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Alexander Vladimirovich Men ((ロシア語:Александр Владимирович Мень); 22 January 1935 – 9 September 1990) was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, Biblical scholar and writer. Men wrote dozens of books (including his ''magnum opus'', ''History of Religion: In Search of the Way, the Truth and the Life,'' the seventh volume of which, ''Son of Man'', served as the introduction to Christianity for thousands of citizens in the Soviet Union); baptized hundreds if not thousands; founded an Orthodox Open University; opened one of the first Sunday Schools in Russia as well as a charity group at the Russian Children's Hospital.〔(Alexander Men Charity Group at Russian Children Clinical Hospital )〕 His influence is still widely felt and his legacy continues to grow among Christians both in Russia and abroad. He was murdered early on Sunday morning, 9 September 1990, by an ax-wielding assailant just outside his home of Semkhoz, Russia. ==Biography== Men was born in Moscow to a Jewish family on January 22, 1935. He was baptized at six 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.〔(Alexander Men Foundation )〕 When Men was 6 years old, the NKVD arrested his father, Volf Gersh-Leybovich (Vladimir Grigoryevich) Men (born 1902).〔()〕 Volf spent more than a year under guard and then was assigned to labor in the Ural Mountains. His son Alexander entered college in Moscow in 1955 and transferred to Irkutsk a few years later but was expelled in 1958 due to his religious beliefs. In the same year, he was ordained a deacon, and in 1960 a priest upon graduating from the Leningrad Theological Seminary.〔(St. Petersburg Theological Academy )〕 In 1965, he completed studies at Moscow Theological Academy. Alexander Men 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 among the intelligentsia.〔(Orthodox America on A.Men )〕 Men was harassed by the KGB for his active missionary and evangelistic efforts. In the late-1980s, he utilised the mass media to spread the message of Christ (he was offered to host a nationally televised program on religion); his days and nights were full of teaching and lecturing at packed lecture halls.〔 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.〔 His strenuous efforts in educating the Russian populace in the basics and dynamics of the Orthodox faith has garnered him the label as a modern-day apostle to the Soviet people, who were benighted by seventy years of Communist atheistic rule. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alexander Men」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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