The Grand Duchess Elisabeth — St Elisabeth the New Martyr — was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria who married into the Imperial Family of Russia. After the murder of her husband in 1904, she became a nun and founded the famous Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow, which became greatly loved because of its work among the poor. Mother Elisabeth was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and thrown down a mine shaft in 1918. Along with the Tsar, his family and others who were martyred with them, St. Elisabeth was glorified as a saint, and a New Martyr of Russia. Her secondary relics are located in our Church. In 2016, a charitable and educational Society of the Grand Duchess Elisabeth was formed in St Leonards, and the Parish House next door to the Church has been used for many Society events The society will continue assisting the Parish in organising pilgrimages, lectures, exhibitions and other educational events. The quarterly lectures on Orthodoxy, which the society has organised in the past, will continue. Fr Aleksandr is a trustee of the Society, who, along with its founder, Dr Maria Harwood, has been involved with it since its inception. For more information or to join the society, please contact Fr Aleksandr.

See Grand Duchess Elizabeth  Society website here.