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Samara saints of God: Hieromartyr Alexander (Trapitsyn), Archbishop of Samaratranslated

August 9, 2026 · 1 min read

We continue the series of publications dedicated to the ascetics of the Samara land, whose memory is reverently honored on the eve of the celebration of the Council of Samara Saints on August 12. Today's story is dedicated to the archpastor, whose life path became an example of unshakable faith, courage and fidelity to the Church in an era of cruel trials - Hieromartyr Alexander (Trapitsyn). The future saint was born in 1862 in the Vyatka province into a large family of a deacon and, after graduating from the Kazan Theological Academy, received holy orders. After the early death of his wife, Father Alexander chose the path of pure church service and took monastic vows in 1900. Over the years of zealous labors, he bore the obedience of the rector of the Kaluga Theological Seminary, and in 1904 in St. Petersburg he was consecrated Bishop of Murom. At all places of his ministry, including the Vladimir and Vologda departments, the bishop paid great attention to spiritual education, parish schools and the reform of parish life for the sake of uniting the believers.

In 1917, he took an active part in the work of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, and in 1919 he courageously spoke out against the blasphemous actions of the atheistic authorities...

Source: Site: Самарская епархия · Read the full story →

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Marija Savić

Thank God that Bishop Aleksandar was still active at the Regional Assembly in 1917, and after that he was not afraid to publicly stand against the blasphemy of churches. Here in Serbia, we know little about the martyrs of Samara, so I'm glad that you reminded me of him. Will there be more texts about him and the other saints of Samara before the holiday on August 12?

Світлана Коваленко

Such stories always remind us how important it was for Bishop Oleksandr to have parish schools and the rallying of people around the church. Many of our priests in Kharkiv tried to keep the parishes together in those days, even to the point of arrests. Thank you for the text, I will wait for the next ones about Samara saints.

Petru Barbu

Yes, here in Sibiu, too, the old priests used to tell how the bishops of that time cared deeply about the parochial schools so that the world would not be lost. I was impressed that he attended the Council of 1917 and then was not afraid to speak out against mockery. Will there be another article about how he got to Samara?