The light is unquenchable. Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
Currently, of all the new martyrs, the icon of the wife of the brother of the last emperor of Russia, who himself was glorified along with his family as a passion-bearer, is the most popular among the people. The icon of the martyr Elizabeth is sure to be present in the apartment of any pious family.
Historical reference
An icon of Elizabeth exists in different variations and iconographic performances. This is no coincidence, since the story of the most reverend disciple of Christ, which is what those who gave their lives for Him are called, is unusual.
Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna
- Before her marriage - Louise-Alice, Princess of Darmstadt.
- The granddaughter of the famous Queen Victoria of England and the younger sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who also suffered martyrdom.
- She married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in 1884, while still a Lutheran, and consciously converted to Orthodoxy in 1891.
- She had a rather harsh attitude towards those who commit Act of terrorism, but forgave her husband’s murderer and, having sold her personal jewelry, bought an estate on Bolshaya Ordynka, where the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent was located in 1909.
With the outbreak of the First World War, the monastery provided assistance to both the wounded and prisoners of war, which gave reason to suspect Elizaveta Feodorovna of sympathizing with the Germans. With the Bolsheviks coming to power in May 1918, she was arrested and first transported to Yekaterinburg, and then to Alapaevsk, where she, along with other representatives of the Romanov family and her personal maid, nun Varvara, were thrown into a mine.
There they died a slow, painful death. After the liberation of Alapaevsk by the White Army, the body of Elizabeth Feodorovna was transferred to Jerusalem and buried in the Holy Land, as she wished.
Description of the Holy Face
The Reverend Martyr Elizabeth and the Martyr Varvara, who accompanied the Grand Duchess in her last ordeals, were glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992. From this time on, iconographic images of Elizabeth Feodorovna began to appear.
Icon of Saint Elizabeth
External distinctive features These icons are as follows:
- as a rule, the Grand Duchess is depicted as an apostle;
- with a cross in right hand and the Marfo-Mary Convent on the left;
- There are versions of the icon where Elizaveta Feodorovna and nun Varvara hold the Mariinsky Convent in their hands.
In any such images, the Grand Duchess is very recognizable, as she is covered with a white apostle and has a martyr’s cross on her chest. During their lifetime, the couple made a vow not to have carnal relations and for almost ten years of marriage they kept it.
What does the icon help with and how does it protect?
Of all the Russian new martyrs glorified today, Elizaveta Feodorovna is the most revered, and her image is the most recognizable. Therefore, it is not surprising that they often turn to her in prayer before her image and ask for her help and intercession before God and ask her to help:
- in difficult childbirth;
- in the birth of premature babies and their further care;
- in the healing of cancer patients, mainly female diseases: breast cancer, uterine cancer, etc.;
- For those who endure suffering, pain and torment, turning to the venerable martyr will be very useful.
And in general, like every Orthodox saint who stands very close to the throne of the Heavenly King, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna can provide great help.
Icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna
How to pray and in which churches there is an icon
The Russian Church, glorifying Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, composed an akathist and troparion for her and made appropriate amendments to the liturgical calendar on the days of her remembrance. A simple layman can read an akathist to the saint every day, prayerfully remembering her personally.
Advice! You can order a prayer service for the Grand Duchess, even with the reading of an akathist, which the clergy of the temple will have to perform.
Indeed, Elizaveta Feodorovna, one of the most revered Russian saints who suffered martyrdom during the time of persecution, her image is in many Orthodox homes.
There is an icon of the saint in many churches in Russia. If you take each specific city or even a small settlement, you can find the image of a saint in many of them. This shows how revered this image is. And most importantly, how this image inspired many others to heroic deeds and repeat the path of the saint.
Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth
Elizabeth Feodorovna was born into the family of Duke Louis IV and Princess Alice on November 1, 1864. She was the second daughter of a famous couple. And she bore the title of Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. The granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England was destined for a difficult fate. And after her death, Elizaveta Feodorovna was awaiting canonization. But the events that led to it were truly terrible and terrifying. The famous princess Elizaveta Feodorovna, the whole truth about her, her life, her exploits aroused admiration among her contemporaries. And today the Grand Russian Princess remains an important example for posterity.
Ella (Elizabeth's home name), like her younger sister Alix, was brought up at Osborne House according to the traditions of a noble and ancient family. Girl with youth instilled thriftiness and hard work. Despite the wealth of her parents, Ella herself learned to light stoves and fireplaces, made her bed, participated in charity, and studied home economics.
In 1878, her mother and sister Maria died of diphtheria. And Elizaveta Fedorovna, after her father’s remarriage, was raised by her grandmother. As an adult, the princess was a recognized beauty. The most noble suitors in Europe fought for her hand and heart. But she gave preference to the Russian prince Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. And in 1884 she married him in the court cathedral of the Winter Palace complex.
All of Elizabeth Feodorovna's relatives professed Protestantism. But after living in Russia for several years, the Grand Duchess was imbued with the spirit of Orthodoxy. And I fell in love with the new country with all my heart. What I wrote about repeatedly in my letters to my father and grandmother.
The newlyweds settled on the Sergievsky estate. They lived there for most of the year, only occasionally attending balls and social events. Elizaveta Fedorovna learned Russian perfectly. Over time, I began to attend Orthodox services. She set up a hospital in the village near her palace. She held fairs for peasants.
Her husband Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed to the post of governor general in 1891. A year later, he organized the Elizabethan Charitable Society, in which the princess took an active part. Elizaveta Fedorovna was also a member of the Ladies' Committee of the Red Cross.
Elizabeth and the prince did not have their own children. But after the death of the wife of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, they were engaged in raising their nephews: Maria and Dmitry.
When the Russo-Japanese War began, Elizabeth organized a military assistance committee. She sent medicines, prayer books, and clothes to the front. Arranged the wounded in hospitals.
Together with her husband, the Grand Duchess opposed freethinking, revolutionaries and terrorists. Because of this activity, her husband was killed on February 4, 1905. The prince died from a bomb explosion, and his killer Ivan Kalyaev never repented of his crime. Although Princess Elizabeth interceded with Nicholas II on his behalf. Her heart was so kind and big.
By that time, Elizaveta Fedorovna had already changed her faith to Orthodoxy. Although her family in England was against it. And after the death of her husband, she took the post of chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.
What did the noble woman do next?
Princess Elizaveta Fedorovna (the whole truth about her, which is contained in historical sources, says so) directed her life along a religious path. She abandoned everything worldly and began to build the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow.
The monastery was not a convent in the full sense of the word. The sisters who lived and worked there took a vow of chastity and obedience. But later changes were made to the charter, thanks to which women could stop living in the monastery and start a family.
What role did this monastery play for society? According to Elizaveta Feodorovna’s plan, the following activities were carried out in it:
- provided spiritual assistance;
- engaged in treatment and development of medicine;
- enlightened people, taught children.
The princess herself ruled the monastery with a strict but merciful hand. Soon, an orphanage was founded on the territory of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. Elizaveta Feodorovna personally visited all the hot spots to find orphans and deliver them there.
Her life in the makeshift monastery was ascetic. She secretly wore a hair shirt, slept on planks without a mattress, and ate only modest food. All night long the princess read the psalter over the dead, sat with the sick, and during the day she worked along with the other sisters.
During the First World War, all members of the monastery took care of Russian soldiers, collected humanitarian aid, and did not hesitate to help prisoners and those in prison. Elizabeth Feodorovna's mercy and compassion knew no boundaries or national differences. For which she later paid dearly.
The death of the princess: the beginning of the end
In May 1918, Patriarch Tikhon served a prayer service at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. On the same day, Elizaveta Fedorovna was arrested by the Bolsheviks. The Patriarch tried to achieve the release of the princess, but he failed.
The Bolsheviks, who came to power, exiled Elizaveta Fedorovna to the Urals. The sister of the monastery, Varvara Yakovleva, followed the princess into exile. In Alapaevsk, women were kept within the walls of the Floor School. Together with the princess, many representatives of the Romanov family shared the fate of the exiles: Prince Sergei Mikhailovich, Ivan Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and others.
On July 18, 1918, Elizaveta Fedorovna was killed. She and other exiles were thrown into a deep mine alive. The woman did not die in the fall. Then the Bolsheviks began throwing grenades into the mine. Until the last moment, the quiet singing of Orthodox songs could be heard from there.
Later, the relics of the Great Martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara were removed from the mine and taken to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles in Jerusalem. The Grand Duchess wanted to be buried there during her lifetime.
There is a legend that when the coffin with the relics of Elizabeth Feodorovna was opened, many smelled jasmine and incense. And the woman’s body itself was almost untouched by decomposition.
The day of remembrance of two martyrs for the faith, Elizabeth and Varvara, is celebrated on July 18. During her exile, not only the patriarch, but also her relatives from England tried to save the princess. But she herself refused to escape abroad, wanting to be worthy of the memory of her deceased husband.
The activities of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery without its abbess were gradually stopped. But the memory of her worldly exploits remained in history forever.
Holy Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna: the whole truth about her, her actions were documented in the correspondence of the nobility, in the letters and diaries of her husband, in eyewitness accounts. Personal diaries Elizaveta Fedorovna burned it after the death of her husband. Her feat is still considered important and significant for subsequent generations. And her actions were imbued with love for her second homeland, as well. Princess Elizabeth's husband also did a lot to strengthen Orthodox faith, but as a politician he was not canonized and remained in the shadow of his magnificent wife.
Elizaveta Fedorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov
It is generally accepted that the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were in a “white marriage” (that is, they lived like brother and sister). This is not true: they dreamed of children, especially Sergei Alexandrovich. It is generally accepted that Elizaveta Fedorovna was a meek and quiet angel. And that's not true. Her strong-willed character and business qualities made themselves felt since childhood. They said that the Grand Duke was vicious and had unconventional inclinations - again, this was not true. Even the all-powerful British intelligence did not find anything more “reprehensible” in his behavior than excessive religiosity.
Today, the personality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov either remains in the shadow of his great wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, or is vulgarized - as, for example, in the film “State Councilor”, where the Governor-General of Moscow appears as a very unpleasant type. Meanwhile, it was largely thanks to the Grand Duke that Elizaveta Fedorovna became what we know her: “Great Mother”, “Guardian Angel of Moscow”.
Slandered during his lifetime, almost forgotten after death, Sergei Alexandrovich deserves to be rediscovered. The man through whose efforts Russian Palestine appeared, and Moscow became an exemplary city; a man who all his life bore the cross of an incurable disease and the cross of endless slander; and a Christian who took communion up to three times a week - with the general practice of doing this once a year at Easter, for whom faith in Christ was the core of his life. “God grant me to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” wrote Elizaveta Feodorovna after his murder...
Our story is about the story of the great love of Elizaveta Fedorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the history of lies about them.
The name of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov is pronounced today, as a rule, only in connection with the name of his wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. She truly was an outstanding woman with an extraordinary destiny, but Prince Sergei, who remained in her shadow, turns out to have played first fiddle in this family. More than once they tried to denigrate their marriage, call it lifeless or fictitious, in the end, unhappy, or, on the contrary, idealized it. But these attempts are unconvincing. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Feodorovna burned her diaries, but the diaries and letters of Sergei Alexandrovich were preserved, they allow us to look into the life of this exceptional family, carefully protected from prying eyes.
Not so simple bride
The decision to marry was made at a difficult time for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich: in the summer of 1880, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, whom he adored, died, and less than a year later, a bomb from Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky ended the life of his father, Emperor Alexander II. The time has come for him to remember the words of his teacher, maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who wrote to the young prince: “By your nature, you should be married, you suffer alone.” Sergei Alexandrovich really had the unfortunate tendency to delve into himself and engage in self-criticism. He needed close person... And he found such a person.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. 1861
1884 Ella is one of the most beautiful brides in Europe. Sergei is one of the most eligible bachelors, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. Judging by the diaries, they first met when the Grand Duchess of Hesse and Rhine Alice-Maude-Mary, wife of Ludwig IV, was in the last months of pregnancy with the future wife of the Grand Duke. A photograph has been preserved where she sits with the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who came to Darmstadt, and her seven-year-old son Sergei. When the Russian crowned family returned to Russia from their trip to Europe, they again visited relatives in Darmstadt, and the little Grand Duke was allowed to be present at the bathing of the newborn Ella, his future wife.
Why Sergei made a choice in favor of Elizabeth escaped the attention of his family and educators. But the choice was made! And although Ella and Sergei both had doubts, in the end, in 1883, their engagement was announced to the world. “I gave my consent without hesitation,” Ella’s father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, said then. - I have known Sergei since childhood; I see his sweet, pleasant manners and I’m sure that he will make my daughter happy.”
The son of the Russian emperor married a provincial German duchess! This is the usual view of this brilliant couple - and also a myth. The Darmstadt duchesses were not so simple. Elizabeth and Alexandra (who became the last Russian empress) are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, from the age of 18 until her death in old age, the permanent ruler of Great Britain (Empress of India since 1876!), a person of strict morality and the iron grip with which Britain achieved its heyday The official title of Elizabeth Feodorovna, which passed to all Hessian princesses, was Duchess of Great Britain and the Rhine: they belonged, no more and no less, to the family that at that time ruled a third of the land. And this title - according to all the rules of etiquette - was inherited from their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
Thus, the Romanovs became related to the British crown thanks to Alice of Hesse - like her mother Victoria, unusually strong woman: having married a German duke, Alice was forced to face the fastidiousness of the Germans, who were not very willing to accept the English princess. However, she once chaired parliament for nine months; launched extensive charitable activities - the almshouses she founded operate in Germany to this day. Ella also inherited her acumen, and subsequently her character will make itself felt.
In the meantime, Elizabeth of Darmstadt, although an extremely noble and educated, but somewhat flighty and impressionable young lady, discusses shops and beautiful trinkets. Preparations for her wedding with Sergei Alexandrovich were kept in the strictest confidence, and in the summer of 1884, the nineteen-year-old Hessian princess arrived in the capital of the Russian Empire on a train decorated with flowers.
“He often treated her like a school teacher...”
Princess Ella of Hesse and Great Britain. Early 1870s
In public, Elizaveta Fedorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich were, first of all, high-ranking persons, they headed societies and committees, and their human relations, their mutual love and affection were kept secret. Sergei Alexandrovich made every effort to inner life family did not become public knowledge: he had many ill-wishers. From the letters we know more than the Romanov contemporaries could know.
“He told me about his wife, admired her, praised her. He thanks God every hour for his happiness,” recalls Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, his relative and close friend. The Grand Duke really adored his wife - he loved to give her extraordinary jewelry, give her small gifts with or without any reason. Treating her strictly at times, in her absence he could not praise Elizabeth enough. As one of his nieces (future Queen Maria of Romania) recalls, “my uncle was often harsh with her, like with everyone else, but he worshiped her beauty. He often treated her like a school teacher. I saw the delicious flush of shame that washed over her face when he scolded her. “But, Serge...” she exclaimed then, and the expression on her face was like the face of a student caught in some mistake.”
“I felt how Sergei desired this moment; and I knew many times that he suffered from it. He was a real angel of kindness. How often could he, by touching my heart, lead me to a change of religion in order to make himself happy; and he never, never complained... Let people shout about me, but just never say a word against my Sergei. Take his side before them and tell them that I adore him, as well as my new country, and that in this way I have learned to love their religion ... "
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her brother Ernest about changing religion
Contrary to the rumors spread at the time, it was a truly happy marriage. On the day of ten years of married life, which occurred at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, the prince wrote in his diary: “In the morning I’m in church, my wife is in the warehouse*. Lord, why am I so happy?” (A donation warehouse for the benefit of soldiers, organized with the assistance of Elizabeth Feodorovna: clothes were sewn there, bandages were prepared, parcels were collected, camp churches were formed. - Ed.)
Their life was truly a service with the maximum dedication of all their strength and abilities, but we will have time to talk about this.
What is she? In a letter to her brother Ernest, Ella calls her husband “a real angel of kindness.”
The Grand Duke became in many ways a teacher to his wife, very gentle and unobtrusive. Being 7 years older, he is really involved in her education to a large extent, teaching her Russian language and culture, introducing her to Paris, showing her Italy and taking her on a trip to the Holy Land. And, judging by the diaries, the Grand Duke did not stop praying, hoping that someday his wife would share with him the main thing in his life - his faith and the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, to which he belonged with all his soul.
"After 7 for long years We must begin our happy married life completely new life and leave our comfortable family life in the city. We will have to do so much for the people there, and in reality we will play a role there ruling prince, which will be very difficult for us, since instead of playing such a role, we are eager to lead a quiet personal life.”
From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father, the Grand Duke of Hesse, about the appointment of her husband to the post of Governor General of Moscow
Extraordinary religiosity is a trait that distinguished the Grand Duke from childhood. When seven-year-old Sergei was brought to Moscow and asked: what would you like? - he replied that his most cherished desire was to attend the bishop’s service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
Subsequently, when as an adult young man he met Pope Leo XIII during a trip to Italy, he was amazed at the Grand Duke’s knowledge of church history - and even ordered the archives to be pulled up to check the facts voiced by Sergei Alexandrovich. Entries in his diaries always began and ended with the words: “Lord, have mercy,” “Lord, bless.” He himself decided what church utensils should be brought to the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (also his brainchild) - brilliantly knowing both the divine service and all its paraphernalia! And, by the way, Sergei Alexandrovich was the first and only of the great princes of the Romanov dynasty who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three times during his life. Moreover, he dared to do the first through Beirut, which was extremely difficult and far from safe. And the second time he took his wife with him, who was still a Protestant at that time...
“Being of the same faith with your spouse is right”
In their family estate Ilyinsky, where Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna spent happiest days Throughout my life, starting from my honeymoon, the temple has been preserved, and now it is functioning again. According to legend, it was here that the then Protestant Ella attended her first Orthodox service.
Due to her status, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not have to change her religion. 7 years would pass after her marriage before she wrote: “My heart belongs to Orthodoxy.” Evil tongues said that acceptance new faith Elizaveta Feodorovna was actively pushed by her husband, under whose unconditional influence she was always. But, as the Grand Duchess herself wrote to her father, her husband “never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this entirely to my conscience.” All he did was gently and delicately introduce her to his faith. And the princess herself approached this issue very seriously, studying Orthodoxy, looking at it very carefully.
Having finally made a decision, Ella first writes to her influential grandmother Queen Victoria - they have always been on good terms. The wise grandmother replies: “Being with your spouse of the same faith is right.” Her father did not accept Elizaveta Fedorovna’s decision so favorably, although it is difficult to imagine a more affectionate and tactful tone and more sincere words with which Ella begged the “dear Pope” for his blessing on the decision to convert to Orthodoxy:
“...I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband ‹…› I so strongly wish for Easter to partake of the Holy Mysteries together with my husband..."
Duke Ludwig IV did not answer his daughter, but she could not go against her conscience, although she admitted: “I know that there will be many unpleasant moments, since no one will understand this step.” So, to the indescribable happiness of the spouse, the day came when they were able to take communion together. And the third, last in his life, trip to the Holy Land had already been made together - in every sense.
90 Grand Duke Societies
The Grand Duke was one of the initiators of the creation and until his death - the chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, without which today it is impossible to imagine the history of Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Having become the head of the Society in the 1880s, he managed to open 8 farmsteads of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, 100 schools where Arab children were taught the Russian language and introduced to Orthodoxy, and built a church of Mary Magdalene in honor of his mother - this is an incomplete list of his deeds, and All this was carried out quite subtly and cunningly. So, sometimes the prince allocated money for construction without waiting for permitting documentation to be issued, and somehow avoided many obstacles. There is even an assumption that his appointment in 1891 as Governor-General of Moscow was a cunning political intrigue invented by the intelligence services of dissatisfied England and France - who would like Russia’s “rule” in the territory of their colonies? - and had as its goal the removal of the prince from affairs in the Holy Land. Be that as it may, these calculations did not come true: the prince, it seems, only redoubled his efforts!
It’s hard to imagine how active the couple were, how much they managed to do during their generally short life! He headed or was a trustee of about 90 societies, committees and other organizations, and found time to take part in the life of each of them. Here are just a few: Moscow Architectural Society, Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, Moscow Philharmonic Society, Committee for the Construction of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III at Moscow University, Moscow Archaeological Society. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Society of Artists of Historical Painting, Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities, the Society Agriculture, Society of Natural History Lovers, Russian Musical Society, Archaeological Museum in Constantinople and Historical Museum in Moscow, Moscow Theological Academy, Orthodox Missionary Society, Department of Distribution of Spiritual and Moral Books.
Since 1896, Sergei Alexandrovich has been commander of the Moscow Military District. He is also the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum. On his initiative, the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created - the Grand Duke laid six of his own collections as the basis for its exhibition.
“Why do I always feel deeply? Why am I not like everyone else, not cheerful like everyone else? I delve into everything to the point of stupidity and see differently - I myself am ashamed that I am so old-fashioned and cannot be, like all the “golden youth,” cheerful and carefree.”
From the diary of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Having become governor-general of Moscow in 1891 - and this meant taking care not only of Moscow, but also of ten adjacent provinces - he launched incredible activities, setting out to make the city equal European capitals. Under him, Moscow became exemplary: clean, neat paving stones, policemen stationed within sight of each other, all utilities working perfectly, order everywhere and in everything. Under him, electric street lighting was established - a central city power plant was built, the GUM was erected, the Kremlin towers were restored, a new building of the Conservatory was built; under him, the first tram began to run along the capital, the first public theater opened, and the city center was put in perfect order.
The charity that Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna were involved in was neither ostentatious nor superficial. “A ruler must be a blessing to his people,” Ella’s father often repeated, and he himself and his wife, Alice of Hesse, tried to follow this principle. From an early age, their children were taught to help people, regardless of rank - for example, every week they went to the hospital, where they gave flowers to seriously ill people and encouraged them. This became part of their blood and flesh; the Romanovs raised their children in exactly the same way.
Even while resting on their Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna continued to accept requests for help, for employment, for donations for the education of orphans - all this was preserved in the correspondence of the manager of the Grand Duke’s court with different people. One day a letter arrived from the girls-compositors of a private printing house, who dared to ask to be allowed to sing at the Liturgy in Ilyinsky in the presence of the Grand Duke and Princess. And this request was fulfilled.
In 1893, when cholera was raging in Central Russia, a temporary first-aid post was opened in Ilyinsky, where everyone in need of help was examined and, if necessary, urgently operated on, where peasants could stay in a special “isolation hut” - like in a hospital. The first aid post existed from July to October. This - classic example the ministry that the couple had been engaged in all their lives.
"White marriage" that never happened
The spouses are Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1884 Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna in their wedding year. Contrary to popular belief, they did not live in the so-called. “white marriage”: the Grand Duke dreamed of children. “We must not be destined to have complete happiness on earth,” he wrote to his brother Pavel. “If I had children, then it seems to me that there would be heaven for me on our planet, but the Lord does not want this - His ways are inscrutable!”
“How I would like to have children! For me there would be no greater heaven on earth if I had my own children,” Sergei Alexandrovich writes in his letters. A letter from Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, has been preserved, where he writes: “What a pity that Ella and Sergei cannot have children.” “Of all the uncles, we were most afraid of Uncle Sergei, but despite this, he was our favorite,” Prince Maria’s niece recalls in her diaries. “He was strict, kept us in awe, but he loved children... If he had the opportunity, he came to supervise the children’s bathing, cover them with a blanket and kiss them goodnight...”
The Grand Duke was given the opportunity to raise children - but not his own, but his brother Paul, after the tragic death of his wife, the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna, during premature birth. The owners of the estate, Sergei and Elizaveta, were direct witnesses to the six-day agony of the unfortunate woman. Heartbroken, Pavel Alexandrovich, for several months after the tragedy, was unable to care for his children - young Maria and newborn Dmitry, and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich completely took upon himself this care. He canceled all plans and trips and stayed in Ilyinsky, participated in bathing the newborn - who, by the way, should not have survived according to the unanimous opinion of the doctors - he himself covered him with cotton wool, did not sleep at night, taking care of the little prince. It is interesting that in his diary Sergei Alexandrovich recorded all the important events in the life of his ward: the first erupted tooth, the first word, the first step. And after brother Pavel, against the will of the emperor, married a woman who did not belong to an aristocratic family and was expelled from Russia, his children, Dmitry and Maria, were finally taken into the care of Sergei and Elizabeth.
Why the Lord did not give the spouses their own children is His mystery. Researchers suggest that the childlessness of the grand ducal couple could be a consequence of Sergei’s serious illness, which he carefully hid from those around him. This is another little-known page in the prince’s life, which completely changes the usual ideas about him for many.
Why does he need a corset?
Coldness of character, isolation, closedness - the usual list of accusations against the Grand Duke.
To this they also add: proud! - because of his overly straight posture, which gave him an arrogant appearance. If only the prince’s accusers knew that the “culprit” of his proud posture was the corset with which he was forced to support his spine all his life. The prince was seriously and terminally ill, like his mother, like his brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was to become Russian Emperor, but died from a terrible illness. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich knew how to hide his diagnosis - bone tuberculosis, leading to dysfunction of all joints. Only his wife knew what it cost him.
“Sergei is suffering a lot. He's not feeling well again. He really needs salts and hot baths, he can’t do without them,” Elizaveta writes to close relatives. “Instead of going to the reception, the Grand Duke was taking a bath,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper scoffed already in pre-revolutionary times. A hot bath is almost the only remedy that relieves pain (joint pain, dental pain) that tormented Sergei Alexandrovich. He could not ride a horse, could not do without a corset. In Ilyinsky, during his mother’s lifetime, a kumys farm was established for medicinal purposes, but the disease progressed over the years. And if it weren’t for the bomb of student Ivan Kalyaev, it is very possible that the Governor General of Moscow would not have lived long anyway...
The Grand Duke was closed, taciturn and withdrawn from childhood. Could anyone expect anything different from a child whose parents were actually in a divorce, which nevertheless could not take place? Maria Alexandrovna lived on the second floor of the Winter Palace, no longer having marital communication with her husband and enduring the presence of the sovereign’s favorite, Princess Dolgorukova (she became his wife after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, but remained in this status for less than a year, until the death of Alexander II). The collapse of the parental family, the deep attachment to the mother, who meekly endured this humiliation, are factors that largely determined the formation of the character of the little prince.
They are also grounds for slander, rumors and slander against him. “He is overly religious, withdrawn, goes to church very often, takes communion up to three times a week,” - this is the most “suspicious” of what English intelligence was able to find out about the prince before his marriage to Elizabeth, after all - granddaughter of the Queen of England. His reputation is almost impeccable, and yet, even during his lifetime, the Grand Duke was subjected to streams of slander and unflattering accusations...
“Be patient - you are on the battlefield”
There was talk about the dissolute lifestyle of the Governor-General of Moscow, rumors were spread around the capital about his unconventional sexual orientation, that Elizaveta Feodorovna was very unhappy in her marriage to him - all this was even heard in English newspapers during the prince’s lifetime. Sergei Alexandrovich was at first lost and perplexed, this can be seen from his diary entries and letters, where he poses one question: “Why? Where does all this come from?!”
“Be patient with all this slander during your lifetime, be patient - you are on the battlefield,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote to him.
Elizaveta Feodorovna could not avoid attacks and accusations of arrogance and indifference. Of course, there were reasons for this: despite her extensive charitable activities, she always kept her distance, knowing the value of her status as a Grand Duchess - belonging to the imperial house hardly implies familiarity. And her character, which manifested itself from childhood, gave rise to such accusations.
In our eyes, the image of the Grand Duchess, admittedly, is somewhat unctuous: a gentle, meek woman with a humble look. This image was formed, of course, not without reason. “Her purity was absolute, it was impossible to take your eyes off her, after spending the evening with her, everyone looked forward to the hour when they could see her the next day,” her niece Maria admires Aunt Ella. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice that Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a strong-willed character. The mother admitted that Ella was the exact opposite of her older, obedient sister Victoria: very strong and not at all quiet. It is known that Elizabeth spoke very harshly about Grigory Rasputin, believing that his death would be the best way out of the catastrophic and absurd situation that had developed at court.
“...When he saw her, he asked: “Who are you?” “I am his widow,” she replied, “why did you kill him?” “I didn’t want to kill you,” he said, “I saw him several times while I had the bomb ready, but you were with him and I didn’t dare touch him.” “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she answered..."
Description of Elizabeth Feodorovna’s conversation with her husband’s killer from the book by Fr. M. Polsky “New Russian Martyrs”
As they would say today, the Grand Duchess was a first-class manager, meticulously able to organize a business, distribute responsibilities and monitor their implementation. Yes, she behaved somewhat aloof, but at the same time she did not ignore the slightest requests and needs of those who turned to her. There is a known case during the First World War when a wounded officer, who was facing amputation of his leg, submitted a request to reconsider this decision. The petition reached the Grand Duchess and was granted. The officer recovered and subsequently, during World War II, served as Minister of Light Industry.
Of course, Elizaveta Feodorovna’s life changed dramatically after a terrible event - the murder of her beloved husband... A photograph of a carriage destroyed by an explosion was then published in all Moscow newspapers. The explosion was so strong that the heart of the murdered man was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. But the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with my own hands. Her life, her destiny, her character - everything has changed, but, of course, her entire previous life, full of dedication and activity, was a preparation for this.
“It seemed,” recalled Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufieva, “that from that time on she was peering intently at the image of another world and devoted herself to the search for perfection.”
“You and I know that he is a saint.”
“Lord, I wish I could be worthy of such a death!” - Sergei Alexandrovich wrote in his diary after the death of one of them from a bomb statesmen- a month before his own death. He received threatening letters but ignored them. The only thing the prince did was stop taking his children - Dmitry Pavlovich and Maria Pavlovna - and his adjutant Dzhunkovsky with him on trips.
The Grand Duke foresaw not only his death, but also the tragedy that would overwhelm Russia in a decade. He wrote to Nicholas II, begging him to be more decisive and tough, to act, to take action. And he himself took such measures: in 1905, when an uprising flared up among students, he sent students on an indefinite vacation to their homes, preventing the fire from breaking out. "Hear me!" - he writes and writes in last years to the sovereign emperor. But the sovereign did not listen...
On February 4, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich leaves the Kremlin through the Nikolsky Gate. 65 meters before the Nikolskaya Tower a terrible explosion is heard. The coachman was mortally wounded, and Sergei Alexandrovich was torn into pieces: all that was left of him was his head, arm and legs - so the prince was buried, having built a special “doll”, in the Chudov Monastery, in the tomb. At the scene of the explosion, they found his personal belongings that Sergei always carried with him: icons, a cross given by his mother, a small Gospel.
After the tragedy, Elizaveta Fedorovna considered it her duty to continue everything that Sergei did not have time to do, everything into which he invested his mind and irrepressible energy. “I want to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” she wrote to Zinaida Yusupova shortly after his death. And, probably driven by these thoughts, she went to prison to see her husband’s killer with words of forgiveness and a call to repentance. She worked until exhaustion and, as Countess Olsufieva writes, “always calm and humble, she found strength and time, receiving satisfaction from this endless work.”
It is difficult to say in a few words what the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy, founded by the Grand Duchess and which still exists today, has become for the capital. “The Lord gave me so little time,” she writes to Z. Yusupova. “There is still a lot to be done”...
On July 5, 1918, Elizaveta Fedorovna, her cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva), nephew Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, the sons of Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich - Igor, John and Konstantin, and the manager of the affairs of Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.
The relics of the Grand Duchess rest in the temple that her husband built - the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the remains of the Grand Duke were transferred in 1998 to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. She was canonized in the 1990s, and he... It seems that holiness comes in very different forms, and the great - truly great - Prince Sergei Alexandrovich again remained in the shadow of his great wife. Today the commission for his canonization resumed its work. “You and I know that he is a saint,” Elizaveta Fedorovna said in correspondence after her husband’s death. She knew him better than anyone.
“I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Christ, my Savior; Lord, bless and help... I’m coming.”
(FromCharter of the Marfo-Maryinsky Monastery)
“Of course, I am unworthy of the immeasurable joy that the Lord gives me to follow this path, but I will try, and He, Who is love alone, will forgive my mistakes, because He sees how I want to serve Him...”
“When God’s love touches a person, everything comes to life. Like a light cloud, it carries the soul to the Eternal Source of Love, filling it with unquenchable light.
Just as the sun warms flowers and they are drawn to it, so the soul that has loved God is tirelessly drawn to Him. Being in the light, she herself becomes the bearer of light. For such a person there are no longer strangers and friends - the existence of everyone becomes his existence.
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.
The earthly road is tart,
And there is no other way
Once at the door of heaven
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 by Him on all sides. 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 will love light or darkness more than light (See: John 3: 19).
The path of our heavenly patroness - the holy 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 into the family of Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and Princess Alice, the daughter of the Queen of England.
Children were instilled not only with a sense of music and art, but also with a love of work, simplicity, and compassion for others. Together with their mother, they visited hospitals and shelters - they carried flowers to the wards and talked with the sick. The life of the ancestor of their house, Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, who devoted herself to works of mercy, had a great influence on young Ella.
WITH early childhood The future princess loved nature, she painted flowers, especially white ones, beautifully. Years later, it was said about Grand Duchess Elizabeth that she brought with her everywhere the pure fragrance of lilies. White color was a reflection of her heart.
In her youth, she met her future husband, 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, has found the beads of Orthodoxy in her new fatherland.”
The merciful heart of the young princess could not remain indifferent to human suffering even on Russian soil. She began to help the sick, suffering, and disadvantaged. On the princely estate she went around houses, providing assistance to those in need. In cities I visited hospitals, shelters, prisons, everywhere trying to reduce the pain and breathe hope.
Pity makes everything white in the world,
With pity tenderness comes...
The Grand Duke, a noble and deeply religious man, 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. Having prayed in the Holy Land, the princess made a firm decision, about which she wrote to her father: “I am coming from pure conviction, I feel that this is the highest religion and that I am doing this with deep conviction and confidence that there is God’s blessing for this.”
A courageous heart even during a storm sees God’s Providence. The life of the Grand Duke was tragically cut short. But, having lost her earthly groom, Grand Duchess Elizabeth found a heavenly one - she decided to completely devote herself to serving God and her neighbors.
Service
“I am leaving the brilliant world where I occupied a brilliant position, but together with everyone else I am ascending to a more great world- into the world of the poor and suffering."
(Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna)
In difficult moments, God's help is most clearly seen. The Grand Duchess found consolation and strength at the relics of the Moscow wonderworker St. Alexis, he put into her sorrowful soul the desire to create a monastery of mercy.
Thus a wondrous monastery was born in Moscow. Even outwardly she was graceful, like everything that the hand of the Grand Duchess touched.
The main goal of the monastery was to revive the path of active service to Christ's love. The word “abode” expressed the main idea: everyone must 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, who listens to the verbs eternal life, and Martha’s path is serving God through one’s neighbor. Like Mary, enlightened by the Word of God, they went to people with prayer, consolation and, like Martha, they served Christ by welcoming strangers and caring for the sick.
The monastery helped the poor; the Grand Duchess paid special attention to the Khitrov market. She went around the shelters and collected street children. She was not frightened by swearing, uncleanliness, or the sight of people who had lost their human form. “The likeness of God may sometimes be obscured, but it can never be destroyed,” she said. The merciful mother did not think that she was performing a feat; the basis of the spiritual charity of the monastery was gratitude to the Lord for allowing His neighbors to serve Him.
“If only the heart did not sing about earthly things,
But it would bring God all the moments,
And everything around him was white
From thanksgiving flowers."
(Archbishop John (Shakhovskoy))
“There has been so much joy in my life, and so much boundless consolation in my sorrow, that I long to give at least a part of it to others.”
(Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna)
The monastery is called earthly paradise. Great is the sacrament of obedience. In the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery, the charter of the monastery hostel was in effect. The structure of life according to the rules teaches humility, patience, obedience, taking away one’s own wisdom, uniting the nuns into one family. The Great Mother consoled and strengthened the sisters in working on themselves and others, setting an example in everything, striking with her cheerfulness. At the hospital, she took on the most responsible work. They said that healing power emanated from Mother.
The inner life of the sisters was guided by the confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Mitrofan Serebryansky, a wonderful shepherd. The nuns were taught that their task was not only health care, but also spiritual guidance for degraded, lost and despairing people. If you drop a spark of God into your soul even for a moment, allowing you to breathe in the fragrance of Heaven, it will encourage a person in earthly life, comfort and give hope in the hour of death. “We must rise from the sorrowful earth to heaven and rejoice with the angels over one saved soul, over one cup cold water, given in the Name of the Lord."
At the monastery there was a hospital, a pharmacy, a shelter for orphan girls, a Sunday school, a library, a free canteen for the poor, and there were churches - Intercession and Hospital in honor of the myrrh-bearing women Martha and Mary. The Grand Duchess hoped that the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery would blossom and become a large fruitful tree; she wanted such monasteries to exist in other cities.
Martyrdom
“It seemed that she stood on a high, unshakable rock and from there, without fear, looked at the waves raging around her, directing her spiritual gaze into the eternal distances.”
(Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky))
We are wanderers and strangers on earth. This visible world is only the place of our sad exile. Evil days on earth. For everyone there comes a time when they need to go home, to the Heavenly Fatherland. God's holy people await death as the greatest joy. For them, the end of earthly life is a meeting with the Creator, to whom the soul constantly strived. A person who has dedicated himself to God believes that the Lord provides for him entirely. Trusting God's saving providence, he endures all pain and sorrow.
“The Lord looks upon me; What should I be afraid of?
The Grand Duchess met the turmoil that began in Russia with courage and calm. As before, she helped people: she visited the wounded and participated in organizing assistance to the front. There was not a shadow of bitterness in her.
“The people are children, 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 loved the Russian people with all her heart, she decided to share their suffering to the end, refusing to leave Russia. She perspicaciously wrote that the gates of hell will not prevail Orthodox Church that our Intercessor, Holy Mother of God, will plead with His Divine Son, and the Church will stand, having gone through all the trials.
“...If we realize the great sacrifice of God the Father, who sent His Son to die and rise again for us, then we will feel the presence of the Holy Spirit who illuminates our path. And then joy becomes eternal..."
(Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna)
God's Providence is incomprehensible. When the soul gets stronger and becomes able to go where it has to suffer, trials begin. The Lord leads a person to the cross that his soul can bear, leads him to the line beyond which there is 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 from Moscow. In that day His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon served in the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery Divine Liturgy and a prayer service - this was a blessing and parting word to the Grand Duchess before the way of the cross to Calvary.
“Lord, bless, may the Resurrection of Christ comfort and strengthen you all... Unite and be like one soul all for God, and say, like John Chrysostom, “glory to God for everything!”,” this is how the Great Mother admonished the sisters on the way to the link. Trees flashed through the carriage window, clouds floated low, everything merged together...
This is the end of the road. “My son, give Your heart to Me...”
Deep July night on the day of the discovery of the relics St. Sergius The Grand Duchess of Radonezh, together with the nun Varvara and other prisoners, was thrown into a mine. They say that the Cherubic song was heard from the depths. Hosts of angels picked it up in vast spaces invisible to earthly eyes, where nothing can deprive the soul of eternal joy.
Everything is bound by an earthly bond -
Behind the beast is night, space behind the white bird;
But who will hide behind the whiteness?
Who can stand up for an angel?
There is no one more defenseless in the world than them.
There is nothing more hidden than them in the cold world.
Lights 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 Varvara, were transported to Jerusalem and placed in the tomb of the Holy Church Mary Equal to the Apostles Magdalene. 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 if of honey and jasmine.”
“...Rejoice, glorified by the inscrutable destinies of God. Rejoice, blessed dweller of the Mountain of Jerusalem; Rejoice, guide to Heavenly Jerusalem for all of us.”
(From an akathist to St. Elizabeth)
Video
Audio
A book about Saint Elizabeth in two parts.
Director: Anatoly Strikunov
Sound engineer: Dmitry Korshakevich
Musical arrangement: Lyudmila Latushkina
The text is read by: People's Artist of the Republic of Belarus Viktor Manaev, Margarita Zacharia, Vyacheslav Galuza, Elena Sidorova
Part one “Darmstadt Flower” >>
Part two “Great Mother” >>
Every person has their own path in life. He either saves himself or lives his life to his own condemnation. In this sense, wealth and poverty, prosperity and poverty, security and need are not in themselves either virtues or conditions of salvation. It all depends on how exactly a person manages his life circumstances. If it is for the glory of God, then poverty and misery are not a hindrance to him. And wealth with fame is not a shame. And although, as evidenced Holy Bible, it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not at all easier for a poor person. How easy it is for a needy person to fall into anger and envy, to become inflamed with a thirst for violence and revenge, to be tempted by the desire to take possession of other people’s wealth. In turn, it is extremely difficult for a rich person not to become proud, not to become arrogant, not to experience a sense of superiority over “losers” and “tramps”...
Icon of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna Romanova. Gallery of Shchigry icons.
Elizaveta Feodorovna was born among the powerful and glorious of this world. She was born on November 1, 1864 in the German city of Darmstadt, in a house on Wilhelminenstrasse. Her mother Alice was the daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and her father Theodore Ludwig IV was the Grand Duke of Hesse. Ella's parents - this diminutive name was once used to call the great Russian saint - were active and kind Christians by character and way of life. Their subjects had the right to consider themselves happy people. Being under the leadership of highly moral, deeply religious and decent rulers, they had every opportunity to develop their own souls. This was the very case when those in power beneficially influence the morals of the people and correct all their social shortcomings by personal example of piety.
Only life in Christ completely changes a person - regardless of his material condition and the class to which he belongs.
After her death, Ella's mother, Grand Duchess Alice, was perceived by the Germans as the true mother of the country, as an example of an exemplary family life, as a mother of well-educated children, as a standard of good morals and love for the common man. In the bosom of this truly noble family, Ella, the future martyr of the Russian land, and the future empress of Russia, the holy passion-bearer Alexandra Feodorovna, then Alix, Ella’s younger sister, were brought up.
The Grand Duchess Alice, who left England and followed her husband to Germany, had the noblest feature of her soul, which she inherited from her mother, Queen Victoria of England. All her life, through her deeds, she affirmed the two most important Christian principles for the salvation of the soul - repentance and mercy. Duchess Alice was naturally drawn to charity.
In the book of Countess A. A. Olsufieva, maid of honor of the Grand Duchess (“The Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia.” London, 1923), we find the following characteristic lines: “Elizabeth Feodorovna received from her mother early education, which prepared her for a high destiny. This wise and gentle mother put into the minds of her children early years main principle Christianity - love for one's neighbor.
She herself, always remaining an Englishwoman at heart, deeply fell in love with her new country; endowed with tact and prudence, she did a lot of charity work and during short life ensured the well-being of the German duchy like no one before her... Grand Duchess Elizabeth put her mother's covenant of mercy into practice - with generosity in her actions and restraint in speech. She never allowed herself to criticize anyone harshly and always found a gentle excuse for a person who made a mistake.” Ella's younger brother, Ernst Ludwig, also noted at one time that Elizaveta Feodorovna, by devoting herself to the needy and sick, proved that she was “the true daughter of the Grand Duchess Alice.”
Living love for a suffering person, along with the beauty and sophistication of the Grand Ducal lifestyle, outstanding people who visited her parents - musicians, composers, artists and poets - all this contributed to the formation in Ella of an exceptionally gentle and subtle soul, receptive to everything sublime and good, as well as the ability of genuine human participation in the destinies of the needy and disadvantaged, high demands for himself and amazing personal modesty and humility, which took its source from strict observance of the commandments of Christ.
Icon of the Venerable Martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara. Icon from the Church of the Iveron Mother of God on Vspolye, Moscow.
The magnificent castle in which Ella’s family lived was partially converted by her father into a museum, where paintings by famous artists (among them Holbein the Younger), stained glass, and rare exhibits of flora and fauna were collected. This neighborhood had a very positive effect on the development of aesthetic sense in all children.
Icon of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
From the page of the Pupil of the St. Alexievsky Convent of the book Saratov St. Alexievsky Convent
Parents constantly took their children with them to hospitals and shelters, opened their eyes to human pain, and taught them to sympathize with the grief of others. Children gave flowers to patients, communicated with them and won the hearts of patients with their immediate sincerity and cordiality.
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. From the article Shamordino, embroidered icons of the monastery.
“Every Saturday morning,” recalled Ernst Ludwig, “we had to take bouquets of flowers to (...) the hospital on Mauerstrasse and, putting the flowers in vases, give them to different patients. In this way we overcame the timidity often characteristic of children... and became friends with many of the patients and certainly learned to have sympathy for others. There were no age restrictions; even the youngest among us had to go to the hospital.”
Here is what six-year-old Ella wrote to her father: “Darmstadt, December 29, 1870. My beloved dad, I wish you a happy New Year. Mom put your picture in our school room. We were at the city hall, where poor children received Christmas gifts, and their dads were at war. Farewell, beloved dad. Your obedient, loving daughter Ella.”
Then there was a war between Prussia and France, and almost the entire Grand Ducal Palace was turned into a hospital for the wounded.
All the noble ladies of Darmstadt looked after them. What an analogy can be seen here with the Kremlin chambers and with the future infirmary of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow, where during the First World War Elizaveta Feodorovna and other women from high society will also care for the wounded, send bales of things, gifts and food to the front!
Ella's father Theodore Ludwig, like his wife Alice, also helped create a healthy Christian atmosphere in the family. There was neither a feeling of exaltation from belonging to a noble family, nor lordly arrogance and arrogance in relations with his subjects. As mentioned above, the fate of ordinary people, suffering and needy, was put at the forefront in Ella’s family. The power and influence given to them by God was perceived by Grand Duke Ludwig and his wife Alice solely as an honorable burden of responsibility for arranging the destinies of those who were entrusted to their care by God himself.
In addition, love and peace, warmth and complete spiritual kinship reigned in the personal relationship between Ludwig and Alice. “I hope that my beloved Louis will be with me again this evening,” Alice wrote to her mother, Queen Victoria, “this is such a wonderful occasion for joy and gratitude. When he is next to me, all worries dissolve into peace and happiness.” What a beneficial influence these sensitive and caring parental relationships had on children!.. A kind and comfortable life, conversations on lofty topics, regular communication with children, caring for their spiritual and physical health, frequent trips to nature and travel - all this was gratefully imprinted on the soft child’s soul, giving its development the necessary and saving direction.
Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse took her maternal duty, which was inseparable from her Christian faith, very seriously. It is in this regard, according to many researchers of her biography, that one of the main sources of the future spiritual prosperity of her children was hidden.
Ella drew beautifully, loved classical music, played music herself, and embroidered. Today, the Red Hall of the Hessian Palace, recreated after World War II, houses her amazing childhood drawings and sewing.
Saint Ella's beloved was Elizabeth of Thuringia, the daughter of the Hungarian king, her distant relative, who lived in the first half of the 13th century. Married to the Landgrave of Thuringia, she was widowed early and expelled from her possessions. Elizabeth wandered for a long time, lived with the poor, bandaged their wounds, wore rough clothes, slept on the bare ground, walked barefoot and was a model of Christian humility. Her ascetic lifestyle greatly attracted Ella, who always strived for Christian perfection and already in her early youth secretly understood that without internal spiritual asceticism and strict abstinence it would never be achieved.
The tragic death of Ella's younger brother Friedrich and the early death of her mother, who died of diphtheria at thirty-five, brought an end to the girl's happy childhood and put her on the next stage. spiritual growth- Christian understanding of life as the Cross, preservation of the purity of youth and the further implementation of the main life goal - the salvation of the soul through active love for one's neighbor. She selflessly helped her father in everything, trying to ease his grief, looked after her sisters, and kept house. Much later, shortly before the execution of Elizaveta Feodorovna in 1918 near Alapaevsk, her Bolshevik guards were sincerely surprised how this lady from high society deftly, like a cook, handled pots in captivity and felt garden beds like at home.