Archpriest Vasily Alexandrov, rector of the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the village of Lytkarino, departed to the Lord on May 13, 2020.

He and Matushka Julia raised five children together, and now this family is in need of our help.

Everything changed considerably after Fr. Vasily died. Matushka’s salary at the factory where she works is meager, and even with the payments and pensions from the state, it’s not enough.

She now has to take care of four children, three of them minors, all by herself. The whole family lives in a small, two-room apartment; finding better housing conditions is totally out of the question for them at this point. Their task now is simply to survive and give the children an education.

The eldest son recently returned from the army. He wants to continue his education as well, though this requires considerable funds and he has no job. Only the eldest daughter lives elsewhere, with her own family and young son. Unfortunately, they are unable to help Matushka Julia because they themselves only just began their life together.

In the spring of 2016, Fr. Vasily suddenly fell ill. His kidneys were failing, though the doctors were unable to determine the cause before he died. His health began to deteriorate in August 2016, as his chronic kidney failure progressed, and it became clear that Father needed to regularly undergo hemodialysis and subsequently a kidney transplant.

The disease caused unimaginable suffering, but Father did everything he could to live a little longer and serve his flock. He hid his pain and loss of strength, not thinking about himself at all. He was mainly worried that his death would be a catastrophe for his children and his beloved wife, so he spared them as much as he could.

Despite his serious illness, Father bravely continued his priestly ministry. On April 20, 2020, on the eve of his 45th birthday, he served his final Divine Liturgy.

It’s terrible to imagine what grief the whole family was going through as Matushka began to prepare the children for the worst. Although the children knew all about their father’s terrible illness, they took the news of his death very hard, especially the younger girls.

Vasily Vladimirovich Alexandrov was born to a simple working family in Lytkarino on April 21, 1975.

His parents weren’t religious, and Vasily first went to church together with a friend in 1992, when the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was opened in Lytkarino. No one knew then that the young man was destined to be the rector of the church. He even met his future spouse, Julia, in the same church. They became friends and grew to be quite fond of one another.

On January 28, 1996, Vasily and Julia were married in their native Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. He started studying at Kolomna Theological Seminary that year, finally choosing his path of service to God and the Church.

Matushka fully agreed with his choice, although she understood that it would be difficult. From the first day of their marriage to the very last day of Fr. Vasily’s life on earth, Matushka was his faithful companion and assistant. The Lord granted them a happy life and five beautiful children.

Fr. Vasily was appointed to the clergy of Holy Trinity Church in the city of Lyubertsy.

In 2000, Fr. Vasily graduated from Kolomna Seminary. By that time, the family already had two children—Elizaveta and Stephen, born in 1998 and 1999.

In 2003, another daughter, Anna, was born, and a year later—Maria. Life was not easy for this family with four small daughters, but they coped, trusting in God.

Father was always busy with the services and an ever-increasing number of public and social duties, but this good shepherd bore all of this according to the dictates of his heart. Matushka always took the children to church, to Communion, and she helped Fr. Vasily with all his endeavors in the parish.

They lived modestly, thinking about the material aspects of life last of all. First came fervent faith and service. All of Fr. Vasily’s parishioners loved him very much for his warm openness and wonderful sociability.

In 2005, Fr. Vasily was appointed rector of the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Lytkarino, where he diligently served for almost fifteen years, combining his parish duties with raising his children, including his fifth daughter, who was born in 2009. He devoted all of his free time to his children.