International Committee of Ethics and Human Rights Watching «RAY»

«The Better World – Home For All»

August 4-th, 2009 г.

Desecration of relics

of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorvna in Jerusalem

Open letter to the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion

With a pain in my soul I decided to describe what happened in front of my eyes in the Gethsemane Convent on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

On the first week of June 2009 Natalia Moliboga, a supervisor of the Moscow Sts. Martha and Mary Convent, arrived to Jerusalem. She had a meeting with Abbess Elizabeth, matushka of the Gethsemane Convent.

That was not the first time she insisted the Abbess to give a large part of relics of Elizabeth Feodorvna (St. Elizabeth) for the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow with a reference to Yurii Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, to make a complete confiscation of the relics of Elizabeth Feodorvna.

In the mid of June suddenly Yekaterina, a former wife of Russian oligarch Vasilii Anisimov and now a woman close to Patriarch Kirill, arrived by a private flight. She represented herself as a «spiritual daughter of the Patriarch».

On the board of the same aircraft Bishop of Geneva Mikhail (Donskov) arrived. As an archery of ROCOR he claimed that he has blessing of Mark (Arndt), Archbishop of Berlin and Germany, who is watching over Russian monasteries on the Holy Land, to transfer a substantial part of Elizabeth Feodorvna relics by the sisters of the Convent.

All attempts of Abbess Elizabeth to contact Archbishop Mark failed. Later he said that “unknown forces” switched off his cell phone and he had no connection for five days.

Arrived people claimed to transfer the head of martyr St. Elizabeth Feodorvna to them. The Abbess and the sisters categorically denied this claim. Based, on his words, on a personal blessing of Archbishop Mark, Bishop Mikhail (Donskov) tried to convince the Abbess and the sisters to give the relics by a good will to avoid a conflict situation with mayor Luzkhov.

Yekaterina Anisimova also stated that the transfer of the relics is a personal request of the Patriarch. The most amazing fact is that neither Bishop Mikhail, nor Anisimova could submit any kind of a document or letter signed by mayor Luzhkov, Patriarch Kirill, or at least by Archbishop Mark.

Arrived representatives referred to mayor Luzhkov who by their words will try by all means available to him to achieve a complete transfer of the Elizabeth Feodorvna relics to Moscow.

By their words he has prepared all necessary documentation for this act. The sisters asked Bishop Mikhail how it happened that he arrived in the same flight with the delegation, and he answered that they «meet him and took with them accidentally in Rome».

After many hour intensive negotiations in elevated tones, Abbess Elizabeth finally agreed to transfer a part of the arm of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorvna under conditions of a written agreement, which was worked out and signed.

The agreement says that neither the current Sts. Martha and Mary Convent, nor any other representatives of the Moscow Patriarchy will ever claim in the future a transfer of the relics of the Grand Duchess neither in full, nor in parts. Moreover the document says that this issue will never arise in the future.

It was a great tragedy for the sisters who were present at the breakdown of the relics to see how a part the arm was taken off.

The situation was so much tense that it could end up with a great scandal any moment. The sisters could hardly contain themselves.

There were three black Mercedes’ on the street in front of the fence of the Gethsemane Convent waiting for the delegation which took a part of the relics. In the way to the airport Natalia Moliboga, a supervisor of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent, who hided during a week in the building of Russian Spiritual Mission, joined them.

It is not a secret that this year in September there would be a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of foundation of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow. One of my spiritual daughters who visited Moscow told that a shrine for the relics of the Grand Duchess is already prepared in the Pokrov Cathedral of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent.

There are supposedly «clothes of the Grand Duchess and her breast cross» in the shrine. However it is known that there were no such things on her body, when in 1918 investigator Sokolov obtained the body from a mine near Alapaevsk.

My appeals to bishops of ROCOR had no response.

I hope that the Head of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Hilarion, will respond on that sad event. But this hope is not so great.

I consider that on the eve of celebration of the 100^th anniversary of foundation of Sts. Martha and Mary Convent there occurred desecration of relics of Elizabeth Feodorvna, which rather can be compared with her murder in 1918.

Cleric of the ROCOR

Holy Land

July 2009.

Translated from publication on www.Portal-credo.ru on 08/03/2009.

To all people of good will in Russia and Abroad

Appeal of «Luch»:

We urge all believers and all people who truly revere the memory of the Royal Martyrs:

Boycott all actions of the MP related to the coming 100^th Аnniversary of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent.

Picket near Moscow government and the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent; tell to Russian people the truth on evil deeds and blasphemy of the MP and do not participate in its «actions».

Claim in a written form to return relics of St. Elizabeth to Jerusalem where they should remain until the red regime in Russia completely disappears.

Claim to remove Moliboga and defrock Donskov due to their bandit conduct, systematic lies, vandalism in church, cruelty with respect to believers and desecration.

Send this letter to all the churches and monasteries. Use all forms of legal protests.

God bless!

Holy Royal Martyrs, please, forgive us!

Materials on the site in Russian:

5 лет явления королевы Виктории Английской. ЛУЧ, 18 июля 2009 г.

Молибога уничтожила Обитель ВК Елизаветы. ЛУЧ, 29 апреля 2009 г.

Кто и кому платит за уничтожение ММО? ЛУЧ, 2008 г.

«Невесто Руси краснейшая». Фотоматериалы разных лет. ЛУЧ, 18 сентября 2008 г.

Белые цветы Царственной Мученицы. ЛУЧ, 24 мая 2007 г.

Лилия Небеснаго Иерусалима.

Биографические м-лы, исторические параллели. ЛУЧ, 30 окт. 2002 г.

Масоны захватили Императорское Палестинское Общество. ЛУЧ, 7 августа 2007 г.

Материалы на английском, опубликованные в «ЛУЧе» в разные годы.

LUCH 2009