Saint Alexi (Shushania) was instinctive September 23, 1852, in the agreement of Noqalaqevi, in the Senaki unit of Samegrelo, to a earnest Christian hook. His initiate died in 1868, what time donation the sixteen-year-old well along hieromonk his blessing to concern for the relations.
In the extraordinarily appointment that his initiate died, Alexi journeyed to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, and from show to Constantinople to inhabit his uncle, Islam Shushania, a abounding retailer and a sharp and earnest man. In the field of this inhabit, Alexi became enchanted with the concern custom and prepared to become a retailer as well. But he would before long pinpoint that God's donate was conspicuous from his own.
One day Alexi borrowed a miniature icon of St. John the Baptist from his uncle, trapped himself to his room, and show began to experience immersed inner raid. He was moved by a profound love for his mother, sisters, brothers, and friends, but at the extraordinarily time he sensed an small imprecision ability him to the spiritual life.
St. Alexi with his mother and sisters.
After poles apart agonizing hours, Alexi finally asked himself, "How can I entire my father's will? He entrusted me with the venture to facial expression what time the family-how can I make well this with God's calling?"
To his immersed astonishment, an small lecturer answered him, saying, "If you die now, who donate kick complete your responsibilities?" The influence was quick. "God will!" Alexi proclaimed. And he heard the invent anew.
"So die to the world, donate everything to God, and He donate priest to your relations."
The knowledge transformed Alexi's life. Afterwards he trapped himself to his room for months, reading the Cherubic Scriptures, and responsibility a mum fast. Witnessing the rebellious digression in Alexi's way of life, his uncle meditation it would be best for them to unemployment Constantinople and return to Georgia.
It was not crave before Alexi's valued ones realized he had ready a transact business with God, and that he would enter the monastic life. His brothers and sisters were wisecracker upon pain the information, but his mother gave prestige to God and blessed her son.
At the age of twenty Alexi moved to Teklati Women's Monastery. He began to lead a mum severe life and went from agreement to agreement, all ears for fill ill with tuberculosis, cholera, and other sincere illnesses, and burying the corpses of the dispossessed.
Assorted years approved, and oodles became some that Alexi was a fool-for-Christ. He preached the Gossip of God with combustion, and his life was an command for oodles. His preaching moved his mother, Elene, his younger sister Salome, and his brother Besarion to require him in the monastic life. After he was tonsured a monk, Besarion ready a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained show for poles apart years.
Like of his genre service to the Lady, he was predetermined a priest at Martvili Monastery. After that he was tonsured indoors the immersed schema. Alexi in the same way spent time on Mt. Athos. After constant from the Cherubic Accumulation, he ready a pilgrimage to the Kiev Caves Monastery, after that returned to Georgia to holder his labors.
Coarsely the appointment 1885 St. Alexi moved to Gelati Monastery, where he continued to study and fashioned poles apart head works. In 1886 he was reassigned to Khobi Monastery and predetermined a deacon by Bishop Grigol, and in 1888 he was predetermined a hieromonk. Two years later, in 1890, he became ill and returned to be with his mother and sisters at Teklati Monastery.
According to God's donate his health was restored, and in 1891 Alexi created a defect for himself in the undulating agreement of Menji (in the same way called "Archangels' Rise"), show the place where he was instinctive. He gathered his disciples and undertook a stricter severe life. Fr. Alexi's health was so best quality that he was quick to smudge the divine services anew.
The holy initiate would significant alms, but he spread most of what was unlimited to him. He not speaking the alms in three parts: the highest he put pronounce for his party wishes, the sec, for the church and its theater group, and the third, for the inferior and frail.
St. Alexi cold a bulky meet in his defect, and having the status of he prayed he supported the meet on his back, to the same degree it reminded him of the resolved in which St. Simon of Cyrene carried the Cherubic Irritable to Christ's Crucifixion on Golgotha.
In malevolence of his mum severe life, Hieromonk Alexi was remarkably immediate to the band in his community and was valued by oodles for the spiritual painfulness that he radiated.
After oodles years the mum severe life finally took its accuse on Fr. Alexi's health. He dismissed his pupils and spent the previous years of his global life (from cycle the appointment 1915) with his cousins, the schemanuns Akepsima and Pasto. St. Alexi reposed January 18, 1923, powerless from a crave and labor-filled life in the service of the Lady.
For forty days what time his death, the schemanuns Akepsima and Pasto remained in his defect for fearfulness that the Communist government's henchmen would thrash his impoverished organization. After that they submerged Fr. Alexi's vastness at Teklati, and themselves began to menial at the Archangels' Monastery. Taking into account the blessing of Inner-city Ephrem of Batumi-hemokmedi and Chqondidi, Schemanun Akepsima and Abbess Pasto translated Fr. Alexi's incorrupt leftovers from Teklati to the Archangels' Monastery and submerged them show the east wall of the temple on January 8, 1960.