Press Release on the Pilgrimage of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, to Bari, and of Her Visit to Rome, Together with Her Son and Heir, H.I.H. Tsetsarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, 12 – 16 December 2010.

From December 12 to December 16, 2010, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, with the blessing of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, made a pilgrimage to Bari, Italy, and, later joined by Her son and heir, H.I.H. Tsetsarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, visited the City of Rome.

St. Nicholas the Miracleworker in the Life of the Imperial Family

St. Nicholas—one of the most beloved patron saints in Russia, and a saint to whom the Royal Family has long been devoted—is to Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna a particularly special heavenly protector. As is well-known, her birth came nine months after her most august parents, Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich and Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, made a piligrimage to Bari, on the counsel of their spiritual father, to pray for the birth of a child at the relics of the Miracleworker of Myra in Lycia.

On 22 July/4 August, 2001, on her name day, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, reinstituted the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which had originally been founded in 1929 by her grandfather, Emperor Kirill I, fulfilling the intentions of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II. The current Order of St. Nicholas is one of the most important civic groups in Russia, working there for the rebirth of traditions and the strengthening of patriotism.

(For more information, see: http://www.imperialhouse.ru/rus/imperialhouse/orthodox/guardians/2/21.22.html.)

On December 12, the Head of the House of Romanoff arrived in Bari from Madrid via Rome. At the Bari-Palese Airport, Her Imperial Highness was met by members of her Chancellery; by V. N. Zhimirov, the well-known St. Petersburg philanthropist who was one of the organizers of this trip; by Archpriest Wladimir Kuchumov, the rector of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Bari; and by a representative of the Roman Catholic Church, Fr. Joseph M. May, S.J., a Professor of the Pontificial Oriental Institute and Vice-Director of the Vatican Observatory.

On December 13, Her Imperial Highness, accompanied by Archpriest Wladimir Kuchumov, visited the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, Most Reverend Francesco Cacucci. During their discussions, the Grand Duchess thanked His Grace for his support of the work of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in reestablishing the Orthodox parish in Bari, and presented him with a copy of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan. The Grand Duchess visited the cathedral in Bari and venerated the relics which both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches regard as holy. Then the Head of the Russian Imperial House went to the Dominican monastery, and in its basilica venerated the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia. Here, before these great and holy relics, Archpriest Wladimir Kuchumov served a moleben service, at the end of which was sung the hymn “Many Years” for His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, for the pious Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and for the pious Heir, Tsetsarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich. The Head of the Russian Imperial House venerated the relics of St. Nicholas, after which she toured the basilica, including, in particular, the display of icons and other holy objects from Russia, which is located in a space in the basilica designated specially to the Orthodox, directly opposite the relics of St. Nicholas. Then the Grand Duchess toured the St. Nicholas Museum, which includes, among other things, gifts to the basilica from Russian sovereigns and other Russian pilgrims. At the conclusion of her visit to the Dominican monastery, its rector, Fr. Damiano Bova hosted a lunch in honor of the Grand Duchess.

From the relics of St. Nicholas, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna went to the Russian Orthodox Church in Bari. The Rector of the church, Archpriest Wladimir Kuchumov, served a moleben for the health of the Grand Duchess and of her Heir, and also a Litya service for the repose of the soul of Grand Duchess Leondia Georgievna, who had visited Bari many times during her life. The Grand Duchess bestowed upon Fr. Wladimir the device of the Imperial Order of St. Anna, Third Class, to which the archpriest had been raised with the blessing of the Chair of the Office of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Her Imperial Highness toured the church, which had recently been turned over to the Russian Church in 2007, and spoke with many of the parishioners and pilgrims who were present at that time. The Head of the House of Romanoff expressed her deep joy that, thanks to the efforts of the Russian government and the good will of the Italian people, this important part of the spiritual and cultural legacy of historical Russia had been returned to the Russian state and given over for use by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Grand Duchess said that she hoped that the knights of the Imperial Miltary Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, will, in the coming year of 2011—the tenth anniversary of the reinstituion of the Order—coordinate their efforts to contribute to the spiritual life and community of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Bari.

On this same day, having completed a short evening tour of Bari, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, accompanied by her entourage, left Bari for Rome, where she met her son, H.I.H., the Heir, Tsetsarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, who had also just arrived in Rome.

On December 14, the Head of the Russian Imperial House and the Tsetsarevich went to the Vatican, where they met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, His Eminence Cardinal-Camerlengo Tarcizio Bertone.

Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna shared with Cardinal Bertone her impressions of her trip to Bari and noted the importance of genuine cooperation and neighborly relations between Orthodox and Catholics. Her Imperial Highness presented the Order of St. Anna, First Class, to the Secretary of State for the Holy See: “For his outstanding contributions to the preservation of the Christian spiritual and cultural heritage and the spreading across the world of the ideals of peace, justice, and respect for human life.” Monsignor T. Bertone thanked the Grand Duchess for her kind words and for this important honor and, in turn, presented to the Grand Duchess, to the Tsetsarevich, and to members of her entourage books and commemorative medals.

On the same day, Her Imperial Highness and the Grand Duke toured the Vatican Gardens, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. In the afternoon, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and Tsetsarevich Georgii Mikhailovich went to the Church of St. Agnes, which the Grand Duchess had been to many times before, when she visited relatives of the Georgian Royal House, the Counts Pasquini, who live in a nearby house. Their Imperial Highnesses visited the catacombs beneath this church and prayed at the gravesites of the first Christians. In the evening, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich met privately with her relative, Princess Ketevan Bagration of Mukhrani, Princess Orsini.¹

On December 15, in the papal residence, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and H.I.H., the Heir, Tsetsarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, met His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

The Russian Imperial House and the Popes of Rome

Relations between the Russian Imperial House and the Holy See have, despite various differences on a range of religious and secular questions, been founded on mutual respect and recognition of the need to cooperate in opposing violence against religion, materialism, atheism, and immorality.

The sovereigns and members of the House of Romanoff during their visits to Italy frequently met with the Popes and with other high-ranking representatives of the Roman Catholic clergy, both in official capacities and privately.

In 1838, a meeting took place between Pope Gregory XVI and the future Emperor Alexander II, the Tsar-Liberator. S. S. Tatishchev described the trip of the son and heir of Emperor Nicholas I in Italy in the following way: “From Milan, the Tsetsarevich traveled to Cremona, Mantua, Verona, Venice, and then to Padua, staying in each of these cities long enough to see and appreciate the local sites. From November 2 to November 23, he was in Venice; and, having visited the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence, he arrived in Rome on December 5. His stay in the Eternal City lasted an entire month. Pope Gregory XVI received the eldest son of the Russian Tsar at the Vatican with great ceremony. In Rome, he celebrated the name day of his most august father, attending a service in the Russian church at the diplomatic mission and a lunch, to which the entire Russian colony in Rome was invited. ‘Since his arrival in Rome,’ his former tutor wrote, ‘the Heir spends several hours each day visiting all the notable sites in this city, so full of historical reminders of its former majesty and glory, so rich in monuments from all the ages, so remarkable in its art collections. The Vatican Galleries and Library, the Capitaline Museum, private art collections, incomparable examples of ancient and modern sculpture, and, finally, masterpieces by artists from all over the world who spent time in Rome—all this captured in turn the attention of the Grand Duke. His Highness is particularly attracted to the works of Russian painters, many of whom have become highly esteemed in this capital city. With the coming of the Christmas holidays, there have begun here a series of performances and balls His Highness takes part in the amusements of high society here. The skies are bright and the air is fresh, and the Sovereign Heir is in spectacular health’” (S. S. Tatishchev, Imperator Aleksandr Vtoroi: Ego zhizn’ i tsarstvovanie [Emperor Alexander II: His Life and Reign], Moscow, 1996, pp. 113-14.).

In 1845, Empeor Nicholas I paid a visit to Rome and met with Pope Gregory XVI. According to an eyewitness, the tsar and pope enjoyed a “warm conversation” with Nicholas I speaking “in a respectful and friendly tone.” The emperor “took the Pope’s hand and respectfully kissed it.” Emperor Nicholas I, an ardent defender of Holy Orthodoxy whose reign, in 1839, saw the return to the Orthodox Church of a large number of Uniates, was nonetheless deeply and sincerely respectful of the rank and person of the Pope. In the course of his conversation, the emperor called Gregory XVI’s attention to the disruptive activity of some Polish immigrants and to the participation of individual members of the Catholic clergy of the Kingdom of Poland in anti-government activities. The Roman Pope assured the Emperor that the position of the Holy See on these rebels and revolutionaries remained unchanged: that he unequivocally condemns them. The meeting between Emperor Nicholas I and Pope Gregory XVI prepared the way for the Concordat in 1847 between the Russian Empire and the Holy See (that is, between Nicholas I and Pope Pius IX, who had succeeded Gregory XVI).

In 1869, Pope Pius IX was visited by Grand Duke Wladimir Aleksandrovich, the great-grandfather of the current Head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna. “The meeting was with the Pope,” the Grand Duke later wrote to his mother, Emperess Maria Aleksandrovna. “The visit was for us extremely curious. The Pope met with me face-to-face in his private office and spoke with me for a long time. Fortunately, we did not discuss politics. He spoke about religion in general, about himself, about Rome, and so on. He was extremely courteous with me” (Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii, or GARF [State Archive of the Russian Federation], fond 641, opis’ 1, delo 36, list 117).

Concerning the meeting of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and Holy Royal-Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna with Pope Leo XIII, see the “Description of the Painting Presented by the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.”

After the Revolution of 1917, the House of Romanoff continued an active and official correspondence with the Holy See, informing the Head of the Roman Catholic Church about events in the Russian Imperial House by means of official letters, and receiving official responses from the Holy See in accordance with pre-revolutionary diplomatic protocols.

(For example, see the attached photographs of: The Response of the Secretariat of State of His Holiness Pope Pius XII, signed by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini [the future Pope Paul VI] dating from January 15, 1954, No. 315836—an official communication responding to the Official Letter from the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich, to the Pope, informing him of the birth on December 23, 1953, of his daughter, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna—the current Head of the Russian Imperial House.)

In 1951, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich and his consort, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, were received by Pople Pius XII. In the course of their meeting, their conversation turned to the persecution of believers in the USSR and the necessity for concerted action of all Christians to defend the fundamental freedom of conscience and the values of Christian civilization in the face of the threat posed to it by militant atheism.

H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich attached enormous significance to this meeting, as he noted in his “An Appeal to the Free World,” published in February 1952:

“Communism is particularly virulent in its attacks on religion and morals, for it is religion alone, and especially Christianity, that gives man the courage and strength to live by and uphold such moral and spiritual values as survive in the world today.

“The faith of the majority of Russians is Orthodox Christianity. Being myself of that faith, I attach the utmost importance to the bonds that so closely unite Russia and the Orthodox Church. At the same time I respect the right of others to worship God in their own way, and in the Russia of tomorrow everyone will, I sincerely trust, have the freedom to do so.

“During a recent visit to the Pope, I wished particularly to express to His Holiness my deep appreciaton of the assistance he generously gave to so many vicims of persecution after the war, among them numerous Russians in danger of being handed over to the Soviets by the Allied Powers.²

“I wished that my visit should also express, on behalf of all anti-Communist Russians, and of myself, the profound sympathy we feel for the Catholic Church in its struggle with Communist atheism. In the satellite countries this Church is now suffering the same martyrdom that has been the fate of the Orthodox Church in Russia for over thirty years; her priests, like many thousands of Russians before them, choosing misery and death rather than to bow to the power of evil.

“I should like to express, as well, my gratitude to the Protestant organizations that, in the United States especially, have so generously helped a great number of Russian refugees.

“Such examples of Christian solidarity are unfortunately all too rare and one is led to wonder whether the total insecurity and widespread misery in the world today are not largely due to the prevailing disregard of Christian morality, honor, and justice.”³

Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich Meet with Pope Benedict XVI

Before their meeting with the Pope, Their Imperial Highenesses arrived at the Basilica of St. Peter and venerated the relics, holy to all Christians, that are housed there. The chapel containing Michelangelo’s famous Pietà (1499), which is today protected by metal bars and bullet-proof glass ever since a madman attempted to destroy the sculpture in 1972, was opened especially for the Grand Duchess and Grand Duke.

At 12:30 pm, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and her Heir, H.I.H. Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich met with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. In the course of the conversation, the Grand Duchess thanked the Pontiff for his support for the construction in Rome of the Orthodox Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr, and the reestablishment of the Russian church in Bari. Her Imperial Highness and His Holiness spoke about the necessity for cooperation among all Christians against the current threats to Christianity posed by secularization, cynicism, and the disregard for the Christian ideals of love for God and one’s neighbour. The Pope noted that he follows with joy the activities of the Russian Imperial House in its efforts to reestablish traditional values in Russia and believes that the spiritual reawakening of Russia—which comprises so large a part of the European continent—will be vitally important for the rest of Europe, and for the entire world.

In accordance with the Vatican’s diplomatic protocols, the Pope presented the Grand Duchess and the Heir a rosary and commemorative medals. Commemorative medals were also presented to members of Her Imperial Highness’s entourage. The Head of the Russian Imperial House in turn presented to the Pope a painting depicting the meeting between Pope Leo XIII and Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and his wife, the Holy Royal Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna

The painting is entitled “Meeting of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna with Pope Leo XIII,” by the Artist Laureate of Russia, I. G. Mashkov. A written description of the painting was presented by the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, to Pope Benedict XVI during their meeting in Rome on 2/15 December, 2010.

The canvas depicts the audience given by Pope Leo XIII to Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and his wife, the Holy Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna in 1902.

The future Pope Leo XIII (born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Pecci, in Carpineto Romano on March 2, 1810, and died in Rome on July 20, 1903), was born into an aristocratic family. Having received an excellent secular and religious education in Rome, he was awarded in 1836 the degrees of Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Civil Law, and Doctor of Canon Law.

In 1837, the young Count Pecci took holy orders. He became a confidant of Pope Gregory XVI (who in 1845 had met Emperor Nicholas I of Russia). Then he occupied the post of legate to Benevento, papal nuncio to Brussels, and Bishop of Perugia. In 1853, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal. He was an active participant in the First Vatican Council of 1869-1870. In 1877, he was appointed cardinal-camerlengo (that is the trustee of the Holy See).

On February 7, 1878, Pope Pius X died. On February 20, the Papal Conclave elected Cardinal Pecci the new Pope of Rome, who, on his ascension, took the name Leo XIII. He was the first pope of Rome to be elected after the unification of Italy by the House of Savoy.

During his pontificate, Leo XIII issued 88 encyclicals, the most famous of which was “Rerum novarum,” in which he formulated the principles of the social doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. His advanced education and his talent as a diplomat helped him to improved Church-State relations in many countries of Europe (including republican France and the mainly Protestant states of the German Empire). Pope Leo XIII was not only the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but also was recognized as an authority among enlightened conservatives around the entire world.

Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich (born at Tsarskoe Selo on April 29/May 12, 1857, died in Moscow on February 4/17, 1905) was the son of Emperor Alexander II, the Tsar-Liberator, and of Empress Maria Aleksandrovna (née Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt). He was the brother of Emperor Alexander III, the Peacemaker, uncle of the Holy Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II, and of the Emperor-in-Exile Kirill I. On the day he was born, Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich was enrolled in the Preobrazhenskii Life Guards Regiment, and he began his military service as a lieutenant in 1872. He served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, and was a knight of the Order of St. George (fourth class, awarded in 1877). On June 3/16, 1884, in St. Petersburg, Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich married Princess Elisabeth-Alexandra-Luisa-Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Rhine (known in the Russian Imperial House as Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna), the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV (1837-1892) of Hesse and the Rhine and of Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse and the Rhine (née Princess of Great Britain and Ireland) (1843-1878). The marriage was childless. He acted as guardian for his niece and nephew, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger and Grand Duke Dimitrii Pavlovich; was a major-general, the commander of the Preobrazhenskii Guards (1887); an adjutant-general (1891); the governor-general of Moscow (1891 – January 1905); a member of the State Council (1894); promoted to lieutenant-general (1896); the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Moscow Military District (1905); the founder and president of the Imperial Orthodox Society of Palestine; chairman of the Russian Imperial Alexander III Historical Museum; and the sponsor of numerous charitable, medical, academic, and cultural organizations and foundations. He was a broadly educated man, gifted with many talents in art and music. Because of his firm conservative views and his devotion to the Orthodox faith, he was targeted by revolutionaries and anti-Russian liberals. He was murdered by a bomb near the Nikolskii Gates of the Moscow Kremlin by terrorists belonging to the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. He was buried in the Cathedral of St. Aleksei in the Chudov Monastery inside the Kremlin. His grave was defiled and destroyed by the Bolsheviks when the Chudov Monastery was destroyed in 1929-1931, but his remains were preserved underground and were located in 1985. On September 4/17, 1995, in the presence of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Maria of Russia, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna of Russia (née H. R. H. Princess Bagrationi of Mukhrani of Georgia), and H.I.H. Grand Duke and Tsetsarevich Georgii Mikhailovich, the holy relics of the martyr Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich were transferred to the ancestral resting place of the ancestors of the House of Romanoff: the Novospasskii (New Savior) Monastery in Moscow.

The Holy New Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna (née in Bessungen on October 20/November 2 1864, and died in the Nizhne-Selimskii mine near the town of Alapaevsk, Verkhotur’e District, Perm Province in 1918) was born Princess Elisabeth-Alexandra-Luisa-Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Rhine. She was the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV (1837-1892) of Hesse and the Rhine, and of Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse and the Rhine (née Princess of Great Britain and Ireland) (1843-1878). She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Empress of India, and the sister of the Holy Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. On June 3/16, 1884, in St. Petersburg, she married Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich. The marriage was childless. She was the guardian of her husband’s niece and nephew, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger and Grand Duke Dimitrii Pavlovich. She converted to Orthodoxy on April 13/26, 1891. She became renowned for her acts of charity and philanthropy. After the horrific murder of her husband Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich by revolutionary terrorists on February 4/17, 1905, she gave herself over entirely to the service of others. She became the co-chair of the Russian Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (1905). She founded in Moscow the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, in which she took monastic vows (1909) and later became its abbess (1910). She was critical of certain aspects of Russian Imperial policy, but always remained faithful to Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In May 1918, she was arrested by the Bolsheviks and was sent into exile: first to Perm, then to Ekaterinburg, and finally to Alapaevsk. On July 5/18, 1918, she was executed by the Bolsheviks in the environs of Alapaevsk, together with the Holy New Martyrs Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Princes of the Imperial Blood Ioann Konstantinovich, Constantine Konstantinovich, and Igor Konstantinovich; the son of Grand Duke Paul Aleksandrovich from his morganatic marriage, Prince V. P. Paley; and her cell attendant, the nun Barbara; as well as others. These martyrs were all thrown alive into a mineshaft (except for Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, who put up a struggle and was shot). Hearing the cries at the bottom of the mineshaft of those who survived the fall, the executioners hurled grenades down after them. The relics of the Holy Venerable Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna and of the others were found by White Army forces, taken to Beijing and from there were transported to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, which she and her husband had founded. The Grand Duchess was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in 1981. She was canonized by the entire Russian Orthodox Church in 1992. In 2009, the attorney-general of the Russian Federation acted on a request from the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and recognized all of the martyrs of Alapaevsk officially as victims of political repression, issuing certificates of rehabilitation to Her Imperial Highness. They are commemorated by the Church on July 5/18 (1918).

Pope Leo XIII became acquainted with Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich while he was still young. During his trip to Rome in 1902, Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and his wife, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna, visited His Holiness. Despite the differences in their religious beliefs, the leader of the Catholic world, Pope Leo XIII, and Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich, who had a deep commitment to his Orthodox faith, deeply respected each other. Their conversation was cordial and informal. In the course of this meeting between the Roman Pontiff and the Russian Grand Duke, there arose a friendly disagreement over how many Roman Pontiffs had had the name Sergius. Neither one could agree with the other, so in the end, Pope Leo XIII himself went to the library to clarify the number. Returning, he acknowledged that Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich had been correct, and jokingly said: “Forgive me, Your Imperial Highness: though they say that the pope is infallible, this time he was wrong.”

The memory of this meeting and the circumstances of this conversation were preserved for posterity by the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastasii (Gribanovskii), who, before the revolution of 1917, was the archbishop of Kishinev, and had heard this story directly from Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna.

The painting captures precisely the moment when Pope Leo XIII returned from the library with a book in his hands. Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna, who have been waiting for the Pope, respectfully rise from their seats as the Pope enters. The participants in the meeting smile at each other and, having settled the question of the number of Popes with the name Sergius, prepare to sit again to continue their conversation.

Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich appears in the dress uniform of the Preobrazhenskii Regiment, in the style dating from the reign of his deceased brother, Emperor Alexander III the Peacemaker (ruled 1881-1894).

Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna is depicted wearing a purple dress.

Given the fact that this was not a formal audience, but rather an informal meeting, the artist did not observe all of the formal rules of protocol for Papal audiences with respect to the dress worn by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. Instead, he depicted the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in colors (the white of the uniform of the Preobrazhenskii regiment and the purple dress) that are employed in religious art and iconography as symbolizing martyrdom and purity of faith and intentions (and also colors traditionally used in the House of Romanoff as symbols of Christ-like royal service).

The painting depicts the meeting between the Roman Pontiff, Pope Leo XIII, and pious Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna, who was raised a Protestant but adopted the faith of her husband and was later canonized by the Orthodox Church. The composition symbolizes the mutual love of all Christians, as well as their unity in the face of the threats of godlessness, militant materialism, immorality, fatalism, aggression, and terrorism. The persons depicted in the painting had fates marked by their religious faith and suffering. Pope Leo XIII was a constant target of attack for his principled defense of the norms of Christian morality. Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich was brutally murdered by terrorists. Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna, a nun and a tireless humanitarian, also was brutally martyred by the godless terroristic and totalitarian regime that had seized power.

The canvas by Igor Gennad’evich Mashkov, Artist Laureate of Russia, was commissioned by the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia in November 2010.

Together with the painting, an official Russian- and English-languague description of the portrait was presented to His Holiness, along with a copy of the book In the Basement of the Ipat’ev House, which includes materials on Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna’s efforts to obtain the official rehabilitation of the Holy Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II and the members of his most august family, who where executed on July 4/17, 1918, in Ekaterinburg by the totalitarian and godless Communist regime.

After her meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich met with His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Comastri, His Holiness’s First Vicar for the Vatican, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, and President of the Fabric of St. Peter in the Vatican; and with His Excellency Vittorio Lanzani, Bishop of Labicum, and Secretary of the Fabric of St. Peter in the Vatican.

The Grand Duchess awarded to Cardinal Comastri the devices of the Imperial Order of St. Anna, First Class; to Bishop Lanzani, the devices of the Imperial and Royal Order of St. Stanislav, First Class; and to His Reverence Joseph Marian May, Professor of the Papal Oriental Institute and Vice-Director of the Vatican Observatory, the devices of the Imperial Order of St. Anna, First Class. Earlier, before the meeting with the Pope, the devices of the Imperial and Royal Order of St. Stanislav, First Class, were presented by the Grand Duchess to the Director of the Office of Protocols of the Papal Prefecture, His Reverence Leonardo Sapienza.

After her official engagements, the Grand Duchess and the tsetsarevich descended into the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica and venerated the relics of the Holy Apostle Peter. Their Imperial Highnesses examined the discoveries made by archeologists working under the Basilica. The Head of the Russian Imperial House also visited the crypt of Pope Pius XII, who had met with her most august parents.

In the afternoon, Their Imperial Highnesses visited the mausoleum of Emperor Octavian Augustus and the interior of the Roman palace of Prince Colonna, then visited the Pantheon, where she paid her respects at the tombs of the Italian kings, Victor Immanuel II and Umberto I, and of the great Renaissance artist Raphael.

That evening, at the close of their official visit, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and H.I.H. the Heir, Tsetsarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich went to the Orthodox Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr. The Grand Duchess and her heir were warmly greeted by the rector of the church, Igumen Filipp (Vasil’tsev) and other Russian Orthodox clergy present at that time in Rome. Their Imperial Highnesses venerated the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine and the ark containing the relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helen, St. Gregory the Theologian, Pope Zephyrinus of Rome, St. Ephrem of Syria, and the Holy Martyr Vincent. Their Imperial Highnesses had tea with the rector, Fr. Filipp, after which he gave the Grand Duchess and Grand Duke a blessing for their return trip home.

On December 16, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and H.I.H. the Heir, Tsetsarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich flew out of Fiumicino Airport on different flights, to Madrid and Brussels, respectively.

The pilgrimage of the Head of the Russian Imperial House to Bari and the meeting of Their Imperial Highnesses in Rome represent a manifestation of the harmonious, reasoned, and balanced tradition in the Imperial Family of both solid and unshakable devotion to Holy Orthodoxy, and, at the same time, openness to good relations with people of other faiths and perspectives.

A.N. Zakatov
Director, Chancellery of H.I.H.

Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Bari accepts a gift from the Grand Duchess	The Grand Duchess arrives at a Dominican monastery and is greeted by the abbot, Fr. DamianoBova	Praying before the Holy Relics of St. Nicholas
Prince V. O. Lopukhin, the coordinator for H.I.H.’s official foreign travel, and S. V. Dumin, the Master of Heraldry in H.I.H.’s Chancellery, venerating the Icon of St. Nicholas. The icon was a gift to the Basilica from V. N. Zhimirov	The Grand Duchess in the Orthodox chapel of St. Nicholas	The Secretary of State of the Holy See, His Eminence Cardinal-CamerlengoTarcizioBertone,presents the Grand Duchess with a set of commemorative medals
The Grand Duchess and the Tsesarevich with the Secretary of State for the Holy See, Cardinal-CamerlengoTarcizioBertone	The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia before Michelangelo’s Piet?	The arrival of the Grand Duchess and the Tsesarevich in the Audience Hall of the Papal Residence. On the left, gifts from Their Imperial Highnesses to His Holiness
The Grand Duchess, the Tsesarevich, and members of their entourage, with the Director of the Office of Protocols of the Papal Prefecture, His Reverence Leonardo Sapienza	Pope Benedict XVI greeting the Head of the House of Romanoff	Pope Benedict XVI greeting the Tsesarevich, Grand Duke Georgii of Russia
The Head of the House of Romanoff, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, with Pope Benedict XVI	The Grand Duchess describing the scene depicted in the painting	Their Imperial Highnesses with His Holiness
Formal Photo of Pope Benedict XVI with the Head of the Russian Imperial House, her Heir the Tsesarevich, and their entourage	The Grand Duchess and the Tsesarevich with Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Bishop Vittorio Lanzani of Labicum, and Fr. Joseph Marian May	At the Orthodox Church of St. Catherine in Rome
February 15, 1954. Letter of Congratulations from the Holy See to the Head of the House of Romanoff, Grand Duke WladimirKirillovich, on the birth of his daughter, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia

Photographs courtesy of Servizio Fotografico “L’Osservatore Romano,” and S. V. Dumin.

January 15, 1954. Congratulatory Letter from the Pro-Secretary of State of the Holy See [Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI] to Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich on the Birth of His Daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna

[On stationary from the Secretariat of State of His Holiness (Segreteria di Stato di Sua Santita). Translated from the French]

To: His Imperial Highness,
The Grand Duke Wladimir of Russia
Madrid

From the Vatican, January 15,

1954 No. 315836

Imperial Highness,

The Sovereign Pontiff has asked me to respond in His Name to your kind letter, by which Your Imperial Highness recently informed Him of the birth of your daughter, The Grand Duchess Maria, and which also thanked Him for His unceasing prayers to Heaven for your homeland, which is enduring today such trials.

His Holiness is in fact deeply concerned by the activites of the enemies of the Christian faith, and the destiny of the immense population of Russia is particularly at the forefront of His concerns. His Holiness very happily accedes to your request and prays to God for your new-born daughter and your entire family.

I am pleased to convey this message to you and to assure Your Imperial Highness of my highest esteem,

[signed:]
G.B. Montini

Letter from the Head of the Russian Imperial House to His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Concerning Her Pilgrimage to Italy

[On stationary of the Russian Imperial House]

From the Head of the Russian Imperial House

To His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill
Of Moscow and All Russia

Your Holiness,

Having recently returned from my pilgrimage to Bari and Rome, I would like to share with you my impressions.

My visit to the many holy sites in these cities, especially my venerating the grave of St. Nicholas the Miracleworker, brought me enormous spiritual joy. I very much appreciated the hospitality and good will shown me by our clergy in Italy. The rectors of our church in Bari, Archpriest Wladimir Kuchumov, and of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome, Igumen Filipp (Vasil’tsev), not only welcomed me in accordance with our ancient traditions, they showered me with authentic love and genuine warmth.

The advice given me in advance by letter by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarian of Volokolamsk proved to be very useful.

At the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari and the Holy Apostle Peter in Rome, we prayed for our homeland, from which, unfortunately, we recently heard the most sad and alarming news; and for you—our dear Holy Father and Intercessor, so that the Lord may help you in word and deed to quell civil strife, and so that your voice will be heard by our countrymen.

During my meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, I thanked His Holiness for his support for the activities of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Italy, and for Orthodox pilgrims who now have greater opportunities to venerate the relics of those saints who are accepted by all Christians, thanks to the construction of the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome, the reestablishment of the church in Bari, and the activities of Russian clergy in other cities in Italy.

The Pope expressed his support for Our House, and stated that he believes that the spiritual rebirth of Russia is a matter of the first importance for the entire world.

I am certain that all the obstacles to inter-Christian cooperation as it confronts the general threats of godlessness, immorality, and hatred, will be successfully resolved in the course of the ongoing dialog between hierarchies, clergy, and the faithful of all religious confessions. I hope that during my and my son’s visit to Italy, we succeeded not only in fulfilling our stated and official objectives and goals, but that we also made a contribution to the course laid out by Your Holiness in the Church’s external relations—a course combining an uncompromising fidelity to Holy Orthodoxy, with a willingness to join forces with people of other convictions and perspectives in order to resolve problems, a course that is vital for the preservation of Humanity and of Man as the image and likeness of God.

Asking your Archpastoral blessing and prayers for me and for my Heir, I remain faithfully yours,

[signed:]
Maria

H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna

Madrid, 10/23 December 2010

¹Princess Ketevan Bagration of Mukhrani, The Princess Orsini, is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Holy See. However, due to the present state of official realtions between Russia and Georgia, no political issues were discussed and the conversation between Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, Tsetsarevich Georgii Mikhailovich, and Princess Ketevan instead was limited to memories of their childhood and of the spiritual kinship between the peoples of Russia and Georgia.

²At the Yalta Conference of February 4-11, 1945, the leaders of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain—Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill—discussed future relations with Germany after its unconditional surrender, the creation of the United Nations, the division of Europe into zones of occupation, and the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan in the Pacific. Besides the agreement reached on these questions of international politics, the Western leaders also conceded to the request made by Stalin to repatriate to the USSR those Russians who had joined and fought in anti-communist units, and those who had been forcibly relocated by the Nazis during the war.

³Obrashchenie glavy Rossiiskogo Imperatorskogo Doma, E. I. V. Velikogo Kniazia Vladimira Kirillovicha k svobodnomu miru s otsenkoi situatsii v SSSR i v mire, s prizyvom ne otozhdestvliat’ Rossiiu s kommunisticheskim rizhimom i s izlozheniem vedeniia putei bor’by s mirovym kommunizmom, February 1952. Arkhiv Rossiiskogo Imperatorskogo Doma [Archive of the Russian Imperial House], fond 8, opis’ 2, delo 1; Sbornik obrashchenii Glavy Dinastii Velikogo Kniazia Vladimira Kirillovicha, ed. A. P. Volkov, New York, 1971, pp. 26-36. [Translator: This translation is taken from “An Appeal to the Free World” by H.I.H. the Grand Duke Wladimir of Russia, Bridgeport Conn.: Russian Imperial Union-Order, no date.]