Saint Alexius was born on September 22, 1879, in the village of Sholy, Belozersky district of Novgorod province. After graduating from the Theological Seminary, he was ordained as a priest and served in various parishes. In the late 1920s - early 1930s, he was arrested for failing to fulfill a tax obligation and sentenced to six months in a correctional labor camp. Upon his return, he began serving in a church and was elevated to the rank of protopresbyter.
In early 1937, he was appointed to the Ascension Church in the village of Voznesenya, Bologovsky district of Tver region. He proved to be a zealous pastor, teaching the parishioners about Christian love and prayer. His ministry attracted the attention of the authorities, and on September 2, 1937, he was arrested.
During the interrogation, Fr. Alexius confirmed that he baptized children and distributed Christian crosses and icons. On September 19, the NKVD troika sentenced him and the churchwarden Vasily Shikalov to execution. They were shot on September 21, 1937.
He was canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Archpastoral Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for universal veneration.
