St. Petersburg, February 10, 2012
On February 9, artists, writers, and parishioners gathered once again at the grave of the Russian literary genius, located in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra necropolis. Also present were personnel from the museum apartment where the great writer died in 1881.
Archpriest Gennady Belovolov from the Leushino metochion served the pannikhida.
“Dostoevsky understood and portrayed the law of sacrifice: if a person does not sacrifice anything, he will not achieve anything. Christ showed us this law. A person must walk this path and meet with Him,” said Fr. Gennady.
“He was an optimistic writer, seeing a great light even in suffering,” Fr. Gennady concluded.
Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) died on the commemoration day of St. Ephraim the Syrian—January 28/February 10. Unfortunately, the author’s repose date was mixed up by the Bolsheviks at the calendar reform of 1918, and that is why it is marked on February 9.