PHOTOl the coffins containing the relics of Sts. Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterina Schneider, lie in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Perm

NOTE: this article was originally written under a different title and published on Sunday, 9th June 2024. It was partially revised on Friday, 14th June 2024, and updated with 12 new photographs – PG

On Sunday, 9th June 2024, a memorial to two faithful servants of the Imperial Family, Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterine Schneider was installed near the Church of All Saints, situated at the site where they were buried in 1919, in the Old Yegoshikha Cemetery in Perm.

The service was attended by the Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (IOPS) Sergei Stepashin, Chairman of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) Anna Vitalievna Gromova, clergy of the Perm diocese, local authorities, historians, academic, museum curators and parishioners.

The consecration ceremony was followed by a Funeral (Memorial) Litany, served at the coffins containing the relics of Sts. Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterina Schneider, by Metropolitan Methodius of Perm and Kungur in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

At the end of the service, His Eminence Metropolitan Methodiy of Perm addressed the faithful with an archpastoral address, in which he noted the significance of the event for the Perm region, saying that by the grace of God, after the research and labours undertaken, the honest remains of faithful servants of the Imperial Family were discovered and identified.

Recall that on 30th May 2024, the head of the Publishing Department of the Perm Diocese Olga Troitskaya, announced that forensic tests confirmed the identity of the remains as those of Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterina Schneider, in Perm, where they were shot by the Bolsheviks in September 1918.

Countess Anastasia Vasilievna Hendrikova (1888-1918), served as a maid of honour to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Ekaterina Adolfovna Schneider (1856-1918) initially taught at the Moscow Nikolaev Orphan Institute. She also taught Russian to Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Later, Schneider became a devoted friend and confidant to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

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In May 1918 Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterina Schneider arrived in Ekaterinburg from Tobolsk, however, they were not admitted to the Ipatiev House, but were instead, taken by train – along with 33 other prisoners – to Perm, where they were transferred to a local prison. They prayed fervently and tried to remain cheerful, although both were exhausted by the illnesses and burdens of imprisonment.

On the night of 3rd/4th September 1918, Hendrikova and Schneider were awakened and taken with 11 other prisoners outside the city to the irrigation fields situated on the 5th verst of the Siberian Highway, where they were all shot. According to the Whites investigation at the time, they were both shot at point blank range followed by a strong blow to the back of the head.

On 19th May 1919, the bodies of Hendrikova and Schneider were recovered by the Whites, who buried their remains in the Yegoshikha Cemetery in Perm. Their graves were marked with Orthodox crosses.

After the Bolsheviks had established power in the region, the graves of Hendrikova and Schneider were destroyed, and their location was lost. It was not until 2020, that the site where Hendrikova and Schneider’s remains were believed to be buried was established, thanks to a century-old photograph taken on the day of their burial – 16tj May 1919.

The remains of Hendrikova and Scehndier were exhumed on 8th September 2020, followed by a thorough forensic study, which lasted nearly four years. On 20th May 2024, an announcement was made, confirming that the remains were indeed those of Hendrikova and Schneider.

PHOTO: Sts. Anastasia Hendrikova (1888-1918) and Ekaterina Schneider (1856-1918)

On 1st November 1981, both Anastasia Hendrikova and Ekaterina Schneider were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) as New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Schneider was canonized in spite of the fact she was a Lutheran, however, she has not been canonized by the Moscow Patriarchate due to her faith.

On 16th October 2009, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation decided to rehabilitate 52 persons of the Imperial family and their retainers who had been subjected to repression, including Hendrikova and Schneider.

The photographs posted with this article are courtesy of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) and the Perm diocese.

© Paul Gilbert. 9 June 2024 – Revised 14 June 2024