The secret relics of Alexander Nevsky

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

At all times, Russia gave birth to heroes who in dark times became her intercessors. Many of them are known not only in our country, but also abroad. One of these people is Alexander Nevsky, who has been referred to as "saint" and "great" for many centuries. Miraculous power is attributed to his relics, and information about them has been preserved in various chronicles since the fourteenth century. Some sources indicate that already on the second day after the burial of the prince on his grave, people found a cure for various ailments. Therefore, popular rumor even before the official canonization of the prince declared him a saint.

The relics of Alexander Nevsky are one of the most precious Russian shrines. Our article is devoted to this great man and his activities to save Russia from the invaders. We will also answer the main questions of the article, where the relics of Alexander Nevsky werein different periods of time, and why they are so dear to the hearts of Orthodox Christians.

Historical portrait of Alexander Nevsky

Unfortunately, now not every schoolchild can tell what exactly the Grand Duke did for Russia. Therefore, before proceeding to the story about the relics of Alexander Nevsky, it is necessary to at least briefly list his services to the Slavs.

According to chronicle sources, the future protector of Russia was born in the twentieth year of the thirteenth century. His earlier childhood was spent in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Alexander grew up already in Novgorod, where his father was sent to reign, whom the young man accompanied in all military campaigns. It was a difficult time for Russia - on the one hand, the Mongol horde burned villages and captured cities, and on the other hand, the Swedish army approached the borders of the state. Young Alexander had to defend his homeland from foreign invaders.

In the summer of 1240, he won a brilliant victory over the Swedes on the Neva River, for which he received his nickname, under which he went down in history. For two years, fierce battles took place near the western borders of the state, and on April 5, 1242, Alexander Nevsky managed to defeat the knights of the Teutonic Order on Lake Peipus. This victory finally deprived the Swedes of the hope of capturing Russian lands, and the name of the young prince Alexander became known far beyond the borders of Russia.

Now he faced a different task - to protect the country from the east and negotiate cooperation with the Mongols. It is with this missionthe commander went with his father to the Horde.

Historians note that Alexander Nevsky was extremely perspicacious. He managed to negotiate peace with Batu Khan, and even acted on his side against Mongolia. There were legends about the relationship between the Khan and the Russian prince, the chronicles mention that they were often called brothers. Alexander Nevsky even managed to persuade Batu to accept Christianity, which further strengthened their relationship and all the agreements between the two rulers. The prince's plans were to unite the Russian and Tatar lands under powerful authority in order to counter any threats from the west and east. But these dreams were not destined to come true.

On November 14, 1263, returning from Saray, the prince fell ill and died in speed. The nearest city where the body could be brought was Vladimir. This is where the funeral delegation went. However, even after his death, the great defender of Russia managed to surprise his subjects and church leaders.

Miracles of Saint Alexander after death

In order to get to Vladimir and bury the ashes of the deceased prince, his squad took nine days, and here miracles began to happen, which became the basis for the further canonization of Alexander Nevsky. Surprisingly, in nine days the body did not begin to decompose. The burial took place on November 23 at the Nativity Monastery in the city of Vladimir. During the process, Metropolitan Kirill set out to unclench the prince's fingers in order to put a letter into them. But to the horror of all those gathered, Alexander himself extended his hands for spiritual guidance and immediately accepted the paper. clergymendeclared it a miracle and considered it a divine glorification.

Just a few weeks later, ordinary people began to come to bow to the ashes of the prince, many of them prayed for healing and received an answer in the form of newfound he alth. The rumor about the miracles taking place in the Nativity Monastery quickly spread throughout Russia.

The discovery of the relics of St. Alexander

For more than a hundred years, people have been coming to the grave of the protector of the Russian land, and once one of the monks had a vision about the need to open the prince's burial. With great honors, the grave was opened and froze in amazement - the imperishable body appeared before the audience - the relics of Alexander Nevsky. This was another evidence of the miracles of the holy prince. They were taken out of the ground and placed on a shrine (ark or coffin), where the holy relics were until the eighteenth century. Alexander Nevsky was canonized by the church only in 1547, which, however, did not prevent people from treating the ascetic prince as a saint who gave his whole life to protect his state.

The Mystery of the Holy Relics

Many historians are seriously interested in the question of where the relics of Alexander Nevsky are stored today. After all, the question of the loss of this relic back in the fifteenth century is still being discussed in scientific circles.

The fact is that many skeptics mention the information contained in the annals of the sixteenth century. They indicate that during the May fire at the end of the fifteenth century, almost the entire Nativity Monastery burned out, and with it they turned toashes and relics of Alexander Nevsky. But already in the annals of the seventeenth century this event is described a little differently. The author clarifies that, allegedly, the monks saw with their own eyes how the hall where the relics of Alexander Nevsky are located was miraculously spared by the fire. And they were the only ones left unscathed in the Nativity Monastery.

Of course, now it is difficult to say where the truth is in this story. One has only to hope that the relics remained in sight even after the fire, which means that no one could replace them. Such a hoax could not be left unnoticed, therefore the church ministers are absolutely sure that the real relics of Alexander Nevsky are still kept within the temple and leave it only in rare cases, when they are transported to different cities, cathedrals, churches of our country and neighboring countries in order to strengthen flock in faith.

However, from time to time a topic flashes in the media that the inventory dated 1922 indicates that there were only twelve fragments of bones without a skull in a silver shrine. Whether this was the very relic, no one knows, because today no one can solve the mystery of the relics. History tends to leave many questions unanswered.

St. Petersburg and St. Alexander Nevsky

If you ask any resident of the northern capital where the relics of Alexander Nevsky are located in St. Petersburg, then, we are sure, many will answer you correctly. But what connects the prince-ascetic and this is the city of Petra? Everything is simple - the saint is considered his patron, and, of course, the autocrat who gave life contributed to thisnew Russian city at the height of the Northern War. It was thanks to the sovereign that the temple of Alexander Nevsky was built here, whose relics took the most honorable place in it.

The meaning of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg

Peter I was a very wise ruler, and his contemporaries and descendants called all his actions far-sighted, so he became interested in holy relics for a reason. But let's talk about everything in order.

In 1710, the autocrat thought about building a temple in honor of the great protector of the Russian land from foreign adversaries. Recall that at this time, for several years now, Peter I had been at war with the Swedes, and the people needed a symbol that would inspire and inspire all people without exception. The figure of Alexander Nevsky was the best suited for this role, because he also defended Russia from the Germans and Swedes. For the temple, the sovereign chose the place of Victory. Presumably, it was there that the holy prince defeated the united army of the Swedish king. But later it turned out that another victory of Alexander Nevsky was associated with these lands - over Jarl Birger in 1240.

In any case, the prince became not only a symbol of the invincibility of the Russian spirit, but also the protector of St. Petersburg, which became an outpost of Russian lands in the west. Based on this, in the spring of 1723, the sovereign ordered that the relics of Alexander Nevsky be transferred to the recently rebuilt monastery. In St. Petersburg, this event was prepared with special trepidation and thoroughness. After all, Peter I himself led the complex process, and, as you know, he did not forgive the mistakes and miscalculations of hissubjects.

Transfer of the relics of Alexander Nevsky: preparation for the event

In order to transfer the holy relics with all honors from Vladimir to St. Petersburg, a shrine was needed, into which the shrine would be immersed. For this purpose, a certain Zarudny was chosen, who was engaged in its manufacture in Moscow. The raka was a true work of art:

• eight lion-shaped legs;
• legs crowned with images of cherubs;
• the lid of the ark was decorated with the prince's coat of arms;
• the shrine was painted with the image of lion heads - the famous symbol of the resurrection from the dead;
• the structure was placed on a powerful stand;
• crowned this product with a canopy with gold armor at the base.

In order for the transfer process to go smoothly, a special ritual was developed in the summer of 1723, which looked like this:

• a route was drawn up, deviation from it was under the strictest prohibition;
• along the way with the ark there should have been a confidant of Peter I;
• on land, the crayfish had to be carried by people replacing each other in different cities;
• in large settlements, the mission of transferring the ark was entrusted to the clergy.

It was planned to transport the relics from Novgorod by water to St. Petersburg, where the sovereign himself would meet them.

Alexander Nevsky (prince), relics: transfer to St. Petersburg

The date of the transfer of relics was chosen by Peter himself and was not at allby chance, in 1724, the long-awaited Treaty of Nystadt was concluded, and this festive event was marked by the solemn consecration of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

In July, the relics left the Nativity Monastery and began their journey to a new monastery in the northern capital. Peter I himself went to meet them and personally carried them off the yacht. Regiments in full dress stood at the mouth of the Izhora River, and the festivities on the occasion of the transfer of the relics of the holy prince continued in St. Petersburg for three days. In parallel, the sovereign ordered the thirtieth of August to be celebrated annually as a religious Orthodox holiday and set out to establish an order in honor of Alexander Nevsky. However, he did not have time, but his wife fulfilled the dream of Peter I by issuing a decree on the establishment of a new state award.

The fate of the relics of the ascetic prince from the end of the eighteenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries

The relics of Alexander Nevsky were in the Lavra until the twenties of the last century. Over time, the ark was replaced by a shrine made of silver. So ordered the daughter of Peter I - Elizabeth. The material was ore from the Kolyvan deposit, it was the first silver in the country. The reliquary was decorated with bas-reliefs, and on top they put the image of the prince himself, written on the atlas.

On special church holidays, a lampada decorated with precious stones was hung over the relics. Many Russian emperors considered it their duty to make a significant contribution to the decoration of the ark with the relics. Almost everyone donated some special thing to the Lavra, symbolizing the importance of the patron saint of St. Petersburg not only for the city, but alsofor the whole country as a whole.

In 1922, the shrine was removed from the Lavra by decree of the Petrograd District Committee, and the shrine turned into a museum exhibit of the Hermitage. For almost seventy years, no one in the country was interested in where the relics of Alexander Nevsky were located.

Return to your roots

In 1989, the shrine returned from oblivion. It was moved to its original location from the Kazan Museum of Religion and Atheism. It was a great holiday for Orthodox Russians, who have been waiting for this moment with trepidation in their hearts for many years.

Eighteen years later, the relics again left the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, but this time the reason was a joyful event - the cancer was taken to many large cities of our country and Latvia. A piece of the relics was even sent to Bulgaria.

Orthodox people came to the churches of Vladimir, Pskov, Novgorod and other cities from all over Russia. Everyone wanted to at least slightly touch the shrine and ask St. Alexander Nevsky for something of his own. After all, the relics still work miracles, believers healed from serious illnesses testify to this.

The relics of the holy prince today

Where are the relics of Alexander Nevsky in St. Petersburg today? Any local resident will answer this question for you, because the city still celebrates the day of the transfer of the shrine from Vladimir to the northern capital. This tradition returned almost immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and is sacredly observed by all Orthodox and evenordinary citizens annually.

Do you want to know where the relics of Alexander Nevsky are kept today? Then go straight to the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Interestingly, seventy-nine more relics of other saints are located on the lid of the ark. Therefore, when you come to the Lavra, you can see not only the most precious Orthodox relic, but also touch other church shrines. Many say that everyone who comes here with faith will definitely receive the intercession of Alexander Nevsky in good deeds.