Grand Duchess Elizabeth’s relics to visit all Russian parishes in Britain

29 June 2009, 15:07
Grand Duchess Elizabeth’s relics to visit all Russian parishes in Britain

London, June 29, Interfax - Particle of the relics of the righteous martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Barbara arrived from Jerusalem to the London Cathedral of the Dormition on Saturday, 27 June.

After meeting of the holy relics, hierarchs of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Abroad headed by Archbishop Mark of Berlin, German and Great Britain, who brought the relics, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and a prayer service to the Holy Martyr in the Cathedral.

The relics will stay in Britain until the Feast of Dormition and visit all Russian parishes of the country, clerics of the ROCOR Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland have told Interfax-Religion.

Future Great Duchess Elizabeth, the one of British Queen Victoria’s favorite granddaughters, was born in Germany and spent her early years in England. Thus, participants in the celebrations believe it important that Archbishop Mark took her relics to Great Britain through Germany.

After the Divine service, Archbishop Mark said that besides relics, they brought soil from Darmstadt, where the Great Duchess was born, and from Alapayevsk, where she was martyred, and it proves that many countries of the world practice one Orthodox faith.

The Moscow Patriarchate representative in Britain Bishop Elisey of Sourozh reminded that Duchess Elizabeth, an English-German princess by origin, later became a Russian Orthodox saint.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=6169