1. A monument to St. Elisabeth in London
Martyr Grand
Duchess Elisabeth is often called an Orthodox princess of the whole Europe. The
saint was born in the family of Great Dutch Ludvig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and
Princess Alice, the daughter of Victoria, the Queen of England. In childhood,
the Saint faced the death of her brother and mother. Her whole life was similar
to the way of the cross…
In 1998, the statue
of St. Elisabeth was erected in London, on the wall of the Westminster Abbey –
one of the main churches of the Anglican Church – just near the statues of
other martyrs of the 20th century.
2. A monument to St. Elisabeth in Usovo
Matushka
Elisabeth welcomes everyone who comes to Usovo, a small village that lies not
far from Moscow. A bronze statue stands on the grounds of the church in honor
of the Image of Christ Not-made-by-hand, which was rebuilt in 2010.
Usovo was an
estate of Grand Dutch Sergey Alexandrovich, whose wife Elisabeth became. On
April 25, 1895, when she was baptized, Emperor Alexander III himself blessed her
with the image of Christ Not-made-by-hand. Maybe, that is why the Duchess cared
so much about this church in Usovo. She liked the estate itself as well.
After the death
of Dutch Sergey Alexandrovich, the Duchess sold off all her possessions,
devoted all her time to charity, established The Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow
and became the Mother Superior there.
She granted the
estate in Usovo to her niece – Grand Dutch Dmitri Pavlovich. After the
revolution the Soviet government would turn the estate into a holiday center,
while the church was closed in 1932 and would remain closed for many decades.
3. A monument to St. Elisabeth in Moscow
Another
monument to St. Elisabeth is placed on the territory of The Martha and Mary Convent, located in the center of Moscow. Countless deeds of mercy performed
by St. Elisabeth are not forgotten here. Today there is a home-care service, a
rehabilitation center for physically challenged children, a charitable canteen
and an orphanage for girls.
The monument
itself was put up in 1990 near the church of the Intercession. It is
interesting that the monument was erected even before the building of the
convent was returned back to the Russian Orthodox Church.
4. St. Elisabeth in Kazakhstan
In 2014, a similar
statue of St. Elisabeth appeared in Kazakhstan. The statue from bronze was
placed near the only one church in honor of the Royal Martyrs in the whole
country, which is in the Karabulak village, Almata region.
5. A monument to St. Elisabeth in Alapaevsk
One summer a
monument to St. Elisabeth appeared in the city of Alapaevsk. The sculpture in
honor of the martydom of the Saint was put up in the square near the Holy
Trinity Cathedral. The Saint holds a cross and a lily flower , which
symbolizes purity and faith in God.
St. Elisabeth Convent
July, 2017
CONVERSATION