![]() In both parts, we will examine New Orleans’ role in the community mausoleum movement. In this part, we examine their mid-twentieth century popularity from approximately 1950 to 1980. In this series, we examine the two periods of community mausoleum construction in the United States. Many that were constructed between the early 1960s and today remain in regular use, maintained by their owners and cherished by their stakeholders. The nuns pray and hold daily services in the Church of Mary Magdalene.Community mausoleums – multi-vault, indoor structures that house dozens or hundreds of burials – are ubiquitous in the American cemetery landscape. They are also known for their liturgical singing. The sisters are known for their artistic skills and visitors to the convent can buy hand-painted Russian eggs, painted icons, embroidered vestments, hand-made incense and other artistic creations. The sisterhood has convents across the globe including in Israel. Mary Magdalene was established in 1936 by Mary Robinson (Mother Mary), a British convert to Orthodox Christianity. She may have been one and the same with Mary of Bethany and she is named in the Gospel as one of the few people present at the crucifixion. The Gospel of Mark tells us how Mary was the first to see Christ after his resurrection. Mary is believed to have been Christ's closest female follower and some even consider her a female disciple. ![]() The Russian church is named after Biblical character Mary Magdalene, a faithful follower of Jesus. ![]() Ironically Princess Alice had protected Jews and been recognized as a Righteous Gentile while the Grand Duchess Elizabeth's husband, Sergei was known to have had over 25,000 Jews expelled from Moscow during his time as governor of the city in 1891. Her dying wish was to be buried in the Church of Mary Magdalene near the grave of her aunt the Grand Duchess Elizabeth. In Princess Alice's later years the eccentric royal became a nun and devoted her life to charity work in Greece where she hid Jewish refugees during WWII. They were both made Russian Orthodox saints in 1981.Īlso buried here is Princess Alice of Greece (1885-1969), mother of Prince Philip, husband to British Queen Elizabeth II. In 1920 her remains were quietly transferred to the Mary Magdalene Church in Jerusalem along with those of Nun Barbara, her former maid. Her remains were found by White Russians and removed to the Russian Orthodox Mission in Beijing. During the Russian Revolution she was arrested and executed by the Bolsheviks. Following her husband's assassination in 1905 she became a nun founding the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, to help the less fortunate of Moscow. Originally from Germany, she married the Tsar's brother, Grand Duke Sergei. The remains of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (1864-1918) are buried in the church. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia To one side stands the 16th century miracle-working, icon of the Virgin Mary, "Hodigitria", which is said to have withstood fire and cured people of cholera. The iconostasis is of marble and bronze with icons by Russian artist Vereshchagin. The Grand Duchess commissioned Russian artist Sergei Ivanov to create a series of paintings depicting the life of Saint Mary Magdalene. Inside there are many Orthodox icons and liturgical paintings. The church is surrounded by a tranquil garden. From a distance the magical church is magnificent but it is also worth getting a closer look. It has seven gilded onion domes with multiple levels and turrets in white sandstone. The church was designed by Russian architect David Grimm and has the traditional Russian tented-roof associated with 16th-17th century Russian churches. The church was named after the Empress's patron saint, Mary Magdalene, and consecrated in 1888 in the presence of the Tsar's brother Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Grand-Duchess Elizabeth (now buried in the church). ![]() In 1886 Tsar Alexander III and his brothers commissioned the construction of the church in memory of their mother Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. You can see the domes from across the Kidron Valley as you approach the Old City. Its golden domes among the greenery of the mount are a beautiful and slightly incongruous sight. The Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene stands on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
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