Alexei Mechev

Saint Alexis Mechev (1859-1923), the Righteous, was an archpriest in Moscow, rector of the church of Saint Nicholas in Klenniki, a beloved pastor, wise and a spiritual father, known as the elder of the city. The Russian Orthodox Church glorified him in August 2000, and his relics were found in June 2001. He is commemorated on 9 June and, at the finding of the relics, on 16 September, by the old calendar.

Youth and priesthood

He was born on 17 (29) March 1859 in Moscow, in the family of the regent of the metropolitan's choir at the Chudov Monastery, Alexei Ivanovich Mechev. He finished the Zaikonospassky church school and the Moscow seminary (1879). He dreamed of studying at university and becoming a doctor, but at his mother's insistent request he accepted the priesthood. He was psalm-⁠reader at the church of the Sign, from 1884 deacon at the church of Saint George in Starye Luchniki, and on 19 March 1893 priest at the church of Saint Nicholas in Klenniki, on Maroseyka, where he served until the end of his life. The parish was very small. He introduced daily services and for eight years served almost alone in an empty church. Gradually he became known as a good pastor, more and more worshippers began to come, and one of the best-⁠known Orthodox communities of Moscow was formed.

The pastor

In the lower floor of the church he opened a parish school and a shelter for orphans and the poor. For thirteen years he taught religion at the Winkler girls' gymnasium, where he was known as a good teacher who wished his pupils to become believers rather than gain formal knowledge. He supported the revival of old Russian icon painting, blessing his spiritual daughter Maria Sokolova, later the nun Juliana, to paint icons. He was close to the elders of Optina. After the death of his wife and his meeting with Saint John of Kronstadt he himself became known as an elder, though he remained a parish priest and archpriest, without taking monastic vows. He was humble and gifted with foresight and often spoke with the faithful about the lives of the saints. The painter Robert Falk was healed in spirit by meetings with him and returned to creative work. He was the confessor of the philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, to whom, in 1922, when the OGPU forced him to leave Russia and he was troubled, he said to go without fear, for the West must hear his word.

In Soviet times he was summoned twice to the OGPU, at the end of 1922 and on 30 March 1923, and forbidden to receive the faithful, but was not repressed because of his grave illness. In May 1923 he went to rest at Vereya, where he died on 22 June. He was buried at the Lazarevskoe cemetery in Moscow, many of the faithful of the capital came to the funeral, the service was performed by Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky), and Patriarch Tikhon took part in the burial. Both hierarchs had just been released from prison. In the 1930s the remains were moved to the Vvedenskoe cemetery.

Veneration

He was glorified by the Jubilee Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000, together with his son and successor as rector, the Holy Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev. They are especially venerated in the church of Saint Nicholas in Klenniki, where a side chapel is dedicated to them. On 16 June 2001 his relics were found, first moved to the Novospassky Monastery and then, on 29 September 2002, in procession, to the church of Saint Nicholas on Maroseyka. He had daughters from his marriage to Anna Petrovna Molchanova, who died in 1902, and a son, Sergius, a priest and martyr, who died in 1942.