Celebration dedicated to the 800th anniversary of Alexander Nevsky held at the Presidential Library

The celebration "Alexander Nevsky in the historical, state and moral context: the connection of times and generations" was held at the Presidential Library on February 18, 2021. It was organized by the Committee on Local Self-Government, Interethnic and Interfaith Relations of Leningrad Region. The host of the event was the vicegerent of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Bishop Nazariy of Kronstadt.

The Governor of Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko addressed the audience: “I send whole-hearted greetings to the participants of the first event that opens the program of festive events, including in Leningrad Region, dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the birth of the holy right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky. There are not so many heroes in the history of Russia whose deeds were not only highly appreciated during their lifetime, but also did not fade over time. And such person is Prince Alexander Nevsky - an amazing personality in many ways: he is a competent commander, an experienced diplomat and a patriot, but most importantly - a man whose life has become an example of spirituality and morality".

Acting Director General of the Presidential Library Pavel Tereshchenko noted that thanks to interaction with the Government of Leningrad Region the Administration of St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate, the Presidential Library’s collections provided a large number of documents dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, and this information is now in the public domain for the entire world community.

Representatives of state authorities, bishops of the Tikhvin, Vyborg and Gatchina dioceses, specialists of the Historical, Architectural and Art Museum of Alexander Nevsky in Pereslavl exchanged views on the historical significance of the personality and deeds of Alexander Nevsky, his mission in the formation of Russian statehood, as well as on his role in preserving Orthodoxy. The Sophia children's and youth choir of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky in the village of Romanovka, Vsevolozhsky District, performed a musical composition dedicated to the prince marking his anniversary.

The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, was available via videoconference mode. The ministers of the Alexander Nevsky Church and representatives of the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Belgrade spoke about the Russian saint is venerated in Serbia.

The participants of the event also discussed the interaction of various public institutions in the process of perpetuating the memory of Alexander Nevsky, preserving the military-historical and cultural heritage and strengthening the unity of society.

In the year of the 800th anniversary of Prince Alexander Nevsky, dozens of festive events will take place in Leningrad Region.

On the site of the prince's prayer service in front of the Nevskaya bit, in the village of Pustynka, Tosnensky district, on September 12, 2021, the Committee on Local Self-Government, Interethnic and Interfaith Relations of Leningrad Region will hold a spiritual and patriotic festival dedicated to the victory of the Russian squad and the personality of the holy right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky. It is also planned to erect a monument at this place, around which a natural-historical park with a chapel will appear.

In Staraya Ladoga, where the prince's sword was consecrated in the cathedral, a military-historical festival will be held with the participation of reenactors. In addition, through the places associated with the name of Alexander Nevsky, it is planned to create the first spiritual and historical route in Leningrad Region, which will connect the Volkhov, Tosnensky and Kirovsky districts. A festive religious procession from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is planned.

The Presidential Library’s portal features the electronic collection Alexander Nevsky (1221-1263), which includes historical research, such as The life and deeds of Grand Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky in connection with the events in Russia in the XIII century (1883), The Battle on the Ice (1941); hagiographic and church literature - The Life of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky (1867), Holy Blessed Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra (1913), graphic materials and others.