Alexander Hotovitzky (or Hotovitsky ) (1872-1937) was a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Hieromartyrs do not constitute a special rank of saint and are commemorated at the Divine Liturgy toge ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

hood while working in the United States in the 1890s. He was ordered back to Europe in 1914, where we worked as a vicar in

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and

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Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, then a part of imperial Russia. In 1917 he was assigned to Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

he was arrested multiple times and exiled. He was executed during the

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on August 19, 1937. His

glorification Glorification may have several meanings in Christianity. From the Catholic canonization to the similar sainthood of the Eastern Orthodox Church to salvation in Christianity in Protestant beliefs, the glorification of the human condition can be ...

is celebrated on 21 November in the Church Calendar, December 4 in the Civil Calendar.

Early life and education

Alexander Hotovitzky was born on February 11, 1872, in the city of

Kremenets Kremenets (, ; ; ) is a city in Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion, and lies north-east of the Pochaiv Lavra. The city is situated in the historic region of Volhynia and features the 12th-c ...

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

(now

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). His father, Alexander, was a priest who was the rector of the Volhynia Theological

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. Hotovitzky was educated at the Volhynia Seminary before entering the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.

Work in the United States

Upon graduation from the academy in 1895 with a master's degree he was sent to the Diocese of the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, larger volcanic island ...

and

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as a lay missionary and as reader at the St. Nicholas Church in

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. He was

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

after his marriage to Maria Scherbuhina, who was a graduate of the Pavlosk Institute of St. Petersburg.

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Nicholas Ziorov ordained Hotovitzky to the

hood on February 25, 1896, at the diocesan

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."New-Hieromartyr Alexander Alexandrovich (Hotovitsky)", Holy Trinity Cathedral
/ref> A week later he returned to New York to become the pastor of St. Nicholas Church. During the ensuing years, Hotovitzky was successful in his missionary activities among the immigrants from Galicia and Carpatho-Russia, as well as representing the Orthodox Church before American religious institutions and meetings. He was instrumental in the establishment of many new Orthodox

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es, including those in

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, and Watervliet. He edited the journal of Orthodox activity, the '' American Orthodox Messenger''. He actively participated in establishing an Orthodox mutual aid society (ROCMAS), including serving in various management positions. Through his initiative and active participation, a new St. Nicholas Cathedral was built to replace the small parish church in New York City. He traveled throughout the United States, and even to Russia, soliciting funds for its construction. Tzar Nicholas contributed 5,000

ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...

s. In 1903, the new edifice became the diocesan cathedral. The treaty to end the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

was negotiated and signed in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

. Hotovitzky was among the Orthodox clergy who traveled to Portsmouth for the occasion, where a service of Thanksgiving was held in Christ Church. Hotovitzky sang a solemn "

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

" with choristers from St. Nicholas Cathedral. He served in America for eighteen years under Bishop

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

; the future

Patriarch of Moscow The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the ordinary of the diocese ...

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; and Archbishop Platon; the now

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

Alexander was recalled to Russia on February 26, 1914.

Russia and martyrdom

After his arrival in the Russian Empire, Hotovitzky was appointed rector of the Orthodox congregation in Helsinki; then a part of the Russian Empire, now Finland. Here, as assistant to the archbishop of Finland, Sergius (Stragorodsky), later

Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow Patriarch Sergius (; born Ivan Nikolayevich Stragorodsky, Иван Николаевич Страгородский; – May 15, 1944) was the 12th Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus', from September 8, 1943 until his death on May 15, 1944. He ...

, he worked against the proselytizing activities of the Finnish

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

majority. In August 1917 he was transferred to Christ the Savior Church in Moscow as an assistant priest to once again serve under his old archpastor from America,

Patriarch Tikhon Tikhon of Moscow (, – ), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 ( OS) he was selected the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, after a period of about 200 years of the ...

. He arrived just before the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918 and the

. He was an active participant in the Church Council and assisted Tikhon in the administration of the Moscow diocese. With the loss of state funding, the church and the cathedral had to look to other sources of funds. Hotovitzky's activities within the church led to his arrest by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

for brief periods in May 1920 and November 1921 for violating government decrees concerning religion. Hotovitzky, with Nicholas Arseniev, the rector of Christ the Savior Cathedral, aided the establishment of a brotherhood that appealed to the Orthodox community to defend and preserve the Cathedral, and to aid the starving. In 1922, Church property, including

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s and sacred vessels, were confiscated by the government, allegedly to help the poor and starving. Tikhon issued a decree based on

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

that the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in Russia were not to surrender sacred vessels for non-ecclesiastical use. Hotovitzky was in the forefront of those who implemented the Patriarch's instructions. He took part in meetings to draft a resolution for a general parish meeting of Christ the Savior parish about the state decrees. This resolution, drafted by Hotovitzky, was presented at a general meeting of the parish by Archpriest Nicholas Arseniev on March 23, 1922. Hotovitzky had already been placed under arrest. The final resolution contained demands of guarantees from the state that all donations from the church would be used to alleviate hunger. However, the drafting of this resolution was considered a further example of counter-revolutionary activity. A new high-visibility trial was convened in Moscow on November 27, 1922, during which 105 clergy and

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

were accused of "attempting to retain in their hands possession of church valuables and, through the resulting starvation, to topple the Soviet Regime." In this trial the state prosecution portrayed Hotovitzky as a central figure in the activities surrounding the preparation of the resolution. Under questioning, Hotovitzky did not admit to wrongdoing and tried to protect the other defendants. In his final words as a defendant, Hotovitzky defended the meeting as an ordinary meeting without any counter-revolutionary intent. On December 13, 1922, the verdicts were announced. The penalties were milder than earlier verdicts. Hotovitzky and two others were given ten-year sentences in prison, loss of their personal property, and loss of civil rights for five years. The others were given lesser sentences, but appeals for pardons were turned down by the Supreme Central Executive Committee on February 16, 1923. In October 1923, Hotovitzky and others were granted amnesty. Hotovitzky was not assigned to a parish but served by invitation in Moscow churches. On September 4, 1924, the

State Political Directorate The State Political Directorate (), abbreviated as GPU (), was the secret police of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from February 1922 to November 1923. It was the immediate successor of the Cheka, and was replaced by the Joint ...

recommended administrative exile of thirteen clergy and church leaders, including Hotovitzky. After further interrogation, Hotovitzky was exiled to the northern

Turukhan The Turukhan () is a river in northern Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. It is a southeast-flowing left tributary of the Yenisey. The river is long. The area of its basin is . The Turukhan freezes up in October and stays under the ice until late May ...

region of

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for three years. After his return from exile, he was elevated to the rank of

protopresbyter A ''protoiereus'' (from , "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας), or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a larger church. The title is roughly equiv ...

and was assigned as an assistant to the Deputy Locum-Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Sergius. In the 1930s, he went on to serve as rector of the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. In the summer of 1937, Hotovitzky was again arrested. He was sentenced to death and shot on August 19, 1937. Hotovitzky is buried in

Donskoye Cemetery The New Donskoy Cemetery (Новое Донское кладбище) is a 20th-century necropolis sprawling to the south from the Donskoy Monastery in the south-west of Central Moscow. It has been closed for new burials since the 1980s. Histo ...

in Moscow.

Legacy

The crypt chapel of the

Uspenski Cathedral Uspenski Cathedral (, ) is a Eastern Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, and main cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Its name ...

in Helsinki is today named after him. The City of Jersey City, New Jersey designated a one-block portion of Grand Street in front of the Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Cathedral as Saint Alexander Hotovitzky Way.

Veneration

Hotovitsky is celebrated in the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches on December 4.Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
/ref>

References

Sources

* Alexis Liberovsky, Ed.,
The Life of Saint Alexander Hotovitzky, New Hieromartyr of Russia, Missionary to America
', Alive in Christ, 1995-2, (Fall 1995). P. 11—15

External links

Icon of St. Alexander Hotovitzky
including "Speech Delivered at the Ordination of Priest Alexander Hotovitsky"

including photograph
Russian priest present for signing of Portsmouth treaty

Хотовицкий Александр Александрович, St. Tikhon's University database of new martyrs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotovitzky, Alexander 1872 births American saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Russian Christian missionaries Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox priests in the United States Russian Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 1937 deaths Eastern Orthodox missionaries Christian missionaries in the United States Great Purge victims from Ukraine Saint Petersburg Theological Academy alumni