Monitoring news media reports about religion in Russia and
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On Tuesday the Supreme Court of Russia reviewed the
appeal of the religious association of Omsk Old
Believers-Inglinists. On the basis of a suit by the Chief Directorate
of the Ministry of Justice, the society of Inglinists was liquidated by
decision of the Omsk provincial court. Their teaching--Slavic Aryan
Vedas--in the opinion of the Ministry of Justice and the provincial
court, contains the idea of racial supremacy and its chief symbol is
the swastika. The Supreme Court left the decision of the Omsk court in
force.
This does not yet signify the end of the existence of the Inglinist
society. In addition to the court of review, where their attorney
Lidiia Okhrimenko, intends to file a protest, appeals of a number of
religious associations that use the swastika among their symbols will
be reviewed in the Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, the text of the
federal law adopted in 2002, "On preserving the memory of the victory
of the soviet people in the Great Patriotic was of 1941-1945" forbids
the use of nazi symbols in any form.
The full name of the Omsk Inglinists sounds like the Asgard Slavic
Society of the Religious Administration of the Asgard Belovod Ancient
Russian Inglinist Church of Orthodox Old Believers Inglinists. In June
1998 this association was officially registered in the provincial
department of the Ministry of Justice. And most likely the small
society would have existed peacefully to the present if it were not for
the idea of decorating their premises with an enormous swastika.
The Inglinists did not respond to the warning from the Ministry of
Justice and the request to remove the dubious symbol, and in June 2003
the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of Justice filed a suit for the
liquidation of the religious association. "In all there were three
suits, against all subdivisions of the Inglinists," the chief of the
Department for Relations with Public and Religious Associations of the
Directorate of the Ministry of Justice for Omsk province, Vladimir
Fediaev, told Gazeta. "The Slavic Community of the Temple of the Faith
of Perun, The Asgard Slavic Community, and a men's ecclesiastical
seminary. Then they were joined into a single proceeding."
According to experts of the Ministry of Justice, the Slavic Aryan Vedas
of the Inglinists contain assertions about the supremacy of the white
race and forbid members of the society to enter mixed marriages. in
addition, the call of the veda "not to live according to laws that
people have created in order to deprive people of Liberty but live
according to the laws of the One God" violates the law "On freedom of
conscience and religious associations."
And finally, the symbols of the Inglinists include the swastika and the
form of greeting characteristic for fascists, raising the right hand,
which are violations of laws for combating extremist activity and
preserving the memory of the victory of the soviet people in the Great
Patriotic war.
"The doctrine of the Inglinists does not contain any assertion about
the supremacy of the white race," Attorney Lidia Okhimenko told Gazeta
in her turn. "It says that every nationality should preserve its
indigenous culture, fundamental faith, and traditions. In addition,
Inglinists do not try to impose their faith on anybody so that the
accusation of extremism is baseless."
As regards the swastika, according to Okhrimenko, the kolovrat (or
symbol of the rising Yarila Sun) of the Inglinists substantially
differs from the variant adopted by the nazis. "Their swastika stands
on edge at 45 degrees. Usually it is black in a white circle on a red
background. The Inglinists use only red and blue colors."
Despite all claims of the defense, in April 2004 the Omsk provincial
court satisfied the suit of the Ministry of Justice and rendered a
decision for the liquidation of the religious association of Old
Believer Inglinists. The Supreme Court on Tuesday left this decision in
force.
Now the attorney will file a complaint with the court of review. But
the problem of the Inglinists will be dealt with not only by
courts of general jurisdiction. A complaint about a contradiction
between the law on preserving the memory of victory and the
constitution of Russia will be reviewed by the Constitutional Court
where, according to Okhrimenko "a number of religious organizations
have appealed." The point is that this law forbids any use of nazi
symbolism. At the same time the ancient Hindu symbol is used by many
religious confessions. So that if one follows the law it will be
necessary to declare several Buddhist temples, Christian icons, and
monuments of architecture to be prohibited. Today this problem
has been more or less smoothed over in Moscow. In the by-laws of the
city it is especially noted that "sanctions provided by law are not
applicable if the use of nazi symbolism occurs within artistic or
scientific films presenting historic events, and also representations
of religious rituals and traditions using signs of national heraldric
symbolism of Russia and other countries and also when the symbols
cannot be viewed as nazi." (tr. by PDS, posted 28 July 2004)
ALL-RUSSIAN MISSIONARY EXPEDITION "THE GOSPEL FOR THE PEOPLES OF
RUSSIA" ENDS TODAY
by Anna Rudakova Radio Teos, 27 July
2004
Today, 27 July, in Briansk the All-Russian missionary expedition "The
gospel for the peoples of Russia" comes to an end. Its conclusion will
be summed up at the "Transfiguration" congress. As reported earlier,
the expedition that was organized by the Russian Union of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists started from Moscow on 21 December 2003. In 221
days the missionaries visited 220 cities, making a journey of
more than 50,000 kilometers. The route lay along the coast of the
Arctic Ocean to Magadan, through the Far East, and along the southern
and western boundaries of Russia.
One hundred fifty persons participated immediately in the
expedition, and the prayer and financial support involved tens of
thousands of Christians of Russia, CIS, and abroad. During the journey
50,000 persons heard the good news about Christ and received New
Testaments, and hundreds of these turned to God.
"The idea of the expedition will live in its diverse accomplishments,"
the participants of the missionary journey hope. In the opinion of the
director of the missionary expedition, Leonid Kartavenko, "it served as
an inspiration for other actions." Thus on the concluding day of the
"Transfiguration" congress a cycle expedition will begin, which will go
around the Briansk province, which suffered from the Chernobyl
catastrophe.
We recall that the "Gospel for the peoples of Russia" missionary
expedition was intended to enter the "Book of Russian records" as the
longest and most extensive in the history of the country. (tr. by PDS,
posted 27 July 2004)
WHERE HAS PATRIARCH BEEN HIDDEN? HIS HOLINESS DID NOT BLESS OLYMPIC
ATHLETES
by Sergei Bychkov
Komsomolskaia pravda, 27 July 2004
Two years after his ischaemic stroke, the state of health of his
Holiness Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus has again become the
center of attention. After quite diverse articles published in the
press, the patriarch's speech writer, Fr Vsevolod Chaplin, issued an
extremely vague explanation. The idea has arisen that either the
patriarch is seriously ill or the Department of External Church
Relations is deliberately speculating on his health.
Always distinguished by his good health, the patriarch was literally
tortured by a schedule of celebrations associated with his 75th
birthday. OVTsS draws up the patriarch's daily schedule. Most
likely it completely ignored the primate's age. This also was
acknowledged in the press release: "June and July of this year were
connected for His Holiness with grand divine liturgies and public
church labors. Thus, in these months there were the celebrations of the
day of His Holiness' enthronement and his 75th birthday and then
there occurred the ceremonies on the occasion of the return to Russia
of the miraculous Tikhvin image of the Mother of God, during which
patriarchal liturgies were performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and
Tikhvin."
With some kind of sadistic satisfaction the press release reported: "As
a result of overwork His Holiness suffered a cardiac arrhythmia, in
order to overcome which physicians insistently advised him to refrain
from his planned trips to dioceses and to undergo diagnostic,
therapeutic action. For now the recommendation of the physicians
remains in force to have a brief rest and during that time to refrain
from a full schedule." For the first time the conflict between OVTsS
and the patriarch under treatment by physicians has been clearly
articulated.
Taking advantage of the absence of the primate in Moscow, the ruckus
over the patriarchal throne has been renewed. The celebration in Kursk
associated with the 250th anniversary of the birth of St. Serafim of
Sarov, was supervised by Metropolitan of Kiev Vladimir Sabodan. In
Moscow the patriarchal functions are being fulfilled by Metropolitan
Kirill Gundiaev, the head of OVTsS. On 21 July, he received the Russian
Olympic gymnastic team in Saint Daniel's monastery. Svetlana Khorkina
and Elena Zamolodchikova, Aleksei Bondarenko and Alexander Safoshkin,
Anna Pavlova and Liudmila Ezhova, Aleksei Nemov and Nikilai Kriukov
arrived for the blessing.
It is well known how zealously the patriarch supports Russian Olympic
athletes. In his youth he himself engaged in athletics and he
understands well the great significance that Olympic victories have for
today's Russia. Thus a strange dissonance resounds in the press release
of OVTsS: "Now the condition of His Holiness is stable and a normal
heart rhythm has been restored. His Holiness is resting in a
sanatorium." Chaplin is consciously concealing from believers where the
patriarch now is located. It is not clear whether he is in Russia or
abroad.
One thing is clear. He will not take part in the ceremonies devoted to
the 250th anniversary of St. Serafim of Sarov on 1 August in Nizhny
Novgorod and Diveevo. The planned vacation trip to Switzerland in
August has been postponed. It is unclear when the next session of the
Holy Synod will be held, which had been planned for 18 July and which
also had been considered crucial.The agenda includes the vital church
questions of the replacements for the St. Petersburg see and the post
of rector of the St. Petersburg academy. All of them remain unanswered.
OVTsS has again demonstrated its complete impotence. It is unclear what
church diplomats are afraid of. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2004)
On 28 July the Russian Orthodox church will commemorate Prince
Equal-of-the-apostles Vladimir.
On that day the church of Vladimir in the Stantsionnyi suburb of the
city of Polevsk will celebrate its patronal feast day. On this holiday
It is planned to baptize around 150 persons in the Chusovaia river, on
whose bank the church stands.
As the rector of the church of saints Peter and Paul of Polevsk, Sergii
Rybchak, explained, 100 persons who are now preparing for receiving
their first church sacrament are residents of the city of Polevsk and
its Stantsionnyi and Ziuzelskii suburbs, as well as 40 persons from
Ekaterinburg, who attended preparatory sessions in churches at their
place of residence, in the Church-on-the-blood and the Holy Trinity
cathedral church of the city of Ekaterinburg, Regions.ru reports,
citing "Pravoslavnaia gazeta" of the capital of the Urals.
It is planned that this mass baptism in the Chusovaia river will be led
by Archbishop of Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursk Vikenty Morar, who will
be assisted by clergy from several churches. (tr. by PDS, posted 26
July 2004)
From Jerusalem the sacred relics of Grand Duchesses Elizabeth and
Sister Barbara were sent to Moscow, NTV television company reports. On
25 July the reliquary was taken, accompanied by a prayer service and
solemn liturgy, in the Jerusalem church of St. Mary Magdalene. The
ceremonial greeting is supposed to occur on Sunday 25 July in the
Russian capital in the church of Christ the Savior. Thousands of
Orthodox Russians will participate in it.
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia offered the reliquary for
Russian believers to venerate for six months. In this time a train with
the relics will travel about all regions of the country. Church
hierarchs have already called this event an important step in the
convergence of the two separated branches of the Orthodox church.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanova is known to believers as the founder
of the Martha and Mary cloister. After the revolution of 1917 she
refused to abandon Russia and accepted a martyr's death along with her
closest associate, the nun Barbara. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 July
2004)
ADMISSION TO RELICS OF GRAND DUCHESS ELIZABETH AND SISTER BARBARA TO
OPEN AT SEVEN A.M. FOR ORDINARY BELIEVERS Portal-credo.ru,
25 July 2004
Rank and file believers will get access to the relics of Grand Duchess
Elizabeth and Sister Barbara located in the church of Christ the Savior
in Moscow only on Monday, 26 July, a Portal-credo.ru correspondent
reports.
The relics were ceremonially placed in the main church of RPTsMP at
approximately six o'clock in the afternoon. More than 2,000 priests and
monks attended a prayer service in the church on Sunday 25 July. As RIA
Novosti notes, pilgrims who brought the reliquary from Jerusalem were
met in the church by Metropolitan Yuvenaly. The prayer service was
attended by Bishop of Dmitrovsk Alexander of the Russian Orthodox
church of the Moscow patriarchate and Bishop of Boston Mikhail,
representing the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The Russian
pilgrims were accompanied to Moscow by nuns of the convent of St. Mary
Magdalene of ROCOR, where the reliquary had previously been located.
Several dozens of believer were restrained at the police barrier,
despite all their complaints. Although the announcement at the entrance
stated that admission to the relics would be open from 25 to 29 July,
pilgrims who counted on visiting the church of Christ the Savior on the
weekend and had already obtained tickets for the evening train were not
admitted. An emergency crew was called for one elderly woman who
complained about her amputated legs.
The transport of the sacred relics to Moscow was one of the first major
joint actions of RPTsMP and ROCOR. As Bishop of Dmitrovsk Alexander,
who represented the Moscow patriarchate, noted in a conversation
with RIA Novosti, this event is an important step toward the merger of
the two separated parts of the Russian Orthodox church. "Several
parishioners of ROCOR still view with caution the first signs of a
convergence of the two parts of the church. We have to build relations
both with the church hierarchs of ROCOR and with the ordinary
believers, and we need time to overcome this reticence," Bishop
Alexander said. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 July 2004)
RETURN OF SAINT ELIZABETH
by Nadezhda kevorkova
Gazeta, 26 July 2004
On Sunday, from the church of Mary Magdalene of the Jerusalem convent
in Gethsemane, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
Russia (ROCOR), was ceremonially transported to Moscow in Russia the
ark containing relics of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the founder of
the Martha-Mary convent, widow of the Moscow governor-general, who was
slain by Socialist Revolutionaries, and sister of the last Tsarina
Alexandra. This is the first joint action of the Russian and diaspora
Orthodox churches, which have begun to reconcile after eighty years of
mutual rejection.
About 100 Russians arrived early in the morning at the Gethsemane
convent of Mary Magdalene, where since 1921 the relics of Grand Duchess
Elizabeth and her cellmate Sister Barbara have been venerated. On the
gates hung a notice requesting that no photographs be made and that the
nuns not be interviewed. It was explained that the local news
media, which usually are indifferent to Christian events, has spread
news that "Moscow priests" have robbed the "whites" and will take away
all the relics of Elizabeth Fedorovna completely. Then the acting
supervisor of the Russian annex managed to begin the service. To be
sure, our sisters, brothers, and fathers calmly stood along the walls,
crossing themselves and singing, since there still has been no
conciliar decision regarding the reunification of the churches, so that
there are also no joint services.
Bishop of Boston Mikhail (ROCOR) came out of the church with a shiny
chest, removed the cover, and showed the people the reliquary, and
hand-in-hand with Bishop of Dmitrovsk Alexander (RPTs) carried the gift
down to the entrance of the Garden of Gethsemane. The chest contained a
silver ark holding the right finger of the grand duchess and a wooden
ark that was made out of pieces of the casket in which the body of the
martyr, who had been brutally murdered by bolsheviks in 1918 in
Alapaevsk, had been brought from Beijing to Palestine.
The initiator and producer of this event, the president of the Fund of
Andrew the First-called, Alexander Melnik, explained for Gazeta: "You
know, this is the very beginning of our dialogue; the nuns are afraid
that nobody knows who we are--people in Russia now, who live in
difficult circumstances in the Holy Land, and our country is for them,
primarily that place where hundreds of thousands of people were killed
simply for their faith and loyalty to Russia." And he added: ""We
specially ordered the chest for Russia; the sisters love it very much."
The ark was placed in a wooden crate, which was put into a special
microbus. Along with the current abbess of the Martha-Mary convent,
Elizabeth, and nurses from Hospital No 1, diplomats, bishops, and
clerics from both churches from just about all the world, and pilgrims
from Georgia and even a team of Russian aerialists, the reliquary was
carried to the airport. Here the bus was searched by dogs and for three
hours the secret information of the delegation was carefully reviewed.
Finally the patriarchal vicar blessed the airplane and everybody
crossed themselves, even the most secular crew members.
At Domodedevo 100 priests, who had waited two hours in scorching sun,
greeted the relics directly on the tarmac, performed a prayer service,
and then the entire procession ceremonially left for the church of
Christ the Savior. Here the relics will spend ten days, a procession of
the cross will be conducted from the church of Christ the Savior to the
Saint Daniel's monastery, after visiting the Martha-Mary cloister
founded by the duchess.
On 6 August the reliquary will be sent on pilgrimage from Chukotia to
Kaliningrad. It will travel about Ukraine from Kharkov to Lvov and
spend time in Belarus, Moldova, and Cisdnestra, Baltics, Kazakhstan,
and Central Asia. In February the relics will be returned to Jerusalem.
When the [Moscow] Martha-Mary convent is finally restored, the
Gethsemane sisters will present the wooden ark to it as a gift.
In January 2004, even before the visit to Russia of the head of ROCOR,
Metropolitan Laurus, and his first meeting with the patriarch, that is,
basically before the beginning of negotiations of the heads of the
churches, the Andrew fund of Russia turned to the synod of ROCOR
suggesting bringing the relics of Grand Duchess Elizabeth. The synod
not only agreed but also suggested that instead of two weeks the stay
be six months, going from the day of the royal martyrs to the feast of
new martyrs who are venerated both in Russia and abroad. "This
pilgrimage involves all people, everyone will know that these are
Russians, that the relics are from abroad, and that there also exist
Russian people and the Russian church. Our mutual movement to meeting
one another will begin," said Bishop of Boston Mikhail, returning to
the topic of mutual relations of the churches. "Fellowship, dialogue,
convergence, call it what you will, but do not call this reunification,
since there never was a separation. We are not hurrying and we are
doing nothing out of willfulness. We do not know where this will lead.
After all, three generations of Russian people have lived abroad, and
for the public this is almost an eternity." The bishop added that it is
hoped that the president "will not be able to remain apart from this
topic and will be interested in church matters."
Elizabeth of Darmstadt, Russian martyr
Elizabeth was born in 1864 in the family of the daughter of British
princess Victoria and the Hessian heir. Her mother died when Elizabeth
was 14 and the future last empress of Russia, Alexandra, was six. The
nineteen-year-old Lutheran became the wife of the brother of Tsar
Alexander III, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. In 1888, for the 900-th
anniversary of the baptism of Rus she went with her husband to
Palestine for the consecration of the church of Mary Magdalene, and she
returned with relics along with relics of Efrosiniia of Polotsk,
telling the sisters of Gethsemane that she would dream of lying here
after her death. That is how it came out. Her husband became Moscow
governor-general in 1891. Elizabeth studied the Russian language
earnestly. When Russians kneeled before icons, she made a
prostration, striving in her own way to show her esteem of the Russian
faith. Without any compulsion she consciously embraced Orthodoxy in
1891. In 1905 her husband was killed in the Kremlin by a bomb that was
tossed by the Socialist Revolutionary Kaliaev. Elizabeth collected the
remains of her husband in her own hands and on the third day visited
his murderer. Kaliaev said that he wished her no sorrow but he did not
repent of what he had done nor ask forgiveness for it. Elizabeth
donated all her jewels for constructing the Martha-Mary convent. In
1910 she took religious vows and became the abbess of the convent,
gathering unfortunate orphans for protection. She spoke out against the
"elder" Rasputin. This alienated her from the empress. After the
revolution she often was advised to leave, but she refused.
She was arrested on Easter 1918, and on 18 July, in Alapaevsk, she and
another seven prisoners were thrown alive into a pit. They died from
their wounds and starvation, but Elizabeth bound up their wounds and
sang psalms before their death. The British royal family took part in
her posthumous fate. Through their efforts the bodies of Elizabeth and
Barbara were taken from Beijing in 1920.
RPTs recognized her as the first martyr of all the Romanovs, just after
the communist regime fell in 1991. "If people now are not able to go to
venerate her, she will come to Russia herself, accessible to all, as
before," That is what a nun said to me at the airport while greeting
the chest with the relics. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 July 2004)
One of the brightest stars in the celestial array of Russia's New
Martyrs is holy Grand Duchess Elizabeth. A convert to Orthodoxy, she
outshone many of those whose Faith she had so ardently embraced. She
was like a sun whose penetrating rays warm hearts grown cold and renew
the lost faith of a fallen and despairing humanity, as if to say that
not all have succumbed to an egotistical self love, that there are
still those servants of Love, whose example points the way to the true
path, tom happiness both on this earth and for aIl eternity. She placed
a law in her heart: that the strong bear the frailties of the weak.
Love was the cornerstone of her life and all her activities. This love
made easy for her what was difficult, it made serving her fellowman a
plea sure, and through it the forgiveness of enemies was made possible.
For the sake of this Love she sacrificed herself for others, thereby
fulfilling that greatest of commandments according to the Apostle of
love, that "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I
John3:16).
There exists perhaps no more eloquent tribute to the
holy Grand Duchess than the spiritual portrait so finely drawn by the
late Metropolitan Anastassy:
ÒShe was a rare combination of exalted Christian
spirit, moral nobility, enlightened mind, gentle heart, and refined
taste. She possessed an extremely delicate and multifaceted spiritual
composition and her outward appearance reflected the beauty and
greatness of her spirit. Upon her brow lay the seal of an inborn,
elevated dignity which set her apart from those around her. Under the
cover of modesty, she often strove - though in vain, to conceal herself
from the gaze of others, but one could not mistake her for another.
Wherever she appeared, one would always ask: "Who is she who looketh
forth as the morning, clear as the sun" (Song of Solomon 6:10)?
Wherever she would go she emanated the pure fragrance of the lily.
Perhaps it was for this reason that she loved the color white--it was
the reflection of her heart. All of her spiritual qualities were
strictly balanced, one against another, never giving an impression of
one-sidedness. Femininity was joined in her to a courageous character;
her goodness never led to weakness and blind, unconditional trust of
people. Even in her finest heartfelt inspirations she exhibited that
gift of discernment which has always been so highly esteemed by
Christian ascetics..."
The Grand Duchess was born on October 20,
186l, the daughter of Princess Alice of Hesse and the granddaughter of
Queen Victoria of England, under whose strict tutelage she received
both an extensive and a practical education. Her mother died when she
was still young, the first tragedy in a life marked by inner suffering.
But through, greatness of spirit, her sorrow at the absence of maternal
love was later transformed into a tender and solicitous compassion for
others who lacked this love.
Chosen as the future wife of the Grand Duke
Sergei Alexandrovich, the Grand Duchess arrived in Moscow and set about
learning all she could about her newly adopted homeland, its people and
its culture. Her heart was soon captured by the beauty and spiritual
depth of Orthodoxy which she discovered so tightly interwoven into the
rich fabric of the Russian soul. It was not mere formality that
prompted her decision to become Orthodox, but a strong inner
conviction. In Orthodoxy she found full expression for the natural
spiritual cast of her character. Social obligations at the palace,
however, prevented this disposition from blossoming, although in
keeping with her new position she was able to dedicate much time to
philanthropic activities. It was only with the tragic assassination of
her husband in 1905 that Providence granted her the opportunity to
withdraw from the tumult of a world which her soul found so wearisome.
But through her patient endurance she had already achieved a measure of
Christian perfection. This was manifest in her ready forgiveness of her
husband's murderer whom she even went to visit in hopes of softening
his heart. On the memorial cross erected upon the site of her husband's
death, she had inscribed the Gospel words, "Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do...' She had already begun the ascent up the
ladder of Christian virtue.
Ignoring the scandal caused by such a move, the
Grand Duchess left the royal apartments and settled in a building which
she had acquired at Ordinka. Here, with the counsel of the eiders of
the Zosima Hermitage under whom she had placed herself in total
obedience, she laid the foundation for a sisterhood which combined in
itself the ascetic labors of the monastic life and works of charity.
This quiet haven in the midst of a bustling city was named in honor of
Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, whose two natures of service
and prayer were so beautifully intertwined in the mission of the new
community. "To be not of this world and at the same time to live and
act in the world in order to transform it--this was the foundation upon
which she desired to establish her convent."
The Grand Duchess was personally involved in all the
plans for the buildings of the community, and they reflected her
refined aesthetic sensibilities. The main church was built in the
traditional Novgorod-Pskov style and painted by the well-known Russian
artist Nesterov. The austere white walls were balanced with exquisite
sculptured ornamentation. The architectural harmony of the buildings,
the peaceful atmosphere, the beauty of the church services--all
combined to lift the tired soul from its earthly cares and give it a
glimpse of paradise. Even members of the unchurchly contemporary
Russian society, whose spiritual re-education was of such concern to
the Grand Duchess, were drawn to this unique community.
"It is not surprising that the convent quickly
blossomed and attracted many sisters from the aristocracy as well as
the common people. Nearly monastic order reigned within the inner life
of the community and both within and without the convent the activities
of the Grand Duchess consisted in the care of those who visited the
sick who were lodged in the convent, in the material and moral help
given to the poor, and in the almshouse for those orphans and abandoned
children found in every large city. The Grand Duchess paid special
attention to the unfortunate children who bore within themselves the
curse of their fathers' sins, the children born in the turbid slums of
Moscow only to wither before they had a chance to blossom. Many of them
were taken into the orphanage built for them where they were quickly
revived spiritually and physically. For others, constant supervision at
their place of residence was established. The spirit of initiative and
moral sensitivity which accompanied the Grand Duchess in all her
activities, inspired and impelled her to search out new paths and forms
of philanthropic activity, which sometimes reflected the influence of
her first, western homeland, and its advanced organizations for social
improvement and mutual aid..."
Wherever there was a need the Grand Duchess would
try to answer it, and only her strong spirit was able to keep her from
being entirely overcome physically by all that she in her willingness
was ready to undertake. All her activities, however, did not cause her
to wander from the "one thing needful," and while serving the least of
Christ' s brethren, she was ever at Christ's feet, listening to His
words.
The sorrowful tribulations which visited Russia as
the Revolution spread its shadow over the land only caused her virtues
of love and self-sacrifice to shine more brightly. Together with her
younger sister, Tsaritsa Alexandra, she was slandered on account of her
German blood. But she harbored neither bitterness nor hatred towards
her enemies, and even the revolutionaries recognized her greatness of
spirit and spared her and her community for a time,
Finally, however, the martyr's crown was
brought within her reach. On Pascha, 1918, the Grand Duchess was
suddenly arrested and taken first to Ekaterinburg and then to Alopaevsk
where, with her ever-faithful companion Sister Barbara, she was
imprisoned in one of the city schools. On the fateful night of July
5/18, together with other royal captives, she was taken in an
automobile outside the city and buried alive in a mine shaft. Even
here, in the bowels of the earth, she did not cease to manifest her
sacrificing love. Excavations have shown that until the last moment she
strove to serve the grand dukes who were severely injured by the fall.
At last her precious remains Ð which, according to eye-witnesses were
found in the mine shaft completely untouched by corruption Ð were
received with triumph in Jerusalem and laid to rest in a sepulchre of
the church of St. Mary Magdalen, just over the hill from Bethany where
the sisters, Sts. Martha and Mary, served and glorified the Lord.
(posted 25 July 2004)
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