Saint Alexius (''Алекси́й'' or ''Aleksij'' in Russian) (before 1296–1378)
was
Metropolitan of
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
and all
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
(from 1354), and presided over the Moscow government during
Dmitrii Donskoi's minority.
Biography
![Alessio-Kapkov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Alessio-Kapkov.jpg)
Alexius, whose name at birth was Eleutherius, was a son of Феодор (
Theodore
Theodore may refer to:
Places
* Theodore, Alabama, United States
* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory
* Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Sask ...
) Biakont and Mary, his father was a
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
from
Chernigov
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...
who settled in Moscow and founded the great Pleshcheev boyar family. He took
monastic vows at the
Epiphany Monastery
The Epiphany Monastery (russian: Богоявленский монастырь, ''Bogoyavlensky monastyr''; better translated as " Theophany Monastery") is the oldest male monastery in Moscow, situated in the Kitai gorod, just one block away fro ...
of Moscow around 1313, at which time he was given the
religious name of Alexius. In 1333 or so, he joined the household of Metropolitan
Theognostus
Theognostus (russian: Феогност; died 11 March 1353) was a bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople who served as Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'.
Life
Theognostus was born in Constantinople and later in his life became P ...
. In 1340, Alexius was appointed the Metropolitan's deputy in
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
and twelve years later was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
as Bishop of Vladimir.
By the will of
Symeon the Proud, Alexius was appointed adviser to his brothers –
Ivan
Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...
and Andrew. After visiting
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, he was chosen to become the
Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia in 1354. When
Dmitry Donskoy
Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...
and
Vladimir the Bold
Vladimir Andreyevich the Bold (; July 15, 1353 – 1410) was the most famous prince of Serpukhov. His moniker alludes to his many military exploits committed in the wars waged by his cousin, Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow.
Biography
A grandson of Ivan ...
were young, Alexius was their spiritual
tutor
TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...
and served as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
at the same time. He took the side of Dmitrii Donskoi in his struggle against
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
and
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, where he once sent St.
Sergius of Radonezh
Sergius of Radonezh (russian: Се́ргий Ра́донежский, ''Sergii Radonezhsky''; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392), also known as Sergiy Radonezhsky, Serge of Radonezh and Sergius of Moscow, was a spiritual leader and monastic re ...
to suspend divine service in churches and monasteries, until the political strife was over.
In 1357, Alexius was summoned by
Jani Beg
Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan.
Reign
With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after eli ...
, the
Khan of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
, to cure his mother Taidula Khatun of blindness. The metropolitan's success is held to have prevented a
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different raid on Moscow.
In 1360s, Alexius founded the
Andronikov
The Andronikashvili ( ka, ანდრონიკაშვილები), sometimes known as Endronikashvili (ენდრონიკაშვილები), was a countly family in Georgia who claimed descent from emperor Andronicos I of th ...
,
Chudov Chudov (russian: Чудов, link=no, from ''чудо'' meaning ''miracle'') or Chudova may refer to
*Chudov Monastery in Moscow
*Chudova, a river in Perm Krai, Russia
*Chudov (surname)
{{Disambiguation, geo ...
, and
Alekseyevsky monasteries. He promoted
Metropolitan Peter
Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus (russian: Пётр; c. 1260 – 20 December 1326) was the Russian metropolitan who moved his see from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325. Later he was proclaimed a patron saint of Moscow. In spite of the move, ...
's
canonization
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
by the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
. Shortly before his death, Alexius fruitlessly tried to convince
Sergius of Radonezh
Sergius of Radonezh (russian: Се́ргий Ра́донежский, ''Sergii Radonezhsky''; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392), also known as Sergiy Radonezhsky, Serge of Radonezh and Sergius of Moscow, was a spiritual leader and monastic re ...
to become his
successor
Successor may refer to:
* An entity that comes after another (see Succession (disambiguation))
Film and TV
* ''The Successor'' (film), a 1996 film including Laura Girling
* ''The Successor'' (TV program), a 2007 Israeli television program Musi ...
. Alexius was an author of a number of
sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
s and
epistle
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
s. He was
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
in 1448 and is revered as one of the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
s of Moscow.
Feast Days
12 February, (the day of his repose), 20 May, (the day of the uncovering of his relics) and 5 October, (Synaxis of the Hierarchs of Moscow). His
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s are venerated in
Ephiphany Cathedral in Elokhovo.
Moscow International Portal
Popular culture
The 2012 film The Horde is a highly fictionalised narrative of how Alexius healed Taidula from blindness.
References
External links
St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexius, Metropolitan Of Moscow
13th-century births
1296 births
1378 deaths
Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow
Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Miracle workers
13th-century Christian saints