That’s who has a name day today – Society

On November 23, the name day is celebrated by all who bear the name Alexander, Alexandra, Sasho, Sashka, Tsanka, Tsanko and their derivatives.

On this day, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates St. Alexander Nevsky was born in 1220.

He lived at a time when the Russian lands were under Tatar rule. St. Alexander was the prince of the Novgorod region. During his reign, the Swedish king with a large army undertook a campaign against Novgorod. Prince Alexander undertook the defense of his city, entrusting all his hopes of victory to God. The two armies met at the Neva River. The Novgorod prince, with God’s help, won a glorious victory, for which he was called “Nevsky”. Subsequently, St. Alexander was confirmed by the Tatar Khan as the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Kiev and Novgorod. So he became the only defender of the Orthodox faith and people against the Tatars. But the holy prince acted not with a sword, but with wisdom and patience. St. Alexander reigned for ten years and during that time he did many good deeds for the faith, the Church and the people. St. Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263 at the age of 44. He was buried in the cathedral church of the “Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno” monastery near the city of Vladimir. Many miracles have taken place at his grave. Under Emperor Peter the Great, the relics of St. Alexander were solemnly brought to Petersburg and placed in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra built in his memory. During the visit to Moscow, the church delegation, led by the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim, received a fragment of the relics of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky as a priceless gift. The Grand Prince of Russia gained fame as a courageous defender of the Orthodox faith and his people from the invasions of the Tatars. At the end of his life he wanted to accept monasticism. His relics are kept in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where he performs many miracles. On October 18, 1998, after the Holy Liturgy, with a solemn lithic procession from the Synodal Palace, the richly decorated urn with the fragment of the saint’s relics was brought and placed in veneration in the Patriarchal Cathedral “St. Alexander Nevsky”.