17 February 2021

2021-02-17 The Tsesarevich George of Russia attended a memorial service for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich at the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow

A memorial service took place in Moscow’s Novospassky Monastery on February 17, 2021—the anniversary of the murder of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (February 4/17, 1905).

 

The memorial service was officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Dionisii of Vokresensk, the First Vicar of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia and abbot of Novospassky Monastery. The service took place at the grave of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, in the Church of St. Romanos the Melodist, the family mausoleum of the Romanov boyars.

 

Attending the service were H.I.H. The Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke George of Russia, and his cousin, Prince Joachim Murat, Prince of Pontecorvo, heir apparent of the Head of the House of Murat. Also attending were: the Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), Sergei Stepashin; the Vice-Chairman of the IOPS, Georgy Verenich; the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation for the Revival and Promotion of the Traditions of Charity and Philanthropy, the "Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society," Anna Gromova; the head of the Moscow regional branch of IOPS, Oleg Shabunevich; members of the Board and full members of the IOPS; the Director of Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, Alexander Zakatov; the Senior Manager of the IOPS, Daniil Burdyga; the head of the office of youth services of the IOPS, Oleg Robinov; the director of the museum of the IOPS, Grigory Manevich; the assistant director of the office of research of the IOPS, Sergei Zhitenyov; the assistant to the Chairman of the IOPS, Sambel Kazarian; the Chairman of the Foundation for the Memory of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Dmitry Grishin; and Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets) of the Church of the Life-Creating Trinity at Saltykov Bridge and member of the Board of the Moscow regional branch of the IOPS.

 

After the conclusion of the service. Metropolitan Dionisii delivered a sermon and Sergei Stepashin and Anna Gromova each give short speeches. Then the Chairman of the IOPS, Sergei Stepashin, presented Grand Duke George, who is an honorary member of the IOPS, the badge commemorating 2020 as the IOPS’s Year of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

 

Afterward, His Eminence Metropolitan Dionisii, the Chairman of the IOPS Sergei Stepashin, Grand Duke George, Prince Joachim Murat, and other honoured guests visited the gate church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, which, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, is now the chapel of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.

 

At the conclusion of these events, all of the visitors and guests gathered for a commemorative meal.

 

***

 

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich—Commander-in-Chief of the Moscow Military District, Governor-General of Moscow from 1891 to 1905, and the first Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society—was assassinated on February 4/17, 1905, in the Moscow Kremlin by a bomb thrown into his carriage by a terrorist.

 

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was buried in a special crypt in the Kremlin’s Chudov Monastery in Moscow. His tomb was however was covered over in the early 1930s, when the monastery was barbarically razed to the ground by the Bolsheviks, but the grave itself was miraculously preserved. His remains were found in the 1980s during renovations to the site.

 

The transfer of the remains of Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich to Novospassky Monastery took place on September 17, 1995, with members of the Imperial Family present. The then 14-year-old Grand Duke George was one of the pallbearers of the coffin of his great-great-great-uncle.

 

For more information (in Russian) and photos, see: https://www.ippo.ru/news/article/sergey-stepashin-prinyal-uchastie-v-panihide-v-nov-408012?fbclid=IwAR2LL2OxacU4I9pJNtrMwi7fn92ePE75pJBVW3E-nbyWenXld5x8lUCTg4E.

 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.