Saint Alexander Nevsky

Alexander was born in 1220, the son of Prince Yaroslav. His heart was drawn to God from his youth. Tonsured into military service by Saint Simon, Alexander vowed in the Name of God to protect the Holy Church and the Russian land. He joined many of his father's campaigns, becoming a great warrior. Alexander defeated the Swedes on the river Neva after Saints Boris and Gleb appeared and promised to aid the great prince, their kinsman. His marriage was blessed by the holy wonderworking Theodore icon of the Mother of God. Alexander victoriously repelled Crusaders from the West and Mongols from the East. Among the Golden Horde of the Tatars, he refused to sacrifice to idols and eventually established a church in their capital. Saint Alexander was a heroic ruler, a man of prayer, an ascetic, and performed innumerable acts of mercy. Returning home from a diplomatic mission in 1263, Alexander fell ill. He sought rest at a monastery and was tonsured into the Great Schema on his deathbed.