Fr Alexander Torik was born in Moscow in 1958. He came to faith in God while studying at the Moscow Art Theater School in the late 1970s and began attending the Church of St Nicholas in Kuznetsy, Moscow. In 1982, he began regularly visiting the Trinity-Sergius Lavra for spiritual guidance. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1989 and to the priesthood in 1991. Five years later, he published the first edition of Piety in Practice, which has since been translated into six languages. In 2004, he wrote and published his first work of fiction, Flavian. Inspired by true events from the author’s life, the Flavian series now spans four volumes and has become a bestseller among Orthodox readers in Russia, Serbia, and Romania. In October 2011, Fr Alexander founded and headed the Orthodox missionary publishing house Flavian Press. In 2013, Archpriest Alexander Torik was awarded the Patriarchal Certificate of Honor and was shortlisted for the Patriarchal Literary Award for his Flavian series. In 2013, Fr Alexander moved to Albufeira, Portugal, where in 2017 he founded the International Christian Religious and Cultural Center Pokrov, which includes a house church dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, where he currently serves. Fr Alexander continues his literary work and has now authored 24 books in a variety of genres, including missionary and catechetical works, fiction, and a book of poetry for young children.
