22 January 2014

The Celebration of the Birthday of the Head of the House of Romanoff

The Celebration of the Birthday of the Head of the House of Romanoff

December 23, 2013, the feast day of St. Ioasaph of Belgorod, was the 60th birthday of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia.

The celebrations began in Moscow with a pine Liturgy on the eve of the grand duchess’s birthday, December 22, 2013, which was served according to the royal rubrics in the Cathedral of the Bogoliubsky Icon of the Mother of God in the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow. This cathedral is the ancestral burial place of one line of ancestors of the Grand Duchess—the Naryshkin boyar family (of which the second wife of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, the mother of Emperor Peter I the Great, was a member).[1]

With the blessing of the abbot of the monastery, Hegumen Peter (Eremeev), who was serving on this day with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at the Zachatievsky Monastery, the pine Liturgy was served by the confessor of the monastery, Heguman Peter (Pigol). Serving with Hegumen Peter were other monks of the monastery—Hieromonk Lavrentii (Poleshkevich) and Hierodeacon Vlasii (Akhmatianov)—as well as Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets), who cares for the spiritual needs of the members of the Imperial House when they are in Russia. At Liturgy, during the Litanies and the Great Entrance, the names of the most pious Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and her son and Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke George of Russia, were commemorated. After communion, Hieromonk Lavrentii gave a sermon about the service of the House of Romanoff in the past and in our own day.

After the completion of the pine Liturgy, a thanksgiving service (or moleben) was offered for the health of the Grand Duchess and her Heir, followed by a Litya commemoration service for Patriarch Filaret and all the reposed sovereigns and their spouses of the House of Romanoff, and for members of the Naryshkin family who are buried in the Church of the Bogoliubsky Icon of the Mother of God.

Attending these services were members of the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House; representatives of the organization “For Faith and Fatherland;” members of the Russian Nobility Association; members of the Society of the Descendants of the War of 1812; knights of the Imperial Orders of St. Vladimir, St. Anna, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and St. Stanislaw; the leader of the Russian All-People’s Union, S. N. Baburin; representatives of various social and cultural organizations; and numerous parishioners of the church.

After the services, Hieromonk Lavrentii extended a warm welcome on behalf of the abbot to all those present on this important occasion, and asked that his warmest birthday congratulations be conveyed to the Head of the Russian Imperial House. In response, the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov, noted the importance of the fact that the first event of these birthday celebrations was taking place in the Bogoliubsky Church, and presented to the monastery as a gift the Pechersky Icon of the Mother of God, which had been presented to the Grand Duchess by His Eminence Metropolitan Georgii of Nizhnii Novgorod and Arzamas during Her Imperial Highness’s visit to Nizhnii Novgorod in November 2013 as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles.

Then followed in the church the first event in the campaign “Gifts for the Grand Duchess—Charity,” which jointly commemorates the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the 60th birthday of the Head of the Russian Imperial House. In accordance with the wishes of H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, anyone may make a donation to the rebuilding of the Church of the Bogoliubsky Icon of the Mother of God at the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery and receive in return a commemorative certificate acknowledging their gift. Each such donation will be regarded as a personal birthday gift to the Head of the Russian Imperial House. The goal of the campaign is to raise 260,000 rubles.

In the church’s altar, a ceremony took place for the blessing of an icon of St. Vladimir, which had been presented to the monastery by I. I. Poleniachenko. The icon had been a gift from the knights of the Order of St. Vladimir to Grand Duchess Maria of Russia on her 60th birthday and in memory of the celebrations in 2013 of the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus (988) and the 75th anniversary of the accession by the Grand Duchess’s father—Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich—to the rights and duties of the Head of the Russian Imperial House (in 1938). 

This first event in the celebration of the birthday of the Head of the Russian Imperial house concluded with a luncheon for all those in attendance, hosted by the Abbot of the monastery and the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery

Near the end of the luncheon, all those gathered warmly greeted the Abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery, Hegumen Peter (Eremeev), who returned at that time from participating in pine services with His Holiness, the Patriarch.

***

On December 23, the celebrations of the birthday of the Head of the Imperial House of Romanoff continued with non-Church-related events. With the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which made available for these celebrations the Ministry’s Reception Hall on Spiridonovka Street, the International Benevolent Fund “Diaghilev Center” and the Russian Nobility Association arranged in this beautiful mansion for a concert and reception in honor of the Grand Duchess’s birthday. This event was made possible by the support of the Literary-Creative Association “Outlet” of the Russian Ministry of International Affairs, the Moscow Industrial Arts Institute, the website “Public Video Channels of Russia,” and others. 

Guests arriving at the mansion were greeted in the courtyard by the Russian Imperial Brass Orchestra performing marches and other musical pieces. At the entrance in the foyer stood an honor guard of the Military-Patriotic Organization of the Moscow Industrial Arts Institute wearing uniforms of the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Among the guests at the reception were government leaders, members of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian diplomats and representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps, prominent political and social figures, leaders in science and business, artists, musicians and performers, members of the Russian nobility, and journalists.

An exhibit of very old engravings was put on display in the foyer of the Reception Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The engravings were all thematically related to the 400th anniversary of the Romanoff dynasty and to the birthday of its Head. Among the items displayed were five printed primers—printed books with engraved letters and images designed to help teach one how to read—arranged so that each displayed in order the letters in the name “M-A-R-I-A.”

The reception was hosted by the President of the Diaghilev Center, N. G. Korzun. After a performance by the musical trio “Relic” (made up of the People’s Artists of Russia, vocalists and guitarists Alexander Nikerov, Viacheslav Moiunov, and Aleksei Leonov), and the viewing of a short documentary film about the visits of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna to Russia, the Director of the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, A. N. Zakatov, offered a short word of welcome to the guests at the reception. In his remarks, Zakatov conveyed the Grand Duchess’s gratitude to the organizers and participants of the reception, noting that the Diaghilev Center has played an active role in events connected with the beginning of the reintegration of the Romanoff dynasty into the social life of modern Russia. Acknowledging the cultural and educational activities over many years of the Diaghilev Center and its current president, A. N. Zakatov presented the Imperial medal “Anniversary of the Nation’s Victory, 1613-2013” to N. G. Korzun.

Others also took their turn to speak before those gathered at the reception, including the Chairman of the Central Elections Commission of the Russian Federation, V. E. Churov; the Chairman of the Synodal Office of the Moscow Patriarchate for Relations between the Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin; the Director of the State Museum “Arkhangelskoe,” A. E. Busygin; the Director of the Department of Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, A. D. Viktorov; the great-grandson of H.I.H. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Paul Kulikovsky; and the President of the Russian Nobility Association, Prince G. G. Gagarin. All the speakers stressed the importance of the activities of the Russian Imperial House and its Head, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, and the importance of the rebirth and preservation of traditional values.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin read the text of a congratulatory letter to the Head of the Russian Imperial House from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow and All Russia:

To Her Imperial Highness

Grand Duchess Maria of Russia

The Head of the Russian Imperial House

Your Imperial Highness!

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birthday.

For many of our countrymen, the Imperial House, of which you are the Head, is the symbol of a connection across the generations and of the continuity of the spiritual and cultural foundations of our nation. 

It is very gratifying that, despite living outside the borders of Russia, you have remained true to your historic homeland and to the Mother Church, and that you strive to preserve the traditions that were laid down by your ancestors. In your involvement with social causes and in meeting with people of vastly different views and convictions, you have made a significant contribution to the unity of the Russian community. I would especially like to note the fruitful partnership that has formed between the Imperial House and the Russian Orthodox Church, a visible witness of which was the joint celebration of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension of the Romanoff dynasty.

I wish you good health, spiritual peace, and God’s help in all your endeavors. May the Lord bless you in all the paths you take in your life.

With respect,

+Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

(For the original Russian version of this letters, see http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3477028.html.)

Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, the Chair of the Synodal Committee for Church Relations with the Cossack Community, arrived during the reception and offered a moving speech on the importance of the unity of all of Russia’s historical institutions in serving the nation’s ancient spiritual and moral ideals.

The evening continued with a concert performed by some of Russia’s most noted musicians and performers. Iurii Rozum, the famous pianist, People’s Artist of Russia, and Professor at the Gnessin Academy of Music, played the “Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig van Beethoven. The famous baritone Vladimir Redkin, People’s Artist of Russia and leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, superbly performed an aria from Sergei Rachmaninov’s opera “Aleko.” Natalia Karmeliuk (soprano), the winner of the Berlin Spring Festival, performed what was effectively a mini-concert of her own entitled “The Most Holy and Pure Family,” dedicated to the family of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II. Interspersed among these performances were readings by Alexander Ternovsky from the writings of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on her family and on raising her children. Nick Schaeffer (of Latvia) wonderfully performed on saxophone “M?ditation” by Jules Massenet and “Vocalise” by Rachmaninov, accompanied by the pianist Alexandra Neronova, a laureate of many international music festivals. Poems were read by the Chair of the Literary-Creative Association “Outlet” of the Russian Ministry of International Affairs, Vladimir Masalov. A violin performance by Anastasia Vediakova, the winner of numerous international music competitions, delighted all in attendance. The musical portion of the evening ended with a performance by the world-famous “Three Russian Basses” (Fedor Tarasov, winner of many Russian and international music competitions and a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater; Valerii Gilmanov, the winner of the national theatrical prize “The Golden Mask” and a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater; and Vital Efanov, the winner of numerous international music competitions and a soloists at the Moscow New Opera Theater; with piano accompaniment provided by Alexandra Neronova). The trio performed the Russian folk song “Ah, along Peter Street….” The concert ended with the singing of “Many Years” for the Head of the Romanoff dynasty.

After the conclusion of the official portion of the evening, guests had the opportunity to chat with each other casually over a glass of wine. Toasts were raised to the glory of Russia, to honor the Grand Duchess’s birthday, to the health of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, to the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke George of Russia, and to all those countrymen who love and faithfully serve their homeland.


[1] The Church was built in the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in 1684 on the site of an earlier church of Intercession, where Ivan and Afanasii Naryshkin (Tsaritsa Natalia Kirillovna’s brothers) were buried. The two brothers were brutally murdered during the Streltsy uprising in May 1682. Later the cathedral became the burial place for other members of the Naryshkin family. Eighteen relatives of Emperor Peter I were buried there, including Tsaritsa Natalia Kirillovna’s parents—Kirill Poluektovich (1630-1691) and Anna Leontievna (d. in 1706), who both had been tonsured monastics before their deaths.

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