Without the princess

It naturally happened that the Russian Imperial House in exile had more contacts with the clergy of the Church Abroad. ROCOR priests baptized newborns in the royal family, performed weddings, and took oaths. In 1988, the then first hierarch of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Vitaly, and all members of the Synod welcomed the imperial family at the celebrations dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', which took place in the USA. So for the Grand Duchess this event, perhaps, has a much more real meaning than for most Russians, for whom all the talk “about the unity of a divided people” is nothing more than an abstraction and anachronism.