Jerusalem, February 1, 2021
The Martyrdom of Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara. Photo: catalog.obitel-minsk.com
The relics of the Grand Duchess and New Martyr St. Elizabeth and her monastic companion St. Barbara have rested in the Holy Land for 100 years now.
On Saturday, January 30, a service dedicated to the transfer of the relics of the Alapayevsk Martyrs to Jerusalem was celebrated at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, reports the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem.
The celebration of the holy event of the transfer of their relics was established by decree of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on June 11/24 last year. According to the decree, the feast of the transfer was added to the ROCOR liturgical calendar on January 17/30.
The Liturgy was celebrated by their relics in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene by Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky), the ROCOR representative in Jerusalem.
The relics of St. Elizabeth. Photo: rusdm.ru
Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the sister of the Empress Alexandra, labored in monasticism and social service for more than a decade at the Sts. Mary and Marth Convent she founded in Moscow until her arrest in 1918. She was sent into exile first to Perm and then Ekaterinburg, where she was joined by other members of the Imperial House and others, including Sister Barbara from her convent. They were later sent to Alapayevsk, where they were martyred on July 18, 1918.
The relics of St. Barbara. Photo: rusdm.ru
Their remains were found by the White Army three months later, and those of Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara were sent first to China and then to the Mount of Olives. They were canonized by ROCOR in 1981 and by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1992.
Read the speech of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem from the 100th anniversary of their martyrdom.
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