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€OXE’S TRAVELS IN RUSSIA 587
September 10. This day being facred to Alexander Neviki, a faint highly revered
by the Ruffians, and in whofe honour an order of knighthood was inflituted by Peter
the Great, was kept with great folemnity. Service was performed in the principal
churches of Mofcow with all the pageantry peculiar to the Greek religion, and the Go-
vernor of the province gave a fplendid entertainment, to which the principal nobility
and clergy were invited.
Alexander Neviki, a name more refpectable than moft of the faints who fill the Ruf
fian calendar, was fon of the Great Duke Yaroflaf, and flourifhed in the beginning of
the 13th century, at a period when his country was reduced to the utmoft extremity by
a combination of formidable enemies. He repulfed an army of Swedes and Teutonic
knights, and wounded the King of Sweden with his own hand on the bank of the
Neva, from whence he obtained the appellation of Neviki. He defeated the Tartars in
feveral engagements, and delivered his country from a difgraceful tribute impofed by the
fucceflors of Zinghis Khan. His life feems to have been almoft one continued fcene of
action; and he performed fuch almoft incredible aéts of valour, as induced an ignorant
and fuperftitious peopie to confider him as a fuperior being, and confecrate his memory.
He died about the year 1262, at Gorodetz, near Nifhnei Novogorod. The great fupe-
riority of his character was evinced, as well by victories which diftinguifhed the Ruflian
arms during his life, as by the numerous defeats which immediately took place on his
deceafe.
The morning of this anniverfary was ufhered in by the ringing of bells uncommonly
loud; inceflant peals refounded in every quarter of the city, but more particularly in
the Kremlin, which contains the principal churches and the largeft bells. At eleven
we paid our refpeéts to Prince Volkonfki, who, as governor of the province of Mofcow,
had a levee: he wore the red ribbon of the order of St. Alexander, and received the
compliments of the principal nobility and gentry. From the levee we repaired to the
cathedral of St. Michael, and were prefent at high mafs, performed by the Arch-
bifhop of Roftof. The church being filled with an immenfe concourfe of people, we
could ‘not, without the utmoft difficulty, penetrate to the bottom of the fteps leading to
the fhrine, from which the bifhop occafionally came forth to addrefs the congregation.
The confufion arifing from the croud, and the rapid fucceflion of various ceremonies,
diftra€ted our attention, and rendered us incapable of difcriminating the different parts
of the fervice. We could only obferve in general a great difplay of pomp ard fplen-
dour, and many ceremonies fimilar to thofe defcribed on a former occafion, with the
addition of others appropriated to the greater feftivals of the Ruffian church.
At the conclufion of the fervice, which lafted two hours, we returned to Prince Vol-
konfki’s, where ninety perfons were aflembled at an entertainment given in honour of
the day: when the Archbifhop of Roftof entered the room, the Prince met him at
the door, and kiffed his hand after the Prelate had made the fign of. the crofs;
he paid the fame mark of refpect to two other bifhops, and the greater part of the
company fucceflively followed the Prince’s example. Being prefented to the Arch-
bifhop, { held a long converfation with him in the latin tongue, which he {poke with
great fluency. He appeared to be fenfible, well informed, and verfed in various branches
of literature : he had perufed the works of feveral of our beft divines, cither originally
written, or tranflated into Latin, and mentioned their compofitions with much approba-
tion. I troubled him with feveral queftions relative to the fervice of the Ruffian church,
which he anfwered with great readinefs and condefcenfion. The bible, he faid, is
tranilated into Sclavonian, the liturgy is written in that language, which is the mother
Ae 1a be tongue
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