CrimeaPRESS reports:
On June 6, at the Diocesan Administration, Vladislav Pilkevich, Advisor to the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, solemnly presented an honorary award — the Imperial Order of St. Anna of the first degree to the Head of the Crimean Metropolis, Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea. How informs press service of the Metropolia, the award was presented «as a sign of attention, gratitude, honor and respect from the Russian Imperial House to the Head of the Crimean Metropolis for services to Russia and Russian culture«.
The Imperial Order of St. Anne is one of the most prestigious awards in Russia. The order was established in 1735 as a dynastic award of the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp and on April 5, 1797, introduced by decree of Emperor Paul the First into the award system of the Russian Empire «to distinguish clerics, military, civil and court ranks.» After 1917, the awarding of the Order of St. Anne was discontinued and the order ceased to exist as a Russian award. The order, however, continued to exist as a dynastic award of the Romanov dynasty.
The Order of St. Anne of the first degree is a large gold cross covered with red enamel, on a white enamel field — the image of St. Anne, and on the back, on the same field, a Latin blue monogram of the initial letters of the order’s motto, under the crown. It is worn on a red ribbon with a yellow border with a forged silver star on the right side of the chest, in the middle of which there is a red cross; around the cross, on red enamel, the Latin motto: Amantibus Justitiam, Pietatem, Fidem, that is, «To those who love Truth, Piety, Fidelity.»
Family orders and awards of the Russian Imperial House are historical monuments and part of the cultural heritage of Russia, an inalienable property of the Russian Imperial House.
His Holiness Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Alexy II His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was added to the highest order of the Russian Imperial House of the Romanovs, St. Andrew the First-Called and, accordingly, to the 1st degree of the Imperial Order of St. Anna. Among those awarded are Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, First Vicar of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, His Eminence Metropolitan Dionisy of the Resurrection and many other primates, senior hierarchs and clergymen— the press service of the Crimean Metropolis notes.
In response, Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea heartily thanked Vladislav Pilkevich for the high award and donated the icon of St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea.
Photo: press service of the Crimean Metropolis.
News of the Crimea | CrimeaPRESS
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