Presbyter
Saint Alexander was born on March 19, 1888, in the village of Romanovo, Tver Province, in the family of priest Leonid Chekalov. He graduated from the Tver Theological Seminary and was ordained as a priest. In 1930, his house and property were confiscated. Father Alexander blessed his children to leave, while he remained with his wife and younger daughter. In the same year, he was arrested and sentenced to exile. After settling in the village of Zheleznikov, he continued to serve, knowing about the possible persecutions. On November 21, 1937, after the Divine Liturgy, the NKVD arrested the priest. He did not admit his guilt in counter-revolutionary agitation. On November 25, the NKVD Troika sentenced him to execution, and on November 27, 1937, Priest Alexander Chekalov was shot.
