SAINT ALEXANDER NEVSKY

✳

The 13th century is rightfully considered one of the most difficult periods in the history of Russia: princely strife continued, destroying a single political, economic, spiritual and cultural space, and in 1223, formidable conquerors from the depths of Asia – the Mongol-Tatars – approached the eastern borders of the country.

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, according to the historian Y. K.Begunov, was born in Pereslavl-Zalessky on 30 May 1220 and according to the updated data of the historian V. A.Kuchkin – on 13 May 1221.

He came from the Rurik family, or rather, the Vladimir-Suzdal Grand Prince , thus being a great-grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, a grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and a son of Grand Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Alexander Nevsky was born when his father was an appanage Prince of Pereyaslavl, but he soon became the Grand Prince of Kyiv and Vladimir. The mother of Alexander Nevsky was Rostislava (Feodosia) Mstislavna, a Toropetsk Princess, the daughter of the Prince of Novgorod and Galicia Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny (Udaly), a brave and successful warrior. History has preserved almost no information about her. In the Hagiography she is mentioned as a quiet and humble princess, who devoted herself entirely to her feminine service – fidelity and obedience to her husband, caring for numerous children – Fyodor, Alexander, Andrei, Konstantin, Yaroslav, Athanasius, Daniil, Vasily, Mikhail and Maria.

Alexander received an extensive and comprehensive education already in his childhood. The young Prince’s mentors were persons of clergy – bishops, priests and monks, and the teaching itself was imbued with the spirit of piety.

At the age of four, the rite of initiation into warriors was performed over Alexander in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereslavl-Zalessky by Bishop Simon of Suzdal.

Alexander first came to Novgorod with his father when he was still just a baby. At the age of seven, in 1228, Prince Yaroslav left young Prince Alexander, together with his older brother Fyodor, to reign in Novgorod under the tutelage of princely steward Yakun and the governor Fyodor Danilovich.

In 1230, despite Yaroslav’s careless attitude towards Novgorod, the Novgorodians called upon him again, hoping that the Prince, as before, would leave his offspring to reign, and he himself would “disappear in the lower lands”. The calculation of the Novgorodians was very simple – they wanted to get a Prince who respected their orders and morals.

In the 20s – the first half of the 30s of the 12th century, the young Prince witnessed the intense struggle of Novgorod with the Germans, Swedes, and Lithuania.

In 1233, Fyodor Yaroslavich died at the age of 13, and 12-year-old Alexander in 1234, under his father’s banner, took part in a military campaign for the first time against Dorpat (until 1224 named Yuryev, founded by Yaroslav the Wise). This battle took place in winter. The Novgorodians drove the Germans to the river, and when the heavily armed knights stepped onto the ice, it began to crack under the knights; they began to fall through and drown. Alexander remembered the experience of this battle and used it later in the famous Battle on the Ice. Dorpat was recaptured, and the Germans made peace with Novgorod.

Alexander’s “inauguration” took place in 1236, in the Church of Saint Sophia in Novgorod. Yaroslav blessed Alexander to reign in Novgorod and told him, “The cross will be your guardian and helper, and the sword – your thunder! God gave you eldership among brothers, and Veliky Novgorod – senior reign throughout the Russian land”.

In 1239, Alexander Nevsky married, immediately after the victory over the Lithuanians near Smolensk. The Prince’s wife was Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk. The newlyweds were married in the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. The Prince’s family was large; the Princely couple had six sons and two daughters. Alexander Nevsky was not only an excellent commander, but also a wonderful family man who revered his beloved until the end of his days. Probably a reliable family rear is one of the reasons for the Prince’s invincibility in battles. He treated his family with care, and in dangerous times, he used to send his family from troubled Veliky Novgorod to Vitebsk.

The devastation of North-Eastern Rus’ by Batu Khan in 1237–1238 became the reason for the intensification of the activities of the Livonian Order and Sweden, aimed at seizing the territories of the Novgorod Republic.

In 1240, the Swedes landed at the mouth of the Neva to march on Novgorod, and the knights of the Livonian Order besieged Pskov. The Swedish leader sent Alexander an arrogant message, “If you can, resist, know that I am already here and will take your land captive”. 19-year-old Alexander decided not to wait for the activity of the Swedes and, with only a small mounted princely squad of Novgorodians and Ladoga residents, advanced to the Neva.

Alexander’s actions were lightning fast; he decided to prevent the Swedes from gaining a foothold on the banks of the Neva. He did not even have time to inform his father about the appearance of the Swedes and ask him for reinforcements. There was no time to gather the Novgorod foot militia.

Before the campaign, the young Prince entered the Saint Sophia Cathedral, prayed to God, and then, according to the ancient Russian custom, addressed the army with a speech that included so famous now words, “God is not in power, but in truth”!

Thus, taking the Swedes by surprise, Alexander inflicted a crushing defeat on them. Several of their ships sunk, and many soldiers died. The Russian army, according to the chronicle, lost only twenty people.

Alexander’s complete victory turned him into a hero. A special aura of the Prince’s personality was given by the fact that before the battle, the Izhora elder Pelgusius had a vision as if a boat was sailing along the Neva with Russian soldiers and Saints Boris and Gleb, who came to help their relative.

Yet, the main component of success was the clear organization of the campaign, the surprise of a well-thought-out attack and, finally, the military valor of Prince Alexander’s soldiers and his gift as a commander, which ensured a decisive victory over the knightly army, which no one in history has ever been able to diminish. The people rejoiced, celebrating the glorious victory. The crowded streets and squares of Veliky Novgorod were echoing enthusiastically, “Glory! Glory to Alexander”!

Some time later, Alexander entered the military history of our ancestors as “Nevsky”, becoming the first ancient Russian ruler to receive a nickname for his feat of arms.

However, it seemed to the Novgorodians that the Prince had become too proud of this victory, so they “showed him the way out of the city”. In fact, the Novgorod boyars were afraid of Alexander’s increased influence. Representatives of the nobility, with the help of various tricks and incitements, ensured that the commander went to Vladimir to his father.

At this time, the German army made a campaign against Rus’, capturing the Pskov, Izborsk, and Volga lands, the knights took the city of Koporye. The enemy army came very close to Veliky Novgorod. Then the Novgorodians began to beg the Prince to return. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky arrived in Novgorod, and then liberated Pskov, and on 5 April 1242, the famous battle took place – the Battle on the Ice – on Lake Peipsi. The battle took place on a frozen lake, where Prince Alexander used tactical cunning, luring knights dressed in heavy armor onto a thin layer of ice. The Russian cavalry attacking from the flanks completed the defeat of the invaders, thereby destroying the possibility of further advance of their Western neighbors to the East. In the Battle on the Ice, 50 knights were captured, which had never happened before.

After this battle, the knightly order abandoned all recent conquests, and Alexander managed to expand the Novgorod possessions, winning part of Latgale from the Livonian Order.

In 1245, Mindaugas, the grand duke of Lithuania, invaded Russian borders. Having learned about this, Alexander gathered a squad and set out on a campaign. The Lithuanians became aware of the Prince’s approach, and Mindaugas’s army fled, frightened by his name alone, but the Novgorodians caught up with him and inflicted a crushing defeat.

Prince Alexander went down in history primarily as a Great Russian commander, who during his short life participated in 20 battles, none of which he lost.

However, an equally significant achievement of Prince Alexander was the settlement of relations with the Golden Horde, achieved not so much thanks to his military talent as his diplomatic abilities.

Batu Khan several times “invited” Prince Alexander to come, but the Prince was clearly in no hurry to accept this “invitation”… He had a good reason not to rush… His father, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, “being invited” to Khatun Turakina – the mother of the great Güyük Khan, “as if a sign of honor, was given food and drink from her own hand”; after which he immediately fell ill and died seven days later…

Finally, Batu Khan called Alexander Nevsky to the Horde for the last time, “You are the only one who does not want to submit to me. But if you want to secure your land, then come to me quickly and you will see honor from me”.

Eventually… Alexander is bowing his head in front of Batu, – a tall, and fair-haired, twenty-six-year-old handsome man in front of the small, and forty-year-old, but already tired and sick Khan, ruler of half of Europe… According to an ancient source, Batu was shocked by the intelligence and dignity of Alexander Nevsky, “They told me the truth that there was no Prince like him!” … Batu Khan not only warmly received the Prince, but also even became his friend and adoptive father.

There were at least six trips of Alexander Nevsky to the Horde. He managed to save not only Novgorod, but also all of Rus’ from new violent raids by the Mongol-Tatar hordes, to obtain from the Golden Horde an important benefit and free the Russian people from the obligation to supply the Horde with auxiliary troops.

Another important step was taken in the religious and spiritual policy of the Grand Prince of Vladimir. He skillfully used the Mongol-Tatars’ tolerance for other faiths, including Christianity. This made it possible in 1261 to establish the Sarai bishopric in the capital of the Golden Horde. Thus the Orthodox influence in the Horde, where there were many Russian captives, grew stronger. Many Mongols accepted the Orthodox faith; among them was even the nephew of the Golden Horde Berke Khan. Grand Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, establishing an Orthodox diocese in Sarai, referred to the Mongol khans’ conception, “We, Mongols, believe that there is one God by whom we live and die, and to Him we have a right heart; but just as God gave the hand many fingers, so He gave people many ways (of salvation)… Whoever blasphemes the Russian faith or laughs at it will not apologize in any way, but will die an evil death”.

Pope Innocent IV, who did not lose hope of subjugating Rus’ to the Roman throne, had a completely different attitude towards it, despite the decisive opposition of Alexander Nevsky to the Catholic offensive. At the end of 1252, ambassadors from him came to Alexander – two cardinals, Gald and Gemont, with a rather flattering written message addressed to the Russian Grand Prince. The message said that the land of the Grand Prince was great and rich, and his name was glorified throughout the world, and therefore the Pope invited him to get acquainted with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The letter also run that the Princes and their subjects in Rus’ would find peace and glory only under the shadow of the Roman throne. The Pope demanded that a Catholic church be built in Pskov for foreign merchants and that the Bishop of Prussia be invited to visit him. Remaining a firm adherent of Orthodoxy, knowing the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition well, Alexander Nevsky answered unequivocally, referring to the teaching of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, “We know all this well, but we do not accept teachings from you”. The refusal of the Grand Prince to the Pope’s envoys strengthened the position of the Nevsky Hero in Rus’, where they did not like the Latins, where preserving the faith of their fathers and grandfathers meant loyalty to the Russian national identity and power, based on national unity.

When the Golden Horde encroached only on the riches of Rus’, the West also wanted to capture the Russian soul…

Alexander Nevsky ruled Russia until 1263. While on his last trip to the Horde, Alexander fell seriously ill. There is a legend that, like his father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the Prince was poisoned in the Horde. In the autumn of 1263, the seriously ill Prince went home. It was a long way up the Volga. With excitement, the prince and his companions entered Russian borders. Nevertheless, the illness that began in the Horde undermined the strength of his powerful body. Arriving in Nizhny Novgorod, Alexander became so weak that he could not continue traveling and had to stop. He decides to go to Gorodets (Volzhsky), where his brother Andrei, the Prince of Suzdal, ruled. Alexander realized that the end of his difficult life was approaching and began to prepare for the transition to eternity. He stayed at the Gorodetsky Feodorovsky Monastery. The Grand Prince called the abbot of the monastery and expressed to him his desire to become a monk, “Father, I am sick as a lord… I do not wish for my life and I ask you for tonsure”. Therefore, he entered the highest level of spiritual achievement – he took monastic vows into the Great Schema with the name Alexey. Soon, having received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he ended his earthly journey on 14 November (27 November, according to the new style) 1263.

Initially, Alexander Nevsky was buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir, and in 1724, by order of Peter I, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg.

In the Gorodetsky Feodorovsky Monastery in 2013, in honor of the 750th anniversary of the end of the earthly journey of the Holy Blessed Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky, the only monument in the world was erected, where Alexander Nevsky was depicted as monk Alexey.

It was during the reign of Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky that Rus’ defended its independence from the Catholic West and managed to preserve the Russian land in the conditions of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Moreover, it was precisely from the time of this great Prince that the irresistible spirit of the winner began to soar over the Russian land!

For his exploits for the benefit of the Fatherland, Alexander Nevsky was canonized.

By the way, the holiness of the schema-monk Prince Alexander Nevsky was confirmed during his funeral service, when the deceased extended his hand to the metropolitan to take the letter of permission, which he, according to custom, was going to put in it…

The life and service of Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky earned him the fame of a wise ruler, an outstanding diplomat, an invincible defender of the Fatherland, a large family man, a faithful patriot, a monk and a Saint, which makes his life path a unique and inspiring example, deserving love and respect, both in Russia and beyond.

In honor of Saint Alexander Nevsky, many churches were built throughout Russia. There are also temples outside of Russia:

• Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia;
• Tallinn Cathedral;
• Temple in Tbilisi.

Alexander Nevsky is such a significant Saint for the Russian people that even in Tsarist Russia an order was established in his honor. It is surprising that even in the Soviet years the memory of Alexander Nevsky was sacred – on July 29, 1942, the Soviet military order of Alexander Nevsky was established in honor of the great commander.

The expression “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!”, as well as variants close to it, are often attributed to Prince Alexander Nevsky, but in the few chronicle sources dedicated to him, this phrase is not mentioned…

This catchphrase arose only after the historical drama film Alexander Nevsky directed by Sergei Eisenstein and based on the script of Pyotr Pavlenko with the active participation of the director himself.

The phrase is believed to be an allusion to a quote from the Gospel of Matthew, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword…” Jesus Christ pronounces the words when they come to capture Him and condemn Him to execution, and one of the disciples grabs a weapon and tries to protect the Teacher from the crowd.

Another source of the phrase could be the words from the Apocalypse of John the Theologian, “He that shall lead into captivity, shall go into captivity: he that shall kill by the sword, must be killed by the sword… “

However, a similar expression was known even in pre-evangelical times. In Ancient Rome it was used as a popular expression, “Qui gladio ferit, gladio perit” – “He who fights with the sword dies by the sword”…

Well…, apparently, Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky did not utter these words, but how organically these words are intertwined with the image of this extraordinary man – a great ruler, commander, and thinker.

Saint Alexander Nevsky, of course, patronizes those who bear his name, and always helps the defenders of the native land.

Mothers pray to Saint Alexander Nevsky for their soldier sons, and people turn to him with requests:

• to strengthen their faith;
• to protect their native land;
• for acquiring courage, wisdom and fortitude to fulfill their duty to the country;
• for assistance in their difficult military service;
• to protect from enemies;
• to protect the defenders of the Fatherland;
• for assistance in raising men.

The Remembrance Day of Saint Alexander Nevsky is celebrated three times a year (according to the new style):

• 5 June (the Prince’s birthday);
• 12 September (transfer of relics);
• 6 December (funeral day).

IN ITS LAIR, THE OLD EVIL WAS STIRRED

V. Vysotsky
Equirhythmic translation by Em Rostverg