The Holy
Prince Alexander Nevsky (in monastic schema Alexis) died on the return journey
from the Horde at Gorodtsa on the Volga, on November 14, 1263, and on November
23, 1263 he was buried in the Cathedral Church of the Nativity Monastery in the
city of Vladimir (Where there is a memorial to the holy prince. Another
memorial is in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessk).
Veneration
of the Prince began right at his burial, where a remarkable miracle took place.
The saint extended his hand for the prayer of absolution (a written document
placed in the coffin). Great Prince John (1353-1359), in his spiritual
testament written in the year 1356, left to his son Demetrius (1363-1389), the
future victor of the Battle of Kulikovo, “an icon of Saint Alexander.” The
incorrupt relics of the holy Prince were uncovered, because of a vision, before
the Battle of Kulikovo in the year 1380, and then they were sent forth for a
local celebration.
Russian
commanders asked for the intercession of the holy Prince, glorified by his
defense of the Fatherland, in the following times: On August 30, 1721 Peter I,
after a lengthy and exhausting war with the Swedes, concluded the Nishtad
Peace. On this day it was decided to transfer the relics of the holy Prince
Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to the new northern capital, Peterburg, on the
banks of the Neva. Removed from Vladimir on August 11, 1723, the holy relics
were greeted at Shlisselburg on September 20 of that year and remained there
until 1724. On August 30, they were placed in the Trinity Cathedral of the
Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they now rest in Saint Petersburg. By an edict on
September 2, 1724 a feastday was established on August 30 (in 1727 the feast
was discontinued because of secular matters, which involved clique struggles at
the imperial court. In 1730 the Feast was again re-established).
The name
of the Defender of the borders of Russia and the Patron of Soldiers is famous
far beyond the borders of Russia. The numerous temples dedicated to Saint
Alexander Nevsky bear witness to this. The most famous of them: the Patriarchal
Cathedral at Sofia, the Cathedral church in Talinin, and a church in Tbilisi.
These churches are a pledge of friendship of the Russian National-Liberator
with brother nations.
Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/30/102424-translation-of-the-relics-of-st-alexander-nevsky
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