Varvara Alexeyevna Yakovleva (russian: Варвара Алексеевна Яковлева; c. 1880 - July 18, 1918), called Nun Barbara (russian: Инокиня Варвара), was a
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
in the convent of
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...
. She was killed by the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
along with the grand duchess and
Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince John Constantinovich of Russia (russian: Иоанн Константинович; 5 July 1886 – 18 July 1918), sometimes also known as Prince Ivan or Prince Johan, was the eldest son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia by ...
,
Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince Constantine Constantinovich of Russia (''Константин Константинович''; 1 January 1891 – 18 July 1918), nicknamed Kostya by the family, was the third son and fourth child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovic ...
,
Prince Igor Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince Igor Constantinovich of Russia (''Игорь Константинович''; 10 June 1894 – 18 July 1918) was the sixth child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna née Princess Elisabeth ...
,
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович; 7 October 1869 – 18 July 1918) was the fifth son and sixth child of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of ...
, Fyodor Remez, Grand Duke Sergei's secretary, and
Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley at
Alapaevsk
Alapayevsk (russian: Алапа́евск) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Neyva and Alapaikha rivers. Population: 44,263 ( 2002 census); 50,060 ( 1989 census); 49,000 (1968).
History
Alapayevsk is o ...
.
She was later canonized as a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
by both the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
within Russia.
Life
There is very little reliable information about her life before entering the
Martha and Mary Convent. According to documentary evidence, she came from
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
. She arrived at the Convent from
Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...
on August 20, 1910. In 1911, she was 31 years old.
[Додонов Б. Ф., Копылова О. Н., Крячкова Л. В]
«Новые свидетельства к биографиям крестовых сестер Марфо-Мариинской обители милосердия»
// Вестник церковной истории
Varvara Alexeyevna Yakovleva, small in stature and deeply pious, served as Grand Duchess Elizabeth's maid before taking the veil.
[Mager (1998), p. 331] Her nickname was Varya.
[Mager (1998), p. 244] The Grand Duchess and other women also took vows on that date. As sisters of Grand Duchess Elizabeth's convent, the women were well known throughout Moscow for performing acts of charity. They took food to the homes of the poor, set up a home for women suffering from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
, established a hospital to care for the sick, as well as establishing homes for the physically disabled, pregnant women and the elderly. They also established an orphanage. Their charitable efforts later spread to other cities in Russia.
Exile and death
Yakovleva voluntarily accompanied Grand Duchess Elizabeth when she was arrested following the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
and sent into exile. The group was confined at Yekaterinburg and later at Alapaevsk. On the afternoon of July 18, 1918 they were herded into the woods outside Alapaevsk at gunpoint, clubbed on the back of the head, and thrown one by one into a mineshaft in the woods.
All but Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, who had been shot in the head, survived the fall. They could be heard singing hymns from the bottom of the shaft. One by one they lost consciousness and died.
[Mager (1998), p. 334]
Veneration
![Church of Mary Magdalene IMG 3539](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Church_of_Mary_Magdalene_IMG_3539.JPG)
In 1981, Yakovleva was canonized as a "new martyr" by the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
as a victim of Soviet oppression along with the other members of the group. She was in April 1992 also canonized as a martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia. In May 1982, the bodies of
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and c ...
and Barbara (Varvara) were moved from the crypt of the
Church of Mary Magdalene, Gethsemane, where only private veneration was possible, to the upper church of St. Mary Magdalene.
See also
*
Romanov sainthood
The canonization of the Romanovs (also called "glorification" in the Russian Orthodox Church) was the elevation to sainthood of the last House of Romanov, Imperial Family of Russian Empire, Russia – Nicholas II of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II, his wi ...
Notes
References
*Mager, Hugo (1998). ''Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia''. Carroll and Graf Publishers.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakovleva, Sister Varvara
1880s births
1918 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Burials at the Church of Mary Magdalene
20th-century Christian saints
20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs
Victims of Red Terror in Soviet Russia
People from Sverdlovsk Oblast
People executed by blunt trauma
Executed Russian women
Christian female saints of the Late Modern era