Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna of Russia
[[Image: ||center]] The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, painted by Friedrich August Kaulbach, now in Pavlovsk Palace
Born	November 1, 1864 Bessungen, Hesse, Germany
Died	July 18, 1918, aged 54 Alapayevsk, Russia
Spouse	Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
Parents	Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (father) Alice of the United Kingdom (mother)

HIH The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna (Russian: Елизавета Фëдоровна), (1 November 1864 - 18 July 1918) was a German princess of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse and was the wife of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and the Rhine. An older sister of Alexandra Fyodorovna, the last Russian empress, Elizabeth was famous in Russian society for her beauty, charm and good works among the poor. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 465 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (941 × 1212 pixel, file size: 418 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Painted by Friedrich August Kaulbach, circa 1880s-1890s, from the Pavlovsk Palace in St. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 465 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (941 × 1212 pixel, file size: 418 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Painted by Friedrich August Kaulbach, circa 1880s-1890s, from the Pavlovsk Palace in St. ... Pavlovsk (Russian: Павловск) is a town situated in the Leningrad oblast, Russia, 30 km from St. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Sergei Alexandrovich Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (April 29, 1857 - February 4, 1905, Old Style) was the seventh child and fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his first Empress-consort Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. ... Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, K.G. (12 September 1837 in Bessungen, now Darmstadt - 13 March 1892 in Darmstadt), the ruler of the small German grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (Hesse and by Rhine), was the husband... Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary; later The Grand Duchess of Hesse; April 25, 1843 – December 14, 1878), was a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Hesse-Kassel (Hessen-Kassel) was a German principality that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1568 upon the death of Landgrave Philip of Hesse and his eldest son Wilhelm IV inherited the northern portion and established his capital in Kassel. ... Sergei Alexandrovich Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (April 29, 1857 - February 4, 1905, Old Style) was the seventh child and fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his first Empress-consort Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. ... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevich (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (born 29 April 1818 in Moscow; died 13 March 1881 in St. ... Marie of Hesse Princess Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and the Rhine (8 August 1824-8 June 1880) was a princess of Grand Ducal Hesse and, as Marie Alexandrovna, Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. ... ...

Princess of Hesse

Grand Duchess Elizabeth was born as Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse and the Rhine. She was the second child of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and the Rhine and Princess Alice of Britain. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Alice was the one who chose the name 'Elizabeth' for her daughter. According to her, she was very much inspired by the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the ancestress of the House of Hesse, that after visiting her shrine in Marburg and giving birth to a second daughter, she decided to named her after the saint. Elizabeth would also be called Ella within the family. Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, K.G. (12 September 1837 in Bessungen, now Darmstadt - 13 March 1892 in Darmstadt), the ruler of the small German grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (Hesse and by Rhine), was the husband... Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary), (25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878), was a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria. ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... Elisabeth of Hungary St. ... Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the Lahn river. ...

Coming from one of the oldest and noblest families in Germany, Elizabeth and her family lived a rather modest life compare to royal standards. The children swept the floors and cleaned their rooms and their mother sewed dresses for her children. During the Austro-Prussian War, Princess Alice would usually take Elizabeth with her when she was visiting the wounded soldiers in the nearby hospital. In this relatively happy and secure environment, Elizabeth grew up surrounded by English domestic habits, and English became her first language. Later in life, she would tell a friend that within the family she and her siblings spoke English to their mother and German to their father. Combatants Austria, Saxony, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hanover and some minor German States (formerly as the German Confederation) Prussia, Italy, and some minor German States Strength 600,000 Austrians and German allies 500,000 Prussians and German allies 300,000 Italians Casualties 20,000 dead or wounded 37,000 dead...

In the winter of 1878, diphtheria swept through the Hesse household killing Elizabeth's youngest sister, Marie, as well as her mother, Princess Alice. Elizabeth was sent away to her paternal grandmother's house when some of the children started exhibiting symptoms of the disease and so she was the only member of the family not affected by this outbreak. When she was finally allowed to go back to her family, she described the meeting as "terribly sad" and everything was "like a horrible dream". 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

As a young woman, Elizabeth once caught the eyes of her elder cousin, the future Emperor William II of Germany. He was a student then in Bonn University and during weekends he would visit his Aunt Alice and his Hessian cousins. It was during these frequent visits that he fell in love with Elizabeth. When he was in Bonn, he wrote many love poetries and regularly sent them to her. Flattered she may be with these attentions, Elizabeth, however, was not attracted in William. She politely rejected him, and his frustration caused him to give up his studies in Bonn and return to Berlin. William II or Wilhelm II (born Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Viktor von Preußen; English: Frederick William Albert Victor of Prussia) (27 January 1859–4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and...

Elizabeth’s great-aunt, Empress Marie of Russia, was a frequent visitor in Hesse. When she visits, she was usually accompanied by her youngest sons, grand dukes Sergei and Paul. Elizabeth had known the boys since they were children and she and her siblings viewed them as haughty and reserved. Sergei especially was a very serious young man and intensely religious but when he saw Elizabeth as a young woman for the first time after several years, he became attracted to her. However, he made a little impression to her. But after the death of both Sergei’s parents within a year, the shock of this lost made Elizabeth see him “in a new light”. She felt the same grief after the death of her mother, and their similarities (both are artistic and religious) drew them closer together. It was even said that Sergei was especially attracted and attached to her because she had the same character as his beloved mother. So when Sergei proposed to her (for the second time), she accepted much to the chagrin of her grandmother Queen Victoria.

Admirers and Suitors

Photo of the Grand Duchess wearing a Russian court dress. Taken in 1890s.

Charming and with a very accommodating personality, Elizabeth was considered by many historians and contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe at that time. She has many admirers, among them is Lord Charles Montagu, the second son of the 7th Duke of Manchester, and Henry Wilson, later a distinguished soldier. Perhaps the most famous of her suitors was the future William II of Germany, Elizabeth's cousin. As a young man, he wrote her love poetries which he regularly sent from Bonn where he studies. During weekends, he would visit her in Darmstadt. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Duke of Manchester, by Leslie Ward, 1878 William Drogo Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester KP (October 15, 1823–22 March 1890), known as Lord Kimbolton from 1823 to 1843 and as Viscount Mandeville from 1843 to 1855, was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament. ... Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (February 16, 1812–November 22, 1875) was a Senator from Massachusetts and the eighteenth Vice President of the United States. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

Another of Elizabeth's suitor was the future Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden, William's cousin. Queen Victoria describes him as "so good and steady", with such a safe and happy position" and when Elizabeth refused him, the Queen "deeply regret[ted] it". Frederick's grandmother, the Empress Augusta was shocked and furious and it took sometime before she forgave Elizabeth. Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden (born July 9, 1857 in Karlsruhe; died August 8, 1928 in Badenweiler) was the last Grand Duke of Baden. ... Princess Augusta Marie Luise Katharina of Saxe-Weimar, Duchess in Saxony (September 30, 1811–January 7, 1890), later the Queen of Prussia and German Empress was the consort of William I, German Emperor. ...

• Elizabeth's husband's cousin, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (the poet KR), is also one of her admirers. He wrote a poem about her first arrival in Russia and the general impression she made to all the people present during her arrival.
• Prince Felix Yussupov considers her a second mother and he stated in his memoirs that she helped him greatly during the most difficult moments of his life.
• As a young girl, Queen Marie of Romania was very fascinated with her Aunt or Cousin Ella, and would later describe her beauty and sweetness in her memoirs as "a thing of dreams".
• The French ambassador to the Russian court, Maurice Paleologue, also wrote in his memoirs how Elizabeth was capable of arousing what he described as 'profane passions'.

Maurice Paléologue (January 13, 1859—November 18, 1944) was a French diplomat, historian, and essayist. ...

Grand Duchess of Russia

Photo of the young Elizabeth taken in 1880s.

Sergei and Elizabeth married in 15 July 1884 at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The young grand duchess made a good impression to her husband’s family and to the whole Russian people. “Everyone fell in love with her from the moment she came to Russia from her beloved Darmstadt”, wrote one of her husband’s cousins. The couple settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace in St. Petersburg, and when Sergei was appointed Governor-General of Moscow in 1892, they settled in one of the palaces in the Kremlin. During summers, they stay in Il’yinskoe, an estate outside Moscow that Sergei had inherited from his mother. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец) in Saint Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars. ... View of the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace and Anichkov Bridge in the 1850s. ... Moscow Kremlin in the 19th century. ...

The couple never had children of their own but the Il’yinskoye estate was usually filled with parties that Elizabeth organized especially for children. They eventually became the foster parents for the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Sergei’s niece and nephew. Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, of the Imperial House of Romanov (Дмитрий Павлович Романов) (September 18, 1891 – March 5, 1941) was a Russian imperial dynast, one of the few Romanovs to escape execution by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution. ... Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia is the name and title used by three relatively prominent members of the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov family. ...

On February 18, 1905, Sergei was assassinated while on service in the Kremlin by Socialist-Revolutionary, Ivan Kalyayev. The whole event came as a shock but Elizabeth never lost her calm. Her niece Marie later recalled that her Aunt’s face was “pale and stricken rigid” and that she will never forget her expression of infinite sadness. In her rooms, Elizabeth “let herself fall weakly into an armchair”, Marie recalled. “Her eyes dry and with the same peculiar fixity of gaze, she looked straight into space, and said nothing.” At the visitors who came and went she looked without seeming to see them. Throughout the day, Elizabeth never cried. But Marie later recalled how her aunt slowly softened and abandoned her rigid self-control, and wept. Many of her family and friends feared that she would suffer a nervous breakdown but that didn’t happen. February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Moscow Kremlin in the 19th century. ... Photography of Ivan Kalyayev made just after the assassination. ...

Later Life

After Serge’s death, Elizabeth wore her mourning clothes and she became a vegetarian. Then in 1909, she gave away her magnificent collection of jewelleries and sold her other luxurious possessions. Even her wedding ring was not spared. With the proceeds she opened the Convent of Sts. Martha and Mary and became its abbess. She soon opened a hospital, a chapel, a pharmacy and an orphanage. Elizabeth and her nuns worked tirelessly among and the poor and the sick of Moscow. She often visited Moscow’s worst slums and did all she could to help alleviate the suffering of the people. The Intercession Cathedral. ... An Abbess (Latin abbatissa, fem. ...

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna as a nun after her husband's death

For many years the institution helped the poor and the orphans in Moscow to foster the prayer and charity of devout women. Here there arose a new vision of a diaconate for women, one that combined intercession and action in the heart of a disordered world. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ... The diaconate is one of three ordained offices in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. ...

In 1918, the Communist government exiled her to Yekaterinburg and then to Alapaevsk, where she was violently killed by the local Bolsheviks on July 18, 1918, along with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich Romanov; the Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Grand Duke Sergei's secretary, Fyodor Remez; and Varvara Yakovleva, a sister from the Grand Duchess Elizabeth's convent. They were herded into the forest, pushed into an abandoned mineshaft and grenades were then hurled into the mineshaft. Her remains were buried in Jerusalem, in the Church of Maria Magdalene. Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ... Russian town, in the Ural region (Sverdlovskaya oblast). ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia (7 October 1869-18 July 1918) was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife, Cecily, Princess of Baden (Olga Feodorovna), a daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden. ... His Highness Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia (Иоанн Константиович) (July 5, 1886–July 18, 1918) was the elder son of HIH Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna née HH Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Grand Duke Constantin Constantinovich of Russia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Grand Duke Constantin Constantinovich of Russia. ... Russian poet, born in Saint Petersburg on January 9, 1897. ... Sister Varvara Yakovleva, also known as Sister Barbara Yakovleva (Russian: ) (died July 18, 1918), was a Russian Orthodox Church nun in the convent of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Jerusalems Mount of Olives and the Church of Maria Magdalene At sunset The Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene (Mary Magdalene) (Russian: Храм Святая Мария Магделена) is located on the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Israel. ...

She was canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1981, and by the Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia in 1992 as New-Martyr Elizabeth. Her principal shrine is the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent she founded in Moscow. She is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. ... The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... The Intercession Cathedral. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Titles

• Her Grand Ducal Highness The Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and the Rhine (1864-1884)
• Her Imperial Highness The Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna of Russia (1884-1918)
• Sister Elizabeth (1909-1918)
• St.Elizabeth (2000 onwards) - Russian Orthodox Saint

Bibliography

• Almedingen, E.M. An Unbroken Unity, 1964
• Duff, David. Hessian Tapestry, 1967
• Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. Education of a Princess, 1931
• Mager, Hugo. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia, 1998
• Paleologue, Maurice. An Ambassador's Memoirs, 1922
• Queen Marie of Romania. The Story of My Life, 1934
• Zeepvat, Charlotte. Romanov Autumn, 2000

See also

• Romanov sainthood
• OrthodoxWiki:Elizabeth the New Martyr
• New-martyr

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei are saints of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and passion bearers of the Russian Orthodox Church. ... From the words νεο (neo, new) the Greek prefix for new and μάρτυς (martys), the Greek word for witness. The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr of the Eastern Orthodox church was originally given to martyrs under heretical rulers (the original martyrs being under pagans), then later to the Churchs martyrs...

External links

From the Gallery of 20th century martyrs at Westminster Abbey- Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Oscar Romero, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• The Life of the Holy Royal Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth
• Life of the Holy New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, by Metropolitan Anastassy
• The Alexander Palace Time Machine
• American Reporter Interviews Elizabeth in 1917
• HIH Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna by Countess Alexandra Olsoufieff
• Elizabeth and Romanov Discussion Forum
• Murder of the Romanovs at Alapayevsk
• Pilgrimage to Alapaevsk
• Photo Library of St. Elizabeth
• Akathist to the New Martyr Elizabeth
• Canon to the New Martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara