Sainted Alexei, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia the Wonderworker
Commemorated on February 12
Sainted Alexei,
Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia the Wonderworker, (in the world
Elevtherii), was born in the year 1292 (or by another source 1304) at Moscow
into the family of the boyar-noble Theodore (Feodor) Byakont, a descendant of
the Chernigov princely line.
The Lord early on
revealed to the future saint his lofty destiny. At twelve years of age
Elevtherii ha set a snare for the netting of birds, and imperceptibly he dozed
off and suddenly he heard quite distinctly a voice: "Alexei! Why toilest
thou in vain? Thou art to be a netter of people".From this day on the lad
tended towards seclusion, he frequently visited church, and at age fifteen he
decided to become a monk. In 1320 he entered the Moscow Theophany monastery,
where he spent more than twelve years at strict monastic efforts. As guides for
him and his companions there were the reknown ascetics of the monastery, the
startsi-elders Gerontii and Stefan, brother of the Monk Sergei of Radonezh.
Metropolitan Theognist then bade the future saint to leave the monastery and
manage the juridical affairs of the Church. The saint fulfilled this office for
12 years as vicar of the metropolitan. Towards the end of 1350 Vladyka
Theognist had Alexei ordained as bishop of Vladimir; upon the death of the
metropolitan he became his successor in the year 1354. During this period the
Russian Church was torn amidst great rifts and quarrels, in part because of the
pretensions of the metropolitan of Lithuania and Volynia, Roman. In 1356, in
order to put an end to the troubles and disturbances, the saint set off to
Constantinople to the OEcumenical Patriarch. Patriarch Kallistos gave Saint
Alexei the right to both be called and to consider himself Archbishop of Kiev
and Great Russia with the title, "All-Venerable Metropolitan and
Exarch". On the return journey during the time of a storm at sea the ship
was in danger of shipwreck. Saint Alexei prayed and gave a vow to build a
temple to the saint of that day, when the ship should come to shore. The storm
subsided, and the ship arrived on 16 August. Moscow delightedly came out to meet
the saint.
In spite of problems
on every side, Saint Alexei concerned himself everywhere over his flock: he
sent forth bishops, he established life-in-common monasteries (on the model of
the Trinity Lavra, founded by the Monk Sergei), and he brought order to relations
with the khans of the Horde. The saint himself occasioned more than once to
journey to the Golden Horde. In 1357 the khan demanded of the greatprince, that
the saint should come to him and heal the blindness of Taidul, his spouse.
"The request and the matter is beyond my powers, – said Saint Alexei, –
but I do believe in Him That gaveth the blind man to see, and that He shalt not
disdain my prayers of faith". And actually, through his prayer, and being
sprinkled with holy water, the wife of the khan was healed.
When Greatprince
Ioann died, his young son Dimitrii (the future Donskoy), still in age a minor,
was taken under the saint's guardianship. The holy vladyka had much toil in
reconciling and appeasing princes obstinate against accepting the authority of
Moscow. Nor did the metropolitan neglect the work of organising new
monasteries. In 1361 he founded the Saviour Image Not-Wrought-by-Hand monastery
at the Yauza in Moscow (the disciple of the Monk Sergei – Andronikov by name
– was the first hegumen of the monastery), from the vow he had given back on
his return journey from Constantinople, when the ship had suffered woe. There
was also the Chudov monastery – in the Moscow Kremlin; likewise, ancient
monasteries were restored: the Annunciation monastery at Nizhni-Novgorod, and
the Konstantino-Eleninsk [Constantine and Helen] at Vladimir. And in 1361 there
was built a women's life-in-common monastery after his name (the Alekseev).
Saint Alexei reached
the advanced age of 78, having spent 24 years upon the metropolitan
cathedra-seat. He reposed on 12 February 1378 and was buried in accord with his
last-wishes at the Chudov monastery. His relics were uncovered in a miraculous
manner 50 years later, after which there began the veneration of the memory of
the great Sainted-Hierarch and Man of Prayer for the Russian Land.
© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.
