Source: The Orthodox Church in America
February 14, 2022
Saint Alexander Hotovitzky was a remarkable missionary in America and a martyr for the faith in Russia. Two anniversaries in the life of Saint Alexander occurring this year – the 150th anniversary of his birth (February 11, 1872) and the 85th anniversary of his martyrdom (August 19, 1937) – are occasion to reflect on both his missionary work in America and his self-sacrificing witness as a martyr in Russia.
That he was marked by grace from God was already evident in his seminary days. At his ordination to the priesthood in San Francisco, Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov) of the Aleutians and Alaska recalled his first encounter with Saint Alexander at the Theological Academy thus:
“In spite of your relatively young age, my attention was called specifically to you and not to anyone else because I find in you the seeds of everything necessary for such a ministry. Particularly your decency, your good upbringing, your noble idealism, your religiousness—immediately impressed me favorably and made me single you out from several other young men with whom you had visited me in Petersburg. I saw that you had that Divine spark, which transforms every ministry into God’s work and without which every calling becomes a spiritless and stillborn craft. Do not let this Divine spark in you be extinguished; on the contrary, try to kindle it in yourself so that it will warm you and those around you.”
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