Svirsky. There is no old building. The monastery is being restored

From that moment on, the hermit's life changed. Pilgrims, most often monks, began to come to him. The monks were with the righteous man, but he preferred to spend time in solitude, in the waste desert.

During this period, Alexander Svirskoy saw terrible things: demonic animals, from which prayer helped to get rid of them.

The most striking event in the life of the righteous man occurred in 1508.

Alexander met the Holy Trinity: the Holy Spirit, the Son and God the Father.

They entered the waste desert to him, emitting light. Dressed in white robes, with staffs in their hands, they ordered him to make a monastery and a church:

“Beloved, as you see Him speaking to you in Three Persons, so build a church in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial Trinity. I leave you peace and I will give you My peace.”

This case is unique in that in the tradition of the Orthodox Church it is considered the only indulgence of the Trinity.

Meeting of Alexander Svirsky with the Trinity

Then Alexander Svirsky had to choose a place for the temple. An angel helped, standing in the air and repeating,

“There is One Holy One, One Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, Amen”

and then said:

“Alexander, in this place may a church be built in the Name of the Lord who appeared to you in Three Persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Indivisible Trinity.”

Having finished speaking, the angel became invisible.

The Church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity was built quickly, although today that building does not exist. Alexander Svirsky became abbot - quite strict and retained a penchant for an ascetic lifestyle.

Having grown old, Alexander planned the construction of a stone church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Soon he saw her in the entrance of the cell with the Child Christ in her arms and fell to his knees. She said:

Holy Mother of God

mother of Jesus Christ

“Arise, chosen one of My Son and God! For I have come to visit you, My beloved, and to see the foundation of My church. And because you prayed for your disciples and your monastery, from now on it will abound for everyone; and not only during your life, but also after your departure I will constantly be from your monastery, generously giving everything you need. Look and observe carefully how many monks have gathered into your flock, who must be guided by you on the path of salvation in the Name of the Holy Trinity. My beloved, if anyone brings even one brick to build My church, in the Name of Jesus Christ, My Son and God, he will not lose his reward.”

In fact, he saw many monks ready to help. The temple was built with donations from Tsar Vasily III. Alexander Svirsky also founded the Holy Trinity Monastery.

On August 30, 1533 he left our world and went to the Lord.

Life

Childhood

The Monk Alexander Svirsky was born in the Ladoga village of Madera. His parents were local peasants of average income. Their names were Stefan (Stepan) and Vassa (Vasilissa). Regarding the circumstances of the birth of the future saint, there are several versions in hagiographic literature. According to one, the marriage of the pious peasants Stefan and Vassa was fruitless for many years: all this time they prayed for a child. According to another version, Stefan and Vassa already had two sons, whom they raised successfully, and then they again wanted to have a child, but their desire was in vain for several years and they earnestly asked the Lord to send them a son.

In any case, the future reverend was a “begged” child. Shortly before his conception, Stefan and Vassa went on a pilgrimage to the Ostrovsky Presentation of the Virgin Mary monastery. There, according to hagiography, they had a vision that their prayer had been heard. After that, they returned home and soon Vassa discovered that she was expecting a child. And on June 15, 1448, they had a son, named Amos in baptism.

When the boy reached a certain age, he was sent to learn to read and write. But at first, reading and writing was not easy for him. Growing up in a devout family, Amos earnestly prayed to God and His Most Pure Mother for help. Once, following the example of his parents, he even made a pilgrimage to the Ostrovsky Vvedensky Monastery. And his prayer was heard - he heard a voice from the icon, promising him help. After this, the boy returned home in a special mood, so that his parents understood that God had visited him. And from then on, Amos excelled in his studies even better than many of his peers.

The parents could not get enough of their growing son, who was their reliable assistant, and he secretly dreamed of asceticism, diligently attending divine services and exhausting himself with fasting. When Amos reached adulthood, his parents began to talk to him about a possible marriage, and he tried by any means to avoid such conversations, wanting to leave the world. The desire became a goal when Amos heard about the asceticism of the monks of the Valaam monastery - it was there that he wanted to take monastic vows and prayed to God about it.

Entering a monastery

Soon the Lord fulfilled Amos' prayer. One day, several Valaam monks came to a village neighboring Madera for monastic needs. There, on the banks of the Oyat River, the peasant son Amos met them. He, as he describes his life, approached the monastic brethren, bowed and asked for blessings. The monks willingly blessed him and asked what he wanted from them. In response, Amos asked for their prayers.

After this, one of the monastery elders began to talk with the young man. He willingly answered Amos’ questions about life in the Valaam monastery. Amos himself revealed to him that he dreams of leaving the world and taking monastic vows in the Valaam monastery; He did not hide his fears that his parents would try with all their might to keep him in the world and were even capable of taking him away from the monastery if he got there. But, despite this, Amos was ready to immediately leave everything and leave with the monks. To this, the elder said that the abbot prohibited taking anyone to the monastery without parental blessing. The elder also advised Amos to return home and then secretly leave his parents for Salma, from where it is easy to get to Valaam.

At the invitation of Amos, the Valaam monks visited the house of his parents and blessed them. In parting, the same old man said: “As your son will be great before God and a servant of the Holy Trinity” [1, p. 19].

A few days later, Amos, citing urgent business, asked his parents for time off to visit a friend in a neighboring village and said that he could stay there. When leaving, he asked for his parents' blessing. The parents, not suspecting that their son wanted to leave them forever, blessed him. Taking some bread with him, Amos left his parents' house forever.

Subsequently, talking about his departure to the monastery to his disciples, the monk recalled how he was in a hurry to leave, as far as possible from his home, fearing that his parents would figure it out and bring him back. Only after crossing the Svir River did he calm down a little. Finding himself in a desert area, Amos stopped for the night on the shore of a picturesque lake. There he prayed earnestly and during prayer he heard a voice that commanded him to go to Valaam to the monastery of the All-Merciful Savior, after some time to return to this place and establish a monastery here. Heavenly light descended on the place chosen by God. Many years later, the Monk Alexander founded the Svir monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity on this place.

The next day he set out on the road again, praying to God to send him a companion who would show him the way to the Valaam monastery. As the life of the saint states, he actually found such a companion - the Lord sent him an Angel in the form of a husband making a pilgrimage to Valaam.

They reached the monastery very quickly. At the monastery gates they stopped to pray at the Church of the Transfiguration. After the prayer, Amos’s companion became invisible, and from this phenomenon he guessed that he was accompanied by an Angel.

Entering the monastery, Amos asked the monks to escort him to the abbot. They immediately took him to the abbot. The rector at that time was Abbot Joachim. Having come to him, Amos began to beg Fr. Joachim to tonsure him as a monk. At first, the abbot pointed out to him the poverty of life in the Valaam monastery and expressed doubts that Amos would be able to withstand the rigor of monastic life. However, Amos persistently asked the abbot to introduce him to the brethren, promising to fulfill the monastic rules and remain in obedience. In the end, Abbot Joachim bowed to Amos' requests and accepted him into the ranks of the brethren.

In the Valaam monastery

There are differences regarding what happens next. According to one version, Amos was immediately tonsured a monk. According to another, for the first years he lived in the monastery as a novice and only seven years later he was tonsured a monk. According to another version, Amos spent not seven years in the novices, but only three years. Which of these versions is most true is unknown. But it is known

The exact date of the monk's tonsure is August 26, 1474 - on this day the novice Amos became the monk Alexander.

In any case, once in the monastery, the Monk Alexander began to strive zealously from the very beginning, spending his days in labor. According to hagiographic literature, the saint’s first obedience took place in a bakery. The Monk Alexander spent his nights in the feat of prayer. And sometimes he would strip naked to the waist and pray all night in the forest, covered in mosquitoes and midges.

Meanwhile, his parents were looking for their missing son. They even announced in the surrounding villages and hamlets that anyone who tells them anything about their son will receive a reward. And three years later, Karelians, pilgrims to Valaam, came to the saint’s parents and told them that they had seen their missing son in the Valaam monastery.

After this, Stefan immediately got ready and went to Valaam. Arriving at the monastery, he first questioned the monks, and then, making sure that his son was really here, turned to the abbot. The abbot talked with Stefan and in the conversation said that his son had been accepted into the ranks of the brethren, and advised not to grieve about him. Then Stefan began to ask for a meeting with his son, since it was only for this that he undertook a trip to Valaam. The abbot advised Stefan to stay at the monastery, promising that the next day he would be able to see his son.

But when Abbot Joachim came to the monk Alexander himself and said that his father wanted to see him, the monk was very upset. He, obedient in everything, surprised the abbot even more by flatly refusing to meet with his parent.

And the next day Stefan, having heard from Fr. Joachim, that his son refused to see him, blamed the abbot himself for everything. Stefan thought that the abbot, out of cruelty, deliberately turned his son against his parents, that he did not allow the monk to see his father. The unjust accusations offended the abbot, and he and Stefan went to the cell of the Monk Alexander. Approaching the cell, he demanded that the monk show himself to his father, saying: “Child Alexandra, appear to your father, and comfort his sorrow, which is upon me; I’m really worried about this” [1] [1, p. 32] The monk, realizing that his disobedience to the abbot led to a scandal in the monastery, left the cell to see his father. Stefan barely recognized his son, who had become haggard and pale during his life in the monastery. He began to persuade the Monk Alexander to return home and console his parents. And then, when they end their lives, he can go back to the monastery. But in response, the monk began to persuade his father to renounce the world and take monastic vows together with his wife. But Stefan was angry at his son’s words and, in great annoyance, went to the monastery hotel.

Then the Monk Alexander, returning to his cell, began to pray that the Lord would enlighten his father and direct him to the true path. Indeed, some time later, Stefan came to his senses and, having again talked with his son, decided to take monastic vows. They both once again visited the abbot of the Valaam monastery, and Stefan received his blessing for tonsure.

After that, he left Valaam and returned to his homeland. There Stefan told his wife about everything. She, having lost hope of her son’s return, also agreed to take monastic vows. The couple distributed property to the poor and took monastic vows at the Ostrovsky Vvedensky Monastery, where Vassa once prayed for the birth of a son. Stefan was tonsured with the name Sergius, Vassa with the name Varvara. They did not live long in the monastery and soon moved into eternity.

Their son Alexander continued to labor in the Valaam monastery. The initial obedience in the bakery was followed by others, more honorable ones. Gradually, the Valaam brethren began to talk about the Monk Alexander as an ascetic and man of prayer. He was very embarrassed by such conversations, and he turned to the abbot with a request to bless him to live in the desert. But the abbot, considering the monk Alexander too young, initially refused him. The monk obeyed the abbot, and his asceticism in the monastery continued.

In 1547, Alexander Svirsky became revered throughout Russia

Alexander Svirsky was known to many representatives of the higher clergy, so canonization began quite quickly. Novgorod Archbishop Theodosius ordered the compilation of the life of the righteous man. This was done in 1545 by Herodion, a disciple of the ascetic.

Metropolitan Macarius, who also knew Alexander of Svirsky, contributed to the all-Russian veneration of the saint.

Metropolitan Macarius personally knew Alexander of Svirsky and made efforts for his canonization

In 1547 the Makarievsky Cathedral established his church-wide veneration.