Day celebrated at St. Alexander Church calendar at the same time with the holiday Martyr George - April 23.This date is known since the tenth century, it was recorded in the Typicon Great Church.Date associated with the death of the saint on April 21 303, but the remembrance was held two days later.
Life of the Holy Martyr Alexandra
Orthodox St. Alexander is mentioned in the Life of St. George the Victorious as a queen and wife of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (303 year) - an ardent follower of idolatry and the persecutor of Christianity, according to the possession of all the churches to be destroyed, the church books - burned andwithdrawal of the state church property.Every Christian had to make sacrifices to the pagan gods and emperor.For refusing tortured, imprisonment and the death penalty.
The meeting was king and the princes of the murder of innocent Christians, St. George was not afraid to speak out against this outrage.Spears, which expelled from the congregation of the saints, became soft as tin, and no harm martyr.George was sentenced to the wheel.After the execution of the sentence angel of the Lord healed his wounds.Each time a sophisticated torture and torment that invented Diocletian for George in retaliation for his strong Christian faith, martyr miraculously healed by appealing to God in prayer.With God's help, he raised the dead and cast out demons from idols.Watching the exploits of George, St. Alexander came to believe in Christ and began openly practice their faith.At the feet of the martyr she boldly ridiculed the pagan gods, what angered her husband.
for refusing to serve idols Diocletian ruled the confessors of Christ the death sentence truncated by the sword.St. Alexander meekly followed George, reading prayers to myself and looking at the sky.On the way she asked the rest and, leaning against the building, quietly died.It was April 21 303 years in Nicomedia.
patron of Russian monarchs
St. Alexander especially revered in the family of Russian monarchs as a patron of the two empresses: Alexandra Feodorovna - the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Feodorovna - wife of Nicholas II.During their reign in Moscow it was built and consecrated a number of temples in the name of Queen Alexandra.
temple in honor of the Great Peterhof
In 1854, the beginning built on the church of St. Alexander Babi rut.At the ceremonial laying of August 11 with the participation of Emperor Nicholas I, a stone was laid by the holy banks of the Jordan.In the future, this temple will become a favorite place for prayer of the imperial family.The five-domed stone church with its unique beauty.The architecture of the temple was used by one of the most beautiful elements of ancient architecture - "kokoshniki."
carved wooden iconostasis - a gift of Emperor Nicholas I - was the real decoration of the church.The construction of the temple had spent a lot of money.Shipping materials in mountain-consuming.At the solemn consecration of the Church of the Holy Martyr Alexandra attended Nicholas I and the members of the royal family.In his speech at the end of the divine service the emperor thanked all those who participated in the construction.
Temple Saint Alexandra on Babigonskih Heights was designed for about 500 worshipers.In the church there was a Shrine of the red Siberian jasper, utensils made of precious stones, gold and silver.
destruction of the temple
divine service in the church of St. Alexander took until 1940 until it received a proposal to turn it into a holy place at the Leisure Club.But the war is not allowed to carry out our plans.Temple repeatedly shelling and bombing caused considerable damage to the church.
After the war, the temple gave the state farm workshop, cellar well adapted for vegetable storage.Only in 1991, the building was returned to the diocese.By the beginning of the restoration of the Church of the Holy Martyr Alexandra was a sad sight: the five-domed completion was lost, there was no head of a large dome and small domes, demolished the tent bell tower with a dome, disappeared pictorial decoration of the church and a carved iconostasis destroyed spiral staircase, there were no windows, no doors.
Recovery temple
In 1998, for the first time after such a long break in the Church of the Holy Martyr Alexandra was a Divine service.This significant event took place on the feast day.A year later, in April 1999, the service in the church began to occur regularly.Until now, the work carried out to restore its original appearance.
Other temples in the name of St. Alexander
In St. Petersburg, there is also Putilovsky temple built in the name of St. Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra Martyr.In 1925 it was closed, demolished domes and crosses.Later the church was turned into a club, and in 1940 passed the regional trucking school, and after the war - haberdashery enterprise.
In the 90s began the process of returning the building of the Russian Orthodox Church.In 2006, there was 100 years Putilovskaya church.In the same year he was the first after 80 years of service interruption.Now in the church of St. Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra martyr worship are held regularly.
In honor of the holy martyr were sanctified before the revolution, many of the capital's military schools.On Znamenka was previously Alexandrov Military College.The church it was built in honor of St. Alexander.In 1833 the temple was consecrated at the Alexandrinsky Palace Neskuchnii garden in the name of Alexandra Rome.
In 1895-1899 years built the church of St. Martyr Tsarina Alexandra in the village.Muromtsevo Vladimir region.Temples consecrated in her honor, there and abroad.For example, in Armenia, Ukraine, Germany, Finland, Hungary.
Icons
St. Alexander, the icon is located in St. Petersburg, Peterhof, in the Cathedral of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, in the Church of the Resurrection (Savior on Spilled Blood), the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery, the State Tretyakov Gallery in St.-Nikolskom Monastery in Saratov and in other churches in Russia and abroad, is an example of love for God and godliness.
Martyr usually depicted on icons in their robes and crown, often with a cross in his hand.There is a lot of individual images.
Face of Queen Alexandra, we also see on the other icons and murals of churches.So, martyr imprinted on the icon "Selected Saints", which is located in the Central Museum of Early Russian Art.Andrei Rublev.The icon of St. Nicholas and Holy Queen Alexandra is located in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.Image martyr there Bryullova mosaic in the main iconostasis of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Resurrection (Savior on Spilled Blood) and other places.
What helps
Holy Roman Empress Alexandra pray for salvation and deliverance from evil, the strengthening of faith.Martyr will help all those who suffer, seeking answers to complex questions of life and protect against betrayal.Marriage Strong action icons depicting the saint, which helps to strengthen the bonds of marriage, to maintain good relations in the family.
