Press Release on the First Official Visit of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, to Ukraine, May 24 – June 1, 2011

From May 24 to June 1, 2011, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, made her first official visit to Ukraine. The Grand Duchess had been invited to the Ukraine by the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and all Ukraine, and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow and all Russia. The Head of the House of Romanoff had previously been in Ukraine only briefly in 2009, stopping in Odessa on her way to Transdnistria.

On May 11/24, 2011, on the Feast Day of the Enlighteners of the Slavs, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Her Imperial Highness arrived in Kiev from St. Petersburg, where she and her son, H.I.H. the Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia, had been to mark the first anniversary of the blessed repose of H.I.H. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, who reposed in the Lord at the age of 96 in Madrid on May 10/23, 2010, and had been buried in the Romanoff family mausoleum in the Ss. Peter and Paul Fortress on May 21/June 3, 2010.

The Head of the Russian Imperial House was met on the tarmac of Kiev’s Borispol Airport by representatives of the administration of the President of Ukraine, by members of the organizing committee for Her Imperial Highness’s visit to Ukraine, and by Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets), who was traveling with the Grand Duchess with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow and all Russia. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia was warmly greeted in the Presidential Hall at the airport by the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Entry into Jerusalem of the Mother of God, Archimandrite Damian (Davydov), on behalf of the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

On May 25, 2011, the Head of the House of Romanoff—following the example of her Imperial ancestors, who always began a visit to Ukraine by visiting and venerating its most important holy sites—went to the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, where, in the Dormition Cathedral, His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Vasilkov, vicar bishop of the Kievan Metropolia, along with an assembly of other clergy, served a Litya service for the Grand Duchess’s reposed parents, Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich and Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna.

Then the Grand Duchess and His Grace Bishop Panteleimon and other clergy toured the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, paying their respects at the grave of P. A. Stolypin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire, who was murdered in Kiev in 1911 by revolutionary terrorists and is buried on the monastery grounds.  Thehymn “MemoryEternal” wassungathisgrave.

In the monastery’s refectory church, near the grave of P. A. Stolypin, His Grace Bishop Panteleimon and other clergy served a moleben for the health of Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and her son and Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia. After the service, Bishop Panteleimon read aloud the Decree awarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Order of St. Barbara First Class to Grand Duchess Maria of Russia. Several members of the Her Imperial Highness’s Chancellery, who were accompanying the Grand Duchess on this visit to Ukraine, and several of the Ukrainian organizers of the Grand Duchess’s visit also received awards from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.The Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov, read aloud a Decree awarding the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vladimir, the Order of St. Anna I Class. The Grand Duchess awarded this high honor to His Beatitude “in recognition of outstanding services to the Holy Church and to Ukraine, and for efforts in support of Orthodoxy around the world, and highly valuing the contributions to the preservation and strengthening of the spiritual bonds between all the peoples that belong to the great civilization that once was the All-Russian Empire.” Then a Decree was read aloud investing Archbishop Alexander of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Vicar Bishop of the Kievan Metropolia, and Archimandrite Gideon (Kharon), the abbot of the Kievan Tithes Monastery, into the Imperial Order of St. Anna.

The Head of the House of Romanoff entered the Near Caves beneath the monastery and venerated the relics of St. Agapit the Physician; St. Nikon the Desiccated; St. Elias of Murom;the Russian first martyr, the child St. Feodor; and other saints.

Grand Duchess Maria of Russia then visited the National Historical and Cultural Museum of the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, which is located on the grounds of the monastery. Her Imperial Highness was greeted there by the General Director of the museum, M. E. Gromova, and toured the exhibits, including a rich collection of Scythian gold jewelry, which was discovered during archeological digs of this site.

From the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, the Grand Duchess went to the Cathedral of St. Sophia, where she venerated the icons and prayed at the site of the sarcophagus of Grand Prince St. Yaroslav the Wise.¹ A special exhibit in the Metropolitan’s Palace was arranged to be timed with the Grand Duchess’s visit, entitled “The Imperial House of Romanoff in the Past and Present,” which was organized by the Foundation “The Museum of the Imperial Romanoff Dynasty” and by the national museum “Sophia of Kiev,” with the participation of local collectors in Ukraine. The Grand Duchess presented the devices of the Imperial Order of St. Anna on those who had recently been appointed members of the Order. The Grand Duchess presented to the Museum of the Imperial House of Romanoff in Ukraine portraits of the Holy Passion-Bearers Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, which were made using a unique technique on birch bark by the artist Tatiana Kozova of Ekaterinburg. The portraits were given as a gift to the Grand Duchess on May 23, 2011, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, V. M. Lebedev, to mark the one year anniversary of the repose of her most august mother, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna. The portraits will be on permanent display at the Museum.

After a dinner given in her honor, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia went to the Monastery of the Holy Entry into Jerusalem of the Mother of God, where she met formally with the abbot, Archimandrite Damian (Davydov), who served a thanksgiving moleben according to the “royal rubrics.” The Grand Duchess venerated the “Shelter onto Humility” Icon of the Mother of God, as well as the separate image of that icon which had miraculously imprinted itself ontoa glass that had covered it.² Archimandrite Damian presented the Head of the House of Romanoff with a copy of this icon.

The Grand Duchess invested Archimandrite Damian into the Imperial Order of St. Anna, and then thanked him for his many years of ministry to his Orthodoxy countrymen in Ukraine, so many of whom are loyal to the House of Romanoff.

In the monastery’s courtyard, the Grand Duchess was greeted by the students and teachers of the Kiev Lyceum№ 23, which is the successor to the Vladimir-Kiev Cadet School, and which had been named in honor of the Grand Duchess’s great-grandfather, His Imperial Highness, Grand Duke Wladimir Alexandrovich (1847-1909). A formal proclamation [Reskript] from the Head of the House of Romanoff was read at this time. The document approves, in principle, a request from the Lyceum to Her Imperial Highness to return the name of the Lyceum back to its original form—the Vladimir-Kiev Cadet School—in full accordance with the Constitution and the current laws of Ukraine. The proclamation also placed the school under the patronage of His Imperial Highness, the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia; and declares that henceforth the school may use the monogram of H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Alexandrovich on the flag, uniforms, and other symbols of the school. The Flag of the school was then blessed and presented to the administrators of the Lyceum.

Later, also at the Monastery of the Holy Entry into Jerusalem of the Mother of God, there was held a festive lunch in honor of the pilgrimage of the Head of the House of Romanoff to the holy places of Kiev—the “Mother of Russian cities” and the “Second Jerusalem,” as Emperor Alexander II the Tsar-Liberator, the Grand Duchess’s great-great-grandfather, called it.

On May 26, 2011, the Grand Duchess visited the site where the ancient Church of the Tithes of the Nativity of the Mother of God was located. The Grand Duchess prayed at the wooden chapelnext to the site of the ancient church and venerated its holy relics: the church’s icon of the Mother of God; the Lokot “Tenderness” miracle-working icon of the Mother of God, which was brought to the chapel from Briansk District with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and all Ukraine through the efforts of the leaders of the local regional branch of the movement “For Faith and Fatherland,” Iu. I. Shishkov; and the icon with a fragment of the relics of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, who was the loyal friend of, and spiritual advisor to, Emperor Kirill Wladimirovich, Empress Victoria Feodorovna, Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich, and Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna. The abbot of the Tithes Monastery, Archimandrite Gedeon (Kharon) served a moleben according to the royal rubrics and gave a tour to Her Imperial Highness of the excavations of the Church of the Tithes. Answering questions from members of the press, the Grand Duchess noted that she considers the restoration of this ancient church—which was so loved by the Baptizer of Russia, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir I—and the resumption of services in it, along with the setting up of an attached museum, to be an extraordinarily important symbol of spiritual and cultural rebirth. On subsequent occasions, the Grand Duchess more than once returned to this theme in her conversations with state and public figures in Ukraine.

At noon, in the offices of the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Russian Imperial House of Romanoff, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, met with the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. The President welcomed Grand Duchess Maria of Russia to Ukraine and noted the enormous significance of her visit. The Grand Duchess expressed her heartfelt gratitude to President Yanokovych, sharing with him her many warm and happy impressions of her first days in the capital of Ukraine, and of her plans to visit the holy places and historic sites in the Crimea. The conversation then moved to the topic of the development of friendly relations between Russia, Ukraine, and the other states that arose on the territories of the former Russian Empire, which all once belonged to a single culture and civilization. The Head of the House of Romanoff invested President Yanukovych with the Imperial Order of St. Vladimir First Class, “in recognition of contributions to the reestablishment and development of the historical links between, and the strengthening of the spiritual brotherhood among, the peoples of Russia and Ukraine.” The Grand Duchess also presented the President with a copy of the book In the Cellar of the Ipatiev House, which contains many historical documents pertaining to the rehabilitation of the Royal Passion-Bearers, Emperor Nicholas II and his family, who were recognized as victims of political repression by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on October 1, 2008, after a three-year-long legal effort. Others present at the meeting with the President of Ukraine included: the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov; the head of the office of Interregional and International Relations of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, and the Coordinator for H.I.H.’s official travels, Prince V. O. Lopukhin; the Master of Heraldry in H.I.H.’s Chancellery, S. V. Dumin; and the Master of Heraldry of Castille and Leon, Captain-Lieutenant of the Spanish Navy, Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, the Marquess de la Floresta.Among those representing the Ukraine at the meeting were representatives of the Office of Protocol and Ceremonies of Ukraine, as well as other officials.

After the meeting with the President, the Grand Duchess visited the Architectural Bureau of Professor N. M. Mkhitaryan—a member of the Verkhovna Rada, or Parliament, of Ukraineand a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The Grand Duchess reviewed Professor Mkhitaryan’s designs and then invested him with the devices of the Imperial Order of St. Anna.

That same day, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and her party flew out of the Borispol Airport to the Crimea. She was greeted on the tarmac of the airport for the capital city of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, Simferopol, by the following dignitaries: the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of the Crimea, G. Iu. Psarev; the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of the Crimea, G. A. Ioffe; the Vice-Mayor of Simferopol, I. S. Glazkov; and the Director of the Office of Protocol for the Diocese of Simferopol and the Crimea, Archpriest Iosif Farkovets. From the airport, the Grand Duchess went to Foros, where she visited the dacha “Zarya,” where the dramatic events of August 1991 took place. There, the Grand Duchess met Vice-Admiral I. V. Alferiev of the Ukrainian Navy, and representatives from the local office of the President of Ukraine.

On May 27, 2011, the Head of the House of Romanoff attended services in the Church of the Resurrection, which was built to commemorate the events that took place in Borki on October 17, 1888, when the Imperial Family was miraculously saved from a disastrous train wreck. She then visited the Imperial Massandra Palace;the “Swallow’s Nest” castle; the estate in Charax (presently the “Dniepr Resort”), which belonged to Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, who was executed in the Ss. Peter and Paul Fortress in 1919 and was canonized in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad; the “Murad-Avur” Villa, which once belonged to the Komstadiumov family, and “Cha-ir” Park, which once belonged to H.I.H. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna; the “Dulber” estate of H.I.H. Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich; the “Ai-Todor” estate of H.I.H. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich; and the Vorontsov palace.

On May 28, 2011, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia arrived in Sevastopol. Her first stop in the city was at the remarkable Diorama “Storming of Sapun-gora on May 7, 1944,” where the Grand Duchess honored the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland during the years of the Second World War.

Then Her Imperial Highness visited the Panorama of F. A. Roubaud, dedicated to the heroic defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855 during the Crimean War. The Grand Duchess laid flowers at the monument to Empress Catherine II, the founder of Sevastopol, and the hymn “Eternal Memory” was sung in her honor.

Later, in the city hall of Sevastopol, the Grand Duchess met with the Acting Chairman of the Council of City Administration, S. A. Zhivoduev; the Chairman of the City Council of Sevastopol, Iu. V. Doinikov; and the Vice-Chairmen of the Council of City Administration, I. G. Tsokur, A. A. Klimov, and V. V. Zavgorodnii. The city leaders and the Grand Duchess discussed the development of Sevastopol, and Her Imperial Highness thanked them for their warm hospitality.

From the city hall, the Grand Duchess went to the monument to those who fell in the Second World War and to the monument to Admiral P. S. Nakhimov. Then the Grand Duchess went to Count’s Quay, where she boarded a Russian Navy launch. Accompanied by an Admiral’s launch, the Grand Duchess entered the Sevastopol bay and inspected the ships of the Russian and Ukrainian navies riding at anchor, all with their national flags raised. Among the ships in the bay was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Cruiser Moskva.

On her return to the Count’s Quay, Her Imperial Highness visited the memorial plaque that commemorates the 90th anniversary of the exodus of the Russian Army from the Crimea in 1920, and thenproceeded on to the Cathedral of St. Vladimir in Sevastopol, where she was warmly greeted by the rector, Archpriest Aleksei Tupikov. Having venerated the holy icons in the upper church dedicated to the Holy Baptizer of Russia, the Grand Duchess descended to the lower church dedicated to St. Nicholas, where she prayed before the graves of the famous admirals of the Russian Fleet: P. S. Nakhimov, V. A. Kornilov, V. I. Istomin, and M. P. Lazarev. From the church, the Grand Duchess and her cort?ge went to the ruins of the ancient settlement at Chersonesus, where, in the rebuilt Cathedral of St. Vladimir, she was met by the dean of the Sevastopol district, Archpriest Sergei Khaliuta. The Grand Duchess toured the lower and upper churches in the cathedral, and venerated the icons and a fragment of the relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir. The clergy served a moleben and sang the hymn “Many Years” for the Grand Duchess and for her Heir, the Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia. The Grand Duchess toured the surrounding ruins of the ancient city, visited the exhibits in the local museum, and attended a concert of Ukrainian and Russian songs and ballads in the ancient amphitheater. During a lunch that followed, a member of the Odessa City Council, A. N. Kosmin, conveyed to the Grand Duchess an official invitation from the Mayor of Odessa, A. A. Kostusev, to visit the city.

On May29, 2011, the Grand Duchess went for a short cruise on the yacht “Princess.” This was the first time in nearly one hundred years that a yacht sailed the Black Sea under the Imperial Standard, which fluttered in the wind next to the national flag of Ukraine. On her arrival at the marina in Yalta, Her Imperial Highness went to the chapel of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, and paid tribute to the memory of Empress Maria Feodorovna and other members of the Russian Imperial House, who had been compelled to flee from Russia after the Revolution. (On the shore at this spot has been erected a monument to mark the time and place where this sad event took place.) The Grand Duchess also visited the palace of the Emir of Bukhara; the “Aivazovskii” Resort, where a lunch was hosted in her honor; and then visited Joseph Stalin’s former dacha, “Malaia Sosnovka.”

In the afternoon, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia visited Livadia; she prayed at the Cathedral of the Elevation of the Cross, where the clergy sang the troparion to the Cross and the prayer for the Tsaritsa and the Fatherland: “Save, O Lord, Thy People”; and toured the Imperial Palace at Livadia. That evening, the Grand Duchess toured the “Kuchkine” Palace of Grand Duke Dmitrii Konstantinovich, who was shot in 1919 in the Ss. Peter and Paul Fortress and glorified as a saint in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

On May 30, 2011, the Head of the House of Romanoff departed the “Zarya” residence in Foros and went to Simferopol. Her Imperial Highness was met at the Convent of the Holy Trinity by His Beatitude Metropolitan Lazarus of Simferopol and the Crimea, who served a moleben before the relics of St. Luke of Simferopol. His Beatitude also gave the Grand Duchess a copy of the icon of St. Luke.

In the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in Simferopol, Her Imperial Highness was greeted by the rector, Fr. Vasilii Pechevistyi, who is an official in the diocesan administration. The Grand Duchess venerated the holy relics of St. Gurii, the Archbishop of Taurida, and a fragment of the holy relics of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. She also venerated the icon of the Mother of God “of Three Hands.” Fr. Vasilii presented to the Grand Duchess a copy of the icon of St. Gurii of Taurida and of the Holy Prophet Moses the Seer of God.

Her Imperial Highness was accompanied on the way to the airport in Simferopol by the Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, G. Iu. Psarev; the Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, G. A. Ioffe; the Vice-Mayor of Simferopol, I. S. Glazkov; and by Fr. Vasilii Pechevistyi. The Head of the House of Romanoff asked that her sincere thanks be conveyed to all the people of the Crimea for their warm welcome and for their respect for the memory of her ancestors and relatives.

That evening, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia returned to Kiev.

On May 31, 2011, the Head of the House of Romanoff, accompanied by Archimandrite Damian (Davydov), went to the Convent of the Intercession in Kiev, which was founded by her relative, St. Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna (who, in monastic ranks, took the name Anastasia). The Grand Duchess venerated the relics of the convent’s founder, who had only recently been canonized a saint by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Grand Duchess also met and spoke with many of the nuns, and with the schemamonk Bishop Alypii, who resides at the convent.

From the Convent of the Intercession, Her Imperial Highness made her way to the exhibit hall of the classic jewelry house “Lobortas,” where the well-known Ukrainian jeweler I. Iu. Lobortas, accompanied her on a tour of the exhibits of contemporary jewelry in Ukraine. Then the Grand Duchess took in a panoramic view of the city of Kiev from the Vladimir Hill, paid her respects to the memory of the Hetman of Ukraine, Bohdan Khmelnytskij, at the monument to him on the square before the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, and took a walking tour along the Andriyivskyy Descent. Back at the Convent of the Holy Entry into Jerusalem, an investiture ceremony was held during which His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Vasilkov and the artist A. V. Shiian were awarded the Imperial Order of St. Anna. Afterward, a dinner was hosted in honor of the Grand Duchess, which was blessed and organized by Archimandrite Damian (Davydov). At the dinner were present His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Vasilkov, Archimandrite Gedeon (Kharon), and those who had helped to organize the Grand Duchess’s visit to Ukraine. The Grand Duchess also spoke on the phone with Archbishop Ionafan of Tulchyn and Bratslav and with the vicar of the Odessa Diocese, Bishop Aleksei of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, sharing with them her impressions of her visit to Ukraine and her pilgrimages to its holy places.

In the evening, the President of Ukraine, V. F. Yanukovych, gave a farewell dinner in honor of the Head of the House of Romanoff. The Grand Duchess thanked the President for his kindness and for taking part in her first official visit to the common cradle of Orthodox culture and statehood for all Slavic peoples.

On June 1, 2011, early in the morning, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, departed from Borispol Airport for Madrid. Before her departure, Her Imperial Highness presented the documentation and devices of several Imperial Orders of knighthood to those who had played an active role in organizing the Grand Duchess’s visit to Ukraine.

A.N. Zakatov

Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery