The Day of Remembrance of the Righteous Prince Alexander of Novgorod (Nevsky), which fell on November 23, was removed from the church calendar.
This decision was made by The Holy Synod of the OCU.
Instead, on this day the OCU will additionally honor the memory of St. Alexander of Constantinople, who lived in the 4th-5th centuries and founded the monastery of the Vigilant.
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The History of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky lived in the 13th century. He was the second son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who at different times reigned in Novgorod and Kyiv.
Alexander Yaroslavovich himself presided over Novgorod and Vladimir on the Klyazma, being dependent on the Golden Horde. He became famous for fighting with Lithuania, Sweden and the Teutonic Order. After the battle on the Neva River with the Swedes, he received the nickname Nevsky.
In 1547, the Russian church canonized Alexander Nevsky as a saint. According to legend, before his death the prince took strict monastic vows — schema.
Why the OCU stopped honoring Alexander Nevsky
For centuries, Russia has used the image of the noble prince in its propaganda. He was portrayed as a fighter against Catholics and a defender of the Russian Federation from “Western expansion”.
Temples in honor of this saint were a mark of Russian rule. So, in honor of Nevsky, a cathedral was built in Kamenets-Podolsky in 1893. The construction was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the “annexation” Podolia to the Russian Empire.
Recently, the invaders erected a monument to Nevsky in Mariupol, destroying on this site a memorial in honor of the Mariupol defenders of Ukraine in the form of a trident.
In addition, the occupiers named one of the districts in honor of the Novgorod prince, which was built in the temporarily captured city, and where the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly came.
