On This Day November 14 1263

Remembering Alexander Nevsky

Khen Lim



Image source: russia-ic.com

On November 14 1263 in the city of Vladimir, Russia, Metropolitan¹ Cyril who had assumed the role of head of the Russian Orthodox Church was overseeing the Divine Liturgy when he abruptly stuttered to a halt. Unsettled by a sudden appearance of a vision in his mind, he parted ways with ceremonial traditions.

According to the Second Pskovian Chronicle, the record states that Metropolitan Cyril said the following: 

“‘My children, you should know that the sun of the Suzdalian land has set. There will never be another prince like him in the Suzdalian land.’ And the priests and deacons and monks, the poor and the wealthy, and all the people said: ‘It is our end.’”²

And with that, he had just come to terms with the death of Alexander Nevsky whose soul was being carried into heaven right at that very time.

Nevsky had exhausted himself from his laborious trip east to his overlord, the Great Batu Khan who twenty-six years earlier had lead the Tartar-Mongols to the Suzdal region. Ever since then, it was said that those who bowed their heads, kissed the boots of the Khan and surrendered their citizenship would be kept alive and well but those who did not would be summarily destroyed. Apparently Alexander’s father, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his brother, Prince Yuriy had submitted to the Khan.

Burial of Alexander Nevsky (Image source: en.wikipedia.org)

Completely tired from Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde, Nevsky retired to a monastery in Gorodets-on-the-Volga where he died the same day, November 14 1263, dressed in a monk habit. At only 43 years of age, his life was all too brief but long enough for him to become one of the greatest Christian and military leaders Russia has ever known. His achievements were so outstanding and predominant that a godless Soviet regime would end up honouring him.

History records the life of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander as follow:

“By the will of God, Prince Alexander was born from the charitable, people-loving and meek the Great Prince Yaroslav, and his mother was Theodosia. As it was told by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Thus saith the Lord: I appoint the princes because they are sacred and I direct them.’

“…He was taller than others and his voice reached the people as a trumpet, and his face was like the face of Joseph, whom the Egyptian Pharaoh placed as next to the king after him of Egypt. His power was a part of the power of Samson and God gave him the wisdom of Solomon… this Prince Alexander: he used to defeat but was never defeated…”³

As a teenager, the young Alexander had already found himself in challenging leadership positions where he played the intermediary between quarrelsome and warring independent rulers. Much of this could have been the result of his amiable personality but history suggests strongly that his deep spirituality has far more to do with his abilities, having been raised by devout parents in the Orthodox faith in which he was taught very early to be honourable and subservient to God. In fact he had, as a boy, spent time reading Scripture.

Alexander inherited the name ‘Nevsky’ due to his remarkable achievement in his youthful days. Back then, the neighbouring Catholic Swedes did not see eye to eye with Orthodox Russia. In issues relating to both military and religious, both were on polar ends. A young Alexander had a strong hunch that the Swedes would attack soon and so he established guard posts at various strategic points to act as a forward warning system in case there was an invasion. His hunch proved correct and with the guard posts sounding the alarm, he promptly marched his troops to the Neva River where the Swedes were found to be disembarking from their vessels.

Battle of the Neva River (Image source: agefotostock.com)

Two important things happened that told of the Divine Hand at work.

Firstly for Alexander to reach the river, he and his army had to traverse difficult marshlands that stood between them and the Swedes. But because he regarded Christ as the resonating soul of his nation, he felt strongly that a Swedish conquest was an unacceptable option. To see the end of Russian Orthodoxy would be the very end of his national culture and history.

Yet the odds were all stacked against him. Because an earlier Tartar-Mongol invasion had sapped much of his military strength, he knew his army wouldn’t stand a chance against the mighty Swedes but digging deep into his spiritual resolve, Alexander declared to his army, “God is not on the side of force but of the just case, the truth!”

Secondly the Swedes themselves were arrogant in thinking that victory was a matter of formality so much so that their troops were lax in disembarking while their commander was basically lounging luxuriantly in his golden tent set ashore. Heroically and emboldened, the 20-year-old Alexander and his army marched through thickening fog and caught the Swedes by complete surprise. In the ensuing one-sided Battle of the Neva, the enemy was comprehensively routed and with that, Alexander was given the name ‘Nevsky’ as an honourable endearment after the river on which his victory was deemed completely unlikely.

Battle on the Ice (Image source: forum.axishistory.com)

From this early victory, Alexander proceeded to defeat Europe’s Teutonic Knights in the famous ‘Battle on the Ice.’ He also later routed the Lithuanians. But when it came to the Tartar-Mongols, that was a different matter altogether. He knew they were undefeatable and so he consulted the Metropolitan Cyril to understand God’s will in this matter. From his advice, Alexander was told to yield in all but his faith. A biblical lesson was at hand – Daniel and his friends had done something similar in the forecourt of King Nebuchadnezzar. There, they could be made to do anything by the Babylonian king but not to bow to his statues and monuments.

Ruthless Tartar-Mongol warrior (Image source: pinterest.com)

And so Alexander submitted. However unlike his father and uncle, he prepared himself to die rather than to surrender his faith in Christ. Knowing that the Mongols would demand all conquered rulers to bow in submission before their idols and partake in their pagan rituals, Alexander knew of his impending fate but he was unafraid. In their camp, he boldly declared his faith in Christ and vowed never to bow to any man-made graven images but rather than suffer the consequences, the Great Batu Khan was so taken aback by his bravery and military conquests that he—inexplicably perhaps—waived the execution!

Alexander would go on to survive three trips to the faraway Mongol court in which he would be called upon to regularly appease the much-feared Asian rulers in light of the hot-headed antics of his followers. Following his premature death, Russians have come to quickly embrace his heroics and recognise him as a saint.

1 Metropolitan is a title higher than Archbishop in Russian Orthodoxy

2 Begunov, K., translator, Second Pskovian Chronicle, (“Isbornik,” Moscow, 1955) pp.11-15.

3 Begunov, K., ibid.