View source for Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires

His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop '''Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America''' was the [[ROCOR]] [[bishop]] of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his repose on [[September 13]], 2005.

[[Image:bishopalexander.jpg|left|frame|Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America]]
== Biography ==
Bishop Alexander was born Alexander Vasilievich Mileant in Odessa, Russia in 1938. During the Second World War his father disappeared at the front, and his family, fleeing the Bolsheviks, went to the West. They lived in Prague, in Rome, and finally in Buenos Aires, where the young Alexander received his primary education and then completed a seven-year electro-technical school. He worked as a machine draftsman for several companies. He then enrolled in Buenos Aires University.

From the age of 8, Alexander served as an altar boy under [[Archbishop]] Panteleimon, then under Archbishop Afanassy, who took him under his wing and gave him three years of formal theological training. Vladyka Afanassy possessed a great theological library. Wishing to read the works of the Holy Fathers in the original, Alexander first learned modern Greek, then ancient Greek.

At the end of 1963, Alexander enrolled at [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in Jordanville, New York, which he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in 1967. A year earlier, Archbishop [[Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averky (Taushev)]] [[ordination|ordained]] him to the [[deacon|diaconate]], and during Great Lent, Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]] of blessed memory ordained him to the [[priest]]hood and sent to Protection of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, where he served as [[rector]] for 31 years. From 1971-1985, Fr Alexander led several youth pilgrimages to Greece and the [[Holy Land]]. While spiritually nourishing his flock, Fr Alexander continued his scientific education, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics in 1978, then a Master’s Degree in Electronics, and finally, in 1983, an Engineer’s Degree from the University of Southern California in Communications. He worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA. His lay work enabled Fr Alexander to become an expert in computers, which in turn helped him publish numerous missionary pamphlets which enjoyed great popularity in Russia and abroad. Today there are over 300 brochures published in Russian, English and Spanish on Orthodox Christianity.

In 1995, Protopriest Alexander was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] in Holy Trinity Monastery and given the name ''Alexander'' in honor of Holy Martyr Archbishop [[Alexander of Kharkov]], who died in prison in 1939 (until then, Fr Alexander bore the name of St [[Alexander Nevsky]], on whose feastday he reposed).

On [[May 28]], 1998, [[Archimandrite]] Alexander was consecrated a [[bishop]] at the Synodal Cathedral in New York and appointed Ruling Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America.

After a lengthy and heroic battle with cancer, Bishop Alexander reposed in the Lord on the night of [[September 12]]-13, 2005. [[Memorial Services|Pannikhida]] services were held at the Holy Trinity Church in Oxnard, California.  On [[September 18]], 2005, his coffin was brought to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York, where, on the following day he was burried.

==Works==
* Alexander Mileant. ''[http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/creation_man_a_mileant_e.htm The Origins of the World and Mankind: An Attempt to Reconcile the Biblical Account with Scientific Discoveries]''. Transl. by Karyn and Michael Grigoriev. Ed. by Natalia Semyanko. Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission, La Canada, California, 2004. 



{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John (Legky) of Buenos Aires|John (Legky)]]|
title=Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America<br>([[ROCOR]])|
years=1998-2005|
after=&mdash;}}
{{end box}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fatheralexander.org/ Bishop Alexander's Website]
*[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/ Holy Trinity Orthodox School]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html His Grace Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America Reposes]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Buenos Aires]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[es:Alejandro (Mileant) de Buenos Aires]]
[[pt:Alexander (Mileant) de Buenos Aires e América do Sul]]