Venerable Alexis the Man of God | Gold and Silver foiled icon lithography mounted on wood | Size: 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Saint Alexis was born at Rome into the family of the pious and poverty-loving Euphemianus and Aglais. The couple was childless for a long time and constantly prayed the Lord to grant them a child. And the Lord consoled the couple with the birth of their son Alexis.

At six years of age the child began to read and successfully studied the mundane sciences, but it was with particular diligence that he read Holy Scripture. When he was a young man, he began to imitate his parents: he fasted strictly, distributed alms and beneath his fine clothing he secretly wore a hair shirt. Early on there burned within him the desire to leave the world and serve God. His parents, however, had arranged for Alexis to marry a beautiful and virtuous bride.

The venerable relics of Saint Alexis, the Man of God, were buried in the church of Saint Boniface. The relics were uncovered in the year 1216.

The Life of Saint Alexis, the Man of God, was always very popular in Russia.