St. Elizabeth the New Martyr
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (1864-1918), a princess of Hesse and granddaughter of Queen Victoria, married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia and freely embraced Orthodoxy in 1891.
After her husband was assassinated by a bomb in 1905, she visited his killer in prison and forgave him, then sold her jewels and founded the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary in Moscow, serving the sick and poor as its abbess. On the night of July 18, 1918, the Bolsheviks threw her alive down a mine shaft at Alapaevsk with her fellow nun Barbara and members of the imperial family, where she was heard singing hymns as she died. She was glorified as a New Martyr, and her relics now rest in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem.
All this time I was thinking and reading, and prayerfully asking God to show me the right way, and came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find the true and strong faith in God which a person must have in order to be a good Christian.
I am leaving the brilliant world where I occupied a high position, and now, together with all of you, I am about to ascend into a much greater world, the world of the poor and afflicted.
I am convinced that every good deed accompanies us into another world where God accepts it in expiation of our sins.
Prayer is the only thing that does not change at all. The more you live, the more you feel the connection of souls before God.
The Lord has decided that it is time for us to carry His cross. Let us try to be worthy of this joy.
Troparion · Tone 4
Emulating the Lord's self-abasement on the earth, you gave up royal mansions to serve the poor and disdained, overflowing with compassion for the suffering. And taking up a martyr's cross, in your meekness you perfected the Savior's image within yourself. Therefore, with Barbara, entreat Him to save us all, O wise Elizabeth.
Kontakion · Tone 3
In the midst of worldliness, your mournful heart dwelt in Heaven; in barbaric godlessness, your valiant soul was not troubled. You longed to meet your Bridegroom as a confessor, and He found you worthy of your martyric purpose. O Elizabeth, with Barbara, your brave companion, pray to your Bridegroom for us.
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