His Grace Panteleimon, Bishop of Orekhovo-Zouevo (Russian Orthodox Church), consecrated on Friday, 25 March 2016, the church of the Clinical Hospital no. 57 in Moscow, pravmir.ru informs.
This is the first church consecrated in Russia in the honour of St Martyr Evgeny Botkin, physician (general practitioner) of the imperial family of Martyr Nicholas II Romanov.
“The holy martyr, physician Evgeny, has conquered death, has conquered evil through his fidelity towards God, through his devotion to his duty, through his life full of love. He lived with God”,
Bishop Panteleimon said, addressing to the patients and the staff of the Moscow Clinical Hospital.
The church of the Clinical Hospital no. 57 was built on the initiative of prof. Aleksandr Chuchalin, Director of Pulmonology Research Institute in Moscow, who evoked the personality and the life of martyr physician Evgeny Botkin, as well as his undertakings in the service of God and of his neighbour.
“We have gathered here today in order to celebrate the good deeds of the holy martyr Evgeny Botkin. Our church, which is consecrated today, is very modest. But I believe that the good existing in this church, and the force that surrounds it, will bring you joy”,
prof. Aleksandr Churchalin said.
Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin (1865-1918) was the son of the renowned physician Sergei Botkin (1832-1889), one of the founders of modern Russian medical science and education.
After graduating the Military Medical Academy, Evgeny worked for the benefit of poor patients. Thereafter, during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), he was a volunteer doctor on the front. In 1908, he became the physician of the imperial court. When the family of the martyr Emperor Nicholas Romanov was arrested, doctor Evgeny willingly accompanied them to Ekaterinburg, in exile. Several times, he was proposed to be released and return to Moscow, but he refused to leave the imperial family. In 1918, the right-believing physician Evgeny Botkin was assassinated together with the imperial family. This year, the Sacred Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, during its meeting in February 2016, glorified physician martyr Evgeny Botkin.
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