20 August 2013

An Investiture Ceremony for the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia the “Alleviatrix of Captives” is held at the Ss. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow

An Investiture Ceremony for the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia the “Alleviatrix of Captives” is held at the Ss. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow

On August 20, 2013, on the day of the repose of Tsaritsa Anastasia Romanovna, an investiture ceremony for the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia the “Alleviatrix of Captives” took place in the Church of the Intercession of the Ss. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow. The Order was created by the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia,in anticipation of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension to the throne of the House of Romanoff. The Order honors the patron saint of the first Tsaritsa of the House of Romanoff—Anastasia Romanovna, the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible.

Before the investiture ceremony began, there was a service of thanksgiving with prayers to the Holy Great Martyr St. Anastasia, followed by a commemoration service, or Litya, for the departed souls of Tsaritsa Anastasia Romanovna, the Great Sovereign Patriarch Filaret (Romanoff), and all the reposed Heads of the House of Romanoff and their spouses—from Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich to WladimirKirillovich.

These services were attended by members of the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, by the new recipients of the Order, and by their friends and colleagues.

After the conclusion of the Litya service, the Director of Her Imperial Highness’s Chancellery gave a brief presentation on the history of the founding of the Order. Then the Decree issued by the Head of the Russian Imperial House concerning these investitures was read aloud and the insignia of the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia were presented the new members of the Order: the Abbess of the Ss. Martha and Mary Convent, Mother Catherine (Pozdniakova); and M. K. Bukhrashvili, the Chief Physician of the Research Institute for Children’s Emergency Surgery and Trauma Care, the Vice-President of the International Charity Foundation for the Care of Children in Natural Disasters and Wars, and Distinguished Doctor of the Russian Federation. The two awardees were also presented the Imperial Medal “Anniversary of the Nation’s Victory, 1613-2013.” The Insignia of the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia and the Imperial Medal were also posthumouslypresented to I. N. Voronova (1932-2013), the founder of the Foundation “New Names.” The Order and Medal were accepted on I. N. Voronova’s behalf by representatives of the Foundation.

This investiture ceremony of the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia at the Ss. Martha and Mary Convent is the first such ceremony ever to take place in Moscow, and only the second investiture ceremony in the history of the Order. The very first Decrees appointing new members of the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia were signed by the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, in St. Petersburg on June 29/July 12, 2013, on the Feast Day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The first ever investiture ceremony took place later that day (after a patriarchal service held in the Family Mausoleum of the Russian Imperial House in the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, marking the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension of the House of Romanoffs), at the Metropolitan’s residence at the St. Alexander Nevskii Monastery. The investiture was attended by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, by clergy of the diocese of St. Petersburg, and by H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia. (On this investiture ceremony, see, in English:

http://www.imperialhouse.ru/eng/allnews/news/2013/3636.html; and in Russian: http://imperialhouse.ru/rus/allnews/news/2013/3618.html.)

See also: http://www.mmom.ru/ru/news/events/index.php?id_7=2005&post=35074430_568&from_7=1

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