Alexander Svirsky has many epithets. He is called the pillar of the Orthodox faith, the founder of the Northern Lavra, a healer and a miracle worker. But most of all he is famous for the fact that he became the second person after Abraham to whom the Lord appeared in his triune essence.
The Seer of God was born in the north, In 1448. At the age of 19 he entered a monastery, where he took monastic vows under the name of Alexander. As often happens with righteous people, life in the monastery seemed too hectic to him. With the blessing of the abbot, he dug himself a cave on one of the islands of Valaam and lived there in solitude for 7 years.
And then he had a vision. The Mother of God appeared to the saint and ordered him to go to a new place, where he would see the light. Having got out of the cave, Alexander saw a bright light in the direction where the Svir River flowed.
On the same day he returned to a new place, built a hut there and remained alone for another 7 years, enduring hardships and hunger.
But one fine day, the boyar Zavalishin came across his hut, who had gotten lost while hunting. He was amazed at the monk’s righteousness. Having got out of the forest, he talked tirelessly about the hermit. Soon other monks began to join Brother Alexander. Zavalishin himself took monastic vows and settled next to the saint’s cell.
After 23 years of hermitage, brother Alexander had a vision of the Holy Trinity. 3 angels visited him and spent time talking. They ordered him to build a temple and found a monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity. Despite the saint’s resistance, the brethren persuaded him to accept the priesthood and become abbot of the monastery.
But the high post did not change Father Alexander in any way. He still did any work, slept little, prayed a lot. For his righteousness, the Lord sent him the gift of healing and vision of the future. Through the prayers of the saint, the flood stopped, the sick recovered, and missing people were found.
The saint lived a long life, and before his death he bequeathed to be buried near the Transfiguration Church, near the waste hermitage. In 1533, having lived a full 85 years, Saint Alexander departed to the Lord.
April 17 (30 according to the new style), 1641, workers digging a trench under the wall of the new stone Transfiguration Church came across a coffin.
Attracted by the noise, the abbot immediately suspected that these were the relics of Alexander Svirsky. He lifted one board from the lid of the coffin and a fragrance spread throughout the area. The saint’s entire body was streaming myrrh. It has not suffered at all from time. The clothes were also preserved. While psalms were sung, the saint’s relics were transferred to a new coffin and transferred to St. Nicholas Church right there in the desert.
After 3 years, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich presented the monastery with a silver shrine, especially for the relics of Alexander Svirsky. They were placed in the new Transfiguration Church, where they remained until 1918. Many miracles happened through prayers at the relics of the saint. But in 1918, the relics were seized by security officers and their trace was lost.
Only 80 years later, in 1998, the second discovery of the relics took place. All this time they were kept in the Museum of the Military Medical Academy in St. Petersburg. The discovery of the relics was again accompanied by the flow of myrrh and fragrance. That same year they were returned to the Transfiguration Church of the Trinity Alexander of Svirsky Monastery.
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