Letter from the Head of the House of Romanoff to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Thanking Him for His Birthday Wishes.

From the Head of the Russian Imperial House

To His Holiness,
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

Your Holiness,

I thank you with all my heart for your letter congratulating me on my birthday.

I was deeply touched by your words, which give testament to the ancient and unbroken tradition of cooperation between the Church and the dynasty. Wherever I may be, my thoughts and feelings are always directed to Russia. All that I do is aimed at strengthening our homeland, helping the Russian Orthodox Church, preserving the unity of the cultures that make up the great expanse that is Russia—in all its ethnic, confessional, and cultural diversity—and in maintaining our nation’s historical continuity with its past.

The first half of my life coincided with a time of great difficulty, when faith in Russia was persecuted and our family was forced by circumstances to live in exile. The momentous revival of traditional values and spirituality in Russia, which began in the late 1980s, is in large part responsible for the restoration of the Holy Church to its proper place in state and society, and, at the same time, has paved the way for us to travel to Russia. You, along with the ever-memorable Patriarch Aleksei II, stood at the open doorway to welcome our return to Russia. Your constant prayers and moral support, your kind words when we greet and bid farewell to each other, have inspired me and my son and heir, Grand Duke George of Russia, to fulfill the duty that God has placed upon us. I wish you a Happy New Year and a very Merry Christmas, and I pray for your good health and that God will grant you many years! Asking your archpastoral blessing and prayers, I remain affectionately and most respectfully yours,

Maria
H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia

Madrid
January 1, 2014