Presbyter
Saint Alexius was born on 22 September 1879 in the village of Soly, in Belozersky District of Novgorod Governorate. After graduating from the Theological School, he was ordained a priest and served in several parishes.
In the late 1920s or early 1930s, he was arrested for failing to fulfil his tax obligations. He was subsequently sentenced to confiscation of his property and six months in a forced-labour camp. After his release, he began serving at a church and was eventually elevated to the rank of archpriest.
At the beginning of 1937, he was appointed to the Church of the Resurrection in the village of Vozneseniya, in Bologovsky District. There, he served zealously, teaching his parishioners about Christian love and prayer. At the same time, under pressure from the authorities, peasants had begun giving their children non-Christian names. The saint therefore insisted that they go to the local council to have the children's names officially re-registered.
The authorities monitored his activities and arrested him on 2 September 1937. During the interrogation, he acknowledged that he had baptized newborn children and had been actively teaching Christian prayers. On 19 September, he was sentenced to death. He was executed on 21 September 1937.
In August 2000, he was numbered among the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church.
