The Head of the House of Romanoff has issued an Official Communiqué on the Celebrations of the Day of National Unity and on the Occasion of a Panikhida [requiem] at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign” on Romanoff Pereulok for all the victims of the Russian Revolution and Civil War

Greetings from the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, on the Occasion of a Panikhida [requiem] at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign” on Romanoff Pereulok for all the victims of the Russian Revolution and Civil War and for Her Countrymen who Died in Foreign Lands

My Dear Friends!

I send to you my heartfelt greetings on the Feast Day of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, which has once again become a national holiday: the Day of National Unity.

It is especially good that, this year, the Day of National Unity is marked with special prayers of remembrance for all the victims of the Revolution and Civil War, and also for all our countrymen who had to flee their homeland in the years of violence and died abroad.

The main result and lesson of the past tragic century for us should be a clear awareness of the fact that godlessness and inhumane evil, mutual extermination, hatred or falsehood can never be justified in the pursuit of a goal, no matter how desirable it may seem to be. Every side in the great Troubles of the twentieth century had its own truth and its own falsehood, its own ideals and its own selfish interests, its own heroes and its own scoundrels. But, at the end of the day, everyone suffered from the Revolution: both those who lost and those who won. Yesterday’s executioners became the next day’s victims, and many of those who survived and seemed even to find themselves in positions of power and privilege, nonetheless turned out to be defective spiritually and morally. We should forget nothing about this time, so that we do not repeat these mistakes. We should strive to make right the evil that was done. But we should also have the capacity to forgive and to ask forgiveness. For the sake of future generations, we must learn first and foremost to find in the past and in the present not those things that have divided us, but those things that can unite us, each and every one of us.

Eternal memory to all our countrymen who perished and suffered in the fratricidal, revolutionary whirlwind. May God remit their sins and receive them all in His Heavenly Kingdom.

It is fitting that the first panikhida that has been served in the name of National Reconciliation was served, with the blessing of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign,” which was built on the former location of an older church which had a special historical connection with the events of the struggles to liberate Moscow from foreign occupation in the early seventeenth century, with the leaders of that struggle, and with the first tsar of the House of Romanoff. The participants of the Second National Army and of the Great Assembly of the Land of 1613 provide us with an example of overcoming discord and of unifying various religious confessions, nationalities, and social classes and parties for the sake of the good of Russia. Unfortunately, circumstances do not permit me to be present in Russia at the present time, but I am with you in spirit and in prayer.

My Most August Mother, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, and My Son and Heir, Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, join me in sending these greetings and offering their prayers.

May God keep you all!

The original is signed by Her Imperial Highness: Maria

H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna

Verified true to the original:

A. N. Zakatov
Director, H.I.H.’s Chancellery
Issued in Madrid, 4 November 2009