Grand Duchess Elizabeth: New Martyr
On July 18, 1918, a young nun, along with several others who worked in her convent, was brutally murdered by Communist forces outside the village of Alapasevek. Her and the people she served had been rounded up as political prisoners and sent to their death.
This nun was actually the former Grand Duchess of Russia: Elizabeth Feodorovna, who had abandoned her life of riches and ease to serve God and the poor in Moscow. She had established the convent of Martha and Mary whose primary mission was to care for the poor.
Born in 1864, Elizabeth had always been religious, but it wasn't until she met her husband, Sergei, that she discovered her true spirituality. She had been raised as a Protestant, but converted the Russian Orthodox Church. Her husband was devout in his spiritual life and was overcome with emotion when she announced her decision to convert.
As Duchess, Elizabeth lived a considerable life of ease. She was rich beyond her imagination and her life was filled with food, parties, dresses and an energetic social life. But she was never content with this and always felt ill at ease amongst the socialites of her day. She had a burning desire to take care of the poor. Her husband and her tried to provide relief for the poor.
On Feb 18, 1905, her life changed forever. Sergei had been targeted for elimination by anarchists. As Sergei arrived at the Kremlin for a business meeting, an assassin detonated explosives, killing the Grand Duke instantly. Elizabeth, hearing the explosion, ran to the scene, where she tried to maintain the Grand Duke's dignity by collecting his body parts as a final act of love.
Overcome with grief, Elizabeth withdrew into her religious life. She began to pray constantly. She even went to prison to meet with her husband's murderer. She offered him salvation by Christ's forgiveness, which the man refused. After this, she began to sell off all of her expensive clothes, jewelry, and paintings to raise money to start her convent. She wanted to devote her entire life to God, and she was excited to work among the poor.
Russia at the turn of the century was a dangerous place. Years of mismanagement had led to a great divide between the rich and poor. The poor, frustrated by this situation and excited by Marxist academics, decided to rebel. Unfortunately, this exacerbated the underlying situations and the Communist rebellion wound up hurting more people than it ever helped. The violence and political instability that marked this period of Russian history led to the great violence unleashed on the world by the Communist party.
The Convent of Sts Martha and Mary placed an emphasis on helping the poor in Moscow and the Grand Duchess exemplified these virtues by personal example. She cared for the people personally, often spending long hours by bedsides and comforting the sick. Even nonbelievers remarked at her personal dedication to the poor and the convent became a popular place with the people of the community.
Unfortunately, the Communists did not take kindly to the convent. Hell bent on destroying everybody who did not agree with them, the Revolutionaries sought to close the convent. The Communist ideology is threatened by any worldview in competition with it, and none so much as the Christian worldview. Because of this, the Communists, whose official religion is Atheism, must eliminate any religious order or philosophy and this situation was no different, regardless of any good the convent was providing for the poor. (The irony should not be lost on anybody. The Communists, whose 'goal' was to help the poor, wound up arresting those who were helping the poor).
The Communists rounded up those who worked in the convent and sent them to a prison camp. Eventually, they were transferred to Alapasvek. Elizabeth, her relatives, and other nuns were cast into a well. Elizabeth did not die on impact and began to take care those who were mortally injured by their fall. Not content to leave them like this, the Communists then threw grenades down the well to blow up the wounded, unarmed nuns and civilians. Even after the explosion, the martyrs in the well continued to care for each other and to sing hymns. It was at that point the murderers decided to leave them to die.
The Grand Duchess's life tells us a number of lessons and exemplifies a number of virtues. First and foremost is not to care about a life of ease and comfort, instead to sacrifice and to take care of the poor. Second is to show courage in the face of cowards with guns. Most importantly, however is to look at a life dedicated to God.
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