The Eastern Cross/Orthodox World/St. Alexander Nevsky

St. Alexander Nevsky
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Saint

St. Alexander Nevsky

1221–1263 · Novgorod · Feast November 23

Alexander was prince of Novgorod. In 1240 he defeated a Swedish army on the river Neva, which gave him his name, and in 1242 he defeated the Teutonic Knights on the ice of Lake Peipus. Facing the far stronger Mongols, he chose to bow to the Horde and travel to its khans to spare his people from slaughter. He fell ill on the way back from one of those journeys, took monastic vows as Alexis, and died in 1263.

  • Feast: November 23 (New Calendar)
  • Lived: 1221–1263
  • Place: Novgorod
  • Relics today: Alexander Nevsky Lavra, St. Petersburg
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