Eighth Discourse. On the Day of Accession to the Ancestral Throne of All Russia His Majesty Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich

The Russian Church of our Fathers and especially the capital of Peter celebrate this day the glorious translation of the holy relics of the Blessed Great Prince Alexander Nevsky, who was the invincible knight of the Russian land, who in his time won a glorious victory on the banks of the Neva over the neighboring Swedes, and for this was called Nevsky. To better adorn the capital and also to glorify the labors and deeds of the holy Prince, who centuries before had so gloriously fought against the Swedes, Peter the Great desired to transfer the holy miracle-working relics from the city of Vladimir to his new capital, Saint Petersburg, commanding that a magnificent shrine be made for them at the expense of the royal treasury.

For our consolation in the sorrowful time we are experiencing, when on the Far East a bloody and destructive war rages with a wild and deceitful pagan people, the symbol of which is the dragon, I wish to compare two signs revealed to John the Theologian in the Apocalypse, and which have application to us, to our Orthodox Church and to the dragon-land—Japan. I mentioned these signs at the beginning of the discourse. They indicate to us the future victory of our Church over the dragon, the ancient serpent, and over pagan Japan. The first sign. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, illumined by the sun of righteousness—Christ, the earthly Church, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. The woman clothed with the sun—Christ—is the Mother of God and also the holy Church of Christ, clothed in Christ, Who is her head. Twelve stars are the twelve apostles who planted and established the Church on earth; it is now represented, among others, by our Orthodox, Eastern, Ecumenical Church. The woman had in her womb and cried out in labor and pain—this is Russia, having in herself her children, Orthodox Christians, being born and baptized now in the rivers of their own blood into eternal life. Another sign in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads (military leaders). The dragon stood before the woman—Orthodox Russia and the Church—in order to devour her child. And she gave birth to a male Child—Christ—here the righteous Christians are understood, in whom Christ was formed, who is destined to shepherd all nations with an iron rod, and her child was taken up to God (the ascension of Christ) and to His throne. Here are also understood all who struggled with the good struggle and departed to heaven. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her by God, to be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (three and a half years). This signifies the final difficult times for the Church.

And war broke out in heaven (for the Church). Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them. But they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan (now acting in the Japanese), who deceives the whole world, cast down to the earth, and his angels (demons) were cast down with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven: “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Apok 12:10-11).

May the Lord deem us worthy, after the victorious end of this present war of Christ with the dragon, to hear the voice of victory: “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ have come.”

It is timely now to recall the following grave circumstance from the glorious martial life of the holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. At the time when his father Yaroslav ruled in Vladimir, and he ruled in great Novgorod, the peoples who lived then (in the 13th century) around the Baltic Sea—the Varangians, now called Swedes, led by their king with many warships—came into our territories with the intention of seizing Izhorsk, Ladoga, Novgorod and taking all the Russian land captive. They came to the river Neva and stopped at its mouth where it flows into the Finnish Gulf; the proud king, confident in his force, sent his ambassadors to Novgorod to the Great Prince Alexander saying: If you wish, submit to me; if not, know that I am already in your land and will soon take it captive. Alexander, not having sufficient forces ready and not being able to inform his father, Prince Yaroslav of Vladimir, of his difficult situation because of the sudden attack of the enemies, himself alone, putting his trust in the One glorified in the Trinity—God—and praying for the help of the Most Holy Theotokos and calling upon the aid of his kinsmen, the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, went out against the numerous forces of his opponents with only a small retinue. Coming to the river Neva, he pitched camp not far from the Swedes. And there was with him one of the voivodes of the Izhorsk region, a man fearing God, by name Philip, whom he entrusted with night watch in order to secretly reconnoiter the strength of the enemy. Seeing the numerous forces of the opponent and being in fear and doubt, he was returning to report to the Prince about what he had seen; and as he walked near the sea, at the rising of the sun, he saw a vessel at the shore and in the midst of it two beautiful youths in purple clothes, their hands upon each other’s shoulders; the rowers seemed to be covered in mist. He hears a voice! Brother Gleb! Let us go quickly—we shall help our kinsman, the great Prince Alexander, against the enemy. And the other replied: Good, brother Boris! The scout, having heard this, hurries with fear and joy to report it to the holy Prince Alexander, and he heard and glorified God, the Most Pure Mother of God and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. Engaging with the enemies, Alexander’s small retinue defeated the enemy forces, and the Prince himself struck the king in the face, who with the remnant of his force turned to flight.

Thus, by God’s help and the Mother of God and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, the holy Alexander won a glorious victory and freed his land from foreign servitude, and from this glorious victory at the Neva he was named Nevsky. And not once alone did he free Novgorod from these enemies. After this glorious victory the Swedes attacked Pskov, slaughtering many people and setting their governors over it. The holy Alexander with his brother Andrew and a hastily gathered force, surrounding all the roads to Pskov, defeated multitudes of enemies and returned the city of Pskov to his dominion. The name of Alexander Nevsky became fearful among the Swedes.

Behold how mighty faith and piety are in Christian warfare, especially in its leaders. May God grant that our present leaders be penetrated by faith and hope in divine assistance, and not rely only on their own wisdom and the strength and number of the troops. In the ancient Old Testament wars the Hebrews conquered enemies not by strength and number, but by the faith and piety of their leaders and forces.

We believe and hope that our glorious leaders and our Christ-loving forces will soon overcome our enemies not by strength alone, skill and courage, but especially by their faith in the almighty help of God.

Amen.