Life story. History of Russia: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and her martyrdom (13 photos)

Text: Zoya Zhalnina

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1904 Archival photos and documents from the museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy

A person's deeds and letters speak best of all. Elizaveta Fedorovna's letters to close people reveal the rules on which she built her life and relationships with others, allow a better understanding of the reasons that prompted the brilliant high-society beauty to turn into a saint during her lifetime.

In Russia, Elizaveta Feodorovna was known not only as “the most beautiful princess in Europe”, the sister of the Empress and the wife of the Tsar’s uncle, but also as the founder of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, a new type of convent.

In 1918, the founder of the monastery of mercy, wounded but alive, was thrown into a mine in a deep forest so that no one would find it - by order of the head of the Bolshevik Party V.I. Lenin.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was very fond of nature and often walked for a long time - without ladies-in-waiting and "etiquette". In the photo: on the way to the village of Nasonovo, not far from the Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, where she and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, lived almost without a break until he was appointed in 1891 to the post of Governor-General of Moscow. End of the 19th century. State Archive of the Russian Federation

On faith: “External signs only remind me of the internal”

By birth, a Lutheran, Elizaveta Feodorovna, if desired, could remain her all her life: the canons of that time prescribed a mandatory transition to Orthodoxy only to those members of the august family who were related to the succession to the throne, and Elizabeth's husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, he was not the heir to the throne. However, in the seventh year of marriage, Elizabeth decides to become Orthodox. And he does this not “because of her husband”, but of her own free will.

Princess Elizabeth with her own family in her youth: father, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, sister Alix (future Empress of Russia), Princess Elizabeth herself, elder sister, Princess Victoria, brother Ernst-Ludwig. Mother, Princess Alice, died when Elizabeth was 12 years old.
Artist Heinrich von Angeli, 1879

From a letter to his father, Ludwig IV , Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine
(January 1, 1891):
I took this step [-conversion to Orthodoxy-] only out of deep faith and I feel that I must appear before God with a pure and believing heart. How easy it would be to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how can I lie to everyone - pretending to be a Protestant in all outward rites, when my soul belongs entirely to the religion here. I thought and thought deeply about all this, being in this country for more than 6 years, and knowing that the religion was "found".

Even in Slavonic, I understand almost everything, although I have never learned this language. You say that the outward brilliance of the church fascinated me. In this you are wrong. Nothing external attracts me, and not worship - but the foundation of faith. External signs only remind me of the internal ...

Certificate of high medical qualification of the sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Labor Community dated April 21, 1925. After the arrest of Elizaveta Feodorovna in 1918, a "labor artel" was set up in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and a hospital was preserved where the sisters of the convent could work. The sisters worked so well that they even earned praise from Soviet power. That did not prevent her from closing the monastery a year after the issuance of the certificate, in 1926. A copy of the certificate was provided to the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent by the Central Archive of Moscow

About the revolution: “I prefer to be killed by the first random shot than to sit with folded arms”

From a letter from V.F. Dzhunkovsky, adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1905):
The revolution cannot end any day now, it can only worsen or become chronic, which in all probability it will. My duty is now to take care of helping the unfortunate victims of the uprising ... I prefer to be killed by the first accidental shot from some window than to sit here with folded arms.<…>

Revolution of 1905-1907 Barricades in Ekaterininsky Lane (Moscow). Photo from the Museum modern history Russia. Newsreel RIA Novosti

From a letter to Emperor Nicholas II (December 29, 1916):
We are all about to be overwhelmed by huge waves<…>All classes - from the lowest to the highest, and even those who are now at the front - have reached the limit! ..<…>What other tragedy could unfold? What more suffering do we have ahead of us?

Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1892

Elizaveta Feodorovna in mourning for her murdered husband. Archival photos and documents from the museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

On forgiveness of enemies: "Knowing the good heart of the deceased, I forgive you"

In 1905, the husband of Elizaveta Feodorovna, the Governor-General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was killed by a bomb by the terrorist Kalyaev. Elizaveta Fedorovna, having heard an explosion that thundered not far from the governor's palace, ran out into the street and began to collect her husband's body torn to pieces. Then she prayed for a long time. After some time, she filed a petition for pardon for her husband's killer and visited him in prison, leaving the Gospel. She said she forgives him everything.

Revolutionary Ivan Kalyaev (1877-1905), who killed Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich in Moscow and executed by the tsarist government. From the family of a retired police officer. In addition to the revolution, he loved poetry, wrote poetry. From the notes of the archpriest of the prison Shlisselburg St. John the Baptist Cathedral, John Florinsky: “I have never seen a person going to his death with such calmness and humility of a true Christian. When I told him that in two hours he would be executed, he calmly answered me: “ I'm quite ready to die I don't need your sacraments and prayers I believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit He is always with me and I will die accompanied by Him But if you are a decent person and if you have compassion for me let's just talk like friends.” And he hugged me!” Newsreel RIA Novosti

From the encrypted telegram of the Prosecutor of the Senate E.B. Vasiliev dated February 8, 1905:
The meeting of the Grand Duchess with the killer took place on February 7 at 8 pm in the office of the Pyatnitsky part.<…>When asked who she was, the Grand Duchess replied “I am the wife of the one you killed, tell me why you killed him”; the accused stood up, saying "I did what I was instructed to do, this is the result of the existing regime." The Grand Duchess graciously turned to him with the words “knowing the good heart of the deceased, I forgive you” and blessed the murderer. Then<…>I was alone with the criminal for about twenty minutes. After the meeting, he told the accompanying officer that "the Grand Duchess is kind, and you are all evil."

From a letter to Empress Maria Feodorovna (March 8, 1905):
Violent shock [ from the death of her husband] I have been smoothed out by a small white cross placed at the spot where he died. The next evening I went there to pray and I was able to close my eyes and see this pure symbol of Christ. It was a great mercy, and then, in the evenings, before I go to bed, I say: "Good night!" - and I pray, and in my heart and soul I have peace.

Handmade embroidery by Elizabeth Feodorovna. The images of the sisters Martha and Mary meant the path of service to people chosen by the Grand Duchess: active kindness and prayer. Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow

About prayer: “I don’t know how to pray well…”

From a letter to Princess Z. N. Yusupova (June 23, 1908):
Peace of heart, peace of mind and soul brought me the relics of St. Alexis. If only you could approach the holy relics in the temple and, after praying, simply kiss them with your forehead, so that the world would enter into you and stay there. I barely prayed - alas, I don’t know how to pray well, but only fell: I fell, like a child to a mother’s breast, without asking for anything, because he was at peace, from the fact that a saint is with me, on whom I can lean and don't get lost alone.

Elizaveta Feodorovna dressed as a sister of mercy. The clothes of the sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent were made according to the sketches of Elizaveta Feodorovna, who believed that white was more appropriate for the sisters in the world than black.
Archival photos and documents from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

About monasticism: “I accepted it not as a cross, but as a path”

Four years after the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna sold her property and jewelry, giving to the treasury that part that belonged to the Romanov family, and with the proceeds she founded the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow.

From letters Emperor Nicholas II (March 26 and April 18, 1909):
Mine starts in two weeks new life blessed in the church. I kind of say goodbye to the past, with its mistakes and sins, hoping for a higher goal and a purer existence.<…>For me, taking vows is something even more serious than marriage for a young girl. I am betrothed to Christ and His cause, I give everything I can to Him and others.

View of the Martha and Mary Convent on Ordynka (Moscow) at the beginning of the 20th century. Archival photos and documents from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

From a telegram and a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to Professor St. Petersburg Theological Academy A.A. Dmitrievsky (1911):
Some do not believe that I myself, without any outside influence, decided to take this step. It seems to many that I have taken on an unbearable cross, which I will regret one day and either throw it off or collapse under it. I accepted it not as a cross, but as a path abounding in light, which the Lord showed me after the death of Sergei, but which, long years before, began to dawn in my soul. For me, this is not a “transition”: it is something that little by little grew in me, took shape.<…>I was amazed when a whole battle was played out to prevent me, to intimidate me with difficulties. All this was done with great love and good intentions, but with an absolute misunderstanding of my character.

Sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent

On relationships with people: "I have to do what they do"

From a letter to E.N. Naryshkina (1910):
... You can tell me, following many others: stay in your palace as a widow and do good "from above". But, if I demand from others that they follow my convictions, I must do the same as they do, I myself experience the same difficulties with them, I must be strong in order to console them, encourage them by my example; I have neither mind nor talent - I have nothing but love for Christ, but I am weak; the truth of our love for Christ, our devotion to him, we can express by comforting other people - this is how we give our lives to him ...

A group of wounded soldiers of the First World War in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. In the center are Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sister Varvara, Elizaveta Feodorovna's cell attendant, the venerable martyr, who voluntarily went into exile with her superior and died with her. Photo from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

On his attitude towards himself: “You need to move forward so slowly that it seems that you are standing still”

From a letter to Emperor Nicholas II (March 26, 1910):
The higher we try to climb, the greater feats we impose on ourselves, the more the devil tries to make us blind to the truth.<…>You need to move forward so slowly that it seems that you are standing still. A person should not look down, he should consider himself the worst of the worst. It often seemed to me that there was some kind of lie in this: to try to consider yourself the worst of the worst. But this is precisely what we must come to - with the help of God, everything is possible.

Mother of God and Apostle John the Theologian at the Cross on Golgotha. A fragment of stucco decorating the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent.

Why God Allows Suffering

From a letter Countess A.A. Olsufieva (1916):
I'm not exalted, my friend. I am only sure that the Lord who punishes is the same Lord who loves. I read a lot of the gospel recent times, and if we realize that great sacrifice of God the Father, Who sent His Son to die and rise for us, then we will feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who illuminates our path. And then the joy becomes eternal even when our poor human hearts and our little earthly minds experience moments that seem very terrible.

About Rasputin: "This is a man who leads several lives"

Elizaveta Feodorovna was extremely negative about the excessive trust with which her younger sister, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, treated Grigory Rasputin. She believed that the dark influence of Rasputin brought the imperial couple to "a state of blindness that casts a shadow over their home and country."
Interestingly, two of the participants in the murder of Rasputin were in the closest social circle of Elizabeth Feodorovna: Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who was her nephew.

The Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna was the second child in the family of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. Another daughter of this couple, Alice, would later become Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.

Children were brought up in the traditions of old England, their life passed according to the strict order established by the mother. Children's clothes and food were the most basic. The older daughters themselves did their homework: they cleaned the rooms, beds, stoked the fireplace. Subsequently, Elisaveta Feodorovna said: "They taught me everything at home." The mother carefully followed the talents and inclinations of each of the seven children and tried to educate them on a solid basis of Christian commandments, to put love for their neighbors, especially for those who suffer, into their hearts.

The parents of Elisaveta Feodorovna gave away most of their fortune for charitable purposes, and the children constantly went with their mother to hospitals, shelters, homes for the disabled, bringing with them large bouquets of flowers, put them in vases, carried them to the wards of patients.

Since childhood, Elizabeth loved nature and especially flowers, which she painted with enthusiasm. She had a picturesque gift, and all her life she devoted a lot of time to this occupation. Loved classical music. Everyone who knew Elizabeth from childhood noted her religiosity and love for her neighbors. As Elisaveta Feodorovna herself later said, even in her earliest youth, she was greatly influenced by the life and deeds of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, in whose honor she bore her name.

In 1873, the three-year-old brother of Elizabeth Friedrich crashed to death in front of his mother. In 1876, an epidemic of diphtheria broke out in Darmstadt, all the children fell ill, except for Elisabeth. The mother sat at night by the beds of sick children. Soon the four-year-old Maria died, and after her, Grand Duchess Alice herself fell ill and died at the age of 35.

In that year, the time of childhood ended for Elizabeth. Grief intensified her prayers. She realized that life on earth is the way of the Cross. The child tried with all his might to alleviate the grief of his father, support him, console him, and to some extent replace his mother for his younger sisters and brother.

In the twentieth year of her life, 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 Hessian house. Before that, all applicants for her hand were refused: Princess Elizabeth in her youth took a vow of virginity (celibacy). After a frank conversation between her and Sergei Alexandrovich, it turned out that he secretly took a vow of virginity. By mutual agreement, their marriage was spiritual, they lived like brother and sister.

The whole family accompanied Princess Elizabeth to her wedding in Russia. Instead, the twelve-year-old sister Alice came with her, who met her future husband, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, here.

The wedding took place in the church Grand Palace 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 the culture and especially the faith of her new homeland in depth.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth was dazzlingly beautiful. In those days, they said that there were only two beauties in Europe, and both were Elizabeths: Elisabeth of Austria, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph, and Elisaveta Feodorovna.

For most of the year, the Grand Duchess lived with her husband in their Ilinskoye estate, sixty kilometers from Moscow, on the banks of the Moscow River. She loved Moscow with its ancient churches, monasteries and patriarchal way of life. Sergei Alexandrovich was a deeply religious person, strictly observed all church canons, often went to fasts for 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 unlike what she had met in a Protestant church. She saw the joyful state of Sergei Alexandrovich after he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and she herself so wanted to approach the Holy Chalice in order to share this joy. Elisaveta Feodorovna began to ask her husband to get her books of spiritual content, an Orthodox catechism, an interpretation of Scripture, in order to comprehend with her mind and heart what kind of religion is true.

In 1888 the Emperor Alexander III instructed Sergei Alexandrovich to be his representative at the consecration of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, built in the Holy Land in memory of their mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Sergei Alexandrovich was already in the Holy Land in 1881, where he participated in the founding of the Orthodox Palestine Society, becoming its chairman. This society sought funds to help the Russian Mission in Palestine and pilgrims, expand missionary work, acquire land and monuments associated with the life of the Savior.

Having learned about the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, Elisaveta Feodorovna took it as the Providence of God and prayed that at the Holy Sepulcher the Savior Himself would reveal to her His will.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife arrived in Palestine in October 1888. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene was built in the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This five-domed temple with golden domes is one of the most beautiful temples in Jerusalem to this day. At the top of the Mount of Olives rose a huge bell tower, nicknamed the "Russian candle". Seeing this beauty and grace, the Grand Duchess said: "How I would like to be buried here." Little did she know then that she had uttered a prophecy that was destined to be fulfilled. As a gift to the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Elisaveta Feodorovna brought precious vessels, the Gospel and air.

After visiting the Holy Land, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna firmly decided to convert to Orthodoxy. From this step, she was held back by 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.

This letter shows what path Elisaveta Feodorovna went through. We will reproduce it almost in full:

“... And now, dear Papa, I want to say something to you and I beg you to give your blessing. You must have noticed the deep reverence I have for the religion here since you were last here over a year and a half ago. All the time I thought and read and prayed 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, which 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 within myself to pray and believe as my husband does. You cannot imagine how kind he was that he never tried to force me by any means, leaving it all entirely to my conscience. He knows what a serious step this is, and that one must be absolutely sure before deciding on it. I would have done it even before, it only tormented me that by doing this I bring you pain. But you, don't you understand, my dear Papa? 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 easy it would be to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how can I lie to everyone - pretending to be a Protestant in all outward rites, when my soul belongs entirely to the religion here. I thought and thought deeply about all this, being in this country for more than 6 years, and knowing that the religion was "found". I so much wish to partake of the Holy Mysteries on Easter with my husband. It may seem sudden to you, but I've been thinking about it for so long, and now, finally, I can't put it off. My conscience won't let me. Please, please, upon receipt of these lines, forgive your daughter if she causes you pain. But isn't faith in God and religion one of the main comforts of this world? Please wire me just one line when you receive this letter. God bless you. It will be such a comfort to me because I know there will be many awkward moments as no one will understand this step. I only ask for a small affectionate letter.

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 Elisaveta Feodorovna showed courage and, despite moral suffering, firmly decided to convert to Orthodoxy. A few more excerpts from her letters to relatives:

“... My conscience does not allow me to continue in the same spirit - that would be a sin; I have been lying all this time, remaining for everyone in my old faith... It would be impossible for me to continue to live the way I used to live...

Even in Slavic, I understand almost everything, never learning it. The Bible is available in both Slavic and Russian, but the latter is easier to read.

You say... that the external brilliance of the church fascinated me. In this you are wrong. Nothing external attracts me, and not worship, but the foundation of faith. External signs only remind me of the internal...

I pass from pure conviction; I feel that this is the highest religion, and that I will do it with faith, with deep conviction and confidence that there is God's blessing on it.

On April 13 (25), on Lazarus Saturday, the sacrament of Confirmation of the 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 celebrates on September 5 (18). After Confirmation, Emperor Alexander III blessed his daughter-in-law with a precious icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which Elisaveta Feodorovna revered sacredly all her life. Now she could say to her husband in the words of the Bible: “Your people have become my people, your God has become my god! (Ruth 1.16).

In 1891, Emperor Alexander III appointed Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich as the Governor-General of Moscow. The wife of the governor-general had to perform many duties - there were constant receptions, concerts, balls. It was necessary to smile and bow to the guests, dance and carry on conversations, regardless of mood, state of health and desire. After moving to Moscow, Elisaveta Feodorovna experienced the death of loved ones: her beloved daughter-in-law of the princess - Alexandra (Pavel Alexandrovich's wife) and her father. It was the time of her mental and spiritual growth.

The people of Moscow soon appreciated her merciful heart. She went to hospitals for the poor, to almshouses, to shelters for homeless children. And everywhere she tried to alleviate the suffering of people: she distributed food, clothes, money, improved the living conditions of the unfortunate.

After the death of her father, she and Sergei Alexandrovich went along the Volga, with stops in Yaroslavl, Rostov, Uglich. In all these cities, the couple prayed in local churches.

In 1894, after many obstacles, a decision was made on the engagement of the Grand Duchess Alice with the heir to the Russian throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich. Elisaveta Feodorovna was glad that the young lovers would finally be able to unite, and her sister would live in Russia dear to her heart. Princess Alice was 22 years old and Elisaveta Feodorovna hoped that her sister, living in Russia, would understand and love the Russian people, master the Russian language perfectly and be able to prepare for the high service of the Russian Empress.

But everything happened differently. The bride of the heir arrived in Russia when Emperor Alexander III was in a terminal illness. On October 20, 1894, the emperor died. The next day, Princess Alice converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra. The marriage 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 distributed to the people, a stampede began - thousands of people were injured or crushed.

This is how this tragic reign began - among memorial services and funeral memories.

In July 1903, a solemn glorification took place Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky. The entire imperial family arrived in Sarov. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna prayed to the monk for the gift of a son to her. When the heir to the throne was born, at the request of the imperial couple, the throne of the lower church built in Tsarskoe Selo was consecrated in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

Elisaveta Feodorovna and her husband also came to Sarov. In a letter from Sarov, she writes: “... What weakness, what illnesses we saw, but also what faith. It seemed as if we were living in the time of the earthly life of the Savior. And how they prayed, how they cried - these poor mothers with sick children, and, thank God, many were healed. The Lord vouchsafed us to see how the dumb girl spoke, but how her mother prayed for her ... "

When the Russo-Japanese War began, Elisaveta Feodorovna immediately began organizing assistance to the front. One of her remarkable undertakings was the arrangement of workshops to help the soldiers - all the halls of the Kremlin Palace, except for the Throne Palace, were occupied for them. Thousands of women worked on sewing machines and desktops. Huge donations came from all over Moscow and from the provinces. From here, bales of food, uniforms, medicines and gifts for soldiers went to the front. The Grand Duchess sent marching churches to the front with icons and everything necessary for worship. She personally sent Gospels, icons and prayer books. At her own expense, the Grand Duchess formed several sanitary trains.

In Moscow, she arranged a hospital for the wounded, created special committees to provide for the widows and orphans of those who died at the front. But the Russian troops suffered one defeat after another. The war showed the technical and military unpreparedness of Russia, the shortcomings government controlled. The settling of scores for past insults of arbitrariness or injustice, an unprecedented scale of terrorist acts, rallies, strikes began. 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 in the current situation he could no longer hold the post of Governor-General of Moscow. The sovereign accepted his resignation and the couple left the governor's house, temporarily moving to Neskuchnoye.

Meanwhile, the militant organization of the Social Revolutionaries sentenced Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to death. Her agents were watching him, waiting for an opportunity to carry out the execution. Elisaveta Feodorovna knew that her husband was in mortal danger. She was warned in anonymous letters not to accompany her husband if she did not want to share his fate. The Grand Duchess tried all the more not to leave him alone and, if possible, accompanied her husband everywhere.

On February 5 (18), 1905, Sergei Aleksandrovich was killed by a bomb thrown by the terrorist Ivan Kalyaev. When Elisaveta Feodorovna arrived at the site 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 pieces of her husband's body scattered by the explosion on a stretcher. After the first memorial service at the Chudov Monastery, Elisaveta Feodorovna returned to the palace, changed into a black mourning dress and began to write telegrams, and first of all to her sister Alexandra Feodorovna, asking her not to come to the funeral, because. terrorists could use them to assassinate the imperial couple. When the Grand Duchess wrote telegrams, she inquired several times about the condition of the wounded coachman Sergei Alexandrovich. She was told that the coachman's position was hopeless and he might soon die. In order not to upset the dying, Elisaveta Feodorovna took off her mourning dress, put on the same blue one she had been wearing before, and went to the hospital. There, bending over the bed of the dying man, she, overpowering herself, smiled at him kindly and said: "He sent me to you." Reassured by her words, thinking that Sergei Alexandrovich was alive, the devoted coachman Yefim died the same night.

On the third day after the death of her husband, Elisaveta Feodorovna went to the prison where the murderer was kept. Kalyaev said: "I did not want to kill you, I saw him several times and the time when I had the bomb at the ready, but you were with him, and I did not dare to touch him."

- "And you did not realize that you killed me along with him?" she replied. Further, she said that she brought forgiveness from Sergei Alexandrovich and asked him to repent. But he refused. Nevertheless, Elisaveta Feodorovna 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, it is possible that 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.

Of the grand dukes, only Konstantin Konstantinovich (K.R.) and Pavel Alexandrovich were present at the burial. They buried him in the small church of the Chudov Monastery, where funeral requiems were performed daily for forty days; the Grand Duchess was present at every service and often came here at night, praying for the newly deceased. Here she felt the grace-filled help and strengthening from the holy relics of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, whom she especially revered since then. The Grand Duchess wore a silver cross with a particle of the relics of St. Alexis. She believed that St. Alexis had planted in her heart the desire to devote the rest of her life to God.

At the place of her husband's murder, Elisaveta Feodorovna erected a monument - a cross designed by the artist Vasnetsov. The words of the Savior from the Cross were written on the monument: “Father, let them go, they don’t know what they are doing.”

Since the death of her wife, Elisaveta Feodorovna did not remove mourning, she began to keep strict post, prayed a lot. Her bedroom in the Nicholas Palace began to resemble a monastic cell. All luxurious furniture was taken out, the walls were repainted white, they were only icons and paintings of spiritual content. She did not appear at social receptions. I only went to the church for weddings or christenings of relatives and friends and immediately went home or on business. Now she had nothing to do with social life.

She collected all her valuables, gave part to the treasury, part to her relatives, and decided to use the rest to build a monastery of mercy. On Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow, Elisaveta Feodorovna bought an estate with four houses and a garden. The largest two-story house housed a dining room for the sisters, a kitchen and other utility rooms, in the second - a church and a hospital, next to it - a pharmacy and an outpatient clinic for visiting patients. In the fourth house there was an apartment for the priest - the confessor of the monastery, classes of the school for girls of the orphanage and a library.

On February 10, 1909, the Grand Duchess gathered 17 sisters of the monastery she founded, took off her mourning dress, put on a monastic robe and said: “I will leave the brilliant world where I occupied a brilliant position, but together with all of you I ascend to a greater world -

to the world of the poor and the suffering."

The first temple of the monastery (“hospital”) was consecrated by Bishop Tryphon on September 9 (21), 1909 (the day of the celebration of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos) in the name of the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. The second temple - in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, was consecrated in 1911 (architect A.V. Shchusev, paintings by M.V. Nesterov). Built according to the patterns of Novgorod-Pskov architecture, it retained the warmth and comfort of small parish churches. But, nevertheless, it was designed for the presence of more than a thousand worshipers. M.V. Nesterov said about this temple: “The Church of the Intercession is the best of modern facilities Moscow, which, under other conditions, can have, in addition to a direct appointment for the parish, an artistic and educational appointment for the whole of Moscow. In 1914, a church was built under the temple - a tomb in the name of the Powers of Heaven and All Saints, which the abbess intended to make her resting place. The painting of the tomb was made by P.D. Korin, student of M.V. Nesterov.

The dedication of the created monastery to the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary is significant. The monastery was supposed to become, as it were, the home of St. Lazarus, the friend of God, in which the Savior so often visited. The sisters of the monastery were called to unite the high lot of Mary, heeding the verbs eternal life, and the service of Martha is the service of the Lord through his neighbor.

The basis of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy was the charter of the monastic community. On April 9 (22), 1910, in the Church of Saints Martha and Mary, Bishop Trifon (Turkestanov) consecrated 17 sisters of the monastery, headed by Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna, as cross sisters of love and mercy. During the solemn service, Bishop Tryphon, addressing the Grand Duchess already dressed in a monastic robe, said: “This garment will hide you from the world, and the world will be hidden from you, but at the same time it will be a witness to your beneficial activity, which will shine before the Lord. to His glory." The words of Lord Tryphon came true. Illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the activity of the Grand Duchess illuminated the pre-revolutionary years of Russia with the fire of Divine love and led the founder of the Martha and Mary Convent to the crown of martyrdom along with her cell-attendant, nun Varvara Yakovleva.

The day at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent began at 6 o'clock in the morning. After a general morning prayer rule! In the hospital church, the Grand Duchess gave obedience to her sisters for the coming day. Those free from obedience remained in the church, where the Divine Liturgy began. The afternoon meal was accompanied by the reading of the lives of the saints. At 5 pm Vespers and Matins were served in the church, where all the sisters who were free from obedience were present. On holidays and Sundays, an all-night vigil was performed. At 9 pm, the evening rule was read in the hospital church, after which all the sisters, having received the blessing of the abbess, dispersed to their cells. Akathists were read four times a week at Vespers: on Sunday - to the Savior, on Monday - to the Archangel Michael and all the Disembodied Heavenly Forces, on Wednesday - to the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary, and on Friday - Mother of God or Passion of Christ. In the chapel built at the end of the garden, the Psalter was read for the dead. The abbess herself often prayed there at night. inner life the sisters were led by a wonderful priest and pastor - the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky. Twice a week he held talks with the sisters. In addition, the sisters could come daily at certain hours for advice and guidance to the confessor or to the abbess. The Grand Duchess, together with Father Mitrofan, taught the sisters not only medical knowledge, but also the spiritual guidance of degraded, lost and desperate 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 a common singing of prayers.

“On the entire external environment of the monastery and its very inner life, and on all the creations of the Grand Duchess in general, lay the imprint of grace and culture, not because she attached any self-sufficient significance to this, but because such was the involuntary action of her creative spirit” - Metropolitan Anastassy writes in his memoirs.

Divine services in the monastery have always stood at a brilliant height thanks to the confessor chosen by the abbess, who was exceptional in his pastoral merits. The best shepherds and preachers not only of Moscow, but also of many distant places in Russia came here to perform divine services and preach. As a bee, the abbess collected nectar from all flowers so that people could feel the special aroma of spirituality. The monastery, its temples and divine services aroused the admiration of contemporaries. This was facilitated not only by the temples of the monastery, but also by a beautiful park with greenhouses - in the best traditions of garden art of the 18th - 19th centuries. It was a single ensemble that harmoniously combined external and internal beauty.

A contemporary of the Grand Duchess, Nonna Grayton, the maid of honor of 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 had the words “I can’t”, and there was never anything dull in the life of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. Everything was there perfectly both inside and out. And who has been there, carried away a wonderful feeling.

In the Martha and Mary Convent, the Grand Duchess led the life of an ascetic. Slept on wooden bed without mattress. She strictly observed the 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, sorted out petitions and letters.

In the evening, rounds of patients, ending after midnight. At night she prayed in the chapel or in the church, her sleep rarely lasted more than three hours. When the patient rushed about and needed help, she sat at his bedside until dawn. In the hospital, Elisaveta Feodorovna took on the most responsible work: she assisted in operations, did dressings, found words of consolation, and tried to alleviate the suffering of patients. They said that a healing power emanated from the Grand Duchess, which helped them endure pain and agree to difficult operations.

As the main remedy for ailments, the abbess always offered confession and communion. She said: “It is immoral to console the dying with a false hope of recovery; it is better to help them pass on like a Christian into eternity.”

The sisters of the monastery took a course in medical knowledge. Their main task was to visit sick, poor, abandoned children, providing them with medical, material and moral assistance.

In the hospital of the monastery worked the best specialists Moscow, all operations were carried out free of charge. Here those who were refused by doctors were healed.

The healed patients cried as they left the Marfo-Mariinsky hospital, parting with the “great mother,” as they called the abbess. A Sunday school for factory workers worked at the monastery. Anyone could use the funds of the excellent library. There was a free canteen for the poor.

The abbess of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent believed that the main thing was not the hospital, but help to the poor and needy. The monastery received up to 12,000 petitions a year. They asked for everything: arrange for treatment, find a job, look after children, take care of bedridden patients, send them to study abroad.

She found opportunities to help the clergy - she gave funds for the needs of poor rural parishes who could not repair the temple or build a new one. She encouraged, strengthened, helped materially priests - missionaries who worked among the pagans of the Far North or foreigners of the outskirts of Russia.

One of the main places of poverty, to which the Grand Duchess paid Special attention, was Khitrov market. Elisaveta Feodorovna, accompanied by her cell attendant Varvara Yakovleva or the sister of the monastery, Princess Maria Obolenskaya, tirelessly moving from one brothel to another, collected orphans and persuaded parents to give her children to raise. The entire population of Khitrov respected her, calling her "sister Elizabeth" or "mother." The police constantly warned her that they could not guarantee her safety.

In response to this, the Grand Duchess always thanked the police for their care and said that her life was not in their hands, but in the hands of God. She tried to save the children of Khitrovka. She was not afraid of impurity, abuse, which lost its human face. She said, "The likeness of God may sometimes be obscured, but it can never be destroyed."

The boys torn from Khitrovka, she arranged for hostels. From one group of such recent ragamuffins, an artel of executive messengers from Moscow was formed. The girls were arranged in closed educational establishments or shelters, where they also looked after their health, spiritual and physical.

Elisaveta Feodorovna organized charity homes for orphans, the disabled, the seriously ill, found time to visit them, constantly supported them financially, and brought gifts. They tell such a case: one day the Grand Duchess was supposed to come to a shelter for little orphans. Everyone was preparing to meet their benefactor with dignity. The girls were told that the Grand Duchess was coming: they would have to say hello to her and kiss her hands. When Elisaveta Feodorovna arrived, she was met by babies in white dresses. They greeted each other and all extended their hands to the Grand Duchess with the words: "Kiss the hands." The teachers were horrified: what will happen. But the Grand Duchess approached each of the girls and kissed everyone's hands. Everyone cried at the same time - such tenderness and reverence was on their faces and in their hearts.

The “Great Mother” hoped that the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, which she had created, would blossom into a large fruitful tree.

Over time, she was going to arrange branches of the monastery in other cities of Russia.

The Grand Duchess had a primordially Russian love for pilgrimage.

More than once she went to Sarov and with joy hurried to the temple to pray at the shrine of St. Seraphim. She went to Pskov, to Optina Pustyn, to Zosimov Pustyn, was in 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 opening or transfer of the relics of the saints of God. The Grand Duchess secretly helped and looked after sick pilgrims who were waiting for 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 is the construction of a Russian Orthodox church in Italy, in the city of Bari, where the relics of St. Nicholas of Mir of Lycia are buried. In 1914, the lower church was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas and the hospice.

During the First World War, the work of the Grand Duchess increased: it was necessary to take care of the wounded in the infirmaries. Some of the sisters of the monastery were released to work in the field hospital. At first, Elisaveta Feodorovna, prompted by a Christian feeling, visited the captured Germans, but the slander about the secret support of the enemy forced her to refuse this.

In 1916, an angry mob approached the gates of the monastery demanding to hand over a German spy, the brother of Elisaveta Feodorovna, who was allegedly hiding in the monastery. The abbess went out to the crowd alone and offered to inspect all the premises of the community. The Lord did not allow her to perish that day. The police cavalry dispersed the crowd.

Shortly after the February Revolution, a crowd again approached the monastery with rifles, red flags and bows. The abbess herself opened the gate - she was told that they had come to arrest her and put her on trial as a German spy, who also kept weapons in the monastery.

To the demand of those who came to immediately go with them, the Grand Duchess said that she must make orders and say goodbye to her 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.

The whole prayer service Elisaveta Feodorovna stood on her knees. 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 did not find anything there, except for the cells of the sisters and the hospital with the sick. After the crowd left, Elisaveta Feodorovna said to the sisters: "Obviously, we are not yet worthy of the martyr's crown."

In the spring of 1917, a Swedish minister came to her on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm and offered her help in traveling abroad. Elisaveta Feodorovna 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 at this difficult time.

There have never been so many people at worship in the monastery as before the October Revolution. They went not only for a bowl of soup or medical help, but for consolation and advice from the “great mother”. Elisaveta Feodorovna received everyone, listened, strengthened. People left her peaceful and encouraged.

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 drove up to the monastery: black bread, dried fish, vegetables, some fat and sugar. Of the medicines, bandages and essential medicines were issued in limited quantities.

But everyone around was frightened, patrons and wealthy donors were now afraid to help the monastery. The Grand Duchess, in order to avoid provocation, did not go out of the gate, the sisters were also forbidden to go out. However, the established daily routine of the monastery did not change, only the services became longer, the prayer of the sisters became more fervent. Father Mitrofan served the Divine Liturgy every day in the crowded church, there were many communicants. For some time she was in the monastery miraculous icon The Sovereign Mother of God, found in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow on the day of the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II from the throne. Cathedral prayers were performed before the icon.

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the German government obtained the consent of the Soviet authorities for Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna to leave the country. The German ambassador, Count Mirbach, twice tried to see the Grand Duchess, but she did not receive him and categorically refused to leave Russia. She said: “I have done nothing wrong to anyone. Be the will of the Lord!”

The tranquility in the monastery was the calm before the storm. First, they sent questionnaires - questionnaires for those who lived and were on treatment: name, surname, age, social origin, etc. After that, several people from the hospital were arrested. Then it was announced that the orphans would be transferred to an orphanage. In April 1918, on the third day of Easter, when the Church celebrates the memory of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, Elisaveta Feodorovna was arrested and immediately taken out of Moscow. On this day, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon visited the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, where he served the Divine Liturgy and a prayer service. After the service, the patriarch stayed at the monastery until four in the afternoon, talking with the abbess and sisters. This was the last blessing and parting word of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church before the way of the cross of the Grand Duchess to Golgotha.

Almost immediately after the departure of Patriarch Tikhon, a car with a commissar and Latvian Red Army soldiers drove up to the monastery. Elisaveta Feodorovna was ordered to go with them. We were given half an hour to get ready. The abbess only had time to gather the sisters in the church of Saints Martha and Mary and give them the last blessing. Everyone present wept, knowing that they were seeing their mother and abbess for the last time. Elisaveta Feodorovna thanked the sisters for their selflessness and fidelity and asked Father Mitrofan not to leave the monastery and serve in it as long as it was possible.

Two sisters went with the Grand Duchess - Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva. Before getting into the car, the abbess made the sign of the cross to everyone.

Having learned about what had happened, Patriarch Tikhon tried through various organizations with which the new government was considered to achieve the release of the Grand Duchess. But his efforts were in vain. All members of the imperial house were doomed.

Elisaveta Feodorovna and her companions were sent by rail to Perm.

The Grand Duchess spent the last months of her life in prison, at school, on the outskirts of the city of Alapaevsk, together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich ( younger son Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II), his secretary - Feodor Mikhailovich Remez, three brothers - John, Konstantin and Igor (sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich) and Prince Vladimir Paley (son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich). The end was near. Mother Superior prepared for this outcome, devoting all her time to prayer.

The sisters accompanying their abbess were brought to the Regional Council and offered to be released. Both begged to be returned to the Grand Duchess, then the Chekists began to frighten them with torture and torment, which would await everyone who would stay with her. Varvara Yakovleva said that she was ready to give a subscription even with her own blood, that she wanted to share her fate with the Grand Duchess. So the cross sister of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent Varvara Yakovleva made her choice and joined the prisoners who were waiting for their fate to be decided.

In the dead of night on July 5 (18), 1918, on the day of the uncovering of the relics St. Sergius Radonezhsky, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna, along with other members of the imperial house, were thrown into the mine of an old mine. When the brutalized executioners pushed the Grand Duchess into a black pit, she uttered a prayer bestowed by the Savior of the world crucified on the Cross: “Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Then the Chekists began to throw into the mine hand grenades. One of the peasants, who witnessed the murder, said that from the depths of the mine, the singing of the Cherubim was heard. It was sung by the New Martyrs of Russia before passing into eternity. They died in terrible suffering, from thirst, hunger and wounds.

The Grand Duchess fell not to the bottom of the shaft, but to a ledge, which was at a depth of 15 meters. Next to her, they found the body of John Konstantinovich with a bandaged head. All broken, with the strongest bruises, here she also sought to alleviate the suffering of her neighbor. Fingers right hand Grand Duchess and nun Barbara were folded for the sign of the cross.

The remains of the abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent and her faithful cell-attendant Varvara were transported to Jerusalem in 1921 and placed in the tomb of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles in Gethsemane.

In 1931, on the eve of the canonization of the Russian New Martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, it was decided to open their tombs. The autopsy was carried out in Jerusalem by a commission headed by the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archimandrite Anthony (Grabbe). The tombs of the New Martyrs were placed on the pulpit in front of the Royal Doors. By God's providence, it so happened that Archimandrite Anthony was left alone at the sealed coffins. Suddenly, the coffin of Grand Duchess Elizabeth opened. She got up and went up to Father Anthony for

blessing. The shocked Father Anthony gave his blessing, after which the New Martyr returned to her coffin, leaving no traces. When the coffin with the body of the Grand Duchess was opened, the room was filled with fragrance. According to Archimandrite Anthony, there was a "strong smell, as it were, of honey and jasmine." The relics of the new martyrs turned out to be partially incorrupt.

Patriarch Diodorus of Jerusalem blessed the solemn transfer of the relics of the New Martyrs from the tomb, where they had previously been located, to the very church of St. Mary Magdalene. They appointed the day May 2, 1982 - the feast of the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women. On this day, the Holy Chalice, the Gospel and the airs presented to the temple by the Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna herself when she was here in 1886 were used during the divine service.

The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 canonized the Holy New Martyrs of Russia, the Monk Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Varvara, establishing a celebration for them on the day of their death - July 5 (18).

"Let go, forgive my villains:
And they don't know what they're doing!!"

ELISAVETA FYODOROVNA
(10.20. (1.11.) 1864, Darmstadt (modern Hesse, Germany) - 07/18/1918, near the city of Alapaevsk, Verkhotursky district of the Perm province, now in the Sverdlovsk region), prmts. (commemorated July 5, in the Cathedral of Moscow Saints, in the Cathedral of St. Petersburg Saints, in the Cathedral of Kostroma Saints and in the Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia), led. kng. Full name - Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice (in the family she was called Ella), the cross name Elizabeth - in memory of the family ancestress of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia. Daughter led. hertz. Hessian Ludwig IV and led. hertz. Alice, born Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Elder sister of the imp. mts. Alexandra Feodorovna. She received a good education at home, much attention was paid to music and drawing. In the family, children were brought up in Christ. atmosphere, instilled mercy, taught care for the sick, formed a culture of communication with people of different social strata. After the death of her mother from diphtheria (December 14, 1878), Ella was brought up in England under the supervision of her grandmother, Eng. box Victoria.

Nov. In 1883, the engagement of Princess Ella took place in vrmstadt and led. book. Sergei Alexandrovich, June 3, 1884 - wedding in the church. Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The couple lived in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (Sergius Palace), built by the architect. A. I. Stackenschneider in 1846-1848. on Nevsky Prospekt. Here were members of the imp. surnames, Mrs. figures, foreign envoys, figures of culture and art. Vel. the princess participated in home performances, in the production of "Eugene Onegin" she played the role of Tatyana, Onegin was played by Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.

Vel. the princess got acquainted with the history of Russia, taught Russian. language, took drawing lessons from the academician of historical painting M. P. Botkin. Living together spouses was built on Christ. beginnings. In spiritual life, Ella was greatly influenced by her husband. As pilgrims they visited Vyshensky in honor of the Dormition of St. Mother of God women. monastery (in Sept. 1886) and the Holy Land (in Sept.-Oct. 1888), after which he led. the princess decided to convert to Orthodoxy. According to the laws Russian Empire Ella had the right not to accept Orthodoxy. Jan 1 In 1891, she wrote to her father: “You should have noticed what deep reverence I have for the local religion ... I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path and came to the conclusion that only in this religion I I can find all the real and strong faith in God that a person needs to 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 within myself to pray and believe as my husband does. She noted that her husband never tried to force her to choose Orthodoxy. faith, leaving it to her conscience. “How easy it would be,” she continued, “to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how can I lie to everyone, pretending to be a Protestant in all external rites, when my soul belongs completely religions here? I thought and thought deeply about all this, having been in this country for more than six years and knowing that a religion had been found. I so much desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries on Easter with my husband... I cannot put it off” (Miller, 2002, pp. 69-70). In the 2nd letter to her father, who did not approve of her decision, she wrote: “... I lied all this time, remaining for everyone in my old faith ... It would be impossible for me to continue to live the way I used to live” (Ibid., p. 73). At the request of led. princess for her father protopr. John Yanyshev compiled "Points of difference between Orthodox and Protestant dogma", Ella left annotations in the margins of the text. “Even in Slavonic,” she wrote, “I understand almost everything, never learning it” (Ibid., p. 74). In her reply to her brother Ernst, she explained her decision by the fact that it was precisely the basis of faith that attracted her. “External signs only remind us of the internal,” she described her condition in detail. “... I am moving from pure conviction; I feel that this is the highest religion and that I do it with faith, with deep conviction and confidence that there is God's blessing on it. box Victoria and sister Victoria of Battenberg relatives led. the princesses did not approve of her decision. In a letter dated 5 Jan. Ella confirmed her decision to convert to Orthodoxy in 1891 to Tsarevich Nikolai: Holy Week. This is a great step, as a new life will begin for me, however, I believe that the Lord will bless such a decision.”

13 Apr. 1891, on Lazarus Saturday, led. The princess converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Elizabeth. According to tradition, the patronymic Feodorovna was given to him. princesses in honor of the revered Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. “This is an event celebrated by all of Russia together with the greatest of Christian holidays,” the Archim. Antonin (Kapustin) in a letter led. book. Sergei Alexandrovich, - had its own echo in the Holy Land, which keeps in its grateful memory alive and whole the bright images of the august pilgrims of 1888. In memory of Palestine, the archimandrite gave E. F. as a gift “several antique gizmos” found during excavations.

In connection with the appointment of Sergei Alexandrovich as Moscow Governor-General on May 5, 1891, the couple arrived in Moscow and first settled in the Alexandrinsky Palace on the territory of Neskuchny Garden, then moved to the governor-general's house on Tverskaya. Living in the summer in the vicinity of Savvin Storozhevsky Monastery, E.F. regularly attended his services in the church with. Ilyinsky, Zvenigorodsky district Moscow province. She continued to study Russian. language and literature with goflektriss E. A. Schneider, helped village children, opened a school for them in the village. Ilyinsky, was engaged in painting. Portraits of the maid of honor E. N. Kozlyaninova (GE) and Z. N. Yusupova (private collection), made by E. F. at a high artistic level, have been preserved. E. F. provided many drawings for exhibition at charity exhibitions. On June 3, 1892, E. F. was present at the consecration of the palace of Dimitry Ioannovich in Uglich, St. Tsarevich of Uglich and Moscow, and the opening of a museum of Russian antiquities in it.

In 1884, the brother of the Russian Tsar, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich married the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, or simply Ella of Hesse. Princess Ella, as her family called her, was the second daughter of the German Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt and Duchess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria.
By the time of the wedding of Ella and Sergei, the mother of the bride, Duchess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, had long been dead.
Life forced Princess Elizabeth to grow up early. Ella was a teenager when, in 1878, an epidemic of diphtheria broke out in Darmstadt, which completely affected the duke's family.

Ella as a child

Ella's older sister Victoria was the first to feel symptoms of illness. E It didn't make her shiver, her throat and head ached... The girls received a strict upbringing and didn't have the habit of complaining over trifles. Deciding that her illness was just those very trifles - a slight cold, Victoria continued to fulfill her duties as an older sister - in the evenings she had to read fairy tales aloud to the kids. Seating her brother and sisters in a circle next to her, the princess opened the book.
When Duchess Alice realized that her daughter was sick and called the doctor, the most terrible diagnosis was confirmed - Victoria had diphtheria, a disease that was difficult to cure in those years, which claimed many children's lives ... The doctor insisted on the immediate isolation of the sick princess, but his recommendations were somewhat belatedly - other children managed to get infected from their older sister. Everyone except Ella, whom her mother sent in a panic to her relatives. Then the duke himself fell ill.
Mad with horror, the duchess rushed between the children's rooms and her husband's bedroom, trying to do everything to pull her loved ones out of the arms of death.
The first to die was four-year-old Mei, Princess Mary. Little Ernie, having learned that his beloved sister was no more, crying, threw himself on his mother's neck and began to kiss her. Perhaps the mother understood that the sick child was transmitting her illness to her at that moment, but she did not find the strength to push him away ... The Duchess, who had been on her feet for a long time, also fell ill after direct contact with her son. The illness was severe. On her last day, Alice was delirious, it seemed to her that all the deceased loved ones, led by tiny Mei, were calling her to her ...
The famous politician Disraeli, having learned about the tragedy in the family of Duke Ludwig, called Ernie's fatal kiss "the kiss of death." And you young prince soon recovered, as if he had given his illness to his mother. The inconsolable duke erected a monument on his wife's grave depicting Alice clutching the dead May...

Duchess Alice with little Ella

And for Ella, childhood ended on the day her mother died. Doctors were afraid that the girl would develop a nervous illness from the shock. She could fall silent in the middle of a conversation, in mid-sentence, and, staring at the interlocutor with tear-filled eyes, plunge into her own thoughts for a long time. She began to develop a stutter.
But fourteen-year-old Ella managed to pull herself together. It was necessary to support the father and the kids, to do everything to at least partially replace their mother. The older sister Victoria, who claimed to be the head of the house, was caustic and harsh.
Ernie, the future Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, recalled: " She is a girl(Princess Victoria) considered it unworthy to show good-heartedness and therefore often remained misunderstood, to which she easily reacted with harshness, since sharpness helped her give biting answers ..."
In Ella there was much more kindness, affection and self-denial, surprising for a teenager.
Even if she was offered something very valuable in children's eyes - a toy, sweets, new paints for drawing, she usually answered: "I don't need anything, it's better to give it to the kids"...
Ernie spoke of her in a very different way from the other sisters: “Of all the sisters, Ella was the closest to me. We almost always understood each other in everything, she felt me ​​so subtly, as is rarely the case with sisters. She was one of the rare beauties, just perfection itself. Once in Venice, I saw in the market how many people abandoned their goods and followed her in admiration. She was musical, she had a pleasant voice. But she especially loved to draw. And she loved to dress well. Not out of vanity at all, no, out of love for beauty in everything. She had a strong sense of humor, she could talk about various incidents with inimitable comicality. How often we laughed with her, forgetting everything in the world. Her stories were a true delight» .

Ella in her youth

Queen Victoria was shocked by the death of her daughter, Duchess Alice. This is probably why the orphaned children of Alice were closer to the queen than other grandchildren ...
« I will try with your other grandmother to become your mother by the will of God,- Queen Victoria wrote to them after the tragedy in the ducal family. - Your loving and unhappy grandmother...
Ella, like her sisters and brother, grew up in Windsor Castle and considered Britain her native country, and English language- with her innate, and until the death of the Queen of the British Empire, she maintained a tender and trusting relationship with her grandmother.

Queen Victoria with orphaned granddaughters; Ella is standing on the right, next to her is little Alix, the future Russian Empress

Even in her family, among pretty young princesses, Ella stood out for her beauty and grace. But she was not only extraordinarily pretty, but also intelligent and tactful; behaved with dignity, but without excessive claims. She had many admirers and very enviable suitors. The German prince Willi, heir to the Prussian crown, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, was passionately in love with Ella.
He often visited Darmstadt, tried clumsily to court the beautiful princess, and finally ventured to propose a hand, a heart, and the imperial crown that awaited him. But Ella remained cold and wrote to her grandmother in Windsor: " Willy is obnoxious". Victoria, who dreamed of her beloved granddaughter as the empress of the Berlin court, tried to reason with her: the princess must remember her state and its interests, and passionate love is not always the basis for a successful marriage. Ella replied that in addition to human calculations, there is also God and it is better to rely to his will.
“He may have many other important things to do, besides arranging your fate,” Grandma smiled.
“Nothing, I’ll wait until he is free,” the choosy princess replied, realizing that the formidable queen grandmother was not angry.
Married to Ella and Friedrich of Baden, and other European princes. But she needed only one person - Grand Duke Sergei, brother of the Russian Tsar ...
Sergei often visited Darmstadt during his mother's lifetime - Empress Maria Alexandrovna was from the Hesse-Darmstadt family (Grand Duke Ludwig, Ella's father, was the nephew of the late Empress) and, of course, could not help but fall in love with the beautiful Ella, who answered him with complete reciprocity.

Sergey and Ella

Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt did not find any objections to the Grand Duke Sergei. The Romanov family also welcomed this union. Duchess Mary of Edinburgh, as a sister, wrote to Alexander III about Ella: “ Sergei will be just a fool if he does not marry her. He will never find a more beautiful and sweeter princess».
But the bride's grandmother, Queen Victoria, whose opinion had a special weight in concluding dynastic unions, did not immediately decide to give consent to Ella's marriage to the brother of the Russian emperor. (Grandmother personally dealt with the fate of the orphaned princesses, for marriage is a serious matter, and the Duke of Hesse, like all men, showed complete frivolity here).
The queen did not like the Russian imperial family too much, although her children and grandchildren forced her to intermarry with the ruling house of the Romanovs. Ella's marriage to the Grand Duke doomed the young beauty, brought up in European traditions, to life in distant, cold and, according to the queen, completely wild Russia.
But Ella, who was in love with Sergei, managed to insist on her own. Victoria thought and thought, collected information about the groom ... and agreed. After all, she had a weakness for love marriages - her own long and happy marriage was just like that!

Ella and Sergey

Not all contemporaries left benevolent memories of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. A man with restrained manners, rather dry (which in the eyes of Ella, who received an English "Victorian" upbringing, was rather a virtue), deeply religious. Many people were annoyed by Sergey's manner of keeping his back “forcefully straight”, looking somewhat down and turning his whole body towards the interlocutor. In such manners they saw arrogance and defiance.
Few people guessed that since childhood, due to an illness of the spine, Sergei suffered from back pain and was forced to wear a rigid corset that deprived him of flexibility. At the same time, he tried to lead the life of not an invalid, but an ordinary person - he preferred a military career, went in for horseback riding, sports, danced (all this - overcoming constant pain and not wanting to admit it to anyone). And the restrained manners were explained only by shyness caused by a physical handicap ...
Now they rarely remember that Sergei Alexandrovich, like his older brother Alexander III, was a hero of the Turkish War. As well as about the scientific activities of the Grand Duke. But he defended his doctoral dissertation in economics, was a famous scientist, organizer of scientific expeditions and a member of the Presidium Russian Academy Sciences. Grand Duke Sergei patronized two archaeological institutes - in St. Petersburg and Constantinople, and provided his own funds for the organization of archaeological excavations.
In addition, Sergei Alexandrovich was considered a connoisseur, connoisseur and patron of art. He collected excellent collections of Italian and Russian paintings of the 18th century, antiques, a rich library, and an archive of historical documents. He, for example, managed to find many scattered letters from the wife of Alexander I, Empress Elizabeth - the Grand Duke was going to write a book about her life. Professor I. Tsvetaev, who laid his life on the construction of the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin (originally - the Museum of Fine Arts named after Alexander III), recalled that the Grand Dukes Sergei Alexandrovich and Pavel Alexandrovich were the first major donors to the organization of the museum. The Parthenon Hall, one of the most majestic and expensive museum halls, was built entirely at the expense of the Grand Dukes.
The Orthodox Church still highly honors the religious merits of the Grand Duke to the fatherland. The organizer and leader of the Imperial Palestinian Society, he did a lot to strengthen the position of Russian Orthodoxy in the East, for the activities of Russian churches and monasteries in Palestine, for the development of Russian charity in Eastern countries and for organizing pilgrimages from Russia to the Holy Land. Despite all the political changes, the terrible wars, the change in the world order in the 20th century, the Orthodox organizations created with the help of Sergei Alexandrovich in the Holy Land are still active.
Even a cursory glance at what was done by Grand Duke Sergei during his short life shows that all attempts to present him as a stupid martinet, retrograde, a person with a low level of intelligence, to put it mildly, are far from objectivity.

Speaking of Grand Duke Sergei and his marriage to Ella, one cannot avoid another topic, complex and ambiguous. It's supposed unconventional sexual orientation grand duke.
References to his homosexuality have become a "common place" in the works of modern authors, and even quite respected researchers have not escaped such statements. But you involuntarily notice that practically none of them gives any facts confirming this version. Letters, diary entries, denunciations to the highest name, police reports or similar documents are not quoted anywhere, in extreme cases, there are links to some gossip obtained from third parties and basically conveying meaningless events. The authorship of gossip belongs most often to the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, Sandro, the younger cousin of Alexander III and Sergei Alexandrovich.
Sandro, for some reason, especially disliked his cousin Sergei. He even ventured to assert that Sergei married Ella of Hesse only " in order to further emphasize his unpleasant personality". But in fact, supposedly, because of his vicious inclinations, he did not need a woman spouse at all.
Of course, for the 21st century, this is no longer such a serious accusation as for the end of the 19th century, when, according to the Penal Code, sodomy was equated with bestiality and was strictly punished by law, and the honor of a suspected person suffered immensely. And yet, if we accept on faith the assertions about the secret weakness of the Grand Duke, it is difficult to find answers to a number of important questions.
First. It is known that Queen Victoria, before giving her consent to the marriage of her granddaughter Ella, who was in love with the prince, collected a real dossier on the alleged groom through the informants of the English crown. English diplomats and spies are responsible people, and when preparing information for Her Majesty, they would hardly lose sight of something well-known that characterizes the personality of a future husband. Could British Queen known for its strict moral principles, to agree to the marriage of his beloved granddaughter with a man of "blue" orientation?

Ella (second from right) with her sisters

Second. Ella, having moved with her husband to distant Russia, wrote to her grandmother frequent and detailed letters about her life. Everything was described in them - from important family events and religious impressions that shake her soul, to trifles like a wasp sting, a dance party, or a dress she liked, seen in a picture in a fashionable French magazine. And at the same time, not a word, not a hint of failure in family life, to the neglect of her husband, to the fact that hopes for happiness have failed.
Suppose Ella, who received a strict upbringing, simply did not consider it possible to complain, considered it unworthy. But outright lies would be just as unworthy. She could "eloquently" keep silent about her troubles, often such silence speaks much more than words. But Ella's letters are letters from a happy young woman enjoying a harmonious marriage, and there is no doubt about that. A prosperous life, full of joy, and endless references to "my dear Sergei", with whom she does not want to part for a minute ... Together on the estate, together in the capital, together on regimental exercises, on a trip to holy places, on a visit to overseas relatives. " All I can always repeat is that I am quite happy..."
And this is written by a young beauty who married a man who does not need and is not interested in women?
Third. Sergei Alexandrovich was, according to everyone's conviction, a true believer. Even in his early youth, he made pilgrimages to holy places, headed large Christian organizations, donated to Orthodox churches and participated in their dedication. His faith was not ostentatious, but internal, capturing the soul. He revealed to his young wife all the beauty of Orthodoxy, so that Elizabeth, who was brought up in the traditions of Protestantism, was imbued with love for the Russian church and, contrary to the orders of her father and grandmother, converted to Orthodoxy. Nobody demanded this from her, she herself, under the influence of her husband, decided to share his religious beliefs.
But, being Orthodox, Sergei had to regularly confess his sins to the priest, telling about everything without concealment. And the attitude of the church to the "sin of Sodom" is known. Could the Grand Duke combine Christian ideas about morality and similar hobbies, remaining spiritually pure before God?
Fourth. Alexander III, Sergei's older brother, could not help but know all the ins and outs of such close relative. He himself was not only an absolutely heterosexual person, but also an exemplary family man, who did not allow even innocent romantic hobbies outside of marriage, and would hardly have become condescending to the "non-traditional hobbies" of relatives. And yet, with Sergei, he had friendly relations, not overshadowed by any disagreements, Alexander even appointed his brother to the post of Moscow governor-general. This is an exemplary appointment in every sense. The second city in Russia after the capital (and according to the Muscovites - just the first!), Moscow was distinguished by patriarchal customs, and people in it, like in a large village, were in sight, especially representatives high society. The whole mother of the Mother See was discussing who got married to whom, who walks from his wife, who bought the estate beyond his means, and who got entangled in gambling debts. Almost nothing could be hidden! And the governor-general, the first person in the Moscow hierarchy, was even more so for the townspeople as if under a magnifying glass. The level of tolerance in Moscow in those days, and later did not rise to transcendental heights, it was supposed to live "like everyone else." A fact-based rumor that the governor was from the "gays" would instantly deprive Sergei Alexandrovich of all authority and turn him into a general laughingstock.
So would Alexander III have thoughtlessly decided on such a compromise of the august family?

Fifth. Ella, who struck with beauty in her youth, literally blossomed in marriage. She was full of charm, feminine sensual charm, looked unusually young, almost younger than in the years of her mournful orphan youth ... Men admired her like the sun, but from a distance - Sergei Alexandrovich was terribly jealous! And his jealousy was visible to everyone. The French ambassador Maurice Palaiologos left this recollection:
« The good-natured giant, Alexander the Third ... lavished(to Grand Duchess Elizabeth. - E.Kh.) first the kindest attention; but soon had to refrain, noticing that he aroused the jealousy of his brother».
Is this really just a decoration for a failed marriage? No matter how you pretend, no matter how you play, trouble leaves an indelible mark on a woman.
But the day when the fate of the revolutionary extremist Kalyaev, who threw a bomb into the carriage of Grand Duke Sergei, took away her husband and marital happiness, became a fateful day in the life of Elizabeth. There was no replacement for her dead husband and could not be. She remained faithful to his memory until her death. Having visited the terrorist killer in prison and after listening to his lengthy explanations that he did not want to deprive her of extra blood, and although he could have dealt with her husband for a long time, he spared Elizabeth Feodorovna, who was usually next to the Grand Duke, not wanting to kill her, she quietly said :
“You didn’t guess that they killed me along with him!”
You can cite various facts for a long time and ask questions that are difficult to find an answer ... But, asking if Elizaveta Fedorovna was happy and loved in marriage, one involuntarily has to answer with only one word - yes! " Sergey told me about his wife, admired her, praised her, - Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov recalled. - He thanks God every hour for his happiness."...
So what gave rise to such long-circulating rumors about Sergei Romanov's belonging to sexual minorities?
Being strict and not too flexible (in figuratively of this word even more than in a direct) man, Sergei Alexandrovich made some enemies in the rapidly growing Romanov family. Shares in the "family pie" were not enough for everyone, and a struggle began for a place closer to the throne.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and his wife Xenia Alexandrovna, sister of Nicholas II

Sergei, who did nothing to strengthen his position, nevertheless aroused the envy of many Romanovs. The grandson, son, brother and uncle of the reigning emperors, he was part of the closest circle of the royal entourage, and many representatives of the "side branches" of the Romanov tree wanted to press him with all their might.
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich always and without any particular reason claimed a special role in the empire, and woe to those who dared not recognize this state of affairs. His mother, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (nee Princess Cecilia of Baden), not without reason considered "the first gossip of the empire", with great pleasure spread unfriendly rumors about everyone in whom she saw competitors for her sons. It was she who was suspected of authoring gossip about the "sodomite hobbies" of Grand Duke Sergei. Why did she need it? And it's so simple: she did not like Prince Sergei, and he greatly interfered with his beloved son to strengthen his position at court.
"I know Ella and I are being talked about, - Sergey Alexandrovich wrote to Grand Duke Konstantin. - But what do all these undeveloped people understand?»

Elizaveta Feodorovna

If you look at a person with an unfriendly look, you can usually find flaws in him sooner or later. So Alexander Mikhailovich, determined to search for flaws in an unloved relative, only tried to notice them. " He flaunted his shortcomings, as if throwing a challenge in the face of everyone.- he wrote, remembering Grand Duke Sergei, - and thus giving the enemies rich food for slander and slander".
Slander and slander! Alexander Mikhailovich seemed to let it slip, using these very words, being himself one of Sergei's main ill-wishers.
(By the way, this strict moralist and hypocrite, who saw hidden obscenity in the most ordinary acts of Prince Sergei, would eventually give his own daughter to Prince Felix Yusupov, a man of more than an ambiguous reputation. All of St. Petersburg knew about Felix’s unusual erotic amusements, the young prince didn’t particularly hid, appearing in theaters and restaurants in a woman's dress and surrounded by "cavaliers", but ... the Yusupovs were so rich, much richer than the Romanov family, especially its lateral, deprived branches! And Felix, after the death of his older brother, turned out to be the only possible heir to countless millions ...)

Be that as it may, the marriage of Sergei Alexandrovich and Ella of Hesse was consecrated with great love. And she wanted to see her husband's entourage embellished, consisting of kind and nice people. " Everyone who knows him loves him and says that he has a truthful and noble character...”, she wrote to her grandmother-queen about her husband.

Ella and Tsarevich Nicholas

This marriage, as it turned out later, albeit indirectly, determined the fate of the heir to the Russian throne. The future wife of Nikolai, Alexandra Fedorovna, Alix, was the sister of Ella of Hesse, and the mutual passion of the little princess and the Russian Tsarevich found strong patrons in the person of Sergei and Ella, who, despite all the obstacles, managed to bring the matter to the reunion of the lovers.

To be continued.

“I decided to follow in the footsteps of Christ, my Savior; Lord, bless and help… I’m going.”

(FromCharter of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent)

“Of course, I am unworthy of the immense joy that the Lord gives me to go this way, but I will try, and He Who is one love will forgive my mistakes, because He sees how I want to serve Him…”

“When the love of God touches a person, everything comes to life. Like a light cloud, it carries the soul to the Eternal Source of Love, filling it with inextinguishable light.

Just as the sun warms the flowers, and they are drawn to it, so the soul that has loved God is tirelessly attracted to Him. Being in the light, she herself becomes the bearer of the light. For such a person there are no longer strangers and friends - the being of all becomes his being.

The path of Christ's love is the path of the cross, but when grace strengthens the soul, a person does not feel the difficulty of the path, he rejoices that he can serve God and his neighbor.

Tart earthly road,

And there's no other way

Once to heaven's door

Carry your heart."

Clouds appear and disappear. Every person is alone before God. The radiance of quiet eternity illuminates the path. The soul in God, like a bird in the air, is surrounded on all sides by Him. The Lord treats every soul with care, lovingly calls, endures, waits, without forcing a person, respecting his freedom. And man himself makes the choice of the path - whether he loves light or darkness more than light (See: John 3:19).

The path of our heavenly patroness - the holy venerable martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth - is like a ray of sunshine, warming everyone around with the light of goodness and mercy.

Childhood

Ella (the future Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna) was born in the family of the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig IV and Princess Alice, daughter of the Queen of England.

Children were instilled not only a sense of music, art, but also a love of work, simplicity, compassion for others. Together with their mother, they visited hospitals, shelters - they carried flowers around the wards, talked with the sick. Big influence young Ella was affected by the life of the ancestor of their house, St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, who devoted herself to the works of mercy.

From early childhood, the future princess loved nature, flowers, especially white ones, she painted beautifully. Years later, it was said about the Grand Duchess Elizabeth that she everywhere brought with her the pure fragrance of a lily. White was the reflection of her heart.

Even in her youth, she met her future husband, the Russian Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

The entire ducal family accompanied Princess Elizabeth to her wedding in Russia, where she brought not only expensive gifts, but also something that has no price - a heart full of love and compassion.

Marriage

The merciful Princess, aspiring to the heavenly ones, has found the pearls of Orthodoxy in her new homeland.

The gracious heart of the young princess, even on Russian soil, could not remain indifferent to human suffering. She began to help the sick, the suffering, the destitute. In the princely estate, she went around the houses, helping those in need. In the cities she visited hospitals, shelters, prisons, everywhere trying to reduce pain, inspire hope.

Pity makes everything white in the world,

With pity tenderness comes ...

The Grand Duke, a noble and deeply religious person, understood and supported Elizabeth Feodorovna. Following her husband, she attended Orthodox church services, although she was a Lutheran. A sensitive heart felt the beauty and mysterious depth of worship, the soul was drawn to Orthodoxy. After praying in the Holy Land, the princess made a firm decision, about which she wrote to her father: “I am switching from pure conviction, I feel that this is the highest religion and that I do this with deep conviction and confidence that there is God’s blessing on it.”

A courageous heart sees God's Providence even during a storm. The life of the Grand Duke was tragically cut short. But, having lost her earthly fiance, Grand Duchess Elizabeth found a heavenly one - she decided to devote herself completely to serving God and her neighbors.

Service

"I leave the brilliant world where I held a brilliant position, but together with everyone I ascend to a greater world - to the world of the poor and suffering."

(Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna)

In difficult times, God's help is seen most clearly. The Grand Duchess found consolation and strengthening at the relics of the Moscow wonderworker St. Alexis, he put into her mournful soul the desire to create a monastery of mercy.

Thus was born in Moscow a marvelous monastery. Even outwardly, she was graceful, like everything that the hand of the Grand Duchess touched.

The main purpose of the monastery was to revive the way of active service of Christ's love. The word “abode” expressed the main idea: everyone should make their heart an abode, a receptacle for this love, open it to receive the merciful Christ. The sisters were called to unite the high lot of Mary, heeding the words of eternal life, and the path of Martha - serving God through her neighbor. Like Mary, having been enlightened by the Word of God, they went to people with prayer, consolation, and, like Martha, they served Christ with hospitality to strangers, caring for the sick.

The monastery helped the poor, the Grand Duchess paid special attention to the Khitrov market. She went around the doss houses, collecting homeless children. She was not afraid of abuse, impurity, the sight of people who had lost their human appearance. “The likeness of God may sometimes be obscured, but it can never be destroyed,” she said. The gracious mother did not think that she was accomplishing a feat, the basis of the spiritual charity of the monastery was gratitude to the Lord for allowing Him to serve in the person of her neighbors.

“If only the heart did not sing about earthly things,

But would bring God all the moments,

And everything around him was white

Thanksgiving flowers.

(Archbishop John (Shakhovskoy))

“There has been so much joy in my life, so much infinite consolation in sorrow, that I long to give at least a particle of it to others.”

(Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna)

The monastery is called an earthly paradise. Great is the sacrament of obedience. In the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery, the charter of the monastery hostel was in force. The structure of life according to the charter teaches humility, patience, obedience, taking away their own wisdom, uniting the inhabitants into one family. The great mother consoled and strengthened the sisters in their work on themselves and others, set an example in everything, striking with her cheerfulness. In the hospital, she took on the most responsible work. They said that healing power comes from Mother.

The inner life of the sisters was led by the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky, a marvelous pastor. The nuns were taught that their task was not only health care but also the spiritual guidance of degraded, lost and desperate people. If even for a moment a spark of God is planted in the soul, allowing it to breathe the fragrance of Heaven, it will encourage a person in earthly life, console and give hope at the hour of death. “We must rise from the mournful earth to paradise and rejoice with the angels about one saved soul, about one cup cold water given in the Name of the Lord."

At the monastery there were: a hospital, a pharmacy, a shelter for orphans, a Sunday school, a library, a free canteen for the poor, there were churches - Pokrovsky and a hospital in honor of the myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. The Grand Duchess hoped that the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent would flourish and become a large fruitful tree, she wanted such cloisters to be in other cities.

Martyrdom

“It seemed that she was standing on a high, unshakable rock and from there, without fear, looked at the waves raging around her, directing her spiritual gaze to eternal distances.”

(Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky))

Wanderers and aliens we are on earth. This visible world is but the place of our sad exile. Evil earthly days. For everyone there comes a moment when you need to go home, to the Heavenly Fatherland. The holy people of God are waiting for death as the greatest joy. For them, the end of earthly life is a meeting with the Creator, to whom the soul constantly aspired. A person who has dedicated himself to God believes that the Lord is completely looking after him. Trusting the saving Providence of God, he endures all pain and sorrow.

“The Lord is looking at me; what should I be afraid of?"

With courage and calmness, the Grand Duchess met the turmoil that began in Russia. As before, she helped people: visited the wounded, participated in the organization of assistance to the front. There was not a hint of bitterness in her.

“The people are a child, they are not to blame for what is happening,” she said meekly. “Isn’t this 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 ... "

Having fallen in love with the Russian people with all her heart, she decided to share their suffering to the end, refusing to leave Russia. She presciently wrote that the gates of hell will not prevail Orthodox Church that our Intercessor, Holy Mother of God, beg His Divine Son and the Church will endure through all trials.

“... If we realize that great sacrifice of God the Father, Who sent His Son to die and rise for us, then we will feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who illuminates our path. And then joy becomes eternal ... "

(Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna)

God's providence is incomprehensible. When the soul becomes stronger and becomes able to go where one has to suffer, trials begin. The Lord leads a person to the cross that his soul can bear, leads to the line beyond which eternity. The narrow and tart path leads to immortality, holiness, victory over death.

In April 1918, on the third day of Easter, Elizaveta Feodorovna was arrested and taken out of Moscow. On that day, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon served at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent Divine Liturgy and a prayer service - this was a blessing and parting word to the Grand Duchess before the way of the cross to Golgotha.

“Lord, bless, may the Resurrection of Christ console and strengthen you all... Unite and be like one soul all for God, and say, like John Chrysostom, “glory to God for everything!”,” the Great Mother of the sisters admonished on the way into the link. Trees flashed through the car window, clouds floated low, everything merged into one...

Here is the end of the road. "My son, give your heart to me..."

In the dead of July, on the day of the uncovering of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Grand Duchess, along with the nun Varvara and other prisoners, was thrown into the mine. They say that from the depths came the Cherubic Hymn. Hosts of angels picked her up in the spaces invisible to earthly eyes, where nothing can deprive the soul of eternal joy.

Everything is connected by the bail of the earth -

Behind the beast is night, space is behind the white bird;

But who will hide behind the whiteness.

Who can stand up for an angel?

There is no more defenseless in the world than them.

There are no more hidden ones in the cold world.

Fires must be lit in front of them.

They must be sung on the loudest lyre.

Once during a trip to the Holy Land, visiting the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, built at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the Grand Duchess said: "How I would like to be buried here."

It's amazing how God hears every word.

The relics of the abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent and her faithful cell-attendant, nun Barbara, were transported to Jerusalem and laid in the tomb of the church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles. When the coffin with the body of the Grand Duchess was opened, the room was filled with fragrance. According to Archimandrite Anthony, there was a "strong smell, as it were, of honey and jasmine."

“... Rejoice, glorified by the inscrutable fates of God. Rejoice, blessed inhabitant of Jerusalem on high; Rejoice, guide to the Heavenly Jerusalem for all of us.”

(From the akathist to St. Venerable Elisabeth)

Video

Audio

A book about Saint Elizabeth in two parts.

Director: Anatoly Strikunov
Sound engineer: Dmitry Korshakevich
Musical arrangement: Ludmila Latushkina
The text is read: National artist Republic of Belarus Viktor Manaev, Margarita Zakharia, Vyacheslav Galuza, Elena Sidorova

Part one "Darmstadt flower" >>

Part two "Great Mother" >>