Alexander Men - biography. Why was priest Alexander Men killed?

Alexander Vladimirovich Men (January 22, 1935 - September 9, 1990) - priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, theologian, preacher, author of books on theology and history of Christianity and other religions.

Biography
Born in Moscow, into a family Jewish origin: both by mother and father. As a child, my father attended a religious Jewish school; my mother was drawn to Christianity from her youth.
At the age of six months he was baptized along with his mother. The baptism was performed secretly by a priest Catacomb Church Father Seraphim. He studied at the Moscow Fur Institute (1953-1954), then at the Irkutsk Agricultural Institute (1955-1958), from where he was expelled for religious beliefs. A month after his expulsion, on June 1, 1958, he was ordained a deacon, and on September 1, 1960 (after graduating from the Leningrad Theological Seminary) - a priest. In 1965 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in absentia.
He served in a number of parishes near Moscow. A unique combination of broad erudition, openness to secular culture, science, other faiths, non-Christian religions and deep church roots have propelled Me to the ranks of leading Christian preachers.
The main work of Father Alexander is the book about Jesus “Son of Man”, as well as the series “In Search of the Path, Truth and Life”, in which the author examines the history of non-Christian religions as the path to Christianity in the struggle between magism and monotheism.
Father Alexander is also the author of the books “Sacrament, Word, Image”, “Where did all this come from?”, “How to read the Bible?” and numerous articles mainly of preaching and apologetic content. Father Alexander's works have been translated into English, Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian and French.
Father Alexander Men is one of the founders of Christian “samizdat” in the 1960s. Until the mid-1980s, his works were published mainly abroad (under the pseudonyms E. Svetlov, A. Bogolyubov, A. Pavlov). Men was a spiritual mentor, and often godfather for many “dissidents” of the 1970s and 80s, although he himself refrained from active human rights activities, seeing his mission in spiritual enlightenment.
Since the mid-1980s, Father Alexander Men has been one of the most popular Christian preachers (including in media mass media). He was one of the founders of the Russian Bible Society in 1990, the Public Orthodox University, and the Bible World magazine. Father Alexander actively supported charitable activities, standing at the origins of the creation of the Mercy Group at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital, which was later named after him and became one of the significant charitable projects.
Some representatives of Orthodox and near-Orthodox circles assessed the activities of Father Alexander as “non-Orthodox.”
During his speeches, Father Alexander repeatedly received threatening notes.
“On May 5, 1998, by order of Bishop Nikon of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, books by famous Orthodox theologians of the 20th century, Protopresbyters Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, Nikolai Afanasyev and Archpriest Alexander Men, were confiscated from the library and from students of the diocesan Theological School, and burned in the courtyard of the school. After this, three priests of the diocese were asked to curse the “heresies” of the above-mentioned authors, securing this with an oath before the Cross and the Gospel.”
Father Alexander was killed on September 9, 1990. That morning he was in a hurry to go to church: he had to be on time for the liturgy. A man ran up to him and handed him a note. Men took his glasses out of his pocket and began to read. At this time, another man jumped out of the bushes and hit him from behind with an ax. Drenched in blood, the priest headed towards the station. Then, losing strength, he turned back towards the house. He managed to crawl to the gate.

“Who are you, Father Alexander?” - the woman asked. “No, no one, I myself!” answered Men: he did not want or could not name his killers.
Despite the personal orders of the presidents of the USSR and Russia, the murder remained unsolved.

Archpriest Alexander Vladimirovich Men (January 22, 1935 - September 9, 1990) - clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, theologian, preacher, author of books on theology, the history of Christianity and other religions, on the fundamentals of Christian doctrine, and Orthodox worship.

Born in Moscow into a family of Jewish origin. Father Wolf Gersh-Leibovich (Vladimir Grigorievich) Men was born in 1902, in Kyiv, as a child he studied at a religious Jewish school, worked as an engineer in Orekhovo-Zuevo; mother, Elena Semyonovna Men (nee Zuperfein), born in 1908 in Bern, was drawn to Christianity from her youth. She studied the Orthodox faith at the Kharkov private gymnasium. She was baptized in 1935 and baptized her son.

In 1953, A. Men entered the Moscow Fur Institute in Balashikha, which in 1955 was transferred to Irkutsk. In March 1958 he was expelled for his religious beliefs.

A month after his expulsion, on June 1, 1958, he was ordained a deacon, and on September 1, 1960 (after graduating from the Leningrad Theological Seminary) - a priest. In 1965 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in absentia.

He served in a number of parishes near Moscow. In 1989-1990 he was rector of the Presentation Church in Novaya Derevnya (Pushkino microdistrict). A unique combination of broad erudition, openness to secular culture, science, other faiths, non-Christian religions and church rootedness has propelled Me to the ranks of leading Christian preachers.

Father Alexander’s main work is “History of Religion” in seven volumes, consisting of the series “In Search of the Path, Truth and Life” and the book “Son of Man”.

Father Alexander is also the author of the books “Sacrament, Word, Image” (Brussels, 1980, 2nd ed. M. 1991) (first edition entitled “Heaven on Earth” (Brussels, 1969), “Where did all this come from?” (Naples , 1972), “How to read the Bible?” (Brussels, 1981), Biblical Dictionary (about 1840 terms (including a large number of redirections), Moscow, 2002) and numerous articles of mainly preaching and apologetic content. The works of Father Alexander have been translated into. English, Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian and French.

Father Alexander Men is one of the founders of Christian “samizdat” in the 1960s. Until the mid-1980s, his works were published mainly abroad (under the pseudonyms E. Svetlov, A. Bogolyubov, A. Pavlov). Men was the spiritual mentor, and often the godfather, of many dissidents of the 1970s and 80s, although he himself refrained from active human rights activities, seeing his mission as spiritual enlightenment.

Since the mid-1980s, Father Alexander Men has been one of the most popular Christian preachers (including in the media). He was one of the founders of the Russian Bible Society in 1990, the Public Orthodox University, and the Bible World magazine. Father Alexander actively supported charitable activities, standing at the origins of the creation of the Mercy Group at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital, which was later named after him and became one of the significant charitable projects.

During his speeches, Father Alexander repeatedly received threatening notes. He was killed on the morning of September 9, 1990. He was in a hurry to go to church: he had to be in time for the liturgy. The following supposedly happened: a man ran up to him and handed him a note. Men took his glasses out of his pocket and began to read. At this time, another man jumped out of the bushes and hit him forcefully from behind with an ax (according to another version, a sapper's shovel). Drenched in blood, the priest headed towards the station. On the way, the woman asked: “Who are you, Father Alexander?” “No, no one, myself!” - he answered. Then, losing strength, he turned back towards the house, reached the gate and fell.

Despite the personal orders of the President of the USSR and the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russia, the murder remained unsolved.

At the site of the death of the priest in the Semkhoz microdistrict (now within the city of Sergiev Posad), a temple was erected in honor of St. Sergius Radonezh, where the Divine Liturgy is regularly celebrated.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, the scientific and theological conference “Menev Readings” is held annually.

Name: Alexander Men

Age: 55 years

Family status: was married

Alexander Men: biography

Alexander Men is a Russian clergyman who has faced many difficulties. Survived attacks on the church and persecution of believers from outside Soviet authorities, I had to secretly distribute my own books, change parishes against my will.

People loved Father Alexander for his spiritual openness and sociability; the man was known as an excellent conversationalist, able to listen carefully and give useful advice to everyone who knocked on the doors of his house and temple.

Childhood and youth

Alexander Men was born in the Russian capital in 1935. The father of the future priest is a resident of Kiev, a Jew by nationality, and in addition to two universities, he has a religious Jewish school behind him. But, as Alexander Vladimirovich later recalled, he did not believe in God; any religion was alien to the man. He worked as an engineer at a textile factory. In 1941, the head of the family ended up in prison, the victim of a false accusation, and worked in the Urals during the war against the Nazis.

Mom is also from a Jewish family, originally from Poland, her parents lived in Switzerland and France, then moved to Russia. Unlike my father, I respected Christian faith, studied at the Kharkov Orthodox gymnasium.

A vivid childhood experience was miraculous healing grandmothers themselves: she was struck down by a serious illness, and the doctors just shrugged their shoulders. After meeting with the famous preacher, the woman began to recover, and after a month the illness disappeared. When Sasha was six months old, his mother secretly baptized him.

WITH early years Alexander was drawn to knowledge, avidly reading books that overflowed his personal bedside table. A family with two children huddled in a Moscow communal apartment to create at least a semblance of own room, the teenager fenced off the forging with a screen and read a lot. Already at the age of 13 he mastered, for example.

Surprisingly, Sasha did not turn out to be an excellent student at school. But the boy grew up very sociable and was always surrounded by friends. The list of interests was not limited to reading books, Men was interested in music and especially painting - he became a regular at the zoo, often coming to draw animals.

Already at the age of 12, Alexander realized that he wanted to devote his life to serving faith and God, and went to theological seminary. But the inspector sent the teenager home, telling him to come back when he reached adulthood. After school, the young man joined the ranks of students at the capital’s fur institute, from where, five years later, before final exams, he was expelled for his connection with the diocese. In the future, the man will graduate from Leningrad and Moscow seminaries, but in absentia.

Service

In the early summer of 1958, Alexander Men received the rank of deacon and two years later entered service in the Church of the Intercession Holy Mother of God. His spiritual career developed rapidly - soon the priest was appointed rector of the church in Alabino.

The building was in a deplorable state, having found a common language with the authorities, Men began restoration, and over time turned the house of worship into a small Christian community. However, four years later he was asked to leave Alabino; ​​his acquaintances helped him get a job as a second priest in the church of Tarasovka, a village not far from Moscow.

Another achievement of Father Alexander was the creation of a circle of clergy: pastors gathered together to discuss problems and looked for ways to improve Russian theology.

At the end of 1965, members of this association sent letters to Patriarch Alexy I and the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR about intervention statesmen in the affairs of the church. The event caused a sensation in Christian circles, and people started talking about Alexander Vladimirovich even abroad. Believers from all over Russia began to flock to Menu.

In Tarasovka, the priest continued to fulfill his mission, but more modestly, trying not to clash with the authorities. After death, the ranks of believers began to swell with young people, which was very pleasing. Popularity also gave rise to envious people - once the abbot wrote a denunciation against Alexander to the KGB.

It was not possible to leave the walls of this temple for another year; in 1970, as part of an exchange of clergy, Men ended up in Novaya Derevnya, where he served until the end of his life - first as a second priest, and nine years later as rector.

In the new place, Alexander Vladimirovich launched a vigorous activity. Thanks to the warm welcome of everyone who came into the church, the composition of the parishioners grew younger, the intelligentsia and many Muscovites appeared in the ranks. People respected the sociable and charismatic priest, firmly believed in the power of his prayer, many claimed to have been healed of long-term illnesses.

Men enjoyed visiting the homes of believers; each family was personally acquainted with Father Alexander - he baptized, gave communion, performed unction, and consecrated homes. This was the only way not to attract the attention of the authorities, because in the 80s major church activities were not encouraged.

Gradually, the Novoderevenskaya community was formed. Alexander Men divided it into small groups “based on interests” to make it easier to work. Some parishioners learned the basics of theology, others listened to sermons and prayed together, and others prepared for baptism.

The biography of Alexander Vladimirovich is filled with creativity. The archpriest is the author of a number of books on issues of faith. His debut work, “Son of Man,” was published in 1968, coming out of the presses of a Brussels printing house under a pseudonym. Men considers in the book, which emerged from conversations with neophytes, the path.

In creating it, the priest pursued the goal of telling young people and people in general just getting acquainted with the church, in accessible and living literary language, what Christ had to go through. For a decade the work remained in handwritten form, secretly moving from hand to hand.

The most important literary work was the six-volume “History of Religion” with a series called “In Search of the Way, Truth and Life,” which contains reflections on human religions and is a prelude to the New Testament. The story about people's spiritual quest was also published in Brussels.

From the pen of Alexander Vladimirovich also came the books “How to Read the Bible”, “Heaven on Earth”, an album with illustrations especially for children “Where does all this come from?” The latest global work was the “Bibliographical Dictionary”, which included almost 2 thousand terms.

However, not everyone assessed the priest’s activities positively. Alexander Men was criticized more than once, although he was not excommunicated from the church. The archpriest was accused of sympathy for Catholicism and views on the rapprochement and unification of individual Christian movements. Some theologians believed that literary works were not suitable for getting to know Orthodoxy. There were also those who called him a heretic, seeing in My worldview a lot of contradictions with Christian teaching. In fact, the books were banned by the church.

Personal life

Alexander Men was married to a Ukrainian woman, Natalya Grigorenko. In 1957, the couple had a daughter, Elena, who would become an icon painter in the future. And three years later, the family was replenished with an heir. Son Mikhail Men made a career in Russian politics, served as governor of the Ivanovo region, and in 2013 sat in the chair of the Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation.

The priest's house was always open to guests. Friends, parishioners and strangers gathered here to hear about God. Alexander Vladimirovich and his family lived modestly, but eyewitnesses say that the house was filled with inexplicable light and warmth, every thing had its place. The archpriest did not disdain to do housework when his wife Natalya Fedorovna was away, and personally prepared treats for the guests.

Father Alexander also went down in history as a philanthropist, the creator of the Mercy Group, which arose on the basis of a children's clinical hospital. This is one of the largest charity projects in Russia.

Death

Alexander Men died on September 9, 1990 at the hands of an unknown criminal. Early in the morning the priest went to church for the liturgy, but the path was blocked by a man who handed the archpriest a note.

While he was trying to read the message, the killer struck him on the head with an axe. Father Alexander returned home and fell dead at the gate. The murder was never solved.

Memory

• After the passing of Alexander Vladimirovich, the charity group at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital was named in his honor.
• At the site of the death of the archpriest, in Sergiev Posad, the Church of Sergius of Radonezh was built.
• Every year in Russia the scientific and theological conference “Meneva Readings” is held.

Movies:

• 1968 - “Love...”
• 1990 - “Berdyaev”
• 2007 - “Son of Man”
• 1991 - “The Cross of Father Alexander”
• 1998 - “The other day. 1990"
• 2005 - “The Murder of Alexander Me”
• 2012 - “Archpriest Alexander Men”

XX century was a difficult time for Russian Orthodoxy. The consistent atheistic policy of the Bolsheviks drove the Church almost underground.

But even this hard time there were people who were willing to diligently carry the Word of God.

Such a person was Alexander Vladimirovich Men.

The future missionary was born in Moscow into a Jewish family

Alexander Men was born this year

My biography, like others significant people, very interesting.

Alexander's father, Vladimir Grigorievich Men, was an engineer at a factory in Orekhov-Zuevo. His wife, Elena Semyonovna Tsuperfein, was a draftswoman. They got married in 1934, and on January 22, 1935, their first child was born, who was named Alexander.

Sasha was baptized by the rector of the church of St. Cyrus and John on Solyanka, Archimandrite Seraphim. He became the confessor and mentor of little Alexander. Before his death in 1942, he predicted that Alexander would become a great man in Orthodox Church.

At school, Alexander was interested in nature and painting

Mark Twain

Writer

I have never let schooling interfere with my education.

Sasha showed no enthusiasm for studying at school. Instead, he did a lot of the work himself. He read the works of the Church Fathers, studied astronomy and biology. I constantly went hiking. He studied in the drawing circle of the animal artist V.A. Vatagin in the Zoological Museum. He painted animals, painted icons.

He was actively interested in literature. From the age of 8 he wrote poetry, and later began writing essays about nature and history.

Men retained his love for nature throughout his life. “God gave us two books: the Bible and nature », ‒ he later said.

In the late 40s Men decided to become a priest

1943 was a turning point for all Soviet people. Fascist troops were defeated at Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge.

Another important event happened for the Orthodox. Stalin allowed the choice of a patriarch. The believers took heart.

This year Alexander Men joined the church

In the 40s in Moscow, the secret Boris Aleksandrovich Vasiliev organized an underground circle. In his apartment, he organized lectures on culture and religion, discussed with like-minded people Holy Bible. The circle included Alexander’s mother, Elena Semyonovna. She brought her son to Vasiliev.

In 1948, Alexander decided to become a priest. He began serving at the altar of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Krasnaya Presnya.

At the institute, Alexander is preparing to serve God

the year Alexander entered the hunting department of the Moscow Fur Institute

Despite his preparation and desire to enter the Theological Academy, Alexander decided to get a secular specialty. In 1953, he entered the hunting department of the Moscow Fur Institute.

Men recalled his years of study at the university with pleasure. During his studies, he thoroughly mastered philosophy, read Spinoza, Descartes, Leibniz. I read Orthodox philosophers: Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdyaev, Lossky. The main authority for Alexander was the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.

At the same time, Men began his conscious writing activity. He writes two books on church history: the first volume is “ Ancient church"he will finish in 1956, the second - "The Middle Ages" - in 1957.

At the institute, Men married Natalya Fedorovna Grigorenko.

The student’s passion for Orthodoxy did not go unnoticed, especially since a new round of theomachism began in the late 50s. In 1958, Alexander was expelled from the university right before the state exams.

After his ordination, Men continued to write books

the year when Alexander Men begins priestly life

Expulsion from the university returned Alexander to his intended path. On June 1, 1958, he was ordained a deacon, and on September 1, 1960, after graduating from the correspondence department of the Leningrad Theological Seminary, Bishop Stefan ordained Me to the priesthood.

After my ordination, My views were finally formed. He took the position of ecumenism and adhered to these views throughout his life.

Ecumenism

the doctrine of the unity of Christian churches, which was adhered to by Alexander Men

The year 1959 was significant both for Alexander himself and for theoretical theology. He completed one of his most important works, the book about Christ “Son of Man.” In March 1959, it began to be published in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate.

After his ordination, Alexander was sent to the village of Alabino, 50 km from Moscow. Here he will stay until 1964.

In 1960, he began writing “The History of Religions.” He wrote the volumes “The Origins of Religion”, “Magism and Monotheism” and “At the Gates of Silence”. At the same time, he does not stop his journalistic activities; he actively writes articles for the Journal.

In 1964 he was transferred to Tarasovka, where he wrote the 4th volume and revised the first three. He is writing a book about Orthodox worship, called “Sacrament, Word and Image.” At the same time, he came under the hood of the KGB.

Since 1969, the publication of “History of Religions” began in Brussels. Throughout the USSR, his books were published independently.

In the 60s he organized underground circles

The conquest of space gave a new impetus to anti-religious propaganda. Believers were prohibited from meeting. In response, Men began to organize circles for Christians, where they could study the Scriptures, pray, and strengthen their faith. The circles were called “small groups”.

In Novaya Derevnya, Alexander developed as a shepherd

In 1970 I was transferred to the Sretensky Church in Pushkin. Here he continues to complete the “History of Religions”, writes a textbook for the Theological Academy: “The experience of presenting the foundations of the Old Testament isagogy in the light of the works of the Russian biblical-historical school and the latest research”, compiles a “Dictionary of Bibliology” - a work about people who devoted themselves to the study of the Holy Scriptures .

He conducts educational work: people from neighboring parishes come to his services, people come from different cities to listen to his sermons.

By the mid-1980s, Alexander Men had wide fame as an author, preacher and theologian. His books were analyzed for quotes.

At the same time, fears grew that the “authorities” would take him seriously. The tension grew. It is not known how it would have ended, but in 1985 perestroika broke out.

The first public lecture on Christianity was given by Alexander Menu

1988 ‒ Men gave a lecture at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys

Gorbachev loosened control over the church. It became possible to preach openly. The hierarchs of the Orthodox Church issued a carte blanche menu for any missionary activity.

I read the first one public lecture. The wall separating people from Orthodoxy has been broken through

Before his death, in two years he gave more than two hundred lectures on a variety of topics. Father Alexander knew how to find a language with any audience.

The priest was killed on the way to the temple. The killers were never found

Active missionary activity caused discontent in various circles. Threats rained down on Father Alexander.

On the morning of September 9, 1990, Father Alexander was rushing to church service in the village of Semkhoz. But the parishioners did not wait for their shepherd.

On the way, Alexander was attacked from behind and hit several times with an axe. Bleeding, he was able to walk home. He fell near the gate and never got up again.

Alexander Men was killed by unknown persons

The murder of a prominent figure in the Orthodox Church caused a lot of noise. The investigation into the case was taken under the highest control, but the killers were never found.

The most popular version is that the KGB was involved in My death.

Theologians evaluate my views ambiguously

Evaluators of Alexander Me’s activities were divided into two camps.

The first camp is based on the general benefit of missionary activity and guiding people towards the path of Christianity. Patriarch Alexy II was in this camp.

The second camp analyzes the very essence of the teaching that Alexander carried as a priest. Deacon Andrey Kuraev in the article “Alexander Men: the lost missionary.” wrote that Men, trying to adapt to the audience, did not notice how he began to convey not what was needed, but what specific listeners wanted to hear: healers, occultists, etc.:

Daniil Sysoev

In general, I have not met a person whom I would lead to the true Christ, as the Church knows Him.

One of the theoretical positions of Manichaeism is the complicity of the devil in the creation of the world

Despite widespread criticism, Alexander Men was not excommunicated. The statements that Father Alexander is a heretic, although they were harsh, were not confirmed at the official level.

Syncretism is the combination of several teachings into one.

The question of his “heresy” arose only after his death, in the mid-nineties and early 2000s. By this time the church had already grown stronger. During a general crisis Orthodox faith All sorts of preachers were needed, and one could turn a blind eye to their peculiar views. When the church got on its feet, people like Men were no longer needed. All his “sins” were remembered to him, fortunately he could no longer answer the accusations.

Now there is the Archpriest Alexander Men Foundation. It preserves and disseminates the legacy of the outstanding Orthodox missionary of the 20th century.

IN last years existence of the USSR, the name of Alexander Me was heard even by people far from religion. He was the spiritual mentor of many Soviet-era dissidents, and he himself was accused of heresy. The tragic death of Fr. Alexandra still remains a mystery.

The parents of one of the most famous modern Orthodox theologians were raised in the traditions of Judaism. His father, Vladimir Georgievich (Wolf Gersh-Leibovich), was born in Kyiv and received an initial religious education, but throughout his subsequent life he was far from religion. He graduated from two higher educational institutions and at one time he was the chief engineer of the Orekhovo-Zuevskaya weaving factory. Alexander Men's mother, Elena Semyonovna Tsuperfein, came from an intelligent family, was born in Bern and lived abroad for a long time as a child. However, while still a student at the gymnasium, she showed interest in Orthodoxy and even attended lessons in the Law of God. Alexander Men was born in Moscow on January 22, 1935. When the boy was six months old, his mother and him were baptized in the True Orthodox (Catacomb) Church, which did not recognize the supremacy of the Moscow Patriarchate and was illegal. Elena Men strictly fulfilled Orthodox rituals, although in those days this could lead to dire consequences. However, the family was unable to avoid reprisals - in 1941, Wolf Men was arrested and then sent to work in the Urals.

Opportunities to get higher education for the son of a repressed person were not too high. Alexander attended a children's biology club, and then entered the hunting department of the Moscow Fur Institute. There he met the student

a member of the merchandising faculty, Natalya Grigorenko, who later became his wife and reliable assistant in all matters. According to Natalya Fedorovna’s recollections, Alik Men was very different from all the students both in appearance and in behavior. He wore boots, riding breeches and a wide-brimmed hat, grew a thick black beard, and always carried a Bible in his unchanged bag over his shoulder (which few knew about). Grigorenko’s family was not religious (although the girl’s mother sang in a church choir, for which she got into trouble more than once), but they accepted Alexander’s views and his plans to become a priest with understanding. In 1956, the wedding took place, and in 1958, a few months before graduation, Alexander was expelled from the institute for his religious beliefs.

After being expelled, Men was ordained a deacon and entered the extramural Leningrad Theological Seminary. After graduation, he served as a priest in churches near Moscow, then entered the correspondence department of the Moscow Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1965. Despite the negative attitude towards believers in those years, Alexander’s family, who lived in the village of Semkhoz near Moscow, was open to communication with people and tolerant of other views and confessions. Outside the temple, they wore ordinary clothes, and Natalya Fedorovna even wore a trouser suit, provocative for that time. Prominent representatives of the intelligentsia often visited My house, and many of them

They were baptized under the influence of Father Alexander. In 1969, Alexander Men defended his PhD thesis on the study of monotheism in pre-Christian beliefs.

Father Alexander’s worldview was formed under the influence of such authorities of Orthodox thought as V.S. Soloviev, N.A. Berdyaev, O.P. Florensky and others. He deeply studied the works of Catholic theologians, especially appreciated Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Since his studies at the theological seminary, Alexander Men has been published in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, and took part in the translation and preparation for publication of the works of Francis de Sales. However, My first literary works were born in the tradition of samizdat, which was popular in those days, and were subsequently published abroad. In 1969, Father Alexander’s first book, “The Son of Man,” was published, which examined the history of the formation of monotheism in pre-Christian cults. In 1970, his fundamental work, the seven-volume History of Religion, began to be published. Among other works of Alexander Men are “Bibliological Dictionary”, “Isagogy”, interpretation of the Apocalypse and other works. Many of them provoked sharp criticism from prominent figures of the Orthodox Church. Alexander Men's views on the common origins of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, his attitude to the ideas of ecumenism, the theory of evolution and much more were especially condemned. Father Alexander was directly accused

whether in heresy, flirting with the occult, Catholic proselytism, and even listed reasons for his excommunication. Similar accusations were made against me from catholic church.

In the early eighties, Alexander Men got the opportunity to openly publish his works and speak to a wide audience. He took part in the creation of the Bible World magazine, founded the Public Orthodox University and the Russian Bible Society, the Mercy Group charity foundation at the children's clinical hospital, spoke in student clubs and even in the society of psychics, attracting further waves of criticism. It is difficult to say from whom came the threats that the priest began to receive regularly. However, on September 9, 1990, on the way from his home to the morning service, Father Alexander was attacked by two unknown assailants, one of whom inflicted fatal wounds on him. To investigate the case, a special group was created, headed by the most authoritative Lieutenant General Panin, but before today it remains undisclosed. Natalya Fedorovna Men-Grigorenko is currently the headman of one of the churches near Moscow and the founder charitable foundation named after Alexander Men. Alexander's father's daughter, Elena, is engaged in icon painting, his son Mikhail is a prominent politician, currently holding the post of Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation