Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Alexander Nevsky

545 bytes added, 15:43, December 15, 2006
add links and change dates
[[image:Nevsky.jpg|right|thumb|An engraving of St. Alexander Nevsky]]Our father among the saints '''Alexander Nevsky''' was the Grand Prince of Vladimir and [[Novgorod]] during the period of the thirteenth century when the Russian lands were under assault from both the East and West. His military victories in the West and diplomacy in the East kept northern Russia free of foreign domination. The [[Church of Russia]] recognized him as a [[saint]] in 1547.  St Alexander Nevsky is commemorated on [[August 30]] and [[November 23]]. Also, the celebration of the ''[[Synaxis]] of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints'' on [[May 23]] was established by resolution of His feast day is Holiness Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexis I]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[September 12Russian Orthodox Church]], on March 10, 1964.
==Life==
In the spring of 1241, the Novgorod leaders again called upon Alexander to defend them from the invading and crusading Teutonic Knights. Again he and his army stopped the invasion, this time in the famous battle on the ice during the “Battle on Lake Peipus�? near [[Pskov]] on [[April 15]], 1242. By defeating, first, the Swedes and then the German Teutonic Knights, Alexander stopped their eastward expansion for several centuries. However, he fought many more battles against the Swedes, including one defeat in 1256 when they tried to block Novgorod’s access to the Baltic Sea. With the defeat of the Teutonic Knights, Alexander took to strengthening the defenses of the Russian lands in the northwest by completing a peace treaty with Norway in 1251.
In the meantime, Mongol/Tatar forces had invaded the Russian lands, sweeping through both the northern and southern regions, destroying principal cities such as Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Chernigov, Pereaslavl, and reducing Kiev to a small village. Alexander choose a course of submission and co-operation with the Tatars as he considered that resistance was hopeless. When in 1247, the Tatars came for tribute, he used his reputation as a hero of Novgorod to convince the citizens of Novgorod that submission was best under such hopeless conditions. When in 1263 a few towns refused to pay tribute to Tatar tax-collectors, Alexander made his fourth trip to the Tatar headquarters to beg the khan to stop the Tatar army that was enroute to Novgorod. While he succeeded, this was his last and most difficult of his service for his people; he died on [[November 1514]], 1263 during his journey home. Upon receiving the news of his death, [[Metropolitan]] Cyril of Vladimir announced in the [[cathedral]]: ''My dear children, know that the sun of Russia has set''.
==Legacy==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nevsky Wikipedia: Alexander Nevsky]
*[http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwnevsky.htm Alexander Nevsky]
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=102424 Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky] - From [[OCA]] Web site.*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=103377 Repose of St Alexander Nevsky] From OCA Web site.
[[Category: Featured Articles]]
[[Category: Russian Saints]]
[[Category: Saints]]

Navigation menu