NEW YORK: 3 октября 2023 г.
The 20th anniversary of the death of Elena Alexeevna Slobodskoy is prayerfully marked in Holy Virgin Protection Church

On Sunday, October 3, 2023, Ascension Sunday, Archpriest Elias Gorsky, Rector of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY, celebrated Divine Liturgy together with Fr Andrey Podymov. At the altar, Archpriest George Larin, Rector Emeritus of the church, prayed and partook of the Holy Sacraments of Christ.

At the end of the service, a memorial service was held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of the pious wife of Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky, Elena Alekseevna, or "Matushka Yolochka," as she was lovingly called by the parishioners of the Protection Church and the students of the parish Russian School.

The fellowship of the clergy, parishioners and worshipers continued at the reception hall, during which they remembered the deceased, who with great love carried the work of God in difficult conditions abroad, zealously helping her father and instilling love for the Church and the Motherland in the younger generation.

Brief biography (from "Rodoslovnaya roda Lopuhinykh"):

Elena Alekseevna was born in 1925 in Sergiev Posad to an aristocratic family, the daughter of Prince Alexei Sergeevich Lopoukhine (1882-1966). She emigrated in 1935 with her parents, first to Estonia, then in 1941 to Germany, and after the end of the Second World War, in 1949 to the USA. She married Seraphim Slobodskoy in 1949. Together with her husband, she played a significant role in the establishment and development of Russian church schools for the children of Russian emigrants in the United States. She was the author of Bukvar’ [“Primer”] and many textbooks on various subjects. She contributed a lot to the Christian Orthodox education of Russian Orthodox children in the United States. She was the creator and chief editor and publisher of the children's magazine "Trezvon" for many years.

Photo: М.О. Slobodskoy