12 сентября. Акафист Александру Свирскому

Saint Alexander (in the world, Ammos) was born in 1448 within the boundaries of Veliky Novgorod, in the small village of Manderah in the Obonezhskaya Pyatina, through the prayers of his aged parents, distinguished for their truly Christian lives. To learn to read and write, the boy was entrusted to an experienced tutor, but only through prayer did he acquire the ability to learn, so that he soon surpassed all his peers in knowledge. From his youth, he began to exhaust his body with vigils and fasts, seeking only in this way freedom from his parents' will. He was alien to the worries of life, the pursuit of pleasure, and idleness. When he reached adulthood, "his parents desired to unite him in lawful marriage, but the divine youth neglected this, always desiring and dreaming of escaping the world." The youth longed to go to the Valaam Monastery, stories of which he had heard. One day, he encountered monks who had arrived from Valaam in his native village on monastic business. He confided in one of them, now an elder, his desire to reach Valaam and received advice not to delay fulfilling his spiritual need, "before the evil sower sows tares in the heart..." After fervent prayer, at the age of 26, Ammos secretly left his parents' home. The traveler spent his first night on the shore of a small, beautiful lake, surrounded by centuries-old trees. In a light sleep, he heard a mysterious voice blessing him for his further journey and foretelling the construction of a monastery on this wondrous spot. Giving thanks to God, the young man prepared to continue on, but he was unaware of the way to the monastery, and the Lord sent him an angel in the form of a random traveler, who appeared to him right at the monastery gates. Having taken monastic vows with the name Alexander, he spent 13 years there in fasting and prayer. Meanwhile, his inconsolable parents finally received news of their missing son. The father visited the monastery and wept bitterly upon seeing Alexander exhausted by fasting. But the ascetic consoled him and, in spiritual conversation, convinced him to also leave the world to find a new path. The saint's mother also ended her days in the monastery. Alexander resolved to choose a life of solitude and asked the abbot to do so, but the experienced elder believed it was not yet time to leave the brethren. One night, during his nighttime prayer, the blessed one heard a heavenly voice commanding him to go to the place previously indicated. Opening the window, Alexander saw a great light pouring from the southeast. This time, the abbot did not refuse him his blessing and sent him on his appointed journey. In 1487, Alexander arrived at Lake Roshchinskoye and settled in the wilderness, six miles from the Svir River. Deep in the impenetrable forest, he built a small hut and devoted himself to solitary asceticism. Many people flocked to him for spiritual advice, and in their conversations, he displayed extraordinary insight: he refused gifts from a certain Gregory, accusing him of insulting his mother; he gave important advice to the wealthy villager Simeon, who, failing to heed it, died on the appointed day; he instructed the boyar Timofey Aprelev, for the sake of the birth of a son, to emulate the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, and a year later, Timofey received his request. For his spiritual children, Blessed Alexander was a true healer of souls and a healer of ailments. Through the saint's prayers, a fisherman increased his catch, and a merchant his property. In his old age, when Alexander had already drawn nearer to the Lord along the spiritual ladder of his virtues, the saint gathered the brethren, entrusted them to the intercession of the Mother of God, and appointed four hieromonks from among them, so that Saint Macarius could choose an abbot. Until the very moment of his departure, he incessantly instructed the brethren to preserve humility and love for the poor. He was buried near the Church of the Transfiguration, not far from the monastery, in a common crypt for the brethren. This occurred on August 30 (September 12, new style), 1533, and on April 17/30, 1641, his relics were found incorrupt. The universal celebration of St. Alexander's memory was established as early as 1547, on the day of his death. Locally, his memory is celebrated both on the day of the uncovering of his relics and on the feast of Pentecost, in commemoration of the "Three-Solar Radiance"—the Holy Trinity.