Alexander (Shchukin)

Born on March 13, 1891, in Riga to the family of priest Ioann and his wife Elizaveta. His grandfather, Vasily Shchukin, served as a deacon in Riga, his father graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy, was ordained as a priest, and taught the Law of God at the Riga Seminary, diocesan school, and gymnasiums; additionally, he was responsible for teaching Latin and Greek.

The family had seven children. Their daughter recalled that their father loved the children but did not spoil them or indulge their weaknesses, fearing that otherwise, they would grow up to be bad Christians. He did not force them to follow prayer rules strictly, although he himself dedicated all his free time to prayer. Similarly, his wife Elizaveta, whenever she had free time, hurried to the church.

Alexander was not naturally of a gloomy disposition, but his heart from childhood was inclined to emulate the ancient ascetics. His first and constant dream was to become a priest. He felt this as his calling and never deviated from it throughout his life. In 1915, Alexander graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy. By this time, with the onset of hostilities in 1914, his father Ioann moved with his family to Nizhny Novgorod, where Alexander joined them after finishing the academy and began teaching at the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary.

The year 1917 arrived, bringing the impending time of persecution. Alexander asked his father to bless him to receive the priesthood without entering marriage, so he could later take monastic vows. Father Ioann blessed him, and Alexander was ordained as a priest to the Ascension Church in the city of Lyskovo, where his father was serving at that time.

On August 30, 1923, the temporarily ruling bishop of the Novgorod Diocese, Bishop Philip (Gumilevsky) of Balakhna, sent a report to His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, stating that Bishop Makary (Znamensky) had deviated into renovationism and could not remain in the Makaryev see. Even if he repented, his stay in Makaryev would be a temptation for the believers. The general voice of the clergy and laity of the two district towns of Lyskovo and Vasilsursk unanimously pointed to priest Alexander Shchukin as a candidate for bishop. This election was agreed upon by the temporary ruler of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese, who asked the Patriarch to approve the candidate for the Makaryev bishopric with the consecration to take place in Nizhny Novgorod.

After receiving the Patriarch's blessing, in the Annunciation Church on September 23, 1923, priest Alexander Shchukin took monastic vows with the name Alexander in honor of St. Alexander of Svir. The next day, he was named Bishop of Makaryev, Vicar of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese, and the following day, his consecration took place in the Church of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, with Bishops Philip (Gumilevsky) of Balakhna and Polycarp (Tikhonov) of Lukoyanov participating.

Bishop Alexander had great love and care for his parents, to whom he was grateful for instilling in him the spirit of piety, love for the Church, and Orthodox worship.

In 1918, the authorities arrested his father Ioann and kept him in prison for six months, after which he was long and severely ill. When his son went to Nizhny Novgorod for his episcopal consecration, his father Ioann fell seriously ill with pneumonia and, knowing he was dying, humbly awaited his son's return to give him the last rites. Bishop Alexander arrived in Lyskovo on the eve of his father's death. He conversed with him for a long time, then administered the Holy Mysteries. His first archpastoral service was the funeral vigil for his newly-departed father.

Bishop Alexander was an excellent preacher and a kind mentor. He held monastic life in the highest esteem and encouraged his spiritual children to live in the same spirit. He sent some to Diveyevo and, if they expressed a desire for monastic life, he gave them his blessing. He served in the Makaryev Monastery and frequently visited the Starye Mary Monastery to pray before the revered icon of the Mother of God "Theotokos of the Three Hands." In Makaryev, where he lived, he organized the teaching of the Law of God to children and taught it himself, which required great courage at that time as the authorities were hostile to Christian preaching. The teaching continued for a year but was eventually prohibited by the authorities.

In September 1927, at the age of sixty-two, the saint's mother fell seriously ill. Bishop Alexander cared for her and was present at her death. Before dying, she said:

"My eyes have opened, and I clearly see heaven. How bright it is there."

In 1929, on the day of the Archangel Michael, Bishop Alexander was arrested and sent to the Nizhny Novgorod prison, where almost all the clergy of Nizhny Novgorod were gathered.

During the interrogation, Bishop Alexander responded:

 "I deliver sermons every Sunday on topics from the Holy Scriptures... and sometimes in defense of religious truths challenged by contemporaries. The delivery of sermons and speaking in defense of the truth was motivated by the desire to find truth in matters related to religion, where I provided evidence of the Orthodox Christian teaching on these issues... Sometimes, in my sermons, I spoke out against godlessness."

The bishop's answers apparently perplexed the investigator, and the day after the interrogation, Bishop Alexander wrote an explanation: "The questions disputed by contemporaries, which I mentioned in my testimony, are questions of Christian apologetics, namely: the end of the world, the origin of man through creation by God, the historical reality of Christianity, the immortality of the soul. The questions related to religion are scientific theories concerning the above-mentioned religious truths. The purpose of my sermons was to find the truth in scientific theories and to prove to the faithful the correctness of Orthodox Christian teachings on these issues. I did not address political, social, or public life issues in my sermons."

In prison, the authorities promised him freedom if he would stop preaching.

He refused.

"I am appointed to preach, and I cannot refuse," said the bishop.

The investigators beat and intimidated him, but the saint responded calmly and meekly:

"My body is under your control, and you can do with it what you want, but I will not give you my soul."

He was placed in a cell with other priests. A true prayer warrior and ascetic, he prayed for long periods, encouraging others in the cell to fervent and diligent prayer, many of whom, finding themselves in the harsh conditions of the GPU prison, had begun to lose heart.

After his arrest, his sister Elizaveta went to Moscow to the prosecutor Vyshinsky to plead for her brother, asking for his release or exile at his own expense since he had a heart condition.

"You have addressed the wrong place," replied Vyshinsky. "You need to go to the Red Cross." As for the detention, Bishop Alexander was arrested for preaching and would be sent to Solovki for three years. The investigation was completed on January 11, 1929. The bishop was accused of "as an ideological opponent of Soviet power, through sermons with anti-Soviet bias, instilling his counter-revolutionary beliefs in the population, and in private conversations, conducting overt anti-Soviet propaganda on the themes of 'the lawlessness of godless communists... Having devoted monks and nuns, he gave them instructions on how to fight the godless, sending them to villages and towns as missionaries, not stopping at open confrontation with state cultural institutions. (This refers to his brilliant performances at debates against ignorant godless lecturers)."

"...Guided by the provisions on the OGPU bodies concerning administrative exiles and detention in concentration camps, approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on 28/III-24 and announced in the OGPU order No. 172 of 2/IV-24... the case... to be referred to the Special Meeting for sentencing in an extrajudicial manner."

On April 26, 1929, the Special Meeting sentenced the bishop to three years in a concentration camp, to be served according to the OGPU order concerning the detention of clergy at Solovki.

In the Solovetsky camp, the bishop worked first as a guard and then as an accountant.

When his sentence ended, the authorities did not allow him to return to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, and Metropolitan Sergius appointed him bishop of Bolkhov, Vicar of the Orel Diocese, on December 31, 1931. On July 27, 1932, Bishop Alexander was appointed to the Orel see. On January 3, 1934, Metropolitan Sergius elevated him to the rank of archbishop.

At that time, the Church faced relentless persecution; Orthodox believers were arrested and executed. Attending churches became dangerous. The fear of arrest increasingly gripped people. Churches emptied. And the Bishop began to preach fearlessly. Listening to his inspiring sermons and seeing his ascetic life as a non-possessive and prayerful person, people stopped being afraid and returned to the Church, and the churches in Orel began to fill with people again. The authorities, seeing the revival of religious life in the city, began to take measures to expel the beloved archpastor. In 1936, many diocesan bishops lost their registration and were forced to leave their dioceses. Apparently, Archbishop Alexander was also deprived of registration.

The Bishop left for the Nizhny Novgorod region and settled in the village of Semenovskoe. In September 1936, Metropolitan Sergius appointed Archbishop Alexander to the Semipalatinsk see. Upon receiving the appointment, he immediately went to Semipalatinsk.

Arrests were happening everywhere. His sister Elizaveta wrote to him in Semipalatinsk: "Go into retirement, come to me in Lyskovo, you can wait it out."

"No matter how much I love you," replied the Bishop, "but I did not take up the staff to leave it."

In August 1937, Archbishop Alexander was arrested. He blessed his spiritual children for the last time, witnesses of the arrest. The interrogation during those years was torturous, and many, to avoid suffering, gave any testimony. The Bishop held on courageously, refusing and not signing any of the accusations imposed on him. He was accused of espionage and counter-revolutionary agitation, which he resolutely denied. When asked about acquaintances, he refused to name them.

On October 28, 1937, the NKVD troika of the East Kazakhstan region sentenced the Bishop to execution. Archbishop Alexander was executed two days later, on October 30, 1937. He was buried in a mass grave, and the burial site remains unknown to this day.

Glorified by the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.