Presbyter
Saint Alexander was born in 1879 in the village of Kukarevo, Tver Province. After graduating from a theological school, he was ordained as a priest. In the late 1920s – early 1930s, he was arrested for tax evasion and sentenced to two years in a labor camp. After his release from the camp, he did not cease his ministry and in March 1937 was appointed to the Nikolsky Church in the village of Gryadtsy, Tver Region.
It soon became clear that the authorities would seek to close the church. Father Alexander began to gather a group of twenty to defend the church, visiting parishioners and asking about their faith. On September 27, a plenary meeting took place in the village council, where representatives of the NKVD accused the priest of counter-revolutionary agitation.
On October 9, the priest was arrested and imprisoned. During interrogations, he denied all accusations, asserting that he only conducted religious rites. On November 1, the NKVD Troika sentenced him to execution. Priest Alexander Bogoyavlensky was shot on November 3, 1937.
