2016-02-16 The Feast Day of the Imperial Order of St. Anna
Members of the Imperial Order of St. Anna gathered for services on February 3/16, 2016, to mark the Feast Day of St. Simeon the God-Receiver and the Holy Prophetess Anna, the heavenly patron of the Imperial Order of St. Anna (see www.saintanna.ru). The services took place in the side altar of Sts. Simeon and Anna in the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah on Obydenskii Street in Moscow (see http://www.hram-ostozhenka.ru/). The services included a Divine Liturgy, a commemorative service (litiya) offered in memory of all the reposed knights of the Order, and an intercessory prayer service (moleben) for the health and salvation of the Head of the Russian Imperial House and Sovereign of Russia’s Imperial and Royal Orders of Chivalry, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; of her Heir, H.I.H. The Grand Duke George of Russia; and of the knights of all the Imperial and Royal Orders of Russia. The services were officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Arsenii of Istrin, the First Vicar of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and a member of the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Anna, along with Archpriest Vladimir Divakov, the Patriarch’s Secretary for the City of Moscow, and the rector of the Church of St. Elijah, Archpriest Maksim Shevtsov, as well as other clergy.
The blessing to hold these services on the Feast Day of the Order in this church was originally given by His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia, of blessed memory, and was confirmed by the present patriarch, Kirill I of Moscow and All Russia.
After the completion of the services, Metropolitan Arsenii delivered an instructional sermon to those in attendance. Then the Director of the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, Alexander N. Zakatov, and the Chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Order of St. Anna, Stanislaw V. Dumin, read aloud the several decrees issued by the Grand Duchess appointing new members to several Imperial and Royal Orders and awarding the Imperial Commemorative Medal “Anniversary of the Nation’s Victory, 1613-2013.” Those gathered together also offered their heartfelt congratulations to Colonel Vsevolod P. Poterukhin on his 90th birthday, which fell on the previous day—on the Feast Day of the Meeting of the Lord (February 2/15). Poterukhin had been one of the organizers of the Grand Duchess’s visit to Belarus in July 2009 (see http://imperialhouse.ru/eng/allnews/news/2009/1169.html) and actively works together with the Chancellery and other organizations and institutions linked to the Russian Imperial House on a range of projects and programs. In recognition of this milestone birthday, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia awarded Vsevolod Petrovich Poterukhin the Imperial and Royal Order of St. Stanislaw, First Class.
After the services and ceremonies, a traditional commemorative meal, or trapeza, was hosted in the parish hall of the Church of St. Elijah.