She was the mother of John the Baptist. Based on the words of the Apostle Luke, we know that she was the cousin of the Most Holy Theotokos, and also came from the family of King David. The mother of Saint Elizabeth was the elder sister of Saint Anna, her name was Ismeria. Already in their advanced years, by a special Providence of God, Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were given a baby, after many years in anticipation of a child.
The Gospel describes in detail the meeting of the Mother of God and the righteous Elizabeth. (Luke 1:39-56). At the time when the massacre of the infants was announced, Saint Elizabeth began to take refuge in the desert. There the rock miraculously parted and sheltered it from the emperor's soldiers who were pursuing Saint Elizabeth. At the same time, her husband Zakharia began to be tortured, where could his wife be. But he refused to tell why he was killed right in the temple.
Together with her son John, the righteous Elizabeth began to live in the wilderness, where she departed to the Lord. The Greek synaxari report that Saint Elizabeth passed away to the Lord 40 days after her flight into the desert, the Coptic synaxari contain materials that she died in the Sinai desert after 7 years.

This icon still reminds us of the tragic life of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. The martyr's cross in the right hand of the Saint and the Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent - this is how the icon of Elizabeth Feodorovna is depicted.

Days of Remembrance:

• February 5 - Cathedral of the Kostroma Saints
• February 11 - Cathedral of Yekaterinburg Saints
• July 18
• October 11 - Uncovering the relics

Like the Catholic Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, who founded the Eisenach Hospital for the Poor, she became famous for following the ideals of the Church of Christ.

History of Saint Elizabeth Feodorovna

Saint Elisaveta Feodorovna was born in Darmstadt, Germany, on October 20 (now November 1), 1864. She became the second child in the family of the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig IV and the daughter of the English Queen Victoria - Princess Alice. Thanks to the traditions of old England, children were brought up in strictness - they wore simple clothes and ate ordinary food. Their mother brought them up on the basis of Christian commandments and put compassion and love for their neighbors into their hearts. That is why, since childhood, Elizabeth was distinguished by her religiosity and paid her respects to her distant relative - Elizabeth of Thuringia.

Unfortunately, the family of Elizabeth lost a child - in 1873 her three-year-old brother, Friedrich, left them. And in 1876, diphtheria killed one of Elizabeth's sisters, and then her mother Alice. Then Saint Elizabeth became a support to her father and her surviving brother and sisters.

In her 20s, Elizabeth married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. They both lived a spiritual marriage, as both made a secret vow to keep their virginity all their lives.

The husband was a very religious person, and the princess supported him in this. Being a Protestant, Elizabeth firmly decided to accept Orthodoxy, and sent a telegram to her father with the hope of his blessing. However, the father sent his daughter a return letter with lines of pain and suffering about her thoughts. Despite her father's refusal, Elizabeth, having shown courage, secretly converted to Orthodoxy.

On April 13 (25), on Lazarus Saturday, the sacrament of chrismation 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

During the Russo-Japanese War, Elizaveta Fedorovna organized assistance to the front.

In 1905, after burying her husband from a terrorist bomb, the Saint visited her husband's murderer in prison, where she forgave him. The gospel is what Righteous Elizabeth left behind. The icon and image of which are reflected in the center next to the Royal Passion-Bearers.

Soon Elizabeth, having collected her jewels, used them in the creation of the monastery of mercy. And in 1909 she herself was dressed in a monastic robe. Elizabeth and her sisters raised many adopted children in their convent.

After the First World War and the Revolution of 1917, the entire royal family was arrested, and soon they were thrown into an iron mine. For several days, local peasants heard the singing of prayers coming from the mine. Her body, untouched by decay, was transferred to the Jerusalem Church of Mary Magdalene a few years later.

The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Saint Elizabeth and Sister Barbara in 1992, and the royal martyrs in 2000.

Prayer to the Martyr and Celebration

The patroness of the department of sisters of mercy at the Nizhny Novgorod Medical Institute is Elisaveta. The icon of the Great Saint provides grace-filled help to all needy believers.

The Great Saint is addressed with the following words:

O holy martyr Elisaveto, chosen from the royal lineage of the beauty of the Russian Church, having served God abundantly with love and mercy to her neighbors, she laid down her soul for faith in Christ our Lord, adorned with the crown of Christ's glory and honored with the bride of Christ!

Thou hast shone with a divine star into the lands of Russia, the holy venerable martyr Elisaveto, when, having changed wealth and glory as dust, she betrayed her life in the hands of God, and serve Him with fasting and prayer, and to the suffering showed love and great mercy.

Grace-fulfilled vessels appear your honest relics, holy reverend martyr Elisaveto, who want to save them from reproach and dishonor, bringing pious people to the holy city of Jerusalem and burying them in the village of Gethsemane on Mount Eleon, burying them, who fall to them and find relief, joy and healing.

In the same way, heal us sinners with your prayer and illuminate the path of our life with the light of your virtues. Pray, O our mother, may the Lord grant us the healing of passions, may our infirmities be converted into strength for salvation, may we not perish in the abyss of worldly cares, but may we be able to get rid of eternal torment and the heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom be with all the saints who have pleased God from the ages .

O Grand Duchess Elisaveto, our adornment and joy to Russian wives, accept the sigh of our hearts, brought to you with love, and with your intercession to the Lord, strengthen the spirit of right faith and piety in us, affirm us in virtue and mercy, help the cross of sorrows with patience and hope bear, in love and harmony save our holy temple, may we be honored to enter into the joy of the Lord, with the Angels and all the saints to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever!

Amen!

Below we see one of the images of the Grand Duchess – Elizabeth the Wonderworker - icon of the Holy Martyr.

The Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Great Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna Romanova on July 18 - the only one of the Romanovs whose holiness is perfect.

Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth

Grand Duchess Elisabeth (Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice), born November 1, 1864 . She was the daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. Her family name was Ella.

Ella's mother, Princess Alice, gave away most of the estate to charity. The ducal couple had seven children: Victoria, Elisaveta (Ella), Irena, Ernest-Ludwig, Friedrich, Alice (Alix) - the future Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and Maria. The older children did everything for themselves, were taught housekeeping and needlework. But most importantly, they were taught compassion. Together with their mother, they went to hospitals, shelters, nursing homes. Armfuls of flowers were brought, divided among all, bouquets were placed by each bed.

Princess Elizabeth grew up as a very beautiful girl, tall, slender, with beautiful features. Her beauty matched her spiritual qualities. She showed no sign of selfishness. She was cheerful and had a subtle sense of humor. God rewarded her with the gift of painting and a sense of music. With her appearance, children's quarrels stopped. Everyone began to give in and forgive each other.

As Elizabeth Feodorovna herself later said, even in her earliest youth, she was greatly influenced by the life and deeds of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, the Queen of Hungary in whose honor she bore her name. This Catholic saint, the ancestor of the Dukes of Hesse, became famous for her works of mercy and the gift of miracles. Her husband forbade her to take care of the unfortunate and was cruel in his treatment of her. Once she went to prison to visit the prisoners and carried bread in a basket, covered with a mantilla on top. Towards the husband: “What is it with you ?!” He answers: "Roses ..." He pulled off the transparent cover, and under it - roses! She buried her husband, wandered, lived in poverty, lived in poverty, but did not betray God's calling. Already in her advanced years, she organized a leper colony and took care of lepers herself.

In the parental home in Darmstadt there have always been many musicians, artists, painters, composers, professors. In a word, gifted people of various specialties. A society unique in its spiritual and cultural depth gathered here.

When Elizabeth was 11 years old, playing, her three-year-old brother Friedrich fell from the balcony onto stone slabs. He was ill with hemophilia and died in agony from his bruises. She was the first to pick him up bloody and bring him into the house. On this day, she made a vow to God - not to get married, never to have children, never to suffer so terribly. At the age of 14, she buried her mother, who died untimely at the age of 35 from diphtheria. In that year, the time of childhood ended for Elizabeth. Grief intensified her prayers. She understood 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. The Grand Duke, assuming the post of Governor-General of Moscow, was obliged to marry, and made an offer to Ella, whom he had known since 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. However, to the Russian prince, a man of deep faith and fidelity to Christ the Savior, she immediately felt the location. He was a highly cultured person, he loved reading and music, he helped a lot without advertising it. She told him about her vow, and he: “That's good. I myself decided not to marry. This is how this (necessary for Russia for political reasons) marriage took place, in which the spouses promised God to keep their virginity.

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. Elisaveta Feodorovna entered the Russian land for the first time on the day of the Holy Trinity.

The wedding took place in the church of the Grand Palace of St. Petersburg according to the Orthodox rite, and after it according to the Protestant rite in one of the living rooms of the palace.

The Grand Duchess studied the Russian language, culture and history of Russia. For a princess who married the Grand Duke, there was no mandatory conversion to Orthodoxy. But Elisaveta Feodorovna, while still a Protestant, tried to learn as much as possible about Orthodoxy, seeing the deep faith of her husband, who was a very pious person, strictly observed fasts, read the books of the Holy Fathers and often went to church. She accompanied him all the time and fully stood up for church services. She saw the joyful state of Sergei Alexandrovich after he received the Holy Mysteries, but, being outside the Orthodox Church, she could not share this joy with him.

The Grand Duchess immediately captivated everyone with her cordiality, simplicity of address and subtle sense of humor. She knew how to create comfort around herself, an atmosphere of lightness and ease, danced well and, having excellent taste, knew how to dress beautifully and elegantly. She was dazzlingly beautiful. In those days, they said that there were only two beauties in Europe, and both were Elizabeths: Elisabeth of Austria, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph, and Elisaveta Feodorovna.

Artists who tried to paint her portrait failed to capture her true beauty; one artist said that perfection is impossible to depict. Also, none of the surviving photographs fully conveys the beauty of the Grand Duchess. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov in 1884 wrote a poem in honor of St. Elizabeth.

I look at you, admiring hourly:
You are so unspeakably good!
Oh, right, under such a beautiful exterior
Such a beautiful soul!
Some meekness and innermost sadness
There is depth in your eyes;
Like an angel you are quiet, pure and perfect;
Like a woman, shy and gentle.
Let nothing on earth among evils and many sorrows
Your purity will not be stained.
And everyone who sees you will glorify God,
who created such beauty!

Ovchinnikov P.Ya. Private living room of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1902

Despite his success in society and frequent trips, St. Elizabeth felt in herself a desire for solitude and reflection. She loved to walk alone in nature, indulging in the contemplation of its beauty and thinking about God. The Grand Duchess also began to secretly do charity work, which only her husband and a few close people knew about.

In 1888, the Grand Duchess had the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. Emperor Alexander III instructed V.K. Sergei Alexandrovich to attend the consecration of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, built in memory of their mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.There, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the Grand Duchess uttered prophetic words: "I would like to be buried here". At the Holy Sepulcher, the Savior revealed His will to her, and she finally made up her mind to convert to Orthodoxy.

View of the Russian site in Gethsemane in 1882. Photo of Father Timon

Construction of the church of St. Mary Magdalene. 1885-1888 Photo of Timon's father.

Construction of the church of St. Mary Magdalene. 1885-1888 Photo of Father Timon

Construction of the church of St. Mary Magdalene. 1888 Photo of Father Timon

Grand Dukes Sergius Alexandrovich, Pavel Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna
in the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane in Jerusalem
On the left, the head of the RDM in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Anthony (Kapustin)
Photo of Timon's father. 1888

Procession during the consecration of St. Mary Magdalene October 1, 1888

Interior of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane. Photo of Timon's father, 1888

She wrote to her father, who took this step of hers with acute pain: “You call me frivolous and say that the external brilliance of the church fascinated me ... I pass 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. Of all the relatives, only the grandmother of the Grand Duchess, Queen Victoria, understood her state of mind and wrote an affectionate encouraging letter, which made St. Elizabeth.

In 1891, on Lazarus Saturday, the rite of acceptance into the Orthodox Church was performed on her through the Sacrament of Confirmation, leaving her former name, but in honor of the holy righteous Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist. Emperor Alexander III blessed his daughter-in-law with a precious icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, with which Elizabeth Feodorovna was martyred.

Members of the imperial family (in Ilyinsky during the coronation celebrations). Photo 1896
Standing from left to right:
- Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania;
- Emperor Nicholas II;
- Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich;
- Victoria Feodorovna (Victoria-Melita), Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duchess of Saxony;
- her first husband Ernst-Ludwig (Albert-Karl-Wilhelm), Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine.
Sitting left to right:
- the son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Princess of Greece Alexandra Georgievna Dmitry;
- Crown Princess Maria of Romania;
- Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with her daughter Grand Duchess Olga;
at her feet:
- daughter of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Princess of Greece Alexandra Georgievna Maria;
further in order:
- Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich;
- Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha;
- sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Victoria;
- Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

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. 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.

When the Russo-Japanese War began in 1904, 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 at sewing machines and work tables. At her own expense, the Grand Duchess formed several hospital trains. In Moscow, she set up a hospital for the wounded, which she herself constantly visited.

However, the state and social order was falling apart, a revolution was approaching. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich believed that it was necessary to take tougher measures against the revolutionaries. Considering that in the current situation he could no longer hold the post of Governor-General of Moscow, he resigned.

Meanwhile, the militant organization of the Socialist-Revolutionaries sentenced Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to death. Grand Duchess Elizabeth received anonymous letters warning her not to accompany her husband if she did not want to share his fate. She tried all the more not to leave him alone and, whenever possible, accompanied her husband everywhere.

Assassin of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, terrorist Ivan Kalaev

On February 18, 1905, Sergei Aleksandrovich, having left the house, was killed by a bomb thrown by the terrorist Ivan Kalyaev. Elizaveta Feodorovna, who rushed to the place of the explosion, saw a picture that, in its horror, surpassed the human imagination. Silently, without crying or tears, kneeling in the snow, she began to collect and put on a stretcher parts of the body of her husband, who had been dearly loved and alive a few minutes ago. Within a few days after the explosion, people found more pieces of the body of the Grand Duke, which were scattered everywhere by the force of the explosion. One hand was found on the other side of the Kremlin wall on the roof of a small chapel of the Savior, the heart was found on the roof of some building.

Panikhida for the deceased Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Bose in the Miracle Monastery, in the Kremlin, in 1905

After the first memorial service at the Miracle Monastery, Elisaveta Feodorovna returned to the palace, changed into a black mourning dress and began to write telegrams, from time to time inquiring about the condition of the wounded coachman Sergei Alexandrovich, who had served with the Grand Duke for 25 years. She was told that the coachman's position was hopeless, and he might die soon (his body was pierced with nails and shrapnel from the crew, he had 70 wounds in his back). In order not to upset the dying, Elisaveta Feodorovna took off her mourning dress, put on the blue one she had been wearing before, and went to the hospital. There, bending over the dying man's bed, she caught his question about Sergei Alexandrovich and, in order to calm him, overcame herself, smiled at him kindly and said: "He sent me to you." And reassured by her words, thinking that Sergei Alexandrovich was alive, the devoted coachman Andrei died that 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 didn't realize that you killed me along with him? she replied.

The Grand Duchess gave the killer forgiveness from Sergei Alexandrovich, the Gospel and the icon, hoping for a miracle of repentance, and also asked Emperor Nicholas II to pardon Kalyaev, but this request was rejected.

A cross monument erected at the site of the murder of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (designed by V. Vasnetsov), on Senate Square, in the Kremlin, consecrated on April 2, 1908. The cross monument was the first thing that the Bolsheviks demolished in the Kremlin. They arranged such a Subbotnik on May 1, 1918 under the direct supervision of Lenin...

Sergei Alexandrovich was buried in the small church of the Chudov Monastery. Here the Grand Duchess felt special help and strengthening from the holy relics of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, whom she had especially revered ever since. 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 site of the murder of her husband, 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're doing."Now this Cross is located on the territory of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow, where the body of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich is also buried in the family tomb of the Romanovs.

Cross-monument in the Novospassky Monastery

Grand Duchess Elizabeth asked to take out all the luxurious furniture from her bedroom in the Nikolsky Palace, paint the walls white, she left only icons and paintings of spiritual content on the walls, so her bedroom began to resemble a monastic cell. Elizaveta Feodorovna sold all her jewelry and a part belonging to the Romanov family, transferred it to the treasury, and for the remaining amount founded the monastery of Mercy in Moscow on Bolshaya Ordynka. She did not keep her wedding ring as a keepsake.

The Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy is a monastery in Moscow, located on Bolshaya Ordynka. The founder, as well as the first abbess of the monastery was Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

On February 10, 1909, the Grand Duchess gathered 17 sisters of the monastery she founded, took off her mourning dress, put on a white monastic robe and ascended into the world of the poor and suffering: “I accepted this not as a cross, but as a path full of light, which the Lord showed me after Sergey’s death.”
The monastery was created in honor of the holy sisters Martha and Mary. The sisters of the monastery were called to unite the lofty lot of Mary, heeding the words of eternal life, and the service of Martha - the service of the Lord through her neighbor.

Two temples were created - Marfo-Mariinsky and Pokrovsky(architect A.V. Shchusev, murals by M.V. Nesterov), as well as a hospital, which was later considered the best in Moscow, a pharmacy where medicines were dispensed to the poor for free, an orphanage and a school. Outside the walls of the monastery, a house-hospital was built for women with tuberculosis.

She worked for a long time on the charter of the monastery, wishing to revive the ancient institution of deaconesses, she traveled to Zosima Hermitage to discuss the project with the elders. In 1906, the Grand Duchess read the book Diary of a Regimental Priest Who Served in the Far East During the Entire Period of the Past Russo-Japanese War, written by priest Mitrofan Serebryansky. She wished to meet the author and summoned him to Moscow. As a result of their meetings and conversations, a draft Charter of the future monastery appeared, prepared by Father Mitrofan, who was St. Elizabeth took over.

According to the draft Charter, a married priest was needed to perform divine services and provide spiritual guidance to the sisters, but who would live with his mother like a brother and sister and would constantly be on the territory of the monastery. St. Elizabeth insistently asked Father Mitrofan to become the spiritual father of the future monastery, as he met all the requirements of the Charter. He, at first, agreed, but soon refused, fearing to upset the parishioners with his departure. And suddenly, almost immediately, the fingers on the hand began to go numb and the hand was taken away. Father Mitrofan was horrified by the fact that now he would not be able to serve in the church, and he understood what had happened as an admonition. He began to pray fervently and promised God that he would give his consent to move to Moscow, and two hours later the hand began to work again. Father Mitrofan became a true confessor of the monastery, a mentor and assistant to the abbess, who highly valued him (Father Mitrofan of Srebryansky was glorified as the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia).

In the Martha and Mary Convent, the Grand Duchess led the life of an ascetic, sleeping on wooden boards without a mattress, secretly wearing a sackcloth and chains. Accustomed to work from childhood, the Grand Duchess did everything herself and did not demand any services from her sisters for herself. She participated in all the affairs of the monastery, like an ordinary sister, always setting an example for others. Once, one of the novices approached the abbess with a request to send one of the sisters to sort out potatoes, since no one wants to help. The Grand Duchess, without saying a word to anyone, went herself. Seeing the abbess sorting through the potatoes, the ashamed sisters ran and set to work.

The best specialists of Moscow worked in the monastery hospital. All operations were carried out free of charge. Here, those who were refused by other doctors were healed. The healed patients wept as they left the Marfo-Mariinsky hospital, parting with the "Great Mother", as they called the abbess. In the hospital, Elisaveta Feodorovna took on the most responsible work: she assisted in operations, did dressings, comforted the sick and tried with all her might to alleviate their suffering. They said that healing power emanated from the Grand Duchess, which helped them endure pain and agree to difficult operations.

One of the main places of poverty, to which the Grand Duchess paid special attention, was Khitrov Market, where rampant, poverty and crime flourished. Elisaveta Feodorovna, accompanied by her cell-attendant Varvara Yakovleva or the sister of the monastery, Princess Maria Obolenskaya, indefatigably 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. If Elisaveta Feodorovna went somewhere, the people recognized her, enthusiastically met and followed her. She was already loved all over Russia and was called a saint.

She never interfered in politics, but she suffered greatly, seeing that the political situation in Russia was deteriorating. During the First World War, St. Elizabeth's work increased: it was necessary to take care of the wounded in the infirmaries. At first, Elisaveta Feodorovna, prompted by a Christian feeling, visited the captured Germans. Wild inventions about the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent began to spread around Moscow, as about the center of German espionage.

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the German government obtained the consent of the Soviet authorities for the Grand Duchess Elisaveta 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. God willing!"

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. This was the last blessing and parting word of the patriarch before the way of the cross of the Grand Duchess to Golgotha. Two sisters went with her - Varvara Yakovleva and Ekaterina Yanysheva. One of the sisters of the monastery recalled: “... Then she sent a letter to us, to the father and to each sister. One hundred and five notes were enclosed, and each according to her character. knew her children...

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 a school, on the outskirts of the city of Alapaevsk, together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (the youngest son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II), his secretary, Feodor Mikhailovich Remez, and 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. 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 she made her choice and joined the prisoners who awaited the decision of their fate.

deep on the night of July 5 (18), 1918. , on the day of finding the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna, along with other members of the imperial family, was thrown into the shaft 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 throwing hand grenades into the mine. 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 too she sought to alleviate the suffering of her neighbor. The fingers of the right hand of the Grand Duchess and nun Varvara turned out to be folded for the sign of the cross.

Remains abbess of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and her faithful cell-attendant Varvara in 1921 were transported to Jerusalem and laid in the tomb of the church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane. When the coffin with the body of the Grand Duchess was opened, the room was filled with fragrance. The relics of the new martyrs turned out to be partially incorrupt.

Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane

Church of Mary Magdalene (modern view)

Interior of the Church of Mary Magdalene

Cancer with the relics of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

BUTBishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 Ranked the Holy New Martyrs of Russia, the Monk Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Varvara, setting them a celebration on the day of death - July 5 (18).

Troparion, tone 1:
With humility the dignity of the prince was hidden, / God-wise Elisaveto, / with the special service of Martha and Mary / Christ honored you. / Having cleansed yourself with mercy, patience and love, / like a righteous sacrifice to God, you brought it. / But we, honoring your virtuous life and suffering, / as a true mentor, earnestly ask you: / holy martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveto, / pray to Christ God to save and enlighten our souls.

Kontakion, tone 2:
The greatness of the feat of faith who is the story: / in the depths of the earth, as if in heaven of lordship, / the passion-bearer Grand Duchess Elizabeth / rejoiced with the Angels in psalms and singing / and, suffering a slaughter, / crying out for godless tormentors: / Lord, forgive them this sin, / they don't know what they're doing. / Through prayers, O Christ God, / have mercy and save our souls.

Saints are not born. Life makes a person holy: his environment, upbringing, absorbed books, heard words, committed actions, decisions made. What was the prerequisite for the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt Elisabeth, who was brought up in the luxurious homes of Europe, to be called an angel during her lifetime? Moscow's guardian angel...

Beloved mother and beloved saint

In fact, little Ella grew up in such luxury - one of the seven children of the English princess Alice and the German Grand Duke Ludwig IV. At court, it was customary to bring up children in severity. “Princesses are no better and no higher than all other people”, This idea has been instilled in them since childhood.

From her youth, Ella was captivated by the image of the 13th century Catholic saint, Elizabeth of Hungary. She, like the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, came from a royal family, and at the age of 14 she was married. All her free time she helped those in need, distributed her property for this purpose, and in addition, she took special care of lepers.

After the death of her husband in the sixth crusade, Elizabeth of Hungary dedicated her life entirely to the works of mercy and took monastic vows, along with several maids. In recent years, she worked in the hospital she built for the poor.

The example of a beloved saint had a strong influence on, although, of course, she could not know that she would repeat her fate in many ways ...

The idea of ​​the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy - the main brainchild of the Grand Duchess - also did not arise from scratch. Ella saw how her mother dealt with the fate of destitute, sick people.

On Saturdays, Princess Alice took her daughters to hospitals and orphanages, instilling compassion in them; it was she who organized the Women's Committee of the Red Cross; and when Prussia and Austria entered the war, she ordered that her house be used as a hospital. Mercy is a word, and the future venerable martyr absorbed this way of life from a young age.

Faces of death

Death in the face of Ella looked very early. She was 9 years old when an accident claimed the life of her younger brother, three-year-old Friedrich. The boy fell out of the window of the third floor, and she was the first to be at the scene of the tragedy. Friedrich was still alive, Ella carried him into the house, and at night the poor thing died ...

About five years passed, and Ella's younger sister, four-year-old Maria, died of diphtheria. One gets the impression that all this was preparing the girl for an even more terrible blow - the death of her mother, from the same disease. Ella at that time was taken to England by her grandmother, Queen Victoria, trying to protect her from the epidemic, and Princess Alice died in the absence of her daughter. This happened in December 1878. The future venerable martyr was 14 years old...

She was not around even when her father died (in 1892) - by that time Elizabeth already lived in Russia.

She understood early what suffering and death meant, and this nurtured her character. Learned how to comfort others. But the worst loss, of course, was waiting for her ahead. And it is not known how she would have coped with it without strong faith.

The difficult step of a Protestant

“I thought and read all the time and prayed to God to show me the right path, and came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have in order to be a good Christian,”- so at the very beginning of 1891 Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna wrote to her father, asking him to bless her decision to leave Protestantism for the sake of Orthodoxy.

Foreign women who married the heirs to the throne, according to custom, had to convert to Orthodoxy. But for the brides of other members of the royal family, this was not necessary.

Who knows what Elizaveta Fedorovna would have been if she had not accepted Orthodoxy, how her fate would have been here in Russia. The line of her life smoothly brought the princess to the main events of her biography - the tragic death of her husband, tonsure and martyrdom.

Before and after

“Sergey was killed!”- only the unfortunate princess exclaimed, hearing an explosion in the square, and rushed out into the street as she was, in one dress, although it was winter. Sergei Alexandrovich, by that time the former Governor-General of Moscow known for his monarchical views, received threats more than once. Therefore, he traveled alone so as not to endanger anyone.

And this time, on February 4, 1905, only the coachman was with him. Sergei Alexandrovich died in the same way as his father, Emperor Alexander II - he was torn apart by a bomb thrown into the carriage by a terrorist.

Snow, blood, scraps of a mangled carriage, pieces of torn flesh. In modern films, they tried to show this episode more than once, but it’s probably still hard to imagine the state of Elizabeth, who ran to the scene of the murder of her beloved husband.

She rushed to him, torn apart by the explosion. No hysterics, no tears - the Grand Duchess, pale, with a glassy look, began to collect scraps of clothes, things, the remains of her husband around the square. She later told her sister that at that moment she had only one thought on her mind: “Rather, rather, Sergey did not like the mess and blood so much.”

In the first days after the tragedy, she did not eat anything, she prayed a lot. And at the funeral, she seemed to be in a daze, she didn’t cry, but only repeated, holding the hands of her nephews: "He loved you so much."

Then - the decision came to go to the murderer's cell, ask him to think about the soul, about repentance, and - which seemed to many madness - a petition to the emperor to pardon the criminal. And then - she took the tonsure. Looks like she was already a saint...

Charity - how is fashion?

God judged her to supplement personal holiness with deeds that countless. After she was tonsured, Elizaveta Fyodorovna realized her dream - the Sisterhood of Mercy, the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. The monastery still bears the imprint of light sadness. Elizabeth undertook with double energy what today would be called social work.

To some, the charity that the Romanov family was engaged in and to know in general in the late 19th and early 20th centuries will seem like crumbs from the master's table, casually thrown to the needy as a tribute to fashion and their position. This is a delusion - at least in relation to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Her whole essence was to give herself - imbibed with her mother's milk, with the experience of life. It was enough to see what household trifles she took care of, arranging a hospital or a gymnasium. It was a matter of life, work, a kind of profession, to which all forces, all inventive and creative energy were given.

“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. We can express devotion to Him by comforting other people - this is how we give our lives to Him”,- wrote the Grand Duchess.

That time is the heyday of charity. Contemporary philanthropy in Russia is only a pale and false reflection of what it was then. Even during the life of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Elizaveta Feodorovna, together with her husband, participated in dozens of social initiatives.

Then they took care of everyone they could. Society for the charity of elderly artists, a free hospital for military doctors, a society for the patrons of homeless and released minors from places of detention, a society for charity, the upbringing and education of blind children, the Ladies' Prison Committee (guardian of children whose mothers were serving sentences in colonies).

Elizabeth took care of children whose parents temporarily lost their earnings, created a gymnasium for orphans of killed soldiers, took care of the training and employment of war invalids, and opened a sanatorium for the wounded. It's hard to list everything.

She gave herself to others. And to such an extent she forgot about herself that she categorically refused to leave Russia, when the threat, not just real, but inevitable, especially hung over the whole country and the house of the Romanovs. It was clear what awaited her. But wasn't Ella preparing for this all her life?

Faithful Barbara

It becomes clearer why Elizaveta Feodorovna was called the great mother, why the sisters loved her so much - during the arrest of Elizabeth Feodorovna (during Bright Week 1918), it is impossible to imagine what kind of crying arose in the monastery.

“There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends”- and so, truly in the Gospel, only one of the nuns loved Mother Elizabeth - Varvara (Yakovleva). Unfortunately, we know little about her. She came to the monastery among the first and soon became the cell attendant of Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Sister Varvara and sister Ekaterina (Yanysheva) went with my mother when she was arrested. They were taken to Siberia - first to Yekaterinburg, then to Alapaevsk. The soldiers made it possible for those who did not belong to the royal family to leave. But Varvara, almost on her knees, asked to be left with Elizabeth Feodorovna.

They mocked her, described the upcoming Grand Duchess and everyone who remains with her, a painful death, but Varvara did not concede: “I will sign anything with my blood, just leave me with it”.

And so it happened. On the night of July 18, 1918, mother Elizabeth, nun Varvara, and other members of the Romanov family were taken to an abandoned mine 60 meters deep, beaten and thrown down. From the mine came the singing of the Cherubim. Grenades were thrown after them - two of them, unexploded, were then found next to the body of the Grand Duchess. The martyrs died of starvation and wounds.

Those who knew Elizaveta Fyodorovna said that they were sure: even there, at the depth of the mine, she did not allow herself a word of grumbling, not a trace of despondency.

Happiness in Russia

“None of the brides of the Hessian house was happy in Russia”- said Queen Victoria, doubting whether to give Ella in marriage to the Russian Grand Duke. Her words were prophetic, but only in part.

"Happiness,- wrote the venerable martyr Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova to her pupils, Mary and Dmitry, - is not to live in a palace and be rich. All this can be lost. True happiness is that which neither people nor events can steal. You will find it in the life of the soul and self-giving. Try to make those around you happy, and you yourself will be happy.”

The Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna was the second child in the family of the 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 bring them up 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 understood 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 of the Grand Palace of St. Petersburg according to the Orthodox rite, and after it according to the Protestant rite in one of the living rooms of the palace. The Grand Duchess intensively studied the Russian language, wanting to study 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, the 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 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, 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 His will to her.

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 present 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. I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have in order to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same church in form and for the outside world, but 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 Empress of Russia.

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, the solemn glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov took place. 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 Tsarskoye 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 work tables. 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 of public administration. 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 Miracle 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 take off her mourning, she began to keep a strict fast, she 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, the second housed a church and a hospital, next to it was 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 -

into 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 (on 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 the modern buildings in Moscow, which, under other conditions, can have, in addition to its direct purpose for the parish, an artistic and educational purpose for all 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 lofty lot of Mary, heeding the words of eternal life, and the service of Martha - the service of the Lord through her 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 the 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 Powers, on Wednesday to the holy myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary, and on Friday to the Mother of God or the Passion of Christ. In the chapel built at the end of the garden, the Psalter was read for the dead. The abbess herself often prayed there at night. The inner life of the sisters was led by a wonderful priest and shepherd - the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky. Twice a week he 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 a wooden bed without a 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.

The best specialists of Moscow worked in the monastery hospital, all operations were performed 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, financially helped 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, indefatigably 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 placed in closed educational institutions or shelters, where they also monitored their health, spiritual and physical.

Elisaveta Feodorovna organized charitable 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 traveled to Pskov, to Optina Hermitage, to Zosima Hermitage, was in the Solovetsky Monastery. She also visited the smallest monasteries in provincial and remote places in Russia. She was present at all spiritual celebrations associated with the 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 Myra 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 hospitals. 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 removed 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 respected, twice a week a truck with food drove up to the monastery: brown bread, dried fish, vegetables, a little 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, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, the Sovereign, found in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow on the day of the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II from the throne, was located in the monastery. 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 dedication and loyalty 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 a school, on the outskirts of the city of Alapaevsk, together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (the youngest son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II), his secretary, Feodor Mikhailovich Remez, and 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 of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna, along with other members of the imperial house, was 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 throwing hand grenades into the mine. 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 too she sought to alleviate the suffering of her neighbor. The fingers of the right hand of the Grand Duchess and nun Varvara turned out to be 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 Barbara, establishing a celebration for them on the day of their death - July 5 (18).