Among the host of God’s holy servants who shone upon Russian soil during the great turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, Venerable Alexy of Zosima — known in the world as Fyodor Alexyevich Solovyov — holds a place apart. His life, filled with deep humility and self-sacrificing love for God and neighbour, showed the enduring strength of the Orthodox faith through times of great hardship. The elder, granted powers of spiritual insight and wonderworking, became a spiritual father to the whole of Russia. Thousands from every corner of the land came to him for counsel, comfort, and the help of his prayers.
The man who would become Elder Alexy was born Fyodor (named for the Great Martyr Theodore Tyron) in Moscow on 17 January 1846. His father was the priest Alexy Petrovich Solovyov. The elder Solovyov was also an accomplished educator, holding a professorship in general civil history and German at the Vifansk Theological Seminary, and teaching the Law of God at the Practical Academy and the boys’ grammar school. His forty years of teaching earned him the rank of hereditary nobility.
Everyone remembered Father Alexy as a gentle and kindly man. Before the great feasts, he always made a point of visiting the homes of his parishioners, who greeted him with joy and warmth. He gave almost all the money from his teaching to the poor.
His wife, Matushka Maria, died of cholera when Fyodor was only eight. The care of the children fell to their father, and he brought them up in Christian goodness and drew them into the life of the church. He bore the sickness and death of several of his children. Fyodor also suffered a mishap: as a boy, a ball struck him in the eye, leaving him blind in his right eye for the rest of his days. At seventeen he fainted in the bell tower; from then on he was often troubled by a fast heartbeat.
Fyodor differed from his brothers and sisters. He avoided noisy pastimes, loved fasting, and tended towards seriousness — he could even settle disputes among the rest of the family. He had a fine voice and sang in the choir from a young age. The boy felt a close bond with his father and served him at the altar.
In 1866 Fyodor finished the Moscow Theological Seminary and wished to serve God as a deacon. Before his ordination, he married Anna Pavlovna Smirnova, the eldest daughter of a family friend. The wedding was in 1867, and after a time the couple welcomed a son, Michael.
Fyodor Alexyevich Solovyov with his wife Anna Pavlovna (née Smirnova), 1867
The marriage was happy but brief, as Matushka Anna died of consumption.
Archpriest Vasily Petrovich Nechaev, the rector of the Tolmachevo Church, saw the young deacon’s heavy grief for his late wife. Hoping to lift him from his sorrow, he asked him to write for the magazine Edifying Reading (Dushepoleznoe Chtenie). Some of Father Fyodor’s articles were so well received that they were later issued as separate booklets.
In 1895, he became a priest and was appointed to the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. After seeing his son Michael grow up and marry, Father Fyodor, in 1898, withdrew to the Smolensk Zosima Hermitage, a retreat attached to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On 30 November, he took the monastic habit and the name Alexy, honouring Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow. The tonsure fell on the same date as his wedding to Anna.
Abbot Herman, wary that Father Alexy might grow proud because of his former high standing, treated him with stern discipline. Yet the new monk showed remarkable humility and obedience. He readily apologised to the brothers for the smallest offence and quietly accepted any rebuke, whether he deserved it or not. For all his former standing in the church, he took on the humblest duties without a word of complaint. This attitude at first surprised the other monks, but in time it won their deep and honest regard.
Hieromonk Alexy in Zosima Hermitage
Initially, Father Alexy sang in the monastery choir, as he had a beautiful voice. Before long, however, the abbot saw his wisdom and good sense and made him the community’s confessor and guide. Among his spiritual children were several monks and, in time, even Igumen Herman himself. In place of choir duty, Father Alexy began to teach the Law of God to the brethren.
Zosima Hermitage. Church in honour of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God. Vintage postcard
In 1906, the elder’s health gave way. During Great Lent he was struck down with pneumonia. The brothers had already said their goodbyes to their spiritual father when, after the anointing with holy oil, he suddenly began to mend. From then on, spiritual counsel became his main task. In the summer months, he moved into a small hut, and from 1908, he withdrew into partial solitude.
Cabin-cell at Zosima Hermitage where Elder Alexy lived before entering seclusion
Word of the Elder spread, and people from all over Russia came to see him. His visitors came from all walks of life: simple peasants, intellectuals, leading public figures, bishops, and even some from the Tsar’s own family.
Elder Alexy also guided Grand Duchess Elisabeth Fyodorovna, counselling her as she set about founding the Martha and Mary Convent. Witnesses recalled: “There were times when their conversations lasted for four hours.”
Among his spiritual daughters was Schema-abbess Thamar (Marzhanova), who, with his blessing, founded the Seraphim–Sign Hermitage near Moscow in 1908.
Abbess Thamar (in the world – the Georgian princess Tamara Alexandrovna Marzhanova)
Father Alexy had a word of comfort and direction for every pilgrim. Gifted with deep perception, he would often reveal the sins of astonished visitors during confession before they could speak. Through his prayers came miraculous healings of both body and soul.
In the monastic cell. Photograph taken by the elder’s son, Mikhail Fyodorovich Solovyov
Each day, the elder received visitors from three in the morning until noon. For each one he offered a kind word and gave the guidance they needed. If he sensed that a person had left feeling dissatisfied or uneasy, he would become troubled. He would call them back, talk with them again, explain all in detail, and only then let them go.
So many people wished to make their confession to Elder Alexy that the monastery began to issue tickets: one hundred and ten slots in two days.
Ticket for confession
A monk of Zosima Hermitage recalled: “When people were admitted to him for confession by picking and choosing, he was not pleased: ‘I must look not at a face, but at the person.’”
Throughout his life, Elder Alexy showed great respect for his superiors. His will, for instance, instructed his followers to remember the governing authorities in prayer and not to break from Metropolitan Sergius.
In the grave days of 1917 for the Russian Orthodox Church, Venerable Alexy played a part of great weight. To him fell the task of drawing the lot to decide the name of the new Patriarch.
On 5 November 1917, after praying earnestly before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Elder Alexy drew the lot. It bore the name of Saint Tikhon, Metropolitan of Moscow.
Archbishop Tikhon, the future Patriarch
In 1919, Elder Alexy took the Great Schema. He kept his name, but it was now in honour of Saint Alexy, the man of God.
After the Bolsheviks closed Zosima Hermitage in 1923, Venerable Alexy, already of advanced years and ill, took up residence in Sergiyev Posad. On one occasion, Patriarch Tikhon himself paid him a visit. During their meeting, the elder tried several times to stand as a sign of respect, but His Holiness gently forbade him.
Hieroschemamonk Alexy (Solovyov)
On 19 September 1928, Elder Alexy reposed in the Lord.
On 25 July 1994, his holy relics were brought to the restored Zosima Hermitage, where they now rest in the monastery’s Smolensk Cathedral.
Shrine with the relics of Venerables Herman and Alexy of Zosima Hermitage
In 2000, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church canonised Hieroschemamonk Alexy (Solovyov) for veneration throughout the Church. His day of commemoration is kept on 19 September / 2 October.
I do not wish you riches or fame, nor even good health, but rather peace of soul; this matters most. If you hold peace within, you will have true happiness.
It is better not to ask for an elder’s counsel than to hear it and not obey. The enemy of God waits for just such a moment when a person disobeys godly advice from an elder, so he may catch that poor soul in his snares.
Our pains arise only from not knowing true self-denial for the sake of Him who was crucified for us. Remember: where there is sorrow, where there is distress, you must go first. One sheds many tears from a broken heart before they can comfort others in the Lord.
Only one who, by the strength of their own spirit, can take on another’s pain, can truly lift the despair of others.
Endure. Christ was sinless, yet He endured insults from His own creation — so who are you not to meet hardship?
Who told you that God punishes people for sins, as we tend to say when we see someone struck by bad luck or sickness? No. The Lord’s ways are beyond our knowing.
You will find peace in the Lord only by giving yourself to the service of your neighbour.
Always say the Jesus Prayer, no matter what you are doing. If your mind wanders, offer a sigh to the Lord and begin once more.
Christ could have avoided His suffering, but He chose to go to the Cross. God has great love for those who freely accept suffering for Christ’s sake.
People are ready to die in spirit rather than give up their self-love and their “noble”, as they call it, pride.
Confess Christ without fear, and in nothing go against your Christian conscience.
You only believe in God because He has given you faith; it is a gift from Him. You must not judge anyone who cannot believe in God, for this often comes about by His design. In a moment, Christ can work a miracle.
Discipline yourself to show mercy and kindness to your neighbour. Help those in need, and grow compassion and love inside you.
Nothing disturbs the soul’s peace more than judging others and being discontented with your own life.
When the soul takes the blame for all things, then God will love it; and once God has shown His love — what more could we ask?
Take to yourself the wings of humility, patience, self-reproach and prayer. You will then gain the fear of God and the remembrance of death. Only then will you find peace, when you trust in God’s Providence.
Our life should be like a chariot. Humility is the front right wheel, and self-reproach is the left. The rear axle must bear both patience and surrender to God’s will.
