Handwritten, measured (life-size) icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth. The image is made on a linden board with oak dowels, linen felt, chalk gesso, gold leaf, natural mineral pigments, drying oil, varnish. The size of the presented icon is 55x23 cm. Icon painter: Tatiana Forsova. December, 2022. Sergiev Posad. In addition to the icon presented above, we bring to your attention the temple icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth and the nun Barbara
- Iconography of the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth
- Life of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth
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The icon of the Martyr Elizabeth, presented on our website, embodies the most characteristic, canonical image of the saint. According to the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, Saint Elizabeth is depicted in the vestments of the Martha and Mary monastery and boots. Elizabeth may be holding a cross or a monastery in her hand.
The image of Saint Elizabeth is painted on a red background. This design adds deep meaning to the icon. The red color of the background symbolizes the Red Cross under the auspices of which Saint Elizabeth served in the Martha and Mary Convent she founded and the color of martyrdom, the blood shed for our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to the symbolic meaning, the red background color gives the icon an Easter, solemn and festive look.
Elisaveta is dressed in the vestments of the Marfo-Maryinsky monastery. In her left hand, Saint Elizabeth holds a monastery, her open right palm is facing the worshipers, symbolizing righteousness and openness of a pure soul.
Correct, harmonious facial features personify the spiritual beauty of the venerable martyr. A stern facial expression, without excessive sensuality and emotionality, shows detachment from the world and concentration in serving the Lord. The face is painted with delicate ocher melts. The pinkish tones of the blush and lips contrast with the olive color of the sankir, which gives the face additional volume and expressiveness, softness and warmth.
Straight and wide folds of clothing set a certain rhythm and movement of the icon, expressing the complete orderliness of spiritual forces. Their strict geometric structure reveals the elasticity of spiritual energy. All elements of the icon are painted with thin, transparent melts, which give depth, softness, and unearthly airiness to the appearance of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth.
The icon of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth is made in the canonical style, in compliance with the centuries-old traditions of icon painting. When painting the icon, a pure and natural palette of colors was used: minerals, semi-precious stones, ocher, earths manually ground with a chime and mixed with yolk. The rich color palette of natural pigments made it possible to achieve moderate saturation and softness of colors characteristic of the Moscow school of writing.
Life of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth
The Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth was born on October 20, 1864 into the Protestant family of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig IV and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. In 1884, she married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.
Seeing the deep faith of her husband, the Grand Duchess with all her heart sought the answer to the question - which religion is true? She prayed fervently and asked the Lord to reveal His will to her. On April 13, 1891, on Lazarus Saturday, the rite of acceptance into the Orthodox Church was performed over Elisaveta Feodorovna. In the same year, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed Governor-General of Moscow.
Visiting churches, hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes and prisons, the Grand Duchess saw a lot of suffering. And everywhere she tried to do something to alleviate them.
After the start of the Russian-Japanese War in 1904, Elisaveta Feodorovna helped the front and Russian soldiers in many ways. She worked until she was completely exhausted.
On February 5, 1905, a terrible event occurred that changed the whole life of Elisaveta Feodorovna. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich died from a bomb explosion by a revolutionary terrorist. Elisaveta Feodorovna rushed to the scene of the explosion and saw a picture that surpassed human imagination in its horror. Silently, without screaming or tears, kneeling in the snow, she began to collect and place on a stretcher the body parts of her beloved husband, who had been alive just a few minutes ago.
In the hour of difficult trials, Elisaveta Feodorovna asked for help and consolation from God. The next day she received Holy Communion in the church of the Chudov Monastery, where her husband’s coffin stood. On the third day after the death of her husband, Elisaveta Feodorovna went to prison to see the killer. She didn't hate him. The Grand Duchess wanted him to repent of his terrible crime and pray to the Lord for forgiveness. She even submitted a petition to the Emperor to pardon the killer.
Elisaveta Feodorovna decided to devote her life to the Lord through serving people and create a monastery of work, mercy and prayer in Moscow. She bought a plot of land with four houses and a large garden on Bolshaya Ordynka Street. In the monastery, which was named Marfo-Mariinskaya in honor of the holy sisters Martha and Mary, two churches were created - Marfo-Mariinsky and Pokrovsky, a hospital, which was later considered the best in Moscow, and a pharmacy in which medicines were dispensed to the poor free of charge, an orphanage and a school . Outside the walls of the monastery, a house-hospital was set up for women suffering from tuberculosis.
On February 10, 1909, the monastery began its activities. On April 9, 1910, during the all-night vigil, Bishop Trifon of Dmitrov (Turkestan; + 1934), according to the rite developed by the Holy Synod, consecrated the nuns to the title of sisters of the cross of love and mercy. The sisters took a vow, following the example of the nuns, to spend a virgin life in work and prayer. The next day, during the Divine Liturgy, Saint Vladimir, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, placed eight-pointed cypress crosses on the sisters, and elevated Elisaveta Feodorovna to the rank of abbess of the monastery. The Grand Duchess said that day: “I am leaving the brilliant world... but together with you all I am ascending into a greater world - the world of the poor and suffering.” At the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna led an ascetic life: she slept on a wooden bed without a mattress, often for no more than three hours; she ate food very moderately and strictly observed fasts; at midnight she got up for prayer, and then went around all the hospital wards, often remaining at the bedside of a seriously ill patient until dawn. She told the sisters of the monastery: “Isn’t it scary that out of false humanity we are trying to lull such sufferers to sleep with the hope of their imaginary recovery. We would do them a better service if we prepared them in advance for the Christian transition into eternity.” Without the blessing of the monastery’s confessor, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky, and without the advice of the elders of the Optina Vvedenskaya Hermitage and other monasteries, she did nothing. For complete obedience to the elder, she received inner consolation from God and gained peace in her soul.
Since the beginning of the First World War, the Grand Duchess organized assistance to the front. Under her leadership, ambulance trains were formed, warehouses for medicines and equipment were set up, and camp churches were sent to the front.
The abdication of Emperor Nicholas II from the throne was a big blow for Elizabeth Feodorovna. Her soul was shocked, she could not speak without tears. Elisaveta Feodorovna saw into what abyss Russia was flying, and she wept bitterly for the Russian people, for her dear royal family.
Her letters from that time contain the following words: “I felt such deep pity for Russia and its children, who currently do not know what they are doing. Isn't it a sick child whom we love a hundred times more during his illness than when he is cheerful and healthy? I would like to bear his suffering, to help him. Holy Russia cannot perish. But Great Russia, alas, no longer exists. We... must direct our thoughts to the Kingdom of Heaven... and say with humility: “Thy will be done.”
Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna was arrested on the third day of Easter 1918, Bright Tuesday. On that day, Saint Tikhon served a prayer service at the monastery.
The monastery sisters Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva were allowed to go with her. They were brought to the Siberian city of Alapaevsk on May 20, 1918. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and his secretary Feodor Mikhailovich Remez, Grand Dukes John, Konstantin and Igor Konstantinovich and Prince Vladimir Paley were also brought here. Elisaveta Feodorovna's companions were sent to Yekaterinburg and released there. But sister Varvara ensured that she was left with the Grand Duchess.
On July 5 (18), 1918, the prisoners were taken at night in the direction of the village of Sinyachikha. Outside the city, in an abandoned mine, a bloody crime took place. With loud curses, beating the martyrs with rifle butts, the executioners began to throw them into the mine. The first to be pushed was Grand Duchess Elizabeth. She crossed herself and prayed loudly: “Lord, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing!” Elisaveta Feodorovna and Prince John fell not to the bottom of the mine, but to a ledge located at a depth of 15 meters. Severely wounded, she tore off part of the cloth from her apostle and bandaged Prince John to ease his suffering. A peasant who happened to be near the mine heard the Cherubic Song sounding in the depths of the mine - the martyrs were singing.
A few months later, the army of Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak occupied Yekaterinburg, and the bodies of the martyrs were removed from the mine. The venerable martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara and the Grand Duke John had their fingers folded for the sign of the cross.
During the retreat of the White Army, the coffins with the relics of the holy martyrs were delivered to Jerusalem in 1920. Currently, their relics rest in the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
The venerable martyr nun Varvara was a sister of the cross and one of the first nuns of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery in Moscow. Being a cell attendant and the sister closest to Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna, she did not boast or be proud of it, but was kind, affectionate and courteous to everyone, and everyone loved her. In Yekaterinburg, sister Varvara was released, but both she and another sister, Ekaterina Yanysheva, asked to be returned to Alapaevsk. In response to the intimidation, Varvara said that she was ready to share the fate of her mother abbess. As she was older in age, she was returned to Alapaevsk. Varvara was killed along with other Alapaevsk martyrs.
The memory of the venerable martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth and nun Varvara is celebrated on July 5 (18) and on the day of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
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Holy Martyr Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova, at birth Elizaveta Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt
Restored post dated 10/21/2014
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna.
The Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (officially in Russia - Elisaveta Feodorovna) was born on October 20 (November 1), 1864 in Germany, in the city of Darmstadt. She was the second child in the family of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ludwig IV, and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. Another daughter of this couple (Alice) would later become Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.
Father - Ludwig IV of Hesse
Mother Alice of Great Britain
The children were brought up in the traditions of old England, their lives followed a strict order established by their mother. Children's clothing and food were very basic. The eldest daughters did their homework themselves: they cleaned the rooms, beds, and lit the fireplace. Subsequently, Elizaveta Fedorovna said: “They taught me everything in the house.” The mother carefully monitored the talents and inclinations of each of the seven children and tried to raise them on the solid basis of Christian commandments, to put in their hearts love for their neighbors, especially for the suffering.
Elizaveta Fedorovna's parents gave away most of their fortune to charity, and the children constantly traveled with their mother to hospitals, shelters, and homes for the disabled, bringing with them large bouquets of flowers, putting them in vases, and carrying them around the wards of the sick.
Since childhood, Elizabeth loved nature and especially flowers, which she enthusiastically painted. She had a gift for painting, and throughout her life she devoted a lot of time to this activity. She loved classical music. Everyone who knew Elizabeth from childhood noted her religiosity and love for her neighbors. As Elizaveta Feodorovna herself later said, even in her earliest youth she was greatly influenced by the life and exploits of her saintly distant relative Elizabeth of Thuringia, in whose honor she bore her name.
Portrait of the family of Grand Duke Ludwig IV, painted for Queen Victoria in 1879 by the artist Baron Heinrich von Angeli.
In 1873, Elizabeth’s three-year-old brother Friedrich fell to his death in front of his mother. In 1876, an epidemic of diphtheria began in Darmstadt; all the children except Elizabeth fell ill. The mother sat at night by the beds of her sick children. Soon, four-year-old Maria died, and after her, the Grand Duchess Alice herself fell ill and died at the age of 35.
Friedrich (October 7, 1870 - May 29, 1873)
Maria (May 24, 1874 - November 16, 1878)
Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse and Rhine
That year ended Elizabeth's childhood. Grief intensified her prayers. She realized that life on earth is the path of the Cross. The child tried with all his might to ease his father’s grief, support him, console him, and to some extent replace his mother with his younger sisters and brother.
Princesses Irina, Victoria, Elizabeth and Alix
In her twentieth year, Princess Elizabeth became the bride of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II, brother of Emperor Alexander III. She met her future husband in childhood, when he came to Germany with his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who also came from the House of Hesse. Before this, all applicants for her hand had been refused: Princess Elizabeth in her youth had vowed to remain a virgin for the rest of her life. After a frank conversation between her and Sergei Alexandrovich, it turned out that he had secretly made the same vow. By mutual agreement, their marriage was spiritual, they lived like brother and sister.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Father of Sergei Alexandrovich - Emperor Alexander II
Mother of Sergei Alexandrovich - Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Franz Xavier Winterhalter
The whole family accompanied Princess Elizabeth to her wedding in Russia. Her twelve-year-old sister Alice also came with her, who met here her future husband, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.
The wedding took place in the church of the Grand Palace of St. Petersburg according to the Orthodox rite, and after it according to the Protestant rite in one of the living rooms of the palace. The Grand Duchess intensively studied the Russian language, wanting to study more deeply the culture and especially the faith of her new homeland.
The ceremonial entry into St. Petersburg of the Princess of Hesse (Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna) - the bride of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Grand Duchess Elizabeth was dazzlingly beautiful. In those days they said that there were only two beauties in Europe, and both were Elizabeths: Elizabeth of Austria, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph, and Elizabeth Feodorovna.
For most of the year, the Grand Duchess lived with her husband on their Ilyinskoye estate, sixty kilometers from Moscow, on the banks of the Moscow River. She loved Moscow with its ancient churches, monasteries and patriarchal life. Sergei Alexandrovich was a deeply religious person, strictly observed all church canons and fasts, often went to services, went to monasteries - the Grand Duchess followed her husband everywhere and stood idle for long church services. Here she experienced an amazing feeling, so different from what she encountered in the Protestant church.
Estate Ilyinskoye
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna.
Elizaveta Feodorovna firmly decided to convert to Orthodoxy. What kept her from taking this step was the fear of hurting her family, and above all, her father. Finally, on January 1, 1891, she wrote a letter to her father about her decision, asking for a short telegram of blessing.
The father did not send his daughter the desired telegram with a blessing, but wrote a letter in which he said that her decision brings him pain and suffering, and he cannot give a blessing. Then Elizaveta Fedorovna showed courage and, despite moral suffering, firmly decided to convert to Orthodoxy.
On April 13 (25), on Lazarus Saturday, the sacrament of confirmation of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was performed, leaving her former name, but in honor of the holy righteous Elizabeth - the mother of St. John the Baptist, whose memory the Orthodox Church commemorates on September 5 (18).
In 1891, Emperor Alexander III appointed Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich as Moscow Governor-General. The wife of the Governor-General had to perform many duties - there were constant receptions, concerts, and balls. It was necessary to smile and bow to the guests, dance and conduct conversations, regardless of mood, state of health and desire.
The residents of Moscow soon appreciated her merciful heart. She went to hospitals for the poor, almshouses, and shelters for street children. And everywhere she tried to alleviate the suffering of people: she distributed food, clothing, money, and improved the living conditions of the unfortunate.
In 1894, after many obstacles, the decision was made to engage Grand Duchess Alice to the heir to the Russian throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich. Elizaveta Feodorovna rejoiced that the young lovers could finally unite, and her sister would live in Russia, dear to her heart. Princess Alice was 22 years old and Elizaveta Feodorovna hoped that her sister, living in Russia, would understand and love the Russian people, master the Russian language perfectly and be able to prepare for the high service of the Russian Empress.
But everything happened differently. The heir's bride arrived in Russia when Emperor Alexander III lay dying. On October 20, 1894, the emperor died. The next day, Princess Alice converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra. The wedding of Emperor Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna took place a week after the funeral, and in the spring of 1896 the coronation took place in Moscow. The celebrations were overshadowed by a terrible disaster: on the Khodynka field, where gifts were being distributed to the people, a stampede began - thousands of people were injured or crushed.
Emperor Nicholas II
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
When the Russo-Japanese War began, Elizaveta Fedorovna immediately began organizing assistance to the front. One of her remarkable undertakings was the establishment of workshops to help soldiers - all the halls of the Kremlin Palace, except the Throne Palace, were occupied for them. Thousands of women worked on sewing machines and work tables. Huge donations came from all over Moscow and the provinces. From here, bales of food, uniforms, medicines and gifts for soldiers went to the front. The Grand Duchess sent camp churches with icons and everything necessary for worship to the front. I personally sent Gospels, icons and prayer books. At her own expense, the Grand Duchess formed several ambulance trains.
Two sisters Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
In Moscow, she set up a hospital for the wounded and created special committees to provide for the widows and orphans of those killed at the front. But Russian troops suffered one defeat after another. The war showed Russia's technical and military unpreparedness and the shortcomings of public administration. Scores began to be settled for past grievances of arbitrariness or injustice, the unprecedented scale of terrorist acts, rallies, and strikes. The state and social order was falling apart, a revolution was approaching.
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, D. Belyukin
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
Sergei Alexandrovich believed that it was necessary to take tougher measures against the revolutionaries and reported this to the emperor, saying that given the current situation he could no longer hold the position of Governor-General of Moscow. The Emperor accepted his resignation and the couple left the governor's house, moving temporarily to Neskuchnoye.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Meanwhile, the fighting organization of the Social Revolutionaries sentenced Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to death. Its agents kept an eye on him, waiting for an opportunity to execute him. Elizaveta Fedorovna knew that her husband was in mortal danger. Anonymous letters warned her not to accompany her husband if she did not want to share his fate. The Grand Duchess especially tried not to leave him alone and, if possible, accompanied her husband everywhere.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
On February 5 (18), 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich was killed by a bomb thrown by terrorist Ivan Kalyaev. When Elizaveta Feodorovna arrived at the scene of the explosion, a crowd had already gathered there. Someone tried to prevent her from approaching the remains of her husband, but with her own hands she collected the pieces of her husband’s body scattered by the explosion onto a stretcher.
On the third day after the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna went to the prison where the murderer was kept. Kalyaev said: “ I didn’t want to kill you, I saw him several times and that time when I had a bomb ready, but you were with him, and I did not dare to touch him .”
- “ And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him ?” - she answered. She further said that she had brought forgiveness from Sergei Alexandrovich and asked him to repent. But he refused. Nevertheless, Elizaveta Fedorovna left the Gospel and a small icon in the cell, hoping for a miracle. Leaving prison, she said: “My attempt was unsuccessful, although who knows, perhaps at the last minute he will realize his sin and repent of it.” The Grand Duchess asked Emperor Nicholas II to pardon Kalyaev, but this request was rejected.
From the moment of the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not stop mourning, began to keep a strict fast, and prayed a lot. Her bedroom in the Nicholas Palace began to resemble a monastic cell. All the luxurious furniture was taken out, the walls were repainted white, and only icons and paintings of spiritual content were on them. She did not appear at social functions. She was only in church for weddings or christenings of relatives and friends and immediately went home or on business. Now nothing connected her with social life.
She collected all her jewelry, gave some to the treasury, some to her relatives, and decided to use the rest to build a monastery of mercy. On Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow, Elizaveta Fedorovna purchased an estate with four houses and a garden. In the largest two-story house there is a dining room for the sisters, a kitchen and other utility rooms, in the second there is a church and a hospital, next to it there is a pharmacy and an outpatient clinic for incoming patients. In the fourth house there was an apartment for the priest - the confessor of the monastery, classes of the school for girls of the orphanage and a library.
On February 10, 1909, the Grand Duchess gathered 17 sisters of the monastery she founded, took off her mourning dress, put on a monastic robe and said: “ I will leave the brilliant world where I occupied a brilliant position, but together with all of you I ascend to a greater world - to the world of the poor and suffering. ” The first church of the monastery (“hospital”) was consecrated by Bishop Tryphon on September 9 (21), 1909 (on the day of the celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in the name of the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. The second church is in honor of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated in 1911 (architect A.V. Shchusev, paintings by M.V. Nesterov)
The day at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent began at 6 o'clock in the morning. After the general morning prayer rule. In the hospital church, the Grand Duchess gave obedience to the sisters for the coming day. Those free from obedience remained in the church, where the Divine Liturgy began. The afternoon meal included reading the lives of the saints. At 5 o'clock in the evening, Vespers and Matins were served in the church, where all the sisters free from obedience were present. On holidays and Sundays an all-night vigil was held. At 9 o'clock in the evening, the evening rule was read in the hospital church, after which all the sisters, having received the blessing of the abbess, went to their cells. Akathists were read four times a week during Vespers: on Sunday - to the Savior, on Monday - to the Archangel Michael and all the Ethereal Heavenly Powers, on Wednesday - to the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary, and on Friday - to the Mother of God or the Passion of Christ. In the chapel, built at the end of the garden, the Psalter for the dead was read. The abbess herself often prayed there at night. The inner life of the sisters was led by a wonderful priest and shepherd - the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky. Twice a week he had conversations with the sisters. In addition, the sisters could come to their confessor or the abbess every day at certain hours for advice and guidance. The Grand Duchess, together with Father Mitrofan, taught the sisters not only medical knowledge, but also spiritual guidance to degenerate, lost and despairing people. Every Sunday after the evening service in the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God, conversations were held for the people with the general singing of prayers.
Divine services in the monastery have always been at a brilliant height thanks to the exceptional pastoral merits of the confessor chosen by the abbess. The best shepherds and preachers not only from Moscow, but also from many remote places in Russia came here to perform divine services and preach. Like a bee, the abbess collected nectar from all flowers so that people could feel the special aroma of spirituality. The monastery, its churches and worship aroused the admiration of its contemporaries. This was facilitated not only by the temples of the monastery, but also by a beautiful park with greenhouses - in the best traditions of garden art of the 18th - 19th centuries. It was a single ensemble that harmoniously combined external and internal beauty.
Personal office of the Grand Duchess in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent
A contemporary of the Grand Duchess, Nonna Grayton, maid of honor to her relative Princess Victoria, testifies: “She had a wonderful quality - to see the good and the real in people, and tried to bring it out. She also did not have a high opinion of her qualities at all... She never said the words “I can’t”, and there was never anything sad in the life of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. Everything was perfect there, both inside and outside. And whoever was there was taken away with a wonderful feeling.”
In the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery, the Grand Duchess led the life of an ascetic. She slept on a wooden bed without a mattress. She strictly observed fasts, eating only plant foods. In the morning she got up for prayer, after which she distributed obediences to the sisters, worked in the clinic, received visitors, and sorted out petitions and letters.
In the evening, there is a round of patients, ending after midnight. At night she prayed in a chapel or in church, her sleep rarely lasting more than three hours. When the patient was thrashing about and needed help, she sat at his bedside until dawn. In the hospital, Elizaveta Feodorovna took on the most responsible work: she assisted during operations, did dressings, found words of consolation, and tried to alleviate the suffering of the sick. They said that the Grand Duchess emanated a healing power that helped them endure pain and agree to difficult operations.
The abbess always offered confession and communion as the main remedy for illnesses. She said: “It is immoral to console the dying with false hope of recovery; it is better to help them move into eternity in a Christian way.”
The sisters of the monastery took a course in medical knowledge. Their main task was to visit sick, poor, abandoned children, providing them with medical, material and moral assistance.
The best specialists in Moscow worked at the monastery hospital; all operations were performed free of charge. Here those whom doctors refused were healed. The healed patients cried when leaving the Marfo-Mariinsky Hospital, parting with the “ great mother ,” as they called the abbess. There was a Sunday school at the monastery for female factory workers. Anyone could use the funds of the excellent library. There was a free canteen for the poor.
The abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent believed that the main thing was not the hospital, but helping the poor and needy. The monastery received up to 12,000 requests a year. They asked for everything: arranging for treatment, finding a job, looking after children, caring for bedridden patients, sending them to study abroad.
She found opportunities to help the clergy - she provided funds for the needs of poor rural parishes that could not repair the church or build a new one. She encouraged, strengthened, and helped financially the priests - missionaries who worked among the pagans of the far north or foreigners on the outskirts of Russia.
One of the main places of poverty, to which the Grand Duchess paid special attention, was the Khitrov market. Elizaveta Fedorovna, accompanied by her cell attendant Varvara Yakovleva or the sister of the monastery, Princess Maria Obolenskaya, tirelessly moving from one den to another, collected orphans and persuaded parents to give her children to raise. The entire population of Khitrovo respected her, calling her “ sister Elisaveta” or “mother ”. The police constantly warned her that they could not guarantee her safety.
In response to this, the Grand Duchess always thanked the police for their care and said that her life was not in their hands, but in the hands of God. She tried to save the children of Khitrovka. She was not afraid of uncleanliness, swearing, or a face that had lost its human appearance. She said: “ The likeness of God may sometimes be obscured, but it can never be destroyed.”
She placed the boys torn from Khitrovka into dormitories. From one group of such recent ragamuffins an artel of executive messengers of Moscow was formed. The girls were placed in closed educational institutions or shelters, where their health, spiritual and physical, was also monitored.
Elizaveta Fedorovna organized charity homes for orphans, disabled people, and seriously ill people, found time to visit them, constantly supported them financially, and brought gifts. They tell the following story: one day the Grand Duchess was supposed to come to an orphanage for little orphans. Everyone was preparing to meet their benefactress with dignity. The girls were told that the Grand Duchess would come: they would need to greet her and kiss her hands. When Elizaveta Fedorovna arrived, she was greeted by little children in white dresses. They greeted each other in unison and all extended their hands to the Grand Duchess with the words: “kiss the hands.” The teachers were horrified: what would happen. But the Grand Duchess went up to each of the girls and kissed everyone’s hands. Everyone cried at the same time - there was such tenderness and reverence on their faces and in their hearts.
“ Great Mother ” hoped that the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, which she created, would blossom into a large fruitful tree.
Over time, she planned to establish branches of the monastery in other cities of Russia.
The Grand Duchess had a native Russian love of pilgrimage.
More than once she traveled to Sarov and happily hurried to the temple to pray at the shrine of St. Seraphim. She went to Pskov, to Optina Pustyn, to Zosima Pustyn, and was in the Solovetsky Monastery. She also visited the smallest monasteries in provincial and remote places in Russia. She was present at all spiritual celebrations associated with the discovery or transfer of the relics of the saints of God. The Grand Duchess secretly helped and looked after sick pilgrims who were expecting healing from the newly glorified saints. In 1914, she visited the monastery in Alapaevsk, which was destined to become the place of her imprisonment and martyrdom.
She was the patroness of Russian pilgrims going to Jerusalem. Through the societies organized by her, the cost of tickets for pilgrims sailing from Odessa to Jaffa was covered. She also built a large hotel in Jerusalem.
Another glorious deed of the Grand Duchess was the construction of a Russian Orthodox church in Italy, in the city of Bari, where the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra of Lycia rest. In 1914, the lower church in honor of St. Nicholas and the hospice house were consecrated.
During the First World War, the Grand Duchess's work increased: it was necessary to care for the wounded in hospitals. Some of the sisters of the monastery were released to work in a field hospital. At first, Elizaveta Fedorovna, prompted by Christian feelings, visited the captured Germans, but slander about secret support for the enemy forced her to abandon this.
In 1916, an angry crowd approached the gates of the monastery with a demand to hand over a German spy - the brother of Elizabeth Feodorovna, who was allegedly hiding in the monastery. The abbess came out to the crowd alone and offered to inspect all the premises of the community. A mounted police force dispersed the crowd.
Soon after the February Revolution, a crowd with rifles, red flags and bows again approached the monastery. The abbess herself opened the gate - they told her that they had come to arrest her and put her on trial as a German spy, who also kept weapons in the monastery.
In response to the demands of those who came to immediately go with them, the Grand Duchess said that she must make orders and say goodbye to the sisters. The abbess gathered all the sisters in the monastery and asked Father Mitrofan to serve a prayer service. Then, turning to the revolutionaries, she invited them to enter the church, but to leave their weapons at the entrance. They reluctantly took off their rifles and followed into the temple.
Elizaveta Fedorovna stood on her knees throughout the prayer service. After the end of the service, she said that Father Mitrofan would show them all the buildings of the monastery, and they could look for what they wanted to find. Of course, they found nothing there except the sisters’ cells and a hospital with the sick. After the crowd left, Elizaveta Fedorovna said to the sisters: “ Obviously we are not yet worthy of the crown of martyrdom .
In the spring of 1917, a Swedish minister came to her on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm and offered her help in traveling abroad. Elizaveta Fedorovna replied that she had decided to share the fate of the country, which she considered her new homeland and could not leave the sisters of the monastery in this difficult time.
Never have there been so many people at a service in the monastery as before the October revolution. They went not only for a bowl of soup or medical help, but also for the consolation and advice of the “ great mother .” Elizaveta Fedorovna received everyone, listened to them, and strengthened them. People left her peaceful and encouraged.
The last photograph of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and nun Varvara before their death. 1918, Marfo-Mariinsky Hospital
For the first time after the October revolution, the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent was not touched. On the contrary, the sisters were shown respect; twice a week a truck with food arrived at the monastery: black bread, dried fish, vegetables, some fat and sugar. Limited quantities of bandages and essential medicines were provided.
But everyone around was scared, patrons and wealthy donors were now afraid to provide assistance to the monastery. To avoid provocation, the Grand Duchess did not go outside the gate, and the sisters were also forbidden to go outside. However, the established daily routine of the monastery did not change, only the services became longer and the sisters’ prayers became more fervent. Father Mitrofan served the Divine Liturgy in the crowded church every day; there were many communicants. For some time, the monastery housed the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Sovereign, found in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow on the day of Emperor Nicholas II’s abdication from the throne. Conciliar prayers were performed in front of the icon.
After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace, the German government obtained the consent of the Soviet authorities to allow Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna to travel abroad. The German Ambassador, Count Mirbach, tried twice to see the Grand Duchess, but she did not accept him and categorically refused to leave Russia. She said: “I didn’t do anything bad to anyone. The Lord's will be done!
The calm in the monastery was the calm before the storm. First, they sent questionnaires - questionnaires for those who lived and were undergoing treatment: first name, last name, age, social origin, etc. After this, several people from the hospital were arrested. Then they announced that the orphans would be transferred to an orphanage. In April 1918, on the third day of Easter, when the Church celebrates the memory of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Elizaveta Fedorovna was arrested and immediately taken out of Moscow. On this day, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon visited the Martha and Mary Convent, where he served the Divine Liturgy and prayer service. After the service, the patriarch remained in the monastery until four o’clock in the afternoon, talking with the abbess and sisters. This was the last blessing and parting word from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church before the Grand Duchess’s way of the cross to Golgotha.
Almost immediately after Patriarch Tikhon’s departure, a car with a commissar and Latvian Red Army soldiers drove up to the monastery. Elizaveta Fedorovna was ordered to go with them. We were given half an hour to get ready. The abbess only managed to gather the sisters in the Church of Saints Martha and Mary and give them the last blessing. Everyone present cried, knowing that they were seeing their mother and abbess for the last time. Elizaveta Feodorovna thanked the sisters for their dedication and loyalty and asked Father Mitrofan not to leave the monastery and serve in it as long as this was possible.
Two sisters went with the Grand Duchess - Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva. Before getting into the car, the abbess made the sign of the cross over everyone.
Having learned about what had happened, Patriarch Tikhon tried, through various organizations with which the new government reckoned, to achieve the release of the Grand Duchess. But his efforts were in vain. All members of the imperial house were doomed.
Elizaveta Fedorovna and her companions were sent by rail to Perm.
The Grand Duchess spent the last months of her life in prison, in school, on the outskirts of the city of Alapaevsk, together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (the youngest son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II), his secretary - Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez, three brothers - John, Konstantin and Igor (sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich) and Prince Vladimir Paley (son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich). The end was near. Mother Superior prepared for this outcome, devoting all her time to prayer.
The sisters accompanying their abbess were brought to the Regional Council and offered to be released. Both begged to be returned to the Grand Duchess, then the security officers began to frighten them with torture and torment that would await everyone who stayed with her. Varvara Yakovleva said that she was ready to sign even with her blood, that she wanted to share her fate with the Grand Duchess. So the sister of the cross of the Martha and Mary Convent, Varvara Yakovleva, made her choice and joined the prisoners awaiting a decision on their fate.
In the dead of night of July 5 (18), 1918, on the day of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, along with other members of the imperial house, was thrown into the shaft of an old mine. When the brutal executioners pushed the Grand Duchess into the black pit, she said a prayer: “Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Then the security officers began throwing hand grenades into the mine. One of the peasants, who witnessed the murder, said that the singing of the Cherubim was heard from the depths of the mine. It was sung by the Russian new martyrs before their transition into eternity. They died in terrible suffering, from thirst, hunger and wounds.
The Grand Duchess did not fall to the bottom of the shaft, but to a ledge that was located at a depth of 15 meters. Next to her they found the body of John Konstantinovich with a bandaged head. All broken, with severe bruises, here too she sought to alleviate the suffering of her neighbor. The fingers of the right hand of the Grand Duchess and nun Varvara were folded for the sign of the cross.
The remains of the abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent and her faithful cell attendant Varvara were transported to Jerusalem in 1921 and placed in the tomb of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles in Gethsemane.
The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 canonized the venerable martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and nun Varvara as the holy new martyrs of Russia, establishing a celebration for them on the day of their death - July 5 (18).
Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy. Monument to Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna by the famous sculptor, People's Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Klykov. Installed on the territory of the Monastery in 1990.)
Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy. Memorial cross to the Alapaevsk martyrs at Calvary. (“Golgotha” was the sisters’ name for a small mound in the depths of the garden. The origin of this name is not reliably known.
https://top-anthropos.com/history/20-century/item/155-elizaveta-fedorovna-romanova
https://russiaromanovs.ucoz.ru/photo/velikij_knjaz_sergej_aleksandrovich/9
https://paraklit.org/forum/phpBB3-ru/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=833
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What does Saint Elizabeth help with?
Through the icons of His saints, the Lord sends us what we ask for, useful for our souls. The saints, just like us, who have walked the earthly path, know our needs. They experienced the same experiences, overcame similar earthly difficulties. When we ask a saint for intercession, we ask that he convey our prayer to God and that the saint’s prayers will be heard faster than our sincere appeal to them. The icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth helps to establish a prayer connection with the holy intercessor. Having before us the visual image of the Venerable Martyr, our prayer is not dissipated into empty ideas and dreams. And according to the faith of the one who asks, the Lord, through His saints, gives us what we ask.
Before the image of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth they pray:
— About strengthening faith — About help in organizing earthly affairs — About healing of bodily and spiritual infirmities.
Truly wonderful is God in His saints! Dear believers, brothers and sisters! Do not doubt the help of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth! Open your heart to her in sincere prayer and she will hear us, heal spiritual and physical infirmities, and help in the successful arrangement of earthly affairs.
Do not forget that in order for a miracle to happen, we ourselves must take care: regularly, with attention, read the prayer, do deeds of faith and love. And don’t forget to give thanks: to thank all the people sent to us by the grace of God to solve our life’s troubles, who shared our joy and sorrow. To thank the Saint, whose prayerful support our heart yearned for, because how many people pray to him for help, but he heard and helped us too. And most importantly, thank the Lord for His boundless love for mankind. He gave the world His saints and every second helps us, people who hope for His great mercies.
Everything in the world happens according to the wise providence of God. Difficulties and sorrows, success and joys. Through earthly trials the Lord strengthens us. By helping each other, praying to the heavenly saints, we are more firmly united in the One Church of Christ. And we believe that the Holy Martyr Elizabeth will hear all our prayers and show us the boundless mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for everything!
Icon "Saint Elizabeth (Elizabeth) the Righteous" to order
Life
Righteous Elizabeth and her husband the prophet Zechariah lived at the turn of two eras - in the last years before the Nativity of Christ and the first year after the Nativity of Christ.
The holy parents of the prophet John the Baptist came from the family of Aaron. The Gospel tells about these righteous people that the spouses led an immaculate, chaste life.
Elizabeth was barren. For this reason, the couple endured reproach and insults from neighbors and others. Indeed, at that time, infertility was considered a great punishment from God. In such an offensive situation, the holy spouses lived until old age, but at the same time they never grumbled at God and fulfilled His commandments to perfection. Zechariah was a priest. One day, while performing a divine service, he entered the sanctuary. There the Angel of the Lord Gabriel appeared to him and predicted the birth of his son John, who would bring much joy to people, would lead the same life as the prophet Elijah, and would be chosen in Heaven to be the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord Jesus Christ. Zechariah did not believe the Archangel, since both he and his wife were elderly. For this, the Angel deprived Zechariah of the power of speech until his son was born. And, indeed, everything that the Angel predicted began to come true: Elizabeth, despite her advanced age, conceived and was expecting a child.
Six months later, her niece, the Blessed Virgin Mary, came to visit Elizabeth. The other day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Virgin, just like Zechariah, and predicted to her the birth of a Son from the Holy Spirit. And the Mother of God came to share this news with her aunt. As soon as they greeted, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said in a loud voice the words of the prayer “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...”, which Christians still address to the Blessed Virgin. And she told Mary that as soon as she heard her greeting, the baby jumped joyfully in her womb. And the Mother of God in response uttered the words of our current prayer to Her, called the “Song of the Most Holy Theotokos.” Not a single Matins service is complete without this prayer.
When Saint Elizabeth had a son, she named him John. But relatives who came to visit the baby argued about the child’s name, since no one in their family had ever been called that. They wanted to name the baby after his father - Zechariah. But the husband of righteous Elizabeth, in agreement with her, wrote on the tablet: “The name of the baby is John.” And immediately the gift of speech returned to him, as Archangel Gabriel promised. And all the relatives marveled at this. Six months after the birth of John, the Virgin Mary gave birth to the Infant God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when everyone started talking about the birth of the King of the Jews expected by the Israelites, King Herod also learned about it. The Jewish people had long been waiting for the promised King. This was predicted by the Old Testament prophets. When the promise was fulfilled: Christ was born, then an Angel announced this great event to the wise men and shepherds. And they went through the entire land of Judea in search of the born Child of God, preaching the birth of the King promised to the Jews. Fearful of losing his position, King Herod sent soldiers to kill all the babies in Bethlehem under two years of age. Herod knew about the miraculous birth of John the Baptist, so he first ordered the extermination of the baby John. Evil warriors killed the father of John the Baptist Zechariah right in the temple between the altar and the altar, without learning anything from him about the whereabouts of his son. Baby John was already one and a half years old at that time. Elizabeth, taking the child, fled to the mountains. The chase almost overtook the mother and baby, when, at the command of the Lord, the rock parted and, as it were, swallowed up the saints of God. And when the killing of infants by Herod stopped, a cave formed at the site of the cleft in the rock; and a date palm tree grew nearby, the fruits of which the mother and baby ate. When Elizabeth and John needed food, the palm tree bent over, and after the meal it straightened out again. Elizabeth did not live long after the murder of her husband - she passed on to another world after 40 days. And the baby remained to live in the cave, protected by God.
Buy an icon of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth
In the Radonezh icon painting workshop you can buy or order a measured icon of St. Elizabeth. Free delivery throughout Russia. If desired, the icon can be consecrated in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra.
The icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth made by the icon painters of the Radonezh workshop, like any handmade icon, carries within itself the living warmth of human hands and a loving heart. Each icon painted with love is unique and inimitable.
Peace and goodness to you, dear brothers and sisters, and may the holy saint of God, Elizabeth, accompany you throughout your entire life’s journey.
Similar icons:
Guardian Angel (Rostovoy) 20000 ₽
Vladimir 20000 ₽
Timothy the Apostle 20000 ₽
Varvara Iliopolskaya 20000 ₽
Why did the Holy Princess scratch her name on the piano?
The Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Sisters of Mercy is a unique charitable institution of its kind. “I am fundamentally against nuns going out into the world to serve their neighbors, on which some Hierarchs agree with me. I would also not like to turn my Convent into an ordinary community of Sisters of Mercy, since, firstly, there is only one medical matter there, and other types are not even touched upon, and secondly, there is no church organization in them, and spiritual life is in the background, while it should be exactly the opposite,” wrote Elizaveta Fedorovna.
In the photo - Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy 100 years ago (photo above) and now (photo below). Even the paths along which the Grand Duchess walked have been revived
The postponed anniversary of the 100th anniversary of the Monastery was celebrated back in February, but due to mourning in connection with the death of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, the celebrations were postponed until September. Today at 8 am the entire Bolshaya Ordynka Street was cleared of parked cars - distinguished guests were expected at the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy.
The head of the monastery, Natalya Moliboga (in a white apostle) gives out the last instructions before the meeting of the Patriarch
Now there are 16 sisters in the monastery. They are mainly involved in organizing everyday life: they work in the temple, in the bookstore and in the store of pious women's clothing, cook in the refectory and supervise repair work. Shortly before the anniversary, a rite of dedication was performed over them, similar to that which was approved by the Holy Synod for the first nuns of the Monastery. Now they wear white apostolniks and gray dresses with cuffs - just like then. Arrival of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' His Eminence Hilarion, Archbishop of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the DECR, and His Eminence Juvenaly, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Among the guests of honor was Princess Margaret of Baden, the last of the closest relatives of the founder of the monastery. “Everyone likes to celebrate birthdays and today we have such a celebration. Today we celebrate rebirth. This celebration is important because today the whole world finds itself in such a situation that there is a special need for people who are ready to help the poor and disadvantaged, as the Holy Martyr did. Elizabeth - said Princess Margaret of Baden. – Today, with this holiday, we do not spend money, but attract money precisely by organizing this celebration. The money will go to help hungry, sick orphans. To all those who come here for help. And titles have nothing to do with it. Elisaveta Fedorovna was a humble woman who was ready to help everyone who needed help. This is no less important today than it was a hundred years ago. The Patriarch today said that people should help others, but with kindness in their hearts, that’s exactly what Elisaveta Feorovna was, that’s what she did a hundred years ago and that’s what we need today.” “My aunt would be happy to see the revived monastery,” she emphasized. Even under Elizabeth Feodorovna, two churches were built in the monastery - a hospital church in the name of the holy women Martha and Mary and the Intercession Cathedral (architect A. Shchusev). Elizabeth Fedorovna invited the artist Mikhail Nesterov, his student Pavel Korin (the latter was married to her former pupil), and the famous sculptor Sergei Konenkov to paint the temple. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill served the Liturgy and prayer service for the Venerable Martyrs Elizabeth and Nun Varvara. In the center of the temple there was an ark with the relics of the holy martyrs. Elizabeth and Barbara, who were brought from Jerusalem with the blessing of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and transferred to the Martha and Mary monastery by Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain. After the service, the relics of the holy martyrs were transferred to the altar and placed in a specially constructed ark, in which they will now be kept in the monastery. More than 300 guests gathered for the celebrations, including Princess Margaret of Baden (pictured below - left), Prince Michael of Ethiopia (at top photo - in the center), representatives of Russian emigration and noble families: Golitsyns, Obolenskys, Khudokormovs, Kochubeys, Tatishchevs, Apraksins, Rodziankos, as well as the wife of the President of Russia S.V. Medvedev (pictured below - right) and participants in the Revival program Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent" - Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation V.I. Yakunin, Moscow Mayor Yu.M. Luzhkov, representatives of the Moscow Government and members of the Board of Trustees of the monastery revival program Svetlana Medvedeva called the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent a symbol of spiritual, moral and cultural wealth of our Fatherland “I would like to tell you one important thing: you can do good deeds without goodness in your heart,” said His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the end of the service. – There is a social protection system, but not every employee of this system gives his soul to unfortunate people. The service you perform here should not be formal in memory of Grand Duchess Elizabeth, but a sincere movement of your heart. We need not just to revive these walls, but to fill them with the spirit of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth. And God grant that this is how your service is performed. The ministry of the sisters of this monastery." After the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness the Patriarch awarded orders of the Russian Orthodox Church to people who made a significant contribution to the revival of the monastery. Among them are Yuri Luzhkov and Vladimir Yakunin, who received the Order of St. Andrei Rublev. The head of the monastery, Natalia Moliboga, was awarded the Order of Grand Duchess Olga. Entrepreneur Vasily Anisimov and his wife and Irina Abramovich also received awards. President Vladimir Yakunin said that with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch and at the request of the monastery of mercy, the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation decided to donate to the monastery a large iconographic image of Elizabeth Feodorovna, who took part in the religious procession across Russia with the relics Venerable Martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara in 2004 – 2005. Then more than 10 million people worshiped this icon. For a long time, icon painters did not know how to paint St. prpmts. Varvara, this photograph has not yet been found and published. On it is the nun Varvara among the sisters of the Convent and wounded soldiers - sitting fourth from the left. The celebrations were closed, but when they ended and everyone had left, the Muscovites who were waiting at the gates were allowed into the Convent, wanting to venerate the relics of the holy martyrs and join in the hundred-year history of the holy place.
A museum that comes to life before our eyes
The Museum of the Monastery has many interesting exhibits.
For example. here stands Elizabeth Feodorovna’s personal piano, which never left the walls of the monastery. In Soviet times, when a kindergarten was set up in Elizabeth Feodorovna’s chambers, this piano was played at children’s matinees, then it stood in the gym in one of the large rooms, and only now it is again installed in the abbess’s chambers. The owner's signature is on the lid of the piano. “Back then it was customary to sign your things,” says Anna, the museum’s guide, “the grand dukes understood that something with their signature would be of interest to descendants. Elizaveta Fedorovna also signed the Gospels, which she gave as a blessing.” There is a wonderful museum in the Monastery where you can see personal belongings, drawings and letters from the Prmts. Elizabeth, as well as unique photographs of the beginning of the 20th century (you can get here on any Sunday after the Liturgy or on weekdays by appointment by phone). Having visited it, we have prepared for you several short essays about the initial structure of the Monastery and the pages of its history: Elizaveta Feodorovna founded the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent 2 years after the death of her husband, Governor General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, at the hands of terrorist Social Revolutionaries, changing the mourning on the white robe of a sister of mercy.
A third of all the funds of the Grand Duchess went to the establishment of the Monastery and other works of mercy. The other third was transferred to the treasury, the third was given to the closest relatives. German school The candidate of historical sciences, author of the book “Essays on the history of communities of sisters of mercy” priest Andrei Posternak tells: - In the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery of the monastery. Elizabeth wanted to combine social service and strict monastic rules. To do this, she needed to create a new type of women's church ministry, something between a monastery and a sisterhood. Secular sisterhoods, of which there were many in Russia at that time, did not please Elizaveta Feodorovna for their secular spirit: sisters of mercy often attended balls, led an overly secular lifestyle, and she understood monasticism exclusively as contemplative, prayerful work, complete renunciation of the world (and, accordingly, work in hospitals, hospitals, etc.). Brought up in the Protestant tradition, Elizaveta Feodorovna knew that the institution of deaconesses that existed in ancient times could be restored and its status of social service could be strengthened - in Germany, at that time, the community of deaconesses was revived by the Lutheran pastor Fliedner, and by the beginning of the 20th century his communities in only Germany was already over 80. But this idea was not accepted by the Russian church society of that time. Moreover, the ancient deaconesses had generally different tasks. They helped in the temple - when performing the sacrament of baptism over women, they kept order in the women's quarters. Elizaveta Feodorovna tried to apply the old name to the new type of church service, but the Synod postponed the decision, and at the Council of 1917-1918 the rank of deaconesses was not restored.
Icon of St. Martha and Mary, embroidered by Elizaveta Fedorovna
It’s not a woman’s business, Elizaveta Fedorovna herself advocated the introduction of the rank with reservations. After researching the issue, she learned that in the ancient Church there were two categories of deaconesses: deaconesses by habit, who took vows and received the blessing of the bishop, and ordained deaconesses (ordination usually occurred upon reaching the age of 60 and introduced women to the clergy). “I only ask for the first (class),” Elizaveta Fedorovna wrote to the professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Alexei Afanasyevich Dmitrievsky. “To tell the truth, I am not at all in favor of the second degree, the times are not right now to give women the right to participate in the clergy, humility is achieved with difficulty and the participation of women in the clergy can introduce instability into it.” The vows that the sisters of mercy made at the monastery were temporary (for one year, three, six, and only then for life), so although the sisters led a monastic lifestyle, they were not nuns. The sisters could leave the monastery and get married, but if they wished, they could also be tonsured into the mantle, bypassing monasticism. It was planned to build a monastery for the nuns from among the sisters of the monastery, where they could lead a solitary, prayerful lifestyle. In such a charter, Elizaveta Feodorovna managed to combine two types of service to Christ: the active service of Martha and the contemplative service of Mary. This was the uniqueness of the monastery.
Only physically healthy girls and widows of the Orthodox faith, no younger than 21 years old and no older than 40 years old, were accepted as sisters (social service required great physical effort). At the time of opening, there were six nuns in the monastery. But in April 1910, Bishop Tryfon (Turkestanov) in the house church of the monastery ordained 17 sisters of mercy according to the rank approved by the Holy Synod, including the Grand Duchess, who was elevated the next day by Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany) of Moscow to the rank of abbess. The uniform for the sisters was designed by artist Mikhail Nesterov. The sisters were divided into crosses - already initiated, they wore a cross on their chests like a priest's, test subjects and students (girls from the orphanage who wanted to become sisters). This was the case in other sisterhoods in Russia at that time. In the photo on the right: sister of the cross. Left: test sister with her ward, a nurse wounded in the war
The main work of the sisters was to visit the poor “on the ground.” All the sisters, without exception, together with the abbess, regularly went around the shelters of the famous Khitrov market, dressing the sick, transporting children to shelters, and finding places for the unemployed. During its heyday (1914-1917), more than 150 sisters of mercy worked at the Convent.
300 lunches for 5 kopecks Initially, the monastery had four buildings: a sister’s building with a refectory; a hospital with an outpatient clinic (it recorded 10,814 visits in 1913); the abbess's house and the priest's house. The priest's house also housed a public library (1,590 volumes of religious, moral, secular and children's literature), rooms where children from the orphanage studied and lived. There was also a Sunday school there, where in 1913 75 girls and women who worked in factories studied. Later, when there were many sisters, a three-story dormitory was built. In addition to the buildings inside the monastery, several buildings outside were also purchased over time. In one of them there was a canteen for the poor (in 1913 it served more than 300 meals daily for 5 kopecks), a hostel (“cheap apartments”) for low-income women working in the city, who had previously huddled in “bed-and-closet” damp apartments on outskirts of the city.
First patient
The first operation in the monastery hospital for poor women and children was performed on Elizaveta Fedorovna herself - she had a benign tumor, which surgeons successfully removed. The hospital was a success. The surgical department was considered the best in Moscow; the most critically ill patients were brought to it, who were rejected in other hospitals. The best specialists were invited to treat them - 34 doctors worked for free. But Elizaveta Fedorovna forbade increasing the number of beds (there were only 20), since servicing a larger hospital would distract the sisters from the opportunity to visit the poor at home, which was their main business. There were already hospitals in the city, but there were no social workers.
Both the dispensary and the pharmacy provided medicines to the poor free of charge. In 1910, 3,932 prescriptions were issued for medicines totaling 852 rubles, but people with income could buy medicines for money. In the same year, 68 people (15 of them children) were treated in the hospital. Of these, only one patient died (from lobar pneumonia), while the rest recovered.
Mercy and mission - In addition to the actual works of mercy, Elizaveta Feodorovna and the confessor of the monastery, Fr. Mitrofan Srebryansky considered an internal mission among the most disadvantaged citizens as the ultimate goal of creating the monastery, says Professor Andrei Efimov, head of the department of history of missions at PSTGU. “We bring to the suffering not only material help, but also the light of Christ,” said Elizaveta Fedorovna. Weekly confessor of the Monastery, Fr. Mitrofan of Srebryansky (St. Sergius) held conversations with the sisters about faith and the Holy Scriptures, so that they would be ready to talk about this when leaving the walls of the monastery.
Revival After the martyrdom of the founder in 1918, the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent existed for almost 8 years. In 1926, many sisters were deported to Central Asia, the premises of the monastery were occupied by various institutions, but for another two years there was a clinic where former sisters worked under the leadership of Princess Golitsyna. In 1928, the Intercession Cathedral was closed by the Bolsheviks.
Certificate issued to the sisters of the “former Marfo-Mariinsky labor community” in 1925
Since 1929, the monastery housed the Sanprosvet club. Nesterov's frescoes were painted over, and a huge statue of Stalin was erected in the altar, in place of the throne. In 1944–1945, the temple was occupied by new owners - the State Central Art Workshops under the Committee for Art Affairs, engaged in the restoration of ancient Russian painting. Perhaps this saved the temple from complete destruction.
The revival of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery began in 1992. However, the keys to the Intercession Church were returned to the Church by the All-Russian Art Scientific and Restoration Center named after I.E. Grabar only at the end of 2006.
Prayer room of St. Elizabeth: archival photo and modern interior restored from it. Under the ceiling, quotations from the Holy Scriptures chosen by the Grand Duchess are written in Slavic script.
Dining room in the Monastery: 100 years ago and now The celebrations are over and the monastery has lived an ordinary life. Today it looks more like an excellent museum, and the sisters are still its custodians. In 2008, the reconstruction of the architectural complex of the monastery was completed: churches, a dormitory for the sisters of mercy, a Sunday school with a priest’s apartment, a fence, a gatehouse and a chapel, a gardener’s house, a pavilion in the park, a garage and a utility shed. But the orphanage for girls has also been revived (pictured) - now 13 orphans live and are being raised here. One of the older sisters goes to city hospitals with missionary talks and is in charge of feeding the homeless at the monastery. In one of the Moscow psychoneurological boarding schools, nurses were asked to work with patients - teach them to write and read. — There is a great desire to restore the activity that was in the monastery at the Primts. “To Elisabeth,” Natalya Moliboga sighs. - But a hundred years have passed, now is a different time, different conditions, not everything that she could afford, we can afford.
Monument to St. Elizabeth on the territory of the Monastery
See also: Porridge in memory of the Grand Duchess
Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent: a unique example
Holy Martyr Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanova
When the Russo-Japanese War began, Elizaveta Fedorovna immediately began organizing assistance to the front. One of her remarkable undertakings was the establishment of workshops to help soldiers - all the halls of the Kremlin Palace, except the Throne Palace, were occupied for them. Thousands of women worked on sewing machines and work tables. Huge donations came from all over Moscow and the provinces. From here, bales of food, uniforms, medicines and gifts for soldiers went to the front. The Grand Duchess sent camp churches with icons and everything necessary for worship to the front. I personally sent Gospels, icons and prayer books. At her own expense, the Grand Duchess formed several ambulance trains. In Moscow, she set up a hospital for the wounded and created special committees to provide for the widows and orphans of those killed at the front. But Russian troops suffered one defeat after another. The war showed Russia's technical and military unpreparedness and the shortcomings of public administration. Scores began to be settled for past grievances of arbitrariness or injustice, the unprecedented scale of terrorist acts, rallies, and strikes. The state and social order was falling apart, a revolution was approaching. Sergei Alexandrovich believed that it was necessary to take tougher measures against the revolutionaries and reported this to the emperor, saying that given the current situation he could no longer hold the position of Governor-General of Moscow. The Emperor accepted his resignation and the couple left the governor's house, moving temporarily to Neskuchnoye. Meanwhile, the fighting organization of the Social Revolutionaries sentenced Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to death. Its agents kept an eye on him, waiting for an opportunity to execute him. Elizaveta Fedorovna knew that her husband was in mortal danger. Anonymous letters warned her not to accompany her husband if she did not want to share his fate. The Grand Duchess especially tried not to leave him alone and, if possible, accompanied her husband everywhere. On February 5 (18), 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich was killed by a bomb thrown by terrorist Ivan Kalyaev. When Elizaveta Feodorovna arrived at the scene of the explosion, a crowd had already gathered there. Someone tried to prevent her from approaching the remains of her husband, but with her own hands she collected the pieces of her husband’s body scattered by the explosion onto a stretcher. On the third day after the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna went to the prison where the murderer was kept. Kalyaev said: “I didn’t want to kill you, I saw him several times and the time when I had a bomb ready, but you were with him and I did not dare to touch him.” - “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she answered. She further said that she had brought forgiveness from Sergei Alexandrovich and asked him to repent. But he refused. Nevertheless, Elizaveta Fedorovna left the Gospel and a small icon in the cell, hoping for a miracle. Leaving prison, she said: “My attempt was unsuccessful, although who knows, perhaps at the last minute he will realize his sin and repent of it.” The Grand Duchess asked Emperor Nicholas II to pardon Kalyaev, but this request was rejected. From the moment of the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not stop mourning, began to keep a strict fast, and prayed a lot. Her bedroom in the Nicholas Palace began to resemble a monastic cell. All the luxurious furniture was taken out, the walls were repainted white, and only icons and paintings of spiritual content were on them. She did not appear at social functions. She was only in church for weddings or christenings of relatives and friends and immediately went home or on business. Now nothing connected her with social life.
Elizaveta Fedorovna in mourning after the death of her husband
She collected all her jewelry, gave some to the treasury, some to her relatives, and decided to use the rest to build a monastery of mercy. On Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow, Elizaveta Fedorovna purchased an estate with four houses and a garden. In the largest two-story house there is a dining room for the sisters, a kitchen and other utility rooms, in the second there is a church and a hospital, next to it there is a pharmacy and an outpatient clinic for incoming patients. In the fourth house there was an apartment for the priest - the confessor of the monastery, classes of the school for girls of the orphanage and a library. On February 10, 1909, the Grand Duchess gathered 17 sisters of the monastery she founded, took off her mourning dress, put on a monastic robe and said: “I will leave the brilliant world where I occupied a brilliant position, but together with all of you I ascend to a greater world - to a world of the poor and suffering."
The first church of the monastery (“hospital”) was consecrated by Bishop Tryphon on September 9 (21), 1909 (on the day of the celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in the name of the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. The second church is in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, consecrated in 1911 (architect A.V. Shchusev, paintings by M.V. Nesterov).
Mikhail Nesterov. Elisaveta Feodorovna Romanova. Between 1910 and 1912.
The day at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent began at 6 o’clock in the morning. After the general morning prayer rule. In the hospital church, the Grand Duchess gave obedience to the sisters for the coming day. Those free from obedience remained in the church, where the Divine Liturgy began. The afternoon meal included reading the lives of the saints. At 5 o'clock in the evening, Vespers and Matins were served in the church, where all the sisters free from obedience were present. On holidays and Sundays an all-night vigil was held. At 9 o'clock in the evening, the evening rule was read in the hospital church, after which all the sisters, having received the blessing of the abbess, went to their cells. Akathists were read four times a week during Vespers: on Sunday - to the Savior, on Monday - to the Archangel Michael and all the Ethereal Heavenly Powers, on Wednesday - to the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary, and on Friday - to the Mother of God or the Passion of Christ. In the chapel, built at the end of the garden, the Psalter for the dead was read. The abbess herself often prayed there at night. The inner life of the sisters was led by a wonderful priest and shepherd - the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky. Twice a week he had conversations with the sisters. In addition, the sisters could come to their confessor or the abbess every day at certain hours for advice and guidance. The Grand Duchess, together with Father Mitrofan, taught the sisters not only medical knowledge, but also spiritual guidance to degenerate, lost and despairing people. Every Sunday after the evening service in the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God, conversations were held for the people with the general singing of prayers. Divine services in the monastery have always been at a brilliant height thanks to the exceptional pastoral merits of the confessor chosen by the abbess. The best shepherds and preachers not only from Moscow, but also from many remote places in Russia came here to perform divine services and preach. Like a bee, the abbess collected nectar from all flowers so that people could feel the special aroma of spirituality. The monastery, its churches and worship aroused the admiration of its contemporaries. This was facilitated not only by the temples of the monastery, but also by a beautiful park with greenhouses - in the best traditions of garden art of the 18th - 19th centuries. It was a single ensemble that harmoniously combined external and internal beauty. A contemporary of the Grand Duchess, Nonna Grayton, maid of honor to her relative Princess Victoria, testifies: “She had a wonderful quality - to see the good and the real in people, and tried to bring it out. She also did not have a high opinion of her qualities at all... She never said the words “I can’t”, and there was never anything sad in the life of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. Everything was perfect there, both inside and outside. And whoever was there was taken away with a wonderful feeling.” In the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery, the Grand Duchess led the life of an ascetic. She slept on a wooden bed without a mattress. She strictly observed fasts, eating only plant foods. In the morning she got up for prayer, after which she distributed obediences to the sisters, worked in the clinic, received visitors, and sorted out petitions and letters. In the evening, there is a round of patients, ending after midnight. At night she prayed in a chapel or in church, her sleep rarely lasting more than three hours. When the patient was thrashing about and needed help, she sat at his bedside until dawn. In the hospital, Elizaveta Fedorovna took on the most responsible work: she assisted during operations, did dressings, found words of consolation, and tried to alleviate the suffering of the sick. They said that the Grand Duchess emanated a healing power that helped them endure pain and agree to difficult operations. The abbess always offered confession and communion as the main remedy for illnesses. She said: “It is immoral to console the dying with false hope of recovery; it is better to help them move into eternity in a Christian way.” The sisters of the monastery took a course in medical knowledge. Their main task was to visit sick, poor, abandoned children, providing them with medical, material and moral assistance. The best specialists in Moscow worked at the monastery hospital; all operations were performed free of charge. Those who were rejected by doctors were healed here. The healed patients cried as they left the Marfo-Mariinsky Hospital, parting with the “great mother,” as they called the abbess. There was a Sunday school at the monastery for female factory workers. Anyone could use the funds of the excellent library. There was a free canteen for the poor. The abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent believed that the main thing was not the hospital, but helping the poor and needy. The monastery received up to 12,000 requests a year. They asked for everything: arranging for treatment, finding a job, looking after children, caring for bedridden patients, sending them to study abroad. She found opportunities to help the clergy - she provided funds for the needs of poor rural parishes that could not repair the church or build a new one. She encouraged, strengthened, and helped financially the priests - missionaries who worked among the pagans of the far north or foreigners on the outskirts of Russia. One of the main places of poverty, to which the Grand Duchess paid special attention, was the Khitrov market. Elizaveta Fedorovna, accompanied by her cell attendant Varvara Yakovleva or the sister of the monastery, Princess Maria Obolenskaya, tirelessly moving from one den to another, collected orphans and persuaded parents to give her children to raise. The entire population of Khitrovo respected her, calling her “sister Elisaveta” or “mother.” The police constantly warned her that they could not guarantee her safety. In response to this, the Grand Duchess always thanked the police for their care and said that her life was not in their hands, but in the hands of God. She tried to save the children of Khitrovka. She was not afraid of uncleanliness, swearing, or a face that had lost its human appearance. She said: “The likeness of God may sometimes be obscured, but it can never be destroyed.” She placed the boys torn from Khitrovka into dormitories. From one group of such recent ragamuffins an artel of executive messengers of Moscow was formed. The girls were placed in closed educational institutions or shelters, where their health, spiritual and physical, was also monitored. Elizaveta Fedorovna organized charity homes for orphans, disabled people, and seriously ill people, found time to visit them, constantly supported them financially, and brought gifts. They tell the following story: one day the Grand Duchess was supposed to come to an orphanage for little orphans. Everyone was preparing to meet their benefactress with dignity. The girls were told that the Grand Duchess would come: they would need to greet her and kiss her hands. When Elizaveta Fedorovna arrived, she was greeted by little children in white dresses. They greeted each other in unison and all extended their hands to the Grand Duchess with the words: “kiss the hands.” The teachers were horrified: what would happen. But the Grand Duchess went up to each of the girls and kissed everyone’s hands. Everyone cried at the same time - there was such tenderness and reverence on their faces and in their hearts. The “Great Mother” hoped that the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, which she created, would blossom into a large fruitful tree. Over time, she planned to establish branches of the monastery in other cities of Russia. The Grand Duchess had a primordially Russian love of pilgrimage. More than once she traveled to Sarov and happily hurried to the temple to pray at the shrine of St. Seraphim. She went to Pskov, to Optina Pustyn, to Zosima Pustyn, and was in the Solovetsky Monastery. She also visited the smallest monasteries in provincial and remote places in Russia. She was present at all spiritual celebrations associated with the discovery or transfer of the relics of the saints of God. The Grand Duchess secretly helped and looked after sick pilgrims who were expecting healing from the newly glorified saints. In 1914, she visited the monastery in Alapaevsk, which was destined to become the place of her imprisonment and martyrdom. She was the patroness of Russian pilgrims going to Jerusalem. Through the societies organized by her, the cost of tickets for pilgrims sailing from Odessa to Jaffa was covered. She also built a large hotel in Jerusalem. Another glorious deed of the Grand Duchess was the construction of a Russian Orthodox church in Italy, in the city of Bari, where the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra of Lycia rest. In 1914, the lower church in honor of St. Nicholas and the hospice house were consecrated. During the First World War, the Grand Duchess's work increased: it was necessary to care for the wounded in hospitals. Some of the sisters of the monastery were released to work in a field hospital. At first, Elizaveta Fedorovna, prompted by Christian feelings, visited the captured Germans, but slander about secret support for the enemy forced her to abandon this. In 1916, an angry crowd approached the gates of the monastery with a demand to hand over a German spy - the brother of Elizabeth Feodorovna, who was allegedly hiding in the monastery. The abbess came out to the crowd alone and offered to inspect all the premises of the community. A mounted police force dispersed the crowd. Soon after the February Revolution, a crowd with rifles, red flags and bows again approached the monastery. The abbess herself opened the gate - they told her that they had come to arrest her and put her on trial as a German spy, who also kept weapons in the monastery. In response to the demands of those who came to immediately go with them, the Grand Duchess said that she must make orders and say goodbye to the sisters. The abbess gathered all the sisters in the monastery and asked Father Mitrofan to serve a prayer service. Then, turning to the revolutionaries, she invited them to enter the church, but to leave their weapons at the entrance. They reluctantly took off their rifles and followed into the temple. Elizaveta Fedorovna stood on her knees throughout the prayer service. After the end of the service, she said that Father Mitrofan would show them all the buildings of the monastery, and they could look for what they wanted to find. Of course, they found nothing there except the sisters’ cells and a hospital with the sick. After the crowd left, Elizaveta Fedorovna said to the sisters: “Obviously we are not yet worthy of the crown of martyrdom.” In the spring of 1917, a Swedish minister came to her on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm and offered her help in traveling abroad. Elizaveta Fedorovna replied that she had decided to share the fate of the country, which she considered her new homeland and could not leave the sisters of the monastery in this difficult time. Never have there been so many people at a service in the monastery as before the October revolution. They went not only for a bowl of soup or medical help, but also for the consolation and advice of the “great mother”. Elizaveta Fedorovna received everyone, listened to them, and strengthened them. People left her peaceful and encouraged. For the first time after the October revolution, the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent was not touched. On the contrary, the sisters were shown respect; twice a week a truck with food arrived at the monastery: black bread, dried fish, vegetables, some fat and sugar. Limited quantities of bandages and essential medicines were provided. But everyone around was scared, patrons and wealthy donors were now afraid to provide assistance to the monastery. To avoid provocation, the Grand Duchess did not go outside the gate, and the sisters were also forbidden to go outside. However, the established daily routine of the monastery did not change, only the services became longer and the sisters’ prayers became more fervent. Father Mitrofan served the Divine Liturgy in the crowded church every day; there were many communicants. For some time, the monastery housed the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Sovereign, found in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow on the day of Emperor Nicholas II’s abdication from the throne. Conciliar prayers were performed in front of the icon. After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace, the German government obtained the consent of the Soviet authorities to allow Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna to travel abroad. The German Ambassador, Count Mirbach, tried twice to see the Grand Duchess, but she did not accept him and categorically refused to leave Russia. She said: “I didn’t do anything bad to anyone. The Lord's will be done! The calm in the monastery was the calm before the storm. First, they sent questionnaires - questionnaires for those who lived and were undergoing treatment: first name, last name, age, social origin, etc. After this, several people from the hospital were arrested. Then they announced that the orphans would be transferred to an orphanage. In April 1918, on the third day of Easter, when the Church celebrates the memory of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Elizaveta Fedorovna was arrested and immediately taken out of Moscow. On this day, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon visited the Martha and Mary Convent, where he served the Divine Liturgy and prayer service. After the service, the patriarch remained in the monastery until four o’clock in the afternoon, talking with the abbess and sisters. This was the last blessing and parting word from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church before the Grand Duchess’s way of the cross to Golgotha. Almost immediately after Patriarch Tikhon’s departure, a car with a commissar and Latvian Red Army soldiers drove up to the monastery. Elizaveta Fedorovna was ordered to go with them. We were given half an hour to get ready. The abbess only managed to gather the sisters in the Church of Saints Martha and Mary and give them the last blessing. Everyone present cried, knowing that they were seeing their mother and abbess for the last time. Elizaveta Feodorovna thanked the sisters for their dedication and loyalty and asked Father Mitrofan not to leave the monastery and serve in it as long as this was possible. Two sisters went with the Grand Duchess - Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva. Before getting into the car, the abbess made the sign of the cross over everyone. Having learned about what had happened, Patriarch Tikhon tried, through various organizations with which the new government reckoned, to achieve the release of the Grand Duchess. But his efforts were in vain. All members of the imperial house were doomed. Elizaveta Fedorovna and her companions were sent by rail to Perm. The Grand Duchess spent the last months of her life in prison, in school, on the outskirts of the city of Alapaevsk, together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (the youngest son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II), his secretary - Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez, three brothers - John, Konstantin and Igor (sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich) and Prince Vladimir Paley (son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich). The end was near. Mother Superior prepared for this outcome, devoting all her time to prayer. The sisters accompanying their abbess were brought to the Regional Council and offered to be released. Both begged to be returned to the Grand Duchess, then the security officers began to frighten them with torture and torment that would await everyone who stayed with her. Varvara Yakovleva said that she was ready to sign even with her blood, that she wanted to share her fate with the Grand Duchess. So the sister of the cross of the Martha and Mary Convent, Varvara Yakovleva, made her choice and joined the prisoners awaiting a decision on their fate. In the dead of night on July 5 (18), 1918, on the day of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, along with other members of the imperial house, was thrown into the shaft of an old mine. When the brutal executioners pushed the Grand Duchess into the black pit, she said a prayer: “Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Then the security officers began throwing hand grenades into the mine. One of the peasants, who witnessed the murder, said that the singing of the Cherubim was heard from the depths of the mine. It was sung by the Russian new martyrs before their transition into eternity. They died in terrible suffering, from thirst, hunger and wounds.
The murder of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth and those with her
The Grand Duchess did not fall to the bottom of the shaft, but to a ledge that was located at a depth of 15 meters. Next to her they found the body of John Konstantinovich with a bandaged head. All broken, with severe bruises, here too she sought to alleviate the suffering of her neighbor. The fingers of the right hand of the Grand Duchess and nun Varvara were folded for the sign of the cross. The remains of the abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent and her faithful cell attendant Varvara were transported to Jerusalem in 1921 and placed in the tomb of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles in Gethsemane. The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 canonized the venerable martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and nun Varvara as the holy new martyrs of Russia, establishing a celebration for them on the day of their death - July 5 (18).
Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna. Icon
