Father Alexander Men (1935 - 1990)

Father Alexander Men

Father Alexander Men (1935 - 1990, also known as Aleksandr Men ru: Александр Мень, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Men) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, biblical scholar and writer. Men wrote many books, founded an Orthodox Open University, a charity group at the Russian Children's Hospital, and a youth missionary school. He was murdered on 9 September 1990 with an ax in a forest on his way to church. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... 1935(MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the Temptations album, see 1990 (Temptations album) MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... 1935(MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the Temptations album, see 1990 (Temptations album) MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... For the Temptations album, see 1990 (Temptations album) MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...

Biography

Men was born in Moscow, and baptized at seven months along with his mother in the banned Catacomb Church, a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church that refused to cooperate with the Soviet authorities. Men was expelled from college in 1958 due to his religious beliefs, and in 1960 was ordained a priest upon graduating from the Leningrad Theological Seminary. Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: listen â–¶(?)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, and Sikhism, and has its origins with the Jewish ritual of mikvah. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Soviet redirects here. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ...

Men trained as a priest, and became a leader with considerable influence and a good reputation among Christians both locally and abroad, among Roman Catholics and Protestants, as well as Orthodox. Starting in the early 1970s, Men became a popular figure in Russia's religious community, especially amongst the intelligentsia. Men was persecuted by the KGB for his active missionary activity and ecumenical views. In the mid-1980s, he started working actively with the mass media, teaching and lecturing. Men was one of the founders of the Russian Bible Society in 1990; that same year he founded the Open Orthodox University and "The World of the Bible" journal. The Catholic Church, known also as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Christian Church whose visible head is the Pope, currently Benedict XVI. It teaches that it is the one holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ, and that the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed... Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from within the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... The intelligentsia (from Latin: intelligentia) is a social class of intellectuals and social groups close to them (e. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГB) is the Russian-language acronym for the Committee for State Security, (Russian: Комите́т Госуда́рственной Безопа́сности ▶(?); transliteration: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), and was the umbrella organisation name for (i) the principal Soviet internal Security Agency, (ii) the principal intelligence agency, and... A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... The word ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) (IPA: ) is derived from the Greek oikoumene, which means the inhabited world. The term is usually used with regard to movements toward religious unity. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... The Open Orthodox University is a Russian theological educational institution founded by Fr. ...

On September 9th, 1990, he was killed while walking from his home in a small Russian village by an unknown assailant carrying an ax. The use of an ax indicated a possible revenge motive. Despite personal orders from the Soviet and later the Russian government that the case be further investigated, the murder remains unsolved. His funeral was held on the day commemorating the beheading of John the Baptist. September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 1449 John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer or Yahya the Baptizer) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ...

Since his death, Men has continued to be a controversial figure. He is often attacked for his Jewish heritage and accused him of various heresies that his books are believed to promote. However, most of the focus on Men has been positive. His books are currently being published freely in Russia (during his lifetime, they had to be printed abroad), and many Russian Orthodox parishes follow his teachings. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

External links

• http://home.earthlink.net/~amenpage/
• Slidefilm by Sergei Bessmertny - English version (32.3Mb)
• http://www.alexandrmen.ru/
• http://www.educenter.sitek.ru/photos.html
• http://www.roca.org/OA/103/103d.htm
• http://stmichaelruscath.org/spiritual/alexmen/
• http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/09/daily-09-09-2002.shtml

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Alexander Men