Exhibition

On Sunday, November 3, 2024, an exhibition dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the birth of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna Romanova (November 1, 1864-1918) opened at the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The exhibition was solemnly opened by the ruling bishop of the Canadian and Montreal Diocese, Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov), in the presence of the clergy of the church and invited guests.

The exhibition features photographs of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and her husband, Prince Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (Governor-General of Moscow, killed by the revolutionary Kalyaev) and her family, as well as letters, documents and various books in Russian and English, published both in Russia and abroad. The organizers of the exhibition are the rector of the church, Father Maxim Abroskin and Father Valentin Losev.

Archbishop Gabriel thanked Fr. Maxim for his excellent work and noted that such an event was taking place for the first time in the Canadian and Montreal Diocese. Bishop Gabriel also consecrated new icons for the iconostasis of the Church of the Savior and the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, specially painted for this date.

The main idea of ​​the Exhibition is missionary – to introduce the English-speaking audience to the life of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice, née of Hesse-Darmstadt, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. In 1981, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia canonized Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara. In Russia, they were glorified in 1992.

On the opening day of the Exhibition, Fr. Maxim gave a lecture-conversation, after which the Sisterhood of the Church in honor of Elizabeth Feodorovna offered a meal. The exhibition will be presented throughout the year and will be supplemented with new exhibits, as well as lectures, reports and screenings of documentaries about the Romanov family.