The most important factor in shaping the idea of a particular event or historical person is its artistic image. It is for this reason that such great importance is attached to icons in Orthodoxy. They show us the images of saints, transformed, enlightened, removed from worldly fuss. This is how the icon of Prince Alexander Nevsky appears to us - a valiant warrior, defender of the Russian land.
Childhood and youth of the prince
The life of Alexander Nevsky, compiled after the acquisition of his honest relics in 1380, as well as historical documents indicate that the future saint was born on May 30, 1220 in Pereslavl-Zalessky. His father was Prince Yaroslav (in baptism Theodore), and his mother was the Ryazan princess Feodosia Igorevna. When the boy was seven years old, his father was called to reign in Novgorod the Great, where he took Alexander with him. From an early age, the prince learned martial arts and already at the age of less than fifteen, together with his father, he took part in his first battle on the Emajõgi River (modern Estonia).
Guardian of the Russian land
Soon one ofthe most difficult stages in the history of Russia. From the east, from the wild Mongolian steppes, hordes of nomads advanced, and from the west, German hordes invaded. The situation was critical, but, as happened throughout our history, the Lord sent a protector and deliverer to the Russian land. It was the right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, whose icon in later times inspired many generations of Russian soldiers to fight enemies.
The defeat of the Swedish and German invaders
His first great deed was the defeat of the Swedes in 1240, who invaded the mouth of the Neva and planned to capture Ladoga. The prince was not yet twenty years old at that time, but, firmly trusting in God's help and filled with courage, he and his squad inflicted a crushing defeat on the warlike Scandinavians. In memory of this feat, the people began to call him Alexander Nevsky.
The Swedes were finished, but the German knights remained, who captured Kaporye, and in 1242 Pskov. Alexander, speaking at the head of a large army, liberated these cities, and in the spring of the same year defeated the crusaders on the ice of Lake Peipsi, in a battle that went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. By his prayers to the Holy Trinity and feats of arms, the Latins were completely expelled from the Russian land.
Negotiations in the Horde and the honest death of the prince
The life of Alexander Nevsky shows us the image of not only a fearless commander, but also a wise diplomat. Having ensured the security of the western borders of the state, he understood that an open struggle with Batu Khan, who led the Tatarhordes, at that time was disastrous for Russia, which had not yet had time to gather strength after the previous battles.
Four times Alexander visited the Golden Horde with negotiations, as a result of which he managed not only to avert a military threat, but also, having settled discord in the camp of the enemy, to make a significant part of the Khan's army his allies.
Alexander Nevsky reposed in the Lord on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets, on his way back from the Horde. His last desire was to accept the monastic schema, in which he received the name Alexy. After an honest death, his body was delivered to Vladimir nine days later, and all those present at the same time testified that there were no signs of decay in it.
Canonization and early icons
Folk memory of the glorious deeds of the prince lived from the day of his death, but religious worship followed the acquisition of honest relics in 1380. He was officially canonized only a century and a half later, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Among the documents of the Moscow Cathedral of 1547, there is a decision according to which, among other saints of God, the noble prince Alexander Nevsky was canonized as a saint. Icons painted in the early period show him to the viewer in monastic vestments, thereby emphasizing the monasticism he accepted at the very end of his life. First of all, the spiritual component of his feat sounds in them.
However, there is one icon painted a hundred years earlier than these events - “The Battle of Novgorodians with Suzdalians”, on which the prince is already depicted with a halo of holiness around his headAlexander Nevskiy. Icons like this one, created before the official act of canonization, were not considered legitimate, and today they are very rare. There is another curious detail in the plot of this image - the event depicted on it took place long before the birth of Alexander Nevsky, which should emphasize the timelessness of this saint of God.
Icons of the pre-Petrine period
His iconography was widely developed already in the 16th century, immediately after the Moscow Cathedral, and it went in two directions. Their essence was well formulated in his words by Metropolitan John (Sychev). He emphasized that the holy prince served the cause of the salvation of Russia both as a valiant warrior and as a humble monk.
This is exactly the monastic interpretation of the image that prevailed in the icons of the pre-Petrine period. So, for example, the icon of St. Alexander Nevsky from the Novgorod Sophia Cathedral represents the prince holding a scroll in his hands, the inscription on which calls to fear God and do His commandments. The saints are depicted together with Alexander: John and Abraham of Rostov.
Icon from St. Basil's Cathedral
One of the outstanding works of ancient Russian painting is the hagiographic image of St. Alexander Nevsky, which is located in Moscow, in the famous St. Basil's Cathedral. On it, the prince is represented in the guise of a schemnik, standing to his full height, raising his hand in a blessing gesture. This is a very unusual icon of Alexander Nevsky.
Its meaning is that inThe stamps surrounding the central part of the composition represent not only real events from the life of the prince, but also those that occurred in subsequent times. In the plots of these miniatures, the presence of Alexander and his heavenly patronage are invisibly felt. Among these scenes are the Battle of Kulikovo, and the battle with the Crimean Khan Girey, and much more. This indicated, first of all, the spiritual component of the prince's feat in life, and put his service to God and the Church at the forefront.
Icons of the era of Peter the Great
The interpretation of the iconographic image of Alexander Nevsky changed dramatically during the reign of Peter I. The reformer tsar considered himself the successor of his struggle against all manifestations of foreign expansion. As a sign of deep reverence for his illustrious predecessor, he founded the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg in 1710, which later received the status of a Lavra.
The holy relics of the prince were brought here from Vladimir. Together with this special resolution of the Synod, it was ordered to continue to depict him on icons in military attire, with weapons and in a royal mantle with ermine padding. Thus, the emphasis shifted from spiritual exploits to military prowess, for which Alexander Nevsky became famous. Icons since that time represented him no longer as a humble monk, but as a formidable warrior, defender of the fatherland.
Icon-painting trends of subsequent centuries
The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky enjoyed special reverence in the 19th century, during which threeemperor, who bore his name and considered him their heavenly patron. During this period, a large number of icons of the prince were painted, continuing the development of the iconographic line begun in the era of Peter the Great.
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the so-called religious-national style developed in Russian painting. He touched and iconography. Its most prominent representatives were V. M. Vasnetsov, who created a monumental artistic image of the prince for the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv, and M. V. Nesterov, who painted icons for the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg. In the first case, Alexander Nevsky is represented as an epic hero, and in the second, as a humble monk.
Temples erected in his honor
The memory of the holy noble prince was also embodied in church architecture. Literally in our days in Moscow, at the intersection of Alexandrovka and Novokryukovskaya streets, the newly built church of Alexander Nevsky is preparing to open its doors to parishioners. Its builders have already begun the final work. And he is not the only one in the capital. Another temple of Alexander Nevsky operates under MGIMO - the Institute of International Relations. It is very gratifying that future diplomats are trained and educated by an example so worthy of emulation.
Temples in the name of the holy noble prince were built in the old days in different cities. This is St. Petersburg, and Riga, and Tula. Of particular note is the cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod, built in 1858 and today restored after many years of atheistic frenzy. Icon inAlexander Nevsky Cathedral of this Volga city is revered as miraculous.
The meaning of the holy prince today
What does the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky mean for our history, whose icons are so close to the heart of every true patriot? Obviously, a lot, because it was not for nothing that in the difficult war years the film of the brilliant Sergei Eisenstein was so needed about the national hero, the winner of the Germans on the ice of Lake Peipus, who gave new strength to the fighters who smashed the Nazis. His name is a banner for all who went into battle for the Motherland, and his prayer feat is an example of hope for the help and intercession of the Holy Trinity.
Every true believer, when asked about what and how the icon protects from, will rightly answer that it directs our thoughts and spiritual aspirations to God - the Creator and Arbiter of human destinies and the protector from troubles. This is absolutely true. So the icons of Alexander Nevsky, whether they are in the church or at home, preach to us eternal unfading values - the Orthodox faith and love for the Motherland, and it is in them that our salvation is laid.
