On 11-13 July 2020, H.I.H. The Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke George of Russia visited St. Petersburg.On 12 July, the feast day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, His Imperial Highness attended the Divine Liturgy in the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Liturgy was served by His Eminence Metropolitan Varsonofii of St. Petersburg, along with other members of the clergy.
Before the Liturgy began, Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko performed the rite of Chrismation for Miss Rebecca Virginia Bettarini, the Director of the Russian Imperial Foundation, who took the name Victoria Romanovna in Holy Orthodoxy. She arrived in St. Petersburg with the Grand Duke.
In preparation for her reception into Holy Orthodoxy, Ms. Rebecca Bettarini received religious instruction under the aegis of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America (ROCOR). The day before their arrival in St. Petersburg, Grand Duke George and Miss Bettarini visited the Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Moscow, where her final session preparing her for Confession and Chrismation took place.
Grand Duke George of Russia and Victoria Romanovna Bettarini then received Holy Communion. His Eminence Metropolitan Varsonofii afterward presented Victoria Romanovna an icon of her Heavenly patron, the Holy Martyr Victoria of Rome.
Victoria Romanovna Bettarini is the daughter of His Excellency Ambassador Roberto Bettarini and Carla Virginia Cacciatore. Mr. Bettarini is a career Italian diplomat who served as the Italian Ambassador to Zaire, Iraq, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Miss Bettarini attended the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli in Rome, where she received her BA in political science. She then went on to attain an MA in development economics and international development from the Società Italiana Organizzazione Internazionale in Rome. Miss Bettarini has served as the Director of the Russian Imperial Foundation since its creation as the Russian Imperial Foundation for Cancer Research in 2012. Miss Bettarini speaks Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English fluently, and has been studying Russian for several years.
Of behalf of his mother, the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, Grand Duke George awarded the Imperial Order of St. Vladimir to His Eminence Metropolitan Varsonofii. In turn, the Metropolitan presented the Grand Duke an icon of the Resurrection of Christ and a number of books.
Source: Russian Imperial House, FB.
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