MINSK: May 2, 2018
Relics of the Alapaev New Martyrs will be brought to the Belarussian Orthodox Church from the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign”

On May 19, 2018, the hand of Holy Grand Duchess Elizabeth and a relic Nun Barbara will be brought from New York’s Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to Minsk, Belarus. The reliquary will be in Minsk until May 22.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the martyric death of the Royal Passion-Bearers, the Roman Family, including Grand Duchess Elizabeth.

The Grand Duchess was a granddaughter of Great Britain’s Queen Victoria, a Princess of Hesse and wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, who himself was killed by terrorists in 1905. She founded Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and house of mercy in Moscow, and was one of the great Orthodox saints of the 20th century.

The relics’ travel to Minsk will provide a rare opportunity for the locals to venerate them. The main relics of the two saints are interred in Gethsemane, at St Mary Magdalene Convent in Jerusalem. The saints’ remains were brought to Jerusalem from Alapaevsk, where they were martyred, in 1917. In 1981, the hand of St Elizabeth was brought to the United States.

The relics will visit various churches and will be available for veneration for extended hours. They will be brought by Vice President of the Synodal Youth Department of the Russian Church Abroad, Protopriest Andrei Sommer. The trip is being financed by the Synodal Youth Department of the Belarussian Orthodox Church together with the St Vladimir Youth Association (USA).

Pilgrims to one of the venues, St Elizavetinsky Convent, will be offered a cultural program including thematic exhibitions, films and tours. More information on the event is posted at https://obitel-minsk.ru/, as well as: https://vk.com/st.elizabeth, and https://www.facebook.com/obitel.minsk/.