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Archpriest '''Alexander Du Lifu''' was the last [[priest]] of a small group of Chinese Orthodox [[w:Albazinians|Albasians]] in Beijing. Up until his death he had repeatedly petitioned the authorities for permission to re-establish a [[parish]] for the small Orthodox community in Beijing, which is three hundred years old.
Fr. Alexander was born in Beijing on [[January 17]] 1923, and was [[ordinatinordination|ordained]] to the priesthood in 1950 by the head of the [[Russian Orthodox Mission in China]] Archbishop [[Victor (Svyatin) of Krasnodar and Kuban|Victor (Svyatin)]] of Beijing and China. He died in Beijing on [[December 16]], 2003.
According to tradition, the Albasians are Chinese Orthodox descendants of about fifty Russian soldiers who survived a border war between Russia and China in the 1680s. The Emperor [[w:Kangxi Emperor|Kangxi]] was said to be so impressed by their height and good looks that he allowed them to marry ladies-in-waiting from the Forbidden City. One of the soldiers was named Dubinin, and Du is the Chinese version of the surname.
