In memoriam

This article is a commemorative text dedicated to Father Alexander Men, a Russian Orthodox priest murdered on 9 September 1990 near Moscow. Written in the form of a personal testimony by Yves Hamant, who had maintained a twenty-year friendship with him, the text traces the spiritual and intellectual trajectory of this prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church. The author highlights the foundations of his formation — rootedness in the Orthodox tradition, the legacy of the Catacomb Church, the influence of Soloviev — as well as his evangelising work carried out under conditions of Soviet persecution. The article underscores Father Men's singular contribution: an Orthodoxy open to ecumenical dialogue and contemporary culture, at odds with the xenophobic tendencies found in certain ecclesiastical circles. His death is interpreted as the crowning of an apostolic ministry.