"The Russian Joseph": On the Translation of the Relics of St. Alexander Nevsky

September 12 marks the feast of one of the most celebrated saints of the Russian Church – the Holy Right-Believing Great Prince Alexander Nevsky. Over 1,500 Orthodox churches, chapels, and monasteries around the world are named for this remarkable saint of the 13th century. Unfortunately, his name has become politicized. Especially in Ukraine today, some are even attempting to wipe out the name of the Great Prince of Kiev for being “too Russian.”

St. Alexander was born in 1221 into the complicated web of Rurikid princes who ruled over the Rus’ state. At only 15 years old, he became Prince of Novgorod, just as the Mongol armies of Batu Khan were beginning their final conquest of the fractious Russian princedoms. While the Mongols were invading from the east, Catholic armies invaded from the west, hoping to capture the lands of the “schismatic” Orthodox Rus’ in the Northern Crusades.