The Personality of New Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, through the eyes of her contemporaries

Abstract

This year, on 18th of July, Orthodox Church commemorated 100th anniversary of martyrdom of a Holy New Martyr, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Driven by that important event for Orthodox Church and while having in mind words of Filaret Metropolitan of Moscow (1782 – 1867), stating that the safest way to penetrate souls of saints is to rely on narratives of nearby people and eyewitnesses we are attempting to present “portrait” of Grand Duchess Elisabeth. Our article is based on a number of sources, including: diaries, letters and memoirs written by Grand Duchess’s relatives, her friends, and admirers such as Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia, French diplomat Maurice Paleologue, Queen Marie of Romania, painter Michael Nesterov and many others.