It is generally accepted that the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were in a “white marriage” (that is, they lived like brother and sister). This is not true: they dreamed of children, especially Sergei Alexandrovich. It is generally accepted that Elizaveta Feodorovna was a meek and quiet angel. And that's not true. Her strong-willed character and business qualities made themselves felt since childhood. They said that the Grand Duke was vicious and had unconventional inclinations - again, this was not true. Even the all-powerful British intelligence did not find anything more “reprehensible” in his behavior than excessive religiosity.
Today, the personality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov either remains in the shadow of his great wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, or is vulgarized, as, for example, in the film “State Councilor,” where the Governor-General of Moscow appears as a very unpleasant type. Meanwhile, it was largely thanks to the Grand Duke that Elizaveta Fedorovna became what we know her: “Great Mother”, “Guardian Angel of Moscow”.
Slandered during his lifetime, almost forgotten after death, Sergei Alexandrovich deserves to be rediscovered. The man through whose efforts Russian Palestine appeared, and Moscow became an exemplary city; a man who all his life bore the cross of an incurable disease and the cross of endless slander; and a Christian who took communion up to three times a week - with the general practice of doing this once a year at Easter, for whom faith in Christ was the core of his life. “God grant me to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” wrote Elizaveta Fedorovna after his murder...
Our story is about the story of the great love of Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the history of lies about them.
The name of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov is pronounced today, as a rule, only in connection with the name of his wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. She truly was an outstanding woman with an extraordinary destiny, but Prince Sergei, who remained in her shadow, turns out to have played first fiddle in this family. More than once they tried to denigrate their marriage, call it lifeless or fictitious, in the end, unhappy, or, on the contrary, idealized it. But these attempts are unconvincing. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Feodorovna burned her diaries, but the diaries and letters of Sergei Alexandrovich were preserved, they allow us to look into the life of this exceptional family, carefully protected from prying eyes.
NOT SO SIMPLE BRIDE
The decision to marry was made at a difficult time for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich: in the summer of 1880, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, whom he adored, died, and less than a year later, a bomb from Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky ended the life of his father, Emperor Alexander II. The time has come for him to remember the words of his teacher, maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who wrote to the young prince: “By your nature, you should be married, you suffer alone.” Sergei Alexandrovich really had the unfortunate tendency to delve into himself and engage in self-criticism. He needed a loved one... And he found such a person.
Why Sergei made a choice in favor of Elizabeth escaped the attention of his family and educators. But the choice was made! And although Ella and Sergei both had doubts, in the end, in 1883, their engagement was announced to the world. “I gave my consent without hesitation,” Ella’s father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, said then. — I have known Sergei since childhood; I see his sweet, pleasant manners and I’m sure that he will make my daughter happy.”
The son of the Russian emperor married a provincial German duchess! This is the usual view of this brilliant couple - and also a myth. The Darmstadt duchesses were not so simple. Elizabeth and Alexandra (who became the last Russian empress) are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, from the age of 18 until her death in old age, the permanent ruler of Great Britain (Empress of India from 1876!), a person of strict morality and the iron grip with which Britain achieved its heyday The official title of Elizabeth Feodorovna, which passed to all Hessian princesses, was Duchess of Great Britain and the Rhine: they belonged, no more and no less, to the family that at that time ruled a third of the land. And this title - according to all the rules of etiquette - was inherited from their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
Thus, the Romanovs became related to the British crown thanks to Alice of Hesse - like her mother Victoria, an unusually strong woman: having married a German duke, Alice was forced to face the fastidiousness of the Germans, who were not very willing to accept the English princess. Nevertheless, she once headed parliament for nine months; launched extensive charitable activities - the almshouses she founded operate in Germany to this day. Ella also inherited her acumen, and subsequently her character will make itself felt.
In the meantime, Elizabeth of Darmstadt, although an extremely noble and educated, but somewhat flighty and impressionable young lady, discusses shops and beautiful trinkets. Preparations for her wedding with Sergei Alexandrovich were kept in the strictest confidence, and in the summer of 1884, the nineteen-year-old Hessian princess arrived in the capital of the Russian Empire on a train decorated with flowers.
“HE OFTEN TREATED HER LIKE A SCHOOL TEACHER...”
“He told me about his wife, admired her, praised her. He thanks God every hour for his happiness,” recalls Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, his relative and close friend. The Grand Duke really adored his wife - he loved to give her extraordinary jewelry, give her small gifts with or without any reason. Treating her strictly at times, in her absence he could not praise Elizabeth enough. As one of his nieces (future Queen Maria of Romania) recalls, “my uncle was often harsh with her, as with everyone else, but he worshiped her beauty. He often treated her like a school teacher. I saw the delicious flush of shame that washed over her face when he scolded her. “But, Serge...” she exclaimed then, and the expression on her face was like the face of a student caught in some mistake.”
“I felt how Sergei desired this moment; and I knew many times that he suffered from it. He was a real angel of kindness. How often could he, by touching my heart, lead me to a change of religion in order to make himself happy; and he never, never complained... Let people shout about me, but just never say a word against my Sergei. Take his side before them and tell them that I adore him, as well as my new country, and that in this way I have learned to love their religion ... "
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her brother Ernest about changing religion
Contrary to the rumors spread at the time, it was a truly happy marriage. On the day of the tenth anniversary of their married life, which occurred at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, the prince wrote in his diary: “In the morning I’m in church, my wife is in the warehouse*. Lord, why am I so happy?” (A donation warehouse for the benefit of soldiers, organized with the assistance of Elizabeth Feodorovna: clothes were sewn there, bandages were prepared, parcels were collected, camp churches were formed. - Ed.)
Their life was truly a service with the maximum dedication of all their strength and abilities, but we will have time to talk about this.
What is she? In a letter to her brother Ernest, Ella calls her husband “a real angel of kindness.”
“After 7 long years of our happy married life<…>we must start a completely new life and leave our comfortable family life in the city. We will have to do so much for the people there, and in reality we will play the role of a ruling prince there, which will be very difficult for us, since instead of playing such a role, we are eager to lead a quiet private life.
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father, the Grand Duke of Hesse, about the appointment of her husband to the post of Governor General of Moscow
Extraordinary religiosity is a trait that distinguished the Grand Duke from childhood. When seven-year-old Sergei was brought to Moscow and asked: what would you like? — he replied that his most cherished desire was to attend the bishop’s service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
Subsequently, when as an adult young man he met Pope Leo XIII during a trip to Italy, he was amazed at the Grand Duke’s knowledge of church history - and even ordered to open the archives to check the facts voiced by Sergei Alexandrovich. Entries in his diaries always began and ended with the words: “Lord, have mercy,” “Lord, bless.” He himself decided what church utensils should be brought to the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (also his brainchild) - brilliantly knowing both the divine service and all its paraphernalia! And, by the way, Sergei Alexandrovich was the first and only of the great princes of the Romanov dynasty who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three times during his life. Moreover, he dared to do the first through Beirut, which was extremely difficult and far from safe. And the second time he took his wife with him, who was still a Protestant at that time...
“BEING THE SAME FAITH WITH YOUR SPOUSE IS RIGHT”
In their family estate Ilyinsky, where Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna spent the happiest days of their lives, starting with their honeymoon, a temple has been preserved, and now it is operating again. According to legend, it was here that the then Protestant Ella attended her first Orthodox service.
Due to her status, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not have to change her religion. 7 years would pass after her marriage before she wrote: “My heart belongs to Orthodoxy.” Evil tongues said that Elizaveta Fedorovna was actively pushed to accept the new faith by her husband, under whose unconditional influence she was always. But, as the Grand Duchess herself wrote to her father, her husband “never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this entirely to my conscience.” All he did was gently and delicately introduce her to his faith. And the princess herself approached this issue very seriously, studying Orthodoxy, looking at it very carefully.
“... I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have in order to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband ‹…› I so strongly wish for Easter to partake of the Holy Mysteries together with my husband..."
Duke Ludwig IV did not answer his daughter, but she could not go against her conscience, although she admitted: “I know that there will be many unpleasant moments, since no one will understand this step.” So, to the indescribable happiness of the spouse, the day came when they were able to take communion together. And the third, last in his life, trip to the Holy Land had already been made together - in every sense.
90 SOCIETIES OF THE GRAND DUKE
The Grand Duke was one of the initiators of the creation and, until his death, the chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, without which today it is impossible to imagine the history of Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Having become the head of the Society in the 1880s, he managed to open 8 farmsteads of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, 100 schools where Arab children were taught the Russian language and introduced to Orthodoxy, and built a church of Mary Magdalene in honor of his mother - this is an incomplete list of his deeds, and All this was carried out quite subtly and cunningly. So, sometimes the prince allocated money for construction without waiting for permitting documentation to be issued, and somehow avoided many obstacles. There is even an assumption that his appointment in 1891 as Governor-General of Moscow was a cunning political intrigue invented by the intelligence services of dissatisfied England and France - who would like Russia’s “rule” in the territory of their colonies? - and had as its goal the removal of the prince from affairs in the Holy Land. Be that as it may, these calculations did not come true: the prince, it seems, only redoubled his efforts!
It’s hard to imagine how active the couple were, how much they managed to do during their generally short life! He headed or was a trustee of about 90 societies, committees and other organizations, and found time to take part in the life of each of them. Here are just a few: Moscow Architectural Society, Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, Moscow Philharmonic Society, Committee for the Construction of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III at Moscow University, Moscow Archaeological Society. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Society of Artists of Historical Painting, Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities, the Society of Agriculture, the Society of Natural History Lovers, the Russian Musical Society, the Archaeological Museum in Constantinople and the Historical Museum in Moscow, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox Missionary Society, Department of distribution of spiritual and moral books.
Since 1896, Sergei Alexandrovich has been commander of the Moscow Military District. He is also the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum. On his initiative, the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created - the Grand Duke laid six of his own collections as the basis for its exhibition.
“Why do I always feel deeply? Why am I not like everyone else, not cheerful like everyone else? I delve into everything to the point of stupidity and see differently - I myself am ashamed that I am so old-fashioned and cannot be, like all the “golden youth,” cheerful and carefree.”
From the diary of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Having become governor-general of Moscow in 1891 - and this meant taking care not only of Moscow, but also of ten adjacent provinces - he launched incredible activities, setting out to make the city equal to European capitals. Under him, Moscow became exemplary: clean, neat paving stones, policemen stationed within sight of each other, all utilities working perfectly, order everywhere and in everything. Under him, electric street lighting was established - the central city power plant was built, the GUM was erected, the Kremlin towers were restored, a new building of the Conservatory was built; under him, the first tram began to run along the capital, the first public theater opened, and the city center was put in perfect order.
The charity that Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna were involved in was neither ostentatious nor superficial. “A ruler must be a blessing to his people,” Ella’s father often repeated, and he himself and his wife, Alice of Hesse, tried to follow this principle. From an early age, their children were taught to help people, regardless of rank - for example, every week they went to the hospital, where they gave flowers to seriously ill people and encouraged them. This became part of their blood and flesh; the Romanovs raised their children in exactly the same way.
Even while relaxing on their Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna continued to accept requests for help, for employment, for donations to raise orphans - all this was preserved in the correspondence of the manager of the Grand Duke’s court with various people. One day a letter arrived from the girls-compositors of a private printing house, who dared to ask to be allowed to sing at the Liturgy in Ilyinsky in the presence of the Grand Duke and Princess. And this request was fulfilled.
In 1893, when cholera was raging in Central Russia, a temporary first-aid post was opened in Ilyinsky, where everyone in need of help was examined and, if necessary, urgently operated on, where peasants could stay in a special “isolation hut” - like in a hospital. The first aid post existed from July to October. This is a classic example of the kind of ministry that the couple spent their entire lives doing.
"WHITE MARRIAGE" THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN
It is generally accepted that Sergei and Elizabeth deliberately entered into a so-called “white marriage”: they decided not to have children, but to devote themselves to serving God and people. Memoirs of loved ones and diaries indicate otherwise.
“How I would like to have children! For me there would be no greater heaven on earth if I had my own children,” Sergei Alexandrovich writes in his letters. A letter from Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, has been preserved, where he writes: “What a pity that Ella and Sergei cannot have children.” “Of all the uncles, we were most afraid of Uncle Sergei, but despite this, he was our favorite,” Prince Maria’s niece recalls in her diaries. “He was strict, kept us in awe, but he loved children... If he had the opportunity, he came to supervise the children’s bathing, cover them with a blanket and kiss them good night...”
Why the Lord did not give the spouses their own children is His mystery. Researchers suggest that the childlessness of the grand ducal couple could be a consequence of Sergei’s serious illness, which he carefully hid from those around him. This is another little-known page in the prince’s life, which completely changes the usual ideas about him for many.
WHY DOES HE NEED A CORSET?
Coldness of character, isolation, closedness - the usual list of accusations against the Grand Duke.
To this they also add: proud! - because of his overly straight posture, which gave him an arrogant appearance. If only the prince’s accusers knew that the “culprit” of his proud posture was the corset with which he was forced to support his spine all his life. The prince was seriously and terminally ill, like his mother, like his brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was supposed to become the Russian emperor, but died from a terrible illness. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich knew how to hide his diagnosis - bone tuberculosis, leading to dysfunction of all joints. Only his wife knew what it cost him.
“Sergei is suffering a lot. He's not feeling well again. He really needs salts and hot baths, he can’t do without them,” Elizaveta writes to close relatives. “Instead of going to the reception, the Grand Duke took a bath,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper scoffed already in pre-revolutionary times. A hot bath is almost the only remedy that relieves pain (joint pain, dental pain) that tormented Sergei Alexandrovich. He could not ride a horse, could not do without a corset. In Ilyinsky, during his mother’s lifetime, a kumys farm was established for medicinal purposes, but the disease progressed over the years. And if it weren’t for the bomb of student Ivan Kalyaev, it is very possible that the Governor General of Moscow would not have lived long anyway...
The Grand Duke was closed, taciturn and withdrawn from childhood. Could anyone expect anything different from a child whose parents were actually in a divorce, which nevertheless could not take place? Maria Alexandrovna lived on the second floor of the Winter Palace, no longer having marital communication with her husband and enduring the presence of the sovereign’s favorite, Princess Dolgorukova (she became his wife after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, but remained in this status for less than a year, until the death of Alexander II). The collapse of the parental family, the deep attachment to the mother, who meekly endured this humiliation, are factors that largely determined the formation of the character of the little prince.
They are also grounds for slander, rumors and slander against him. “He is overly religious, withdrawn, goes to church very often, takes communion up to three times a week,” this is the most “suspicious” of what English intelligence was able to find out about the prince before his marriage to Elizabeth, after all - granddaughter of the Queen of England. His reputation is almost impeccable, and yet, even during his lifetime, the Grand Duke was subjected to streams of slander and unflattering accusations...
"BE HAPPY - YOU'RE ON THE BATTLE FIELD"
There was talk about the dissolute lifestyle of the Governor-General of Moscow, rumors were spread around the capital about his unconventional sexual orientation, that Elizaveta Feodorovna was very unhappy in her marriage to him - all this was even heard in English newspapers during the prince’s lifetime. Sergei Alexandrovich was at first lost and perplexed, this can be seen from his diary entries and letters, where he poses one question: “Why? Where does all this come from?!”
“Be patient with all this lifetime slander, be patient—you’re on the battlefield,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote to him.
Elizaveta Feodorovna could not avoid attacks and accusations of arrogance and indifference. Of course, there were reasons for this: despite her extensive charitable activities, she always kept her distance, knowing the value of her status as a Grand Duchess - belonging to the imperial house hardly implies familiarity. And her character, which manifested itself from childhood, gave rise to such accusations.
In our eyes, the image of the Grand Duchess, admittedly, is somewhat unctuous: a gentle, meek woman with a humble look. This image was formed, of course, not without reason. “Her purity was absolute, it was impossible to take your eyes off her, after spending the evening with her, everyone looked forward to the hour when they could see her the next day,” her niece Maria admires Aunt Ella. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice that Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a strong-willed character. The mother admitted that Ella was the exact opposite of her older, obedient sister Victoria: very strong and not at all quiet. It is known that Elizabeth spoke very harshly about Grigory Rasputin, believing that his death would be the best way out of the catastrophic and absurd situation that had developed at court.
"...When he saw her<…>, he asked: “Who are you?” “I am his widow,” she replied, “why did you kill him?” “I didn’t want to kill you,” he said, “I saw him several times while I had the bomb ready, but you were with him and I didn’t dare touch him.” “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she answered..."
Description of Elizabeth Feodorovna’s conversation with her husband’s killer from the book by Fr. M. Polsky “New Russian Martyrs”
As they would say today, the Grand Duchess was a first-class manager, meticulously able to organize a business, distribute responsibilities and monitor their implementation. Yes, she behaved somewhat aloof, but at the same time she did not ignore the slightest requests and needs of those who turned to her. There is a known case during the First World War when a wounded officer, who was facing amputation of his leg, submitted a request to reconsider this decision. The petition reached the Grand Duchess and was granted. The officer recovered and subsequently, during World War II, served as Minister of Light Industry.
Of course, Elizaveta Fedorovna’s life changed dramatically after a terrible event - the murder of her beloved husband... A photograph of a carriage destroyed by an explosion was then published in all Moscow newspapers. The explosion was so strong that the heart of the murdered man was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. But the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with her own hands. Her life, her destiny, her character - everything has changed, but, of course, her entire previous life, full of dedication and activity, was a preparation for this.
“It seemed,” recalled Countess Aleksandra Andreevna Olsufieva, “that from that time on she was peering intently at the image of another world<…>, <она>dedicated to the search for excellence."
"YOU AND I KNOW THAT HE IS A HOLY"
“Lord, I wish I could be worthy of such a death!” - Sergei Alexandrovich wrote in his diary after the death of one of the statesmen from a bomb - a month before his own death. He received threatening letters but ignored them. The only thing the prince did was stop taking his children - Dmitry Pavlovich and Maria Pavlovna - and his adjutant Dzhunkovsky with him on trips.
The Grand Duke foresaw not only his death, but also the tragedy that would overwhelm Russia in a decade. He wrote to Nicholas II, begging him to be more decisive and tough, to act, to take action. And he himself took such measures: in 1905, when an uprising flared up among students, he sent students on an indefinite vacation to their homes, preventing the fire from breaking out. "Hear me!" - he writes and writes in recent years to the Emperor. But the sovereign did not listen...
On February 4, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich leaves the Kremlin through the Nikolsky Gate. 65 meters before the Nikolskaya Tower a terrible explosion is heard. The coachman was mortally wounded, and Sergei Alexandrovich was torn into pieces: all that was left of him was his head, arm and legs - so the prince was buried, having built a special “doll”, in the Chudov Monastery, in the tomb. At the scene of the explosion, they found his personal belongings that Sergei always carried with him: icons, a cross given by his mother, a small Gospel.
It is difficult to say in a few words what the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy, founded by the Grand Duchess and which still exists today, has become for the capital. “The Lord gave me so little time,” she writes to Z. Yusupova. “There is still a lot to be done”...
The relics of the Grand Duchess rest in the temple that her husband built - the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the remains of the Grand Duke were transferred in 1998 to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. She was canonized in the 1990s, and he... It seems that holiness comes in very different forms, and the great - truly great - Prince Sergei Alexandrovich again remained in the shadow of his great wife. Today the commission for his canonization resumed its work. “You and I know that he is a saint,” Elizaveta Fedorovna said in correspondence after her husband’s death. She knew him better than anyone.
Holy Martyr Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanova
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.
Grand Duchess of Hesse and Rhineland Alice with her daughter Ella
Ella with her mother Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine
Ludwig IV of Hesse and Alice with Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth (right).
Princess Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt
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.
That year the time of childhood ended for Elizabeth. 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.
Alice and Louis together with their children: Marie in the arms of the Grand Duke and (from left to right) Ella, Ernie, Alix, Irene, and Victoria
Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse and the Rhine
Artist - Henry Charles Heath
Princesses Victoria, Elizabeth, Irene, Alix Hesse mourn their mother.
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
Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt
Elizaveta Fedorovna with her husband Sergei Alexandrovich
Elizaveta Fedorovna with her husband Sergei Alexandrovich.
Elizaveta Fedorovna with her husband Sergei Alexandrovich.
Elizaveta Fedorovna with her husband Sergei Alexandrovich.
Elizaveta Fedorovna with her husband Sergei 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.
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.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova.
F.I. Rerberg.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova.
Zon, Karl Rudolf -
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova.
A.P.Sokolov
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.
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 anointing 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).
Friedrich August von Kaulbach.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna, V.I. Nesterenko
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1887. Artist S.F. Alexandrovsky
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
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.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
Room of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
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.
Two sisters Ella and Alix
Ella and Alix
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
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.
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.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
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
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.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, V.I. Nesterenko
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Princess 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 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.
Meeting of Elizaveta Fedorovna and Kalyaev.
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."
Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanova.
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)
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.
Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent
Archpriest Mitrofan Srebryansky
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.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
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 dull in the life of the Marfo-Mary Convent. Everything was perfect there, both inside and outside. And whoever was there took away 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 healed patients cried as they left the Marfo-Mariinskaya Hospital, parting with “ 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 Elizabeth" or "mother" The police constantly warned her that they could not guarantee her safety.
Varvara Yakovleva
Princess Maria Obolenskaya
Khitrov market
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.
Nikolai Konstantinovich Konstantinov
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 consolation and advice." great mother" Elizaveta Fedorovna received everyone, listened to them, and strengthened them. People left her peaceful and encouraged.
Mikhail Nesterov
Fresco "Christ with Martha and Mary" for the Intercession Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow
Mikhail Nesterov
Mikhail Nesterov
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.
We celebrate the memory of the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and nun Varvara on July 18 according to the new style (July 5 according to the old style) on the day of their martyrdom.Biography of the Grand Duchess
Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt was born in 1864 in the family of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig IV and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. Second daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and Princess Alice, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. As a German princess, she was raised in the Protestant faith. Elizabeth's sister Alice became the wife of Nicholas II, and she herself married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov in 1884 and became a Russian princess. According to tradition, all German princesses were given the patronymic Feodorovna - in honor of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. In 1878, the entire family, except Ella (as she was called in the family), fell ill with diphtheria, from which Ella’s younger sister, four-year-old Maria, and mother, Grand Duchess Alice, soon died. Father Ludwig IV, after the death of his wife, entered into a morganatic marriage with Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska, and Ella and Alix were raised by their grandmother, Queen Victoria at Osborne House. From childhood, the sisters were religiously inclined, participated in charity work, and received lessons in housekeeping. A major role in Ella’s spiritual life was played by the image of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, in whose honor Ella was named: this saint, the ancestor of the Dukes of Hesse, became famous for her deeds of mercy. Her cousin Friedrich of Baden was considered as a potential groom for Elizabeth. Another cousin, the Prussian Crown Prince Wilhelm, courted Elizabeth for some time and, according to unconfirmed reports, even proposed marriage to her, which she rejected. German by birth, Elizaveta Fedorovna learned the Russian language perfectly and fell in love with her new homeland with all her soul. In 1891, after several years of reflection, she converted to Orthodoxy.Letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father about accepting Orthodoxy
Elizaveta Feodorovna has been thinking about accepting Orthodoxy since she became the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. But the German princess was worried that this step would be a blow to her family, loyal to Protestantism. Especially for his father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt. Only in 1891 did the princess write a letter to her father:
“...Dear Pope, I want to tell you something and I beg you to give your blessing. You must have noticed the deep reverence I have had for the religion here since you were last here, more than a year and a half ago. I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband. You cannot imagine how kind he was, that he never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this entirely to my conscience. He knows what a serious step this is, and that he must be absolutely sure before deciding to take it. I would have done this even before, but it tormented me that by doing this I was causing you pain. But you, won’t you understand, my dear Dad? You know me so well, you must see that I decided to take this step only out of deep faith and that I feel that I must appear before God with a pure and believing heart. How simple it would be to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how I can lie to everyone - pretending that I am a Protestant in all external rituals, when my soul belongs entirely to religion here. I thought and thought deeply about all this, being in this country for more than 6 years, and knowing that religion was “found”. I so strongly wish to receive Holy Communion with my husband on Easter. This may seem sudden to you, but I have been thinking about this for so long, and now, finally, I cannot put it off. My conscience won't allow me to do this. I ask, I ask, upon receipt of these lines, to forgive your daughter if she causes you pain. But isn’t faith in God and religion one of the main consolations of this world? Please wire me just one line when you receive this letter. God bless you. This will be such a comfort for me because I know there will be a lot of frustrating moments as no one will understand this step. I only ask for a small, affectionate letter.”
The father did not bless his daughter to change her faith, but she could no longer change her decision and through the sacrament of Confirmation she became Orthodox. On June 3 (15), 1884, in the Court Cathedral of the Winter Palace, she married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of the Russian Emperor Alexander III, as announced by the Highest Manifesto. The Orthodox wedding was performed by the court protopresbyter John Yanyshev; the crowns were held by Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, Grand Dukes Alexei and Pavel Alexandrovich, Dmitry Konstantinovich, Peter Nikolaevich, Mikhail and Georgy Mikhailovich; then, in the Alexander Hall, the pastor of St. Anne’s Church also performed a service according to the Lutheran rite. Elizabeth's husband was both a great-uncle (common ancestor - Wilhelmina of Baden), and a fourth cousin (common great-great-grandfather - Prussian King Frederick William II). The couple settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky palace purchased by Sergei Alexandrovich (the palace became known as Sergievsky), spending their honeymoon on the Ilyinskoye estate near Moscow, where they also lived subsequently. At her insistence, a hospital was established in Ilyinsky, and fairs were periodically held in favor of the peasants. Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna mastered the Russian language perfectly and spoke it with almost no accent. While still professing Protestantism, she attended Orthodox services. In 1888, together with her husband, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As the wife of the Moscow governor-general (Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed to this post in 1891), she organized the Elizabethan Charitable Society in 1892, established in order to “look after the legitimate babies of the poorest mothers, hitherto placed, although without any right, in the Moscow Educational house, under the guise of illegal.” The activities of the society first took place in Moscow, and then spread to the entire Moscow province. Elizabethan committees were formed at all Moscow church parishes and in all district cities of the Moscow province. In addition, Elisaveta Feodorovna headed the Ladies' Committee of the Red Cross, and after the death of her husband, she was appointed chairman of the Moscow Office of the Red Cross. Sergei Alexandrovich and Elisaveta Feodorovna did not have any children of their own, but they raised the children of Sergei Alexandrovich’s brother, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, Maria and Dmitry, whose mother died in childbirth. With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Elisaveta Feodorovna organized the Special Committee for Assistance to Soldiers, under which a donation warehouse was created in the Grand Kremlin Palace for the benefit of soldiers: bandages were prepared there, clothes were sewn, parcels were collected, and camp churches were formed. In the recently published letters of Elisaveta Feodorovna to Nicholas II, the Grand Duchess appears as a supporter of the most stringent and decisive measures against any freethinking in general and revolutionary terrorism in particular. “Is it really impossible to judge these animals in a field court?” - she asked the emperor in a letter written in 1902, shortly after the murder of Sipyagin (D.S. Sipyagin - the Minister of Internal Affairs was killed in 1902 by Stepan Balmashev, a member of the AKP BO. Balmashev (involved in the Gershuni terror), acquired a military uniform and, introducing himself adjutant of one of the Grand Dukes, when handing over the package, he shot at the minister. Sipyagin was mortally wounded in the stomach and neck. Balmashev was executed), and she herself answered the question: “Everything must be done to prevent them from becoming heroes... to kill them They have a desire to risk their lives and commit such crimes (I think that it would be better if he paid with his life and thus disappeared!). But who he is and what he is - let no one know... and there is no need to feel sorry for those who themselves do not feel sorry for anyone.” On February 4, 1905, her husband was killed by terrorist Ivan Kalyaev, who threw a hand bomb at him. Elisaveta Feodorovna was the first to arrive at the scene of the tragedy and with her own hands collected parts of her beloved husband’s body, scattered by the explosion. This tragedy was hard for me. The Greek Queen Olga Konstantinovna, cousin of the murdered Sergei Alexandrovich, wrote: “This is a wonderful, holy woman - she is apparently worthy of the heavy cross that lifts her higher and higher!” On the third day after the death of the Grand Duke, she went to prison to see the killer in the hope that he would repent, she conveyed forgiveness to him on behalf of Sergei Alexandrovich, and left him the Gospel. To Kalyaev’s words: “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 didn’t dare touch him,” Elisaveta Feodorovna replied: “And you didn’t realize that did you kill me along with him? Despite the fact that the killer did not repent, the Grand Duchess submitted a petition for clemency to Nicholas II, which he rejected. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna replaced him as Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and held this position from 1905 to 1917. Elisaveta Feodorovna decided to devote all her strength to serving Christ and her neighbors. She bought a plot of land on Bolshaya Ordynka and in 1909 opened the Martha and Mary Convent there, naming it in honor of the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. On the site there are two churches, a hospital, a pharmacy with free medicines for the poor, an orphanage and a school. A year later, the nuns of the monastery were ordained to the rank of cross sisters of love and mercy, and Elisaveta Feodorovna was elevated to the rank of abbess. She said goodbye to secular life without regret, telling the sisters of the monastery: “I am leaving the brilliant world, but together with all of you I am ascending to a greater world - the world of the poor and suffering.” During the First World War, the Grand Duchess actively supported the front: she helped form ambulance trains, sent medicines and camp churches to the soldiers. After Nicholas II abdicated the throne, she wrote: “I felt 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.”
Martyrdom of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
In 1918, Elisaveta Feodorovna was arrested. In May 1918, she, along with other representatives of the Romanov house, was transported to Yekaterinburg and placed in the Atamanov Rooms hotel (currently the building houses the FSB and the Main Internal Affairs Directorate for the Sverdlovsk Region, the current address is the intersection of Lenin and Vainer streets), and then, two months later, they were sent to the city of Alapaevsk, into exile in the Urals. The Grand Duchess refused to leave Russia after the Bolsheviks came to power, continuing to engage in ascetic work in her monastery. On May 7, 1918, on the third day after Easter, on the day of the celebration of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Patriarch Tikhon visited the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy and served a prayer service. Half an hour after the departure of the patriarch, Elisaveta Feodorovna was arrested by security officers and Latvian riflemen on the personal order of F. E. Dzerzhinsky. Patriarch Tikhon tried to achieve her release, but in vain - she was taken into custody and deported from Moscow to Perm. One of the Petrograd newspapers of that time - “New Evening Hour” - in a note dated May 9, 1918, responded to this event as follows: “... we don’t know what caused her deportation... It’s hard to think that Elisaveta Feodorovna could pose a danger to Soviet power, and her arrest and deportation can be considered, rather, as a proud gesture towards Wilhelm, whose brother is married to Elisaveta Feodorovna’s sister...” The historian V.M. Khrustalev believed that the deportation of Elisaveta Feodorovna to the Urals was one of the links in the Bolsheviks’ general plan to concentrate in the Urals all representatives of the Romanov dynasty, where, as the historian wrote, those gathered could be destroyed only by finding a suitable reason for this. This plan was carried out in the spring months of 1918. Mother was followed by nurses Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva. Catherine was later released, but Varvara refused to leave and remained with the Grand Duchess until the end. Together with the abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent and the sisters, they sent Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, his secretary Fyodor Remez, three brothers - John, Konstantin and Igor; Prince Vladimir Paley. On July 18, 1918, on the day of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the prisoners - Elisaveta Feodorovna, sister Varvara and members of the Romanov family - were taken to the village of Sinyachikhi. On the night of July 18, 1918, the prisoners were escorted to the old mine, beaten and thrown into the deep Novaya Selimskaya mine, 18 km from Alapaevsk. During her torment, Elisaveta Feodorovna prayed with the words that the Savior said on the cross: “Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The executioners threw hand grenades into the mine. The following died with her: Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Prince John Konstantinovich; Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich (junior); Prince Igor Konstantinovich; Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Fyodor Semyonovich Remez, manager of the affairs of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; sister of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery Varvara (Yakovleva). All of them, except for the shot Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, were thrown into the mine alive. When the bodies were recovered from the mine, it was discovered that some of the victims lived on after the fall, dying of hunger and wounds. At the same time, the wound of Prince John, who fell on the ledge of the mine near the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, was bandaged with part of her apostle. The surrounding peasants said that for several days the singing of prayers and the Cherubic song could be heard from the mine. The martyrs sang until they were exhausted from their wounds. On October 31, 1918, Admiral Kolchak’s army occupied Alapaevsk. The remains of the dead were removed from the mine, placed in coffins and placed for funeral services in the city cemetery church. The Venerable Martyr Elizabeth, Sister Varvara and Grand Duke John had their fingers folded for the sign of the cross. However, with the advance of the Red Army, the bodies were transported further to the East several times. In April 1920, they were met in Beijing by the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archbishop Innokenty (Figurovsky). From there, two coffins - Grand Duchess Elizabeth and sister Varvara - were transported to Shanghai and then by steamship to Port Said. Finally the coffins arrived in Jerusalem. The burial in January 1921 under the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane was performed by Patriarch Damian of Jerusalem. Thus, the desire of Grand Duchess Elizabeth herself to be buried in the Holy Land, expressed by her during a pilgrimage in 1888, was fulfilled.
Novo-Tikhvin Monastery, where Elizaveta Fedorovna was kept on the eve of her death
Where are the relics of the Grand Duchess buried?
In 1921, the remains of Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna and nun Varvara were taken to Jerusalem. There they found peace in the tomb of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles, in Gethsemane. In 1931, on the eve of the canonization of the Russian new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, they decided to open the tombs of the martyrs. The autopsy was supervised by a commission headed by the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archimandrite Anthony (Grabbe). When they opened the coffin with the body of the Grand Duchess, the whole room was filled with fragrance. According to Archimandrite Anthony, there was a “strong smell, as if of honey and jasmine.” The relics, which turned out to be partially incorrupt, were transferred from the tomb to the church of St. Mary Magdalene itself.Canonization
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia canonized the martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara in 1981. In 1992, the Russian Orthodox Church, by the Council of Bishops, canonized the Holy New Martyrs of Russia. We celebrate their memory on the day of their martyrdom, July 18 according to the new style (July 5 according to the old style).
Most often, icon painters depict the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna standing; her right hand is facing us, in her left there is a miniature copy of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery. Sometimes, in the right hand of St. Elizabeth a cross is depicted (a symbol of martyrdom for the faith since the time of the first Christians); in the left - rosary. Also, traditionally, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna is written on icons together with the nun Varvara - “Reverend Martyrs Varvara and Elisaveta of Alapaevsk.” Behind the shoulders of the martyrs the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery is depicted; at their feet is the shaft of the mine into which the executioners threw them. Another iconographic subject is “The Murder of the Martyr Elizabeth and others like her.” The Red Army soldiers are escorting Grand Duchess Elizabeth, nun Varvara and other Alapaevsk prisoners to throw them into the mine. In the mine, the icon depicts the face of St. Sergius of Radonezh: the execution took place on the day of the discovery of his relics, July 18. Prayers to the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna
Troparion voice 1 Having hidden your princely dignity with humility, the godly Elisaveto honored Christ with the intense service of Martha and Mary. You have purified yourself with mercy, patience and love, as if you offered a righteous sacrifice to God. We, who honor your virtuous life and suffering, earnestly ask you as a true mentor: Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, pray to Christ God to save and enlighten our souls. Kontakion voice 2 Who tells the story of the greatness of the feat of faith? In the depths of the earth, as if in the paradise of lordship, the passion-bearer Grand Duchess Elizabeth and the angels rejoiced in psalms and songs and, enduring murder, cried out for the godless tormentors: Lord, forgive them this sin, for they do not know what they are doing. Through your prayers, O Christ God, have mercy and save our souls.Poem about Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna
In 1884, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov dedicated a poem to Elisaveta Feodorovna. I look at you, admiring you every hour: You are so inexpressibly beautiful! Oh, that’s right, underneath such a beautiful exterior there’s an equally beautiful soul! Some kind of meekness and hidden sadness lurks in your eyes; Like an angel you are quiet, pure and perfect; Like a woman, shy and tender. May nothing on earth, amid the evils and much sorrow of Yours, sully your purity. And everyone, seeing you, will glorify God, who created such beauty!Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent
After the death of her husband at the hands of a terrorist, Elisaveta Feodorovna began to lead an almost monastic lifestyle. Her house became like a cell, she did not take off her mourning, did not attend social events. She prayed in the temple and observed strict fasting. She sold part of her jewelry (giving to the treasury that part that belonged to the Romanov dynasty), and with the proceeds she bought an estate on Bolshaya Ordynka with four houses and a vast garden, where the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy, founded by her in 1909, was located. There were two temples, a large garden, a hospital, an orphanage and much more. The first church in the monastery was consecrated in the name of the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary, the second - in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, the charter of the monastery hostel was in effect. In 1910, Bishop Tryphon (Turkestan) ordained 17 nuns to the title of Cross Sisters of Love and Mercy, and the Grand Duchess to the rank of abbess. Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky became the confessor of the monastery. The abbess herself led an ascetic life. She fasted, slept on a hard bed, got up for prayer even before dawn, worked until late in the evening: distributed obediences, attended operations in the clinic, and conducted administrative affairs of the monastery. Elisaveta Feodorovna was a supporter of the revival of the rank of deaconesses - ministers of the church of the first centuries, who in the first centuries of Christianity were appointed through ordination, participated in the celebration of the Liturgy, approximately in the role in which subdeacons now serve, were engaged in catechesis of women, helped with the baptism of women, and served the sick. She received the support of the majority of members of the Holy Synod on the issue of conferring this title on the sisters of the monastery, however, in accordance with the opinion of Nicholas II, the decision was never made. When creating the monastery, both Russian Orthodox and European experience were used. The sisters who lived in the monastery took vows of chastity, non-covetousness and obedience, however, unlike the nuns, after a certain period of time, the charter of the monastery allowed the sisters to leave it and start a family. “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.” (Ekaterina Stepanova, Martha and Mary Convent: a unique example, article from the Neskuchny Garden magazine on the Orthodoxy and World website). “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 Elisaveta 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.).” (Ekaterina Stepanova, Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent: a unique example, article from the magazine “Neskuchny Sad” on the website “Orthodoxy and the World”) The sisters received serious psychological, methodological, spiritual and medical training at the monastery. They were given lectures by the best doctors in Moscow, conversations with them were conducted by the confessor of the monastery, Fr. Mitrofan Srebryansky (later Archimandrite Sergius; canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church) and the second priest of the monastery, Fr. Evgeny Sinadsky.
According to Elisaveta Feodorovna’s plan, the monastery was supposed to provide comprehensive, spiritual, educational and medical assistance to those in need, who were often not only given food and clothing, but helped in finding employment and placed in hospitals. Often the sisters persuaded families who could not give their children a normal upbringing (for example, professional beggars, drunkards, etc.) to send their children to an orphanage, where they were given an education, good care and a profession. A hospital, an excellent outpatient clinic, a pharmacy where some medications were provided free of charge, a shelter, a free canteen and many other institutions were created in the monastery. Educational lectures and conversations, meetings of the Palestine Society, Geographical Society, spiritual readings and other events were held in the Intercession Church of the monastery. Having settled in the monastery, Elisaveta Feodorovna led an ascetic life: at night caring for the seriously ill or reading the Psalter over the dead, and during the day she worked, along with her sisters, going around the poorest neighborhoods. Together with her cell attendant Varvara Yakovleva, Elisaveta Feodorovna often visited the Khitrov market - a place of attraction for the Moscow poor. Here mother found street children and sent them to city shelters. All of Khitrovka respectfully called the Grand Duchess “sister Elizabeth” or “mother.” She maintained relations with a number of famous elders of that time: Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Zyryanov) (Eleazar Hermitage), Schema-Abbot Herman (Gomzin) and Hieroschemamonk Alexy (Solovyov) (Elders of Zosimova Hermitage). Elisaveta Feodorovna did not take monastic vows. During the First World War, she actively took care of helping the Russian army, including wounded soldiers. At the same time, she tried to help prisoners of war, with whom the hospitals were overcrowded and, as a result, was accused of collaborating with the Germans. With her participation, at the beginning of 1915, a workshop was organized to assemble prosthetics from ready-made parts, mostly obtained from the St. Petersburg Military Medical Manufacturing Plant, where there was a special prosthetic workshop. Until 1914, this industry did not develop in Russia. Funds for equipping the workshop, located on private property at No. 9 Trubnikovsky Lane, were collected from donations. As military operations progressed, the need to increase the production of artificial limbs increased and the Grand Duchess Committee moved production to Maronovsky Lane, 9. Understanding the full social significance of this direction, with the personal participation of Elisaveta Feodorovna in 1916, work began on the design and construction of the first in Moscow Russian prosthetic plant, which is still producing components for prosthetics.
Elisaveta Feodorovna wanted to open branches of the monastery in other cities of Russia, but her plans were not destined to come true. The First World War began, with the blessing of Mother, the sisters of the monastery worked in field hospitals. Revolutionary events affected all members of the Romanov dynasty, even Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who was loved by all of Moscow. Soon after the February Revolution, an armed crowd with red flags came to arrest the abbess of the monastery - “a German spy who keeps weapons in the monastery.” The monastery was searched; After the crowd left, Elisaveta Feodorovna said to the sisters: “Obviously we are not yet worthy of the crown of martyrdom.” After the October Revolution of 1917, the monastery was not disturbed at first; they even brought food and medicine to the sisters. The arrests began later. In 1918, Elisaveta Feodorovna was taken into custody. The Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent existed until 1926. Some sisters were sent into exile, others united into a community and created a small vegetable garden in the Tver region. Two years later, a cinema was opened in the Church of the Intercession, and then a house of health education was located there. A statue of Stalin was placed in the altar. After the Great Patriotic War, the State Art Restoration Workshops settled in the monastery cathedral; the remaining premises were occupied by a clinic and laboratories of the All-Union Institute of Mineral Raw Materials. In 1992, the territory of the monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. Now the monastery lives according to the charter created by Elisaveta Feodorovna. The nuns are trained at the St. Demetrius School of Sisters of Mercy, help those in need, work in the newly opened shelter for orphan girls on Bolshaya Ordynka, a charity canteen, a patronage service, a gymnasium and a cultural and educational center.
Statues of 20th century martyrs on the west façade of Westminster Abbey: Maximilian Kolbe, Manche Masemola, Janani Luwum, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Esther John, Lucian Tapiedi and Wang Zhiming
Relics
In 2004-2005, the relics of the new martyrs were in Russia, the CIS and Baltic countries, where more than 7 million people venerated them. According to Patriarch Alexy II, “long lines of believers to the relics of the holy new martyrs are another symbol of Russia’s repentance for the sins of hard times, the country’s return to its original historical path.” The relics were then returned to Jerusalem.
Temples and monasteries
Several Orthodox monasteries in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, as well as churches, are dedicated to the Grand Duchess. The database of the website Temples of Russia (as of October 28, 2012) includes information about 24 operating churches in different cities of Russia, the main altar of which is dedicated to the Reverend Martyr Elisaveta Feodorovna, 6 churches in which one of the additional altars is dedicated to her, and 1 under construction temple and 4 chapels. Operating churches in the name of the Holy Martyr Elisaveta Feodorovna Alapaevskaya (construction dates in brackets) are located in Yekaterinburg (2001); Kaliningrad (2003); the city of Belousovo, Kaluga region (2000-2003); the village of Chistye Bory, Kostroma region (late 20th - early 21st centuries); cities of Balashikha (2005), Zvenigorod (2003), Klin (1991), Krasnogorsk (mid-1990s - mid-2000s), Lytkarino (2007-2008), Odintsovo (early 2000s), Shchelkovo (late . 1990s - early 2000s), Shcherbinka (1998-2001) and the village of Kolotskoye (1993) in the Moscow region; Moscow (temples from 1995, 1997 and 1998, 3 churches from the mid-2000s, 6 churches in total); the village of Diveevo, Nizhny Novgorod region (2005); Nizhny Novgorod; village of Vengerovo, Novosibirsk region (1996); Orle (2008); the city of Bezhetsk, Tver region (2000); village of Khrenovoe (2007). Current churches with additional altars of the Holy Martyr Elisaveta Feodorovna of Alapaevsk (construction dates in brackets) include: the Cathedral of the Three Great Hierarchs in the Spaso-Eleazarovsky Monastery, Pskov region, Elizarovo village (1574), additional altars - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Martyr Elizaveta Feodorovna; Church of the Ascension of the Lord, Nizhny Novgorod (1866-1875), additional altars - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Icon of the Mother of God of the Burning Bush, Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna; Church of Elijah the Prophet in Ilyinsky, Moscow region, Krasnogorsk district, village. Ilyinskoe (1732-1740), additional thrones - John the Theologian, Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, Theodore of Perga; Church of the Savior Image Not Made by Hands in Usovo (new), Moscow region, p. Usovo (2009-2010), additional thrones - Icons of the Mother of God Sovereign, Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, Hieromartyr Sergius (Makhaev); Temple in the name of St. Elizabeth Feodorovna (Elizabeth Feodorovna), Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Kursk region, Kurchatov (1989-1996), additional throne (2006) - Martyrs Elizabeth Feodorovna and nun Varvara. The chapels are located in St. Petersburg (2009); Orle (1850s); G. Zhukovsky, Moscow region (2000s); Yoshkar-Ole (2007). The Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the Martyr Elisabeth Feodorovna in Yekaterinburg is under construction. The list includes house churches (hospital churches and churches located at other social institutions), which may not be separate structures, but occupy premises in hospital buildings, etc.Rehabilitation
On June 8, 2009, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office posthumously rehabilitated Elisaveta Feodorovna. Resolution to terminate the criminal case No. 18/123666-93 “On clarifying the circumstances of the death of members of the Russian Imperial House and people from their entourage in the period 1918-1919.”Elizaveta Fedorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov
It is generally accepted that the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were in a “white marriage” (that is, they lived like brother and sister). This is not true: they dreamed of children, especially Sergei Alexandrovich. It is generally accepted that Elizaveta Feodorovna was a meek and quiet angel. And that's not true. Her strong-willed character and business qualities made themselves felt since childhood. They said that the Grand Duke was vicious and had unconventional inclinations - again, this was not true. Even the all-powerful British intelligence did not find anything more “reprehensible” in his behavior than excessive religiosity.
Today, the personality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov either remains in the shadow of his great wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, or is vulgarized - as, for example, in the film “State Councilor”, where the Governor-General of Moscow appears as a very unpleasant type. Meanwhile, it was largely thanks to the Grand Duke that Elizaveta Fedorovna became what we know her: “Great Mother”, “Guardian Angel of Moscow”.
Slandered during his lifetime, almost forgotten after death, Sergei Alexandrovich deserves to be rediscovered. The man through whose efforts Russian Palestine appeared, and Moscow became an exemplary city; a man who all his life bore the cross of an incurable disease and the cross of endless slander; and a Christian who took communion up to three times a week - with the general practice of doing this once a year at Easter, for whom faith in Christ was the core of his life. “God grant me to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” wrote Elizaveta Feodorovna after his murder...
Our story is about the story of the great love of Elizaveta Fedorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the history of lies about them.
The name of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov is pronounced today, as a rule, only in connection with the name of his wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. She truly was an outstanding woman with an extraordinary destiny, but Prince Sergei, who remained in her shadow, turns out to have played first fiddle in this family. More than once they tried to denigrate their marriage, call it lifeless or fictitious, in the end, unhappy, or, on the contrary, idealized it. But these attempts are unconvincing. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Feodorovna burned her diaries, but the diaries and letters of Sergei Alexandrovich were preserved, they allow us to look into the life of this exceptional family, carefully protected from prying eyes.
Not so simple bride
The decision to marry was made at a difficult time for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich: in the summer of 1880, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, whom he adored, died, and less than a year later, a bomb from Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky ended the life of his father, Emperor Alexander II. The time has come for him to remember the words of his teacher, maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who wrote to the young prince: “By your nature, you should be married, you suffer alone.” Sergei Alexandrovich really had the unfortunate tendency to delve into himself and engage in self-criticism. He needed a loved one... And he found such a person.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. 1861
1884 Ella is one of the most beautiful brides in Europe. Sergei is one of the most eligible bachelors, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. Judging by the diaries, they first met when the Grand Duchess of Hesse and Rhine Alice-Maud-Mary, wife of Ludwig IV, was in the last months of pregnancy with the future wife of the Grand Duke. A photograph has been preserved where she sits with the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who came to Darmstadt, and her seven-year-old son Sergei. When the Russian crowned family returned to Russia from their trip to Europe, they again visited relatives in Darmstadt, and the little Grand Duke was allowed to be present at the bathing of the newborn Ella, his future wife.
Why Sergei made a choice in favor of Elizabeth escaped the attention of his family and educators. But the choice was made! And although Ella and Sergei both had doubts, in the end, in 1883, their engagement was announced to the world. “I gave my consent without hesitation,” Ella’s father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, said then. - I have known Sergei since childhood; I see his sweet, pleasant manners and I’m sure that he will make my daughter happy.”
The son of the Russian emperor married a provincial German duchess! This is the usual view of this brilliant couple - and also a myth. The Darmstadt duchesses were not so simple. Elizabeth and Alexandra (who became the last Russian empress) are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, from the age of 18 until her death in old age, the permanent ruler of Great Britain (Empress of India since 1876!), a person of strict morality and the iron grip with which Britain achieved its heyday The official title of Elizabeth Feodorovna, which passed to all Hessian princesses, was Duchess of Great Britain and the Rhine: they belonged, no more and no less, to the family that at that time ruled a third of the land. And this title - according to all the rules of etiquette - was inherited from their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
Thus, the Romanovs became related to the British crown thanks to Alice of Hesse - like her mother Victoria, an unusually strong woman: having married a German duke, Alice was forced to face the fastidiousness of the Germans, who were not very willing to accept the English princess. However, she once chaired parliament for nine months; launched extensive charitable activities - the almshouses she founded operate in Germany to this day. Ella also inherited her acumen, and subsequently her character will make itself felt.
In the meantime, Elizabeth of Darmstadt, although an extremely noble and educated, but somewhat flighty and impressionable young lady, discusses shops and beautiful trinkets. Preparations for her wedding with Sergei Alexandrovich were kept in the strictest confidence, and in the summer of 1884, the nineteen-year-old Hessian princess arrived in the capital of the Russian Empire on a train decorated with flowers.
“He often treated her like a school teacher...”
Princess Ella of Hesse and Great Britain. Early 1870s
In public, Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich were, first of all, high-ranking persons, they headed societies and committees, and their human relations, their mutual love and affection were kept secret. Sergei Alexandrovich made every effort to ensure that the internal life of the family did not become public knowledge: he had many ill-wishers. From the letters we know more than the Romanov contemporaries could know.
“He told me about his wife, admired her, praised her. He thanks God every hour for his happiness,” recalls Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, his relative and close friend. The Grand Duke really adored his wife - he loved to give her extraordinary jewelry, give her small gifts with or without any reason. Treating her strictly at times, in her absence he could not praise Elizabeth enough. As one of his nieces (future Queen Maria of Romania) recalls, “my uncle was often harsh with her, like with everyone else, but he worshiped her beauty. He often treated her like a school teacher. I saw the delicious flush of shame that washed over her face when he scolded her. “But, Serge...” she exclaimed then, and the expression on her face was like the face of a student caught in some mistake.”
“I felt how Sergei desired this moment; and I knew many times that he suffered from it. He was a real angel of kindness. How often could he, by touching my heart, lead me to a change of religion in order to make himself happy; and he never, never complained... Let people shout about me, but just never say a word against my Sergei. Take his side before them and tell them that I adore him, as well as my new country, and that in this way I have learned to love their religion ... "
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her brother Ernest about changing religion
Contrary to the rumors spread at the time, it was a truly happy marriage. On the day of ten years of married life, which occurred at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, the prince wrote in his diary: “In the morning I’m in church, my wife is in the warehouse*. Lord, why am I so happy?” (A donation warehouse for the benefit of soldiers, organized with the assistance of Elizabeth Feodorovna: clothes were sewn there, bandages were prepared, parcels were collected, camp churches were formed. - Ed.)
Their life was truly a service with the maximum dedication of all their strength and abilities, but we will have time to talk about this.
What is she? In a letter to her brother Ernest, Ella calls her husband “a real angel of kindness.”
The Grand Duke became in many ways a teacher to his wife, very gentle and unobtrusive. Being 7 years older, he is really involved in her education to a large extent, teaching her Russian language and culture, introducing her to Paris, showing her Italy and taking her on a trip to the Holy Land. And, judging by the diaries, the Grand Duke did not stop praying, hoping that someday his wife would share with him the main thing in his life - his faith and the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, to which he belonged with all his soul.
“After 7 long years of our happy married life, we have to start a completely new life and leave our cozy family life in the city. We will have to do so much for the people there, and in reality we will play the role of a ruling prince there, which will be very difficult for us, since instead of playing such a role, we are eager to lead a quiet private life.
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father, the Grand Duke of Hesse, about the appointment of her husband to the post of Governor General of Moscow
Extraordinary religiosity is a trait that distinguished the Grand Duke from childhood. When seven-year-old Sergei was brought to Moscow and asked: what would you like? - he replied that his most cherished desire was to attend the bishop’s service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
Subsequently, when as an adult young man he met Pope Leo XIII during a trip to Italy, he was amazed at the Grand Duke’s knowledge of church history - and even ordered the archives to be pulled up to check the facts voiced by Sergei Alexandrovich. Entries in his diaries always began and ended with the words: “Lord, have mercy,” “Lord, bless.” He himself decided what church utensils should be brought to the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (also his brainchild) - brilliantly knowing both the divine service and all its paraphernalia! And, by the way, Sergei Alexandrovich was the first and only of the great princes of the Romanov dynasty who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three times during his life. Moreover, he dared to do the first through Beirut, which was extremely difficult and far from safe. And the second time he took his wife with him, who was still a Protestant at that time...
“Being of the same faith with your spouse is right”
In their family estate Ilyinsky, where Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna spent the happiest days of their lives, starting with their honeymoon, a temple has been preserved, and now it is operating again. According to legend, it was here that the then Protestant Ella attended her first Orthodox service.
Due to her status, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not have to change her religion. 7 years would pass after her marriage before she wrote: “My heart belongs to Orthodoxy.” Evil tongues said that Elizaveta Fedorovna was actively pushed to accept the new faith by her husband, under whose unconditional influence she was always. But, as the Grand Duchess herself wrote to her father, her husband “never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this entirely to my conscience.” All he did was gently and delicately introduce her to his faith. And the princess herself approached this issue very seriously, studying Orthodoxy, looking at it very carefully.
Having finally made a decision, Ella first writes to her influential grandmother Queen Victoria - they have always been on good terms. The wise grandmother replies: “Being with your spouse of the same faith is right.” Her father did not accept Elizaveta Fedorovna’s decision so favorably, although it is difficult to imagine a more affectionate and tactful tone and more sincere words with which Ella begged the “dear Pope” for his blessing on the decision to convert to Orthodoxy:
“...I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband ‹…› I so strongly wish at Easter to partake of the Holy Mysteries together with my husband..."
Duke Ludwig IV did not answer his daughter, but she could not go against her conscience, although she admitted: “I know that there will be many unpleasant moments, since no one will understand this step.” So, to the indescribable happiness of the spouse, the day came when they were able to take communion together. And the third, last in his life, trip to the Holy Land had already been made together - in every sense.
90 Grand Duke Societies
The Grand Duke was one of the initiators of the creation and until his death - the chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, without which today it is impossible to imagine the history of Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Having become the head of the Society in the 1880s, he managed to open 8 farmsteads of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, 100 schools where Arab children were taught the Russian language and introduced to Orthodoxy, and built a church of Mary Magdalene in honor of his mother - this is an incomplete list of his deeds, and All this was carried out quite subtly and cunningly. So, sometimes the prince allocated money for construction without waiting for permitting documentation to be issued, and somehow avoided many obstacles. There is even an assumption that his appointment in 1891 as Governor-General of Moscow was a cunning political intrigue invented by the intelligence services of dissatisfied England and France - who would like Russia’s “rule” in the territory of their colonies? - and had as its goal the removal of the prince from affairs in the Holy Land. Be that as it may, these calculations did not come true: the prince, it seems, only redoubled his efforts!
It’s hard to imagine how active the couple were, how much they managed to do during their generally short life! He headed or was a trustee of about 90 societies, committees and other organizations, and found time to take part in the life of each of them. Here are just a few: Moscow Architectural Society, Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, Moscow Philharmonic Society, Committee for the Construction of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III at Moscow University, Moscow Archaeological Society. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Society of Artists of Historical Painting, Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities, the Society of Agriculture, the Society of Natural History Lovers, the Russian Musical Society, the Archaeological Museum in Constantinople and the Historical Museum in Moscow, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox Missionary Society, Department of distribution of spiritual and moral books.
Since 1896, Sergei Alexandrovich has been commander of the Moscow Military District. He is also the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum. On his initiative, the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created - the Grand Duke laid six of his own collections as the basis for its exhibition.
“Why do I always feel deeply? Why am I not like everyone else, not cheerful like everyone else? I delve into everything to the point of stupidity and see differently - I myself am ashamed that I am so old-fashioned and cannot be, like all the “golden youth,” cheerful and carefree.”
From the diary of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Having become governor-general of Moscow in 1891 - and this meant taking care not only of Moscow, but also of the ten adjacent provinces - he launched incredible activities, setting out to make the city equal to European capitals. Under him, Moscow became exemplary: clean, neat paving stones, policemen stationed within sight of each other, all utilities working perfectly, order everywhere and in everything. Under him, electric street lighting was established - a central city power plant was built, the GUM was erected, the Kremlin towers were restored, a new building of the Conservatory was built; under him, the first tram began to run along the capital, the first public theater opened, and the city center was put in perfect order.
The charity that Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna were involved in was neither ostentatious nor superficial. “A ruler must be a blessing to his people,” Ella’s father often repeated, and he himself and his wife, Alice of Hesse, tried to follow this principle. From an early age, their children were taught to help people, regardless of rank - for example, every week they went to the hospital, where they gave flowers to seriously ill people and encouraged them. This became part of their blood and flesh; the Romanovs raised their children in exactly the same way.
Even while resting on their Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna continued to accept requests for help, for employment, for donations to raise orphans - all this was preserved in the correspondence of the manager of the Grand Duke’s court with various people. One day a letter arrived from the girls-compositors of a private printing house, who dared to ask to be allowed to sing at the Liturgy in Ilyinsky in the presence of the Grand Duke and Princess. And this request was fulfilled.
In 1893, when cholera was raging in Central Russia, a temporary first-aid post was opened in Ilyinsky, where everyone in need of help was examined and, if necessary, urgently operated on, where peasants could stay in a special “isolation hut” - like in a hospital. The first aid post existed from July to October. This is a classic example of the kind of ministry that the couple has been engaged in all their lives.
"White marriage" that never happened
The spouses are Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1884 Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna in their wedding year. Contrary to popular belief, they did not live in the so-called. “white marriage”: the Grand Duke dreamed of children. “We must not be destined to have complete happiness on earth,” he wrote to his brother Pavel. “If I had children, then it seems to me that there would be heaven for me on our planet, but the Lord does not want this - His ways are inscrutable!”
“How I would like to have children! For me there would be no greater heaven on earth if I had my own children,” Sergei Alexandrovich writes in his letters. A letter from Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, has been preserved, where he writes: “What a pity that Ella and Sergei cannot have children.” “Of all the uncles, we were most afraid of Uncle Sergei, but despite this, he was our favorite,” Prince Maria’s niece recalls in her diaries. “He was strict, kept us in awe, but he loved children... If he had the opportunity, he came to supervise the children’s bathing, cover them with a blanket and kiss them goodnight...”
The Grand Duke was given the opportunity to raise children - but not his own, but his brother Paul, after the tragic death of his wife, the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna, during premature birth. The owners of the estate, Sergei and Elizaveta, were direct witnesses to the six-day agony of the unfortunate woman. Heartbroken, Pavel Alexandrovich, for several months after the tragedy, was unable to care for his children - young Maria and newborn Dmitry, and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich completely took upon himself this care. He canceled all plans and trips and stayed in Ilyinsky, participated in bathing the newborn - who, by the way, should not have survived according to the unanimous opinion of the doctors - he himself covered him with cotton wool, did not sleep at night, taking care of the little prince. It is interesting that in his diary Sergei Alexandrovich recorded all the important events in the life of his ward: the first erupted tooth, the first word, the first step. And after brother Pavel, against the will of the emperor, married a woman who did not belong to an aristocratic family and was expelled from Russia, his children, Dmitry and Maria, were finally taken into the care of Sergei and Elizabeth.
Why the Lord did not give the spouses their own children is His mystery. Researchers suggest that the childlessness of the grand ducal couple could be a consequence of Sergei’s serious illness, which he carefully hid from those around him. This is another little-known page in the prince’s life, which completely changes the usual ideas about him for many.
Why does he need a corset?
Coldness of character, isolation, closedness - the usual list of accusations against the Grand Duke.
To this they also add: proud! - because of his overly straight posture, which gave him an arrogant appearance. If only the prince’s accusers knew that the “culprit” of his proud posture was the corset with which he was forced to support his spine all his life. The prince was seriously and terminally ill, like his mother, like his brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was supposed to become the Russian emperor, but died from a terrible illness. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich knew how to hide his diagnosis - bone tuberculosis, leading to dysfunction of all joints. Only his wife knew what it cost him.
“Sergei is suffering a lot. He's not feeling well again. He really needs salts and hot baths, he can’t do without them,” Elizaveta writes to close relatives. “Instead of going to the reception, the Grand Duke was taking a bath,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper scoffed already in pre-revolutionary times. A hot bath is almost the only remedy that relieves pain (joint pain, dental pain) that tormented Sergei Alexandrovich. He could not ride a horse, could not do without a corset. In Ilyinsky, during his mother’s lifetime, a kumys farm was established for medicinal purposes, but the disease progressed over the years. And if it weren’t for the bomb of student Ivan Kalyaev, it is very possible that the Governor General of Moscow would not have lived long anyway...
The Grand Duke was closed, taciturn and withdrawn from childhood. Could anyone expect anything different from a child whose parents were actually in a divorce, which nevertheless could not take place? Maria Alexandrovna lived on the second floor of the Winter Palace, no longer having marital communication with her husband and enduring the presence of the sovereign’s favorite, Princess Dolgorukova (she became his wife after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, but remained in this status for less than a year, until the death of Alexander II). The collapse of the parental family, the deep attachment to the mother, who meekly endured this humiliation, are factors that largely determined the formation of the character of the little prince.
They are also grounds for slander, rumors and slander against him. “He is overly religious, withdrawn, goes to church very often, takes communion up to three times a week,” - this is the most “suspicious” of what English intelligence was able to find out about the prince before his marriage to Elizabeth, after all - granddaughter of the Queen of England. His reputation is almost impeccable, and yet, even during his lifetime, the Grand Duke was subjected to streams of slander and unflattering accusations...
“Be patient - you are on the battlefield”
There was talk about the dissolute lifestyle of the Governor-General of Moscow, rumors were spread around the capital about his unconventional sexual orientation, that Elizaveta Feodorovna was very unhappy in her marriage to him - all this was even heard in English newspapers during the prince’s lifetime. Sergei Alexandrovich was at first lost and perplexed, this can be seen from his diary entries and letters, where he poses one question: “Why? Where does all this come from?!”
“Be patient with all this slander during your lifetime, be patient - you are on the battlefield,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote to him.
Elizaveta Feodorovna could not avoid attacks and accusations of arrogance and indifference. Of course, there were reasons for this: despite her extensive charitable activities, she always kept her distance, knowing the value of her status as a Grand Duchess - belonging to the imperial house hardly implies familiarity. And her character, which manifested itself from childhood, gave rise to such accusations.
In our eyes, the image of the Grand Duchess, admittedly, is somewhat unctuous: a gentle, meek woman with a humble look. This image was formed, of course, not without reason. “Her purity was absolute, it was impossible to take your eyes off her, after spending the evening with her, everyone looked forward to the hour when they could see her the next day,” her niece Maria admires Aunt Ella. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice that Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a strong-willed character. The mother admitted that Ella was the exact opposite of her older, obedient sister Victoria: very strong and not at all quiet. It is known that Elizabeth spoke very harshly about Grigory Rasputin, believing that his death would be the best way out of the catastrophic and absurd situation that had developed at court.
“...When he saw her, he asked: “Who are you?” “I am his widow,” she replied, “why did you kill him?” “I didn’t want to kill you,” he said, “I saw him several times while I had the bomb ready, but you were with him and I didn’t dare touch him.” “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she answered..."
Description of Elizabeth Feodorovna’s conversation with her husband’s killer from the book by Fr. M. Polsky “New Russian Martyrs”
As they would say today, the Grand Duchess was a first-class manager, meticulously able to organize a business, distribute responsibilities and monitor their implementation. Yes, she behaved somewhat aloof, but at the same time she did not ignore the slightest requests and needs of those who turned to her. There is a known case during the First World War when a wounded officer, who was facing amputation of his leg, submitted a request to reconsider this decision. The petition reached the Grand Duchess and was granted. The officer recovered and subsequently, during World War II, served as Minister of Light Industry.
Of course, Elizaveta Feodorovna’s life changed dramatically after a terrible event - the murder of her beloved husband... A photograph of a carriage destroyed by an explosion was then published in all Moscow newspapers. The explosion was so strong that the heart of the murdered man was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. But the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with her own hands. Her life, her destiny, her character - everything has changed, but, of course, her entire previous life, full of dedication and activity, was a preparation for this.
“It seemed,” recalled Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufieva, “that from that time on she was peering intently at the image of another world and devoted herself to the search for perfection.”
“You and I know that he is a saint.”
“Lord, I wish I could be worthy of such a death!” - Sergei Alexandrovich wrote in his diary after the death of one of the statesmen from a bomb - a month before his own death. He received threatening letters but ignored them. The only thing the prince did was stop taking his children - Dmitry Pavlovich and Maria Pavlovna - and his adjutant Dzhunkovsky with him on trips.
The Grand Duke foresaw not only his death, but also the tragedy that would overwhelm Russia in a decade. He wrote to Nicholas II, begging him to be more decisive and tough, to act, to take action. And he himself took such measures: in 1905, when an uprising flared up among students, he sent students on an indefinite vacation to their homes, preventing the fire from breaking out. "Hear me!" - he writes and writes in recent years to the Emperor. But the sovereign did not listen...
On February 4, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich leaves the Kremlin through the Nikolsky Gate. 65 meters before the Nikolskaya Tower a terrible explosion is heard. The coachman was mortally wounded, and Sergei Alexandrovich was torn into pieces: all that was left of him was his head, arm and legs - so the prince was buried, having built a special “doll”, in the Chudov Monastery, in the tomb. At the scene of the explosion, they found his personal belongings that Sergei always carried with him: icons, a cross given by his mother, a small Gospel.
After the tragedy, Elizaveta Fedorovna considered it her duty to continue everything that Sergei did not have time to do, everything into which he invested his mind and irrepressible energy. “I want to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” she wrote to Zinaida Yusupova shortly after his death. And, probably driven by these thoughts, she went to prison to see her husband’s killer with words of forgiveness and a call to repentance. She worked until exhaustion and, as Countess Olsufieva writes, “always calm and humble, she found strength and time, receiving satisfaction from this endless work.”
It is difficult to say in a few words what the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy, founded by the Grand Duchess and which still exists today, has become for the capital. “The Lord gave me so little time,” she writes to Z. Yusupova. “There is still a lot to be done”...
On July 5, 1918, Elizaveta Fedorovna, her cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva), nephew Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, the sons of Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich - Igor, John and Konstantin, and the manager of the affairs of Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.
The relics of the Grand Duchess rest in the temple that her husband built - the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the remains of the Grand Duke were transferred in 1998 to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. She was canonized in the 1990s, and he... It seems that holiness comes in very different forms, and the great - truly great - Prince Sergei Alexandrovich again remained in the shadow of his great wife. Today the commission for his canonization resumed its work. “You and I know that he is a saint,” Elizaveta Fedorovna said in correspondence after her husband’s death. She knew him better than anyone.
At a meeting of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place from March 31 to April 5, 1992, seven new martyrs who suffered for their faith during the years of Soviet power were canonized. Among them is the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna.
Elizaveta Fedorovna is an extraordinary, amazing saint. Her image and fate contain so much that they give the impression of a truly epic action. Even in the most laconic retelling, being outlined in a general light frame, the circumstances of the life of this great woman reveal the broadest historical and personal-moral perspective.
See for yourself!
The charm of la belle epoque - a wonderful era without wars that came in Europe between the last decades of the 19th century. and 1914, with the accelerated development of the economy and technical innovations, the exceptional flowering of culture - are combined in her biography with the period of pre-revolutionary unrest in Russia, with the anxieties and disasters that followed the Bolshevik revolution.
The traditions of the leading houses of the Western European aristocracy (Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice - née Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England) are continued in the exceptionally high, influential position of the Grand Duchess and half-sister of the Empress Alexandra, wife of the Russian Autocrat Nicholas II, head of the Reigning Romanov dynasty.
The strong-willed German character, upbringing in strict rules is combined with a reverent penetration into Russian life, love and devotion to Russia and its people. The deep piety of a Lutheran, imbibed from childhood, continues with the acquisition of true closeness to Christ in the bosom of Orthodoxy. Extreme femininity, grace, and fragility are combined with the qualities of an active philanthropist and a skillful organizer.
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The tenderness and romanticism of her relationship with her husband, Grand Duke Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of the Russian Emperor Alexander III, with the courage and composure that went beyond imaginable, with which she began to collect and fold the torn pieces of the flesh of her loved one, who had fallen victim to a terrorist attack by a revolutionary bomber.
High-society manners coexist with a complete absence of arrogance and disgust when meeting pictures of the bottom of society. Extraordinary creative abilities and impeccable aesthetic taste set off an unshakable determination in choosing to serve as a sister of mercy with the realities of human pain, blood, mutilation, and loss of reason.
The ability to appreciate life, to rejoice at any of its manifestations as its completion and worthy crown is the feat of accepting martyrdom for faith, filled with firmness and humility.
Truly, I can’t believe it, it doesn’t fit in the imagination, it seems fantastic! But the fact remains that a huge mass of events, meetings and deeds was contained in the life of just one real person: the Holy Martyr of Russia Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
They say that from an early age she was an unusual child and more than about the personal well-being and glory of a society lady, she dreamed of great things and devoting herself to the good of society.
At the age of 11, Ella made a vow to God to remain chaste and never have children of her own. It comes after three-year-old brother Friedrich tragically died after falling from a window. The sister was the first to come to the rescue and carried the bloodied boy into the house in her arms. He remained alive, but soon died, as he suffered from the hereditary disease hemophilia, and even a slight hemorrhage carried a mortal danger. The elder sister’s impressions of the incident were the strongest. Young Elizabeth already knew that she could pass this disease on to her child through the female line.
The beloved saint of the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt was Elizabeth of Thuringia, her distant relative who lived in the first half of the 13th century, during the Crusades.
Married to the Landgrave of Thuringia, she was widowed early and expelled from her possessions. Elizabeth suffered a lot from human injustice and was an example of Christian humility. She wandered, lived with the poor, bandaged their wounds, wore rough clothes, slept on the bare ground, and walked barefoot. Her ascetic image attracted Ella, who strived for Christian perfection.
Later, in her marriage to the Grand Duke, Elizaveta Feodorovna discovered the Orthodox Church and Orthodox saints. Her ardent desire to change her confession and join the faith of her husband and all Russian people became the reason for her father’s displeasure and a regrettable break with her German relatives. In 1881, she wrote to her father: “You must have noticed what deep reverence I have for the local religion since you were last here - more than a year and a half ago. I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have to be a good Christian.”
Charity was a frequent activity for august persons and representatives of high society in those days. Many charitable and educational institutions, educational societies, sisterhoods were under the care of noble ladies, and under the Own Office of His Imperial Majesty there was a whole Department of Institutions of the Empress Maria (Dowager), which was in charge of affairs of mercy on the scale of the vast Empire.
However, Elizabeth Feodorovna’s view of charity was somewhat different and special. It seemed insufficient for the Grand Duchess to donate money alone to help the poor and maintain schools, shelters, and hospitals. In her opinion, it was necessary to change the entire lifestyle of the aristocracy with its secular amusements and often unnecessary, demonstrative luxury, which caused embitterment in society. The duty of mercy is to go out to those in need, to get to know the life and needs of ordinary people, to master the practical activities of sisters of mercy and teachers, thereby restoring trust and solidarity. This, if you like, was Elizabeth Feodorovna’s own plan to prevent the catastrophe impending on Russia - to stop the unrest and revolution, to restore social peace. And this plan, unlike a large number of political projects, was very, very specific.
The direction of charity founded by the Grand Duchess was based on the principle, firstly, of voluntary merciful asceticism. Its participants, unmarried girls and widows, not burdened with family worries and caring for children, agreed to accept modest living conditions and constantly work, serving those in need. They gathered in communities, which were the basis for institutions of social charity. The second indispensable condition was strict church adherence. The vows and structure of life of such communities resembled monastic ones, with prayers and services, fulfillment of the statutory requirements of fasts, etc. However, the sisters of the “Elizabethan” communities, one of which was located in St. Petersburg, the other in Moscow, did not renounce the world. They actively participated in the surrounding life and the needs of the people; they did not sit inside the walls of the monastery, but every day they went to the city to visit the poor “on the ground.” Subsequently, each of the sisters had the right to leave the community and start a family.
Using her own example, the Grand Duchess proved such a possibility and inspired people to follow themselves. From the palace chambers she moved to the Martha and Mary Convent she founded in the center of Moscow on Bolshaya Ordynka and with tireless energy, day and night she performed not only the duties of abbess and organizer of the sisters’ activities, but a direct participant in medical and charitable missions. In total, during the heyday (1914-1917), more than 150 sisters of mercy worked at the monastery.
For Russia, activities of this kind looked unusual, like a real discovery. Elizaveta Fedorovna openly and boldly asserted a new view on the social role of women, on her independence and initiative in a wide range of issues. This was relevant and valuable especially since the slogan of women’s liberation had already penetrated the masses, and the “struggle for equal rights” became the strong point of the political opposition. The Elizabethan women's movement stood out favorably against the background of both the adventurism and demagoguery of the left, and the feminism that came from the West. Adherence to the traditional Christian virtues of humility, hard work and compassion, responsibility and political moderation constituted his main distinguishing qualities.
A number of moments required great fearlessness from the Grand Duchess, even the manifestation of heroic qualities. During the period of unrest, street barricades and shootouts with the police of 1905-1907. Elizaveta Fedorovna abandoned personal security measures and, contrary to the admonitions of those who begged the Grand Duchess to leave Moscow, continued to help the victims of the unrest. “I prefer to be killed by the first random shot from some window than to sit here with arms folded,” she admitted.
Another striking episode was working in the criminal-filled slums of Khitrovka. In those days, the vast area in the center of Moscow near the Khitrov market (the junction of the current Basmanny and Tagansky districts) was a real cesspool.
The authorities could not do anything about the constant accumulation of unemployed, homeless and destitute people. The authorities and the police were afraid to enter the lost world, living according to its own animal laws. But the sisters of mercy, together with the abbess, regularly went around the shelters, giving medicines and dressings to the sick, offering places to the unemployed.
Elizaveta Fedorovna picked up the homeless orphans of the “Khitrovites” and sent them to a special school at the monastery. Here the children were taught to work, the bad inclinations that led boys to theft and girls to work were corrected. If the parents were alive and the family had not completely collapsed, the children were left with their parents and attended classes together, received clothes and food. Residents of Khitrovka got used to frequent visits from the Grand Duchess and fell in love with her, giving her affectionate names: “our angel”, “our princess”.
Just think how this woman of white bones and blue blood, born a princess from Germany, was able to fall in love with Orthodoxy and the Russians, that she could not find peace and longed to bring consolation and light to the darkest and seedy corners of this “backward, barbaric”, by the standards of an enlightened European mind, country! In one of the letters after the revolution, the Grand Duchess will write the following lines, clearly reflecting her inner world and feelings regarding the new Fatherland: “I felt such deep pity for Russia and her 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, teach him patience, help him. That's how I feel every day."
Russia, meanwhile, was entering a period of historical storms and, through the hands of unworthy people, was preparing to repay its merciful patroness with extreme cruelty. Like Jerusalem, which once did not recognize the time of Christ’s visit, black envy accumulated in her for the best, the brightest. In 1916, due to failures at the front, the search for “German spies” began. Stones began to fly at the carriage of Elizaveta Fedorovna, beloved and respected by Muscovites. A crowd, inflamed by agitators, gathered at the gates of the monastery. The abbess herself came out to meet her, completely alone, calm, majestic. The rioters, taken aback, did not dare to touch her.
But the new revolutionary government soon began to implement a plan to destroy the august Romanovs. The German ambassador Maybach personally met with Elizaveta Fedorovna, offering her a plan to escape to Germany. But this would have worked for someone else, who thought his destiny was a calm and contented life abroad, in the care of rich and eminent German relatives. The Grand Duchess moved away from this - the events of more than 30 years of life here, on Russian soil, lay too deeply in her memory: joy and loss, stress of work, disputes, struggle, overcoming, closeness with people who were her colleagues and demanded help. The princess refused to leave Russia under diplomatic cover, citing the need to take care of her sisters. On May 8, 1918, after the end of the liturgy served at the monastery by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, the Bolshevik “cheka” took mother and her two cell attendants to an unknown direction.
On the night of July 18, 1918, she and seven other members of the Royal Family and associates were thrown into the Novaya Selimskaya mine, 18 km from the Ural city of Alapaevsk. A symbolic offering “for one’s friend,” a justification and evidence of Russia’s gratitude to its White Angel, the Grand Duchess and leader of the movement of good souls, was the refusal of Elizabeth Feodorovna’s closest friend and companion, nun Varvara, to be separated from her beloved mother at her mortal moment. A simple family, Varvara could easily have avoided execution, but she insisted on following everyone into the dark, rocky mouth of the Alapaevsk mine.
Life ended, but the ordeal of the venerable martyrs Elizabeth and Varvara was not over. Their honest remains, along with the bodies of other victims, had to be transported by rail across all of Siberia to China by the retreating white troops. At this time, those accompanying the mournful cargo witnessed an amazing miracle: liquid oozed from the hastily knocked together coffins onto the floor of the carriage, and the liquid that flowed from the relics of the Grand Duchess was fragrant! The vials with her were later distributed as relics among the emigration community and began to be reverently preserved by admirers of the saint’s memory.
One of the nuns of the Russian Abroad recalls: “Shortly before his death, Abbot Seraphim gave me a vial with the ashes of the Grand Duchess. The contents of the bottle are a dried, dark brown mass that has settled to about half the bottle. The stopper, soaked in liquid, has dried out and no longer closes the bottle tightly. The neck is tied with a cloth of the same dark brown color, and the entire bottle is wrapped with another cloth covered with the same stains. All of this gives off a very pleasant, spicy-spicy aroma, unlike any smell I have ever smelled. Despite its tenderness and subtlety, this smell is very penetrating, as it passes through the nylon bag in which I wrapped the bottle with rags. It stands on my shelf in front of the images, where the lamp is always burning. From time to time, the smell changes slightly, as if one or another aromatic substances alternately predominate in the composition. Of course, I do not allow myself to touch the bottle often, but only venerate it on the day of the anniversary of the murder of the Grand Duchess as if it were a relic.”
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna and nun Varvara were canonized as saints first by the Church Abroad in 1981, and then in 1992 by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Despite the fact that monastic tonsure was not performed on them, they are venerated with the rank of venerable martyrs. The vows of celibacy and non-covetousness taken by both allow this possibility.
The Venerable Martyrs Elizaveta Fedorovna and the nun Varvara were buried according to the will of the Grand Duchess in the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, in the Russian convent of Gethsemane.
You can read more about the biography of the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.