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Mihael AlabovskiyChairman of the Kyiv department of the Union of the Russian People (URP).
Date of Birth: 09.01.1874
Country:  Russia |
Content:
- Mikhail Alabovsky: A Servant of the Church and Defender of the Faith
- Priestly Ministry
- Monarchist Movement
- Defender of the Orthodox Faith
- Later Years and Martyrdom
Mikhail Alabovsky: A Servant of the Church and Defender of the Faith
Early Life and EducationMikhail Vasilyevich Alabovsky was born into a poor family in the village of Sayukino, Tambov Governorate. His father was a deacon and his mother a psalmist's daughter. From 1883 to 1887, Alabovsky attended the Tambov Theological School, and from 1887 to 1893, he studied at the Tambov Theological Seminary, receiving financial assistance from the Council of Trustees for Poor Scholars.
In 1893, Alabovsky enrolled in the Kiev Theological Academy, where he became a member of the Kiev Society for the Dissemination of Religious and Moral Enlightenment in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church (KREO).
Priestly Ministry
On January 1, 1898, Alabovsky was appointed teacher at the one-room Alexandrov-Nikolaevskaya School at the newly established Makaryevsky Yurkovetskaya Church. On March 10, 1899, he was ordained a priest and became the rector of the Makaryevsky Yurkovetskaya Church, where he served until 1907.
During his tenure at the church, Alabovsky established the Holy Makaryevsky Parish Brotherhood to promote Orthodox Christian faith, support the needy, and enhance parish life. He also expanded the church-parish school and organized public readings on Russian history.
Monarchist Movement
Amidst the turmoil of the 1905-07 Revolution, Alabovsky actively participated in the monarchist movement. He joined the Russian Assembly at the invitation of its chairman, Prince Dmitry Golicyn. In 1906, he was nominated as a candidate for the Kyiv City Council from the Kyiv Monarchist Party.
The Holy Makaryevsky Brotherhood, under Alabovsky's leadership, played a socially and politically active role. In 1907, the brotherhood passed a resolution reaffirming their support for the Orthodox Church, the Tsar, and an undivided Russia.
Defender of the Orthodox Faith
Throughout his life, Alabovsky championed the cause of Orthodox Christianity. He believed that parish life was central to the spiritual and moral health of Russian society. In 1910, he argued that parishes should be the primary unit of public assistance, since they were best equipped to discern between genuine poverty and professional beggary.
He also advocated for the inclusion of non-Orthodox believers in parish councils, emphasizing the Church's traditional tolerance towards other faiths.
Later Years and Martyrdom
In 1907, Alabovsky was appointed chaplain of the Fundukleevskaya Women's Gymnasium and later of its chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. As a member of the Kyiv branch of the Union of the Russian People, he became its chairman in 1915.
During World War I, Alabovsky served as chaplain of the Nikolaevsky Artillery School. In 1915, he participated in the Petrograd Conference, where he was elected a member of the Council of Monarchist Congresses.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Alabovsky continued to minister to the Orthodox faithful in the Kyiv area. In October 1937, he was arrested by the NKVD for opposing the closure of a church in the town of Irpen. He was executed shortly after.
In 1981, Alabovsky was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as one of the New Martyrs of Russia.
