2-798-979 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Irena Macrina Mieczyslaska, Superior of the Covent of St. Basil, 1845. Portrait of Mother Irena Makrina Mieczyslavska, abbess of the Order of St. Basil the Great in White Ruthenia [Belarus]. She and others escaped after her convent in Minsk was destroyed on the orders of Tsar Nicholas I: 'Leaping down a high wall into the snow they alighted in safety, and immediately fell on their knees in thanksgiving. They then separated, to facilitate their flight. The Superior, in the midst of all the severity of the season, was driven to hide for days together in the woods, without other food than berries, or anything to quench her thirst but the snow. Once, driven to extremity, she knocked at the door of a wealthy-looking house, and being received with veneration by its owner, was provided with money, provisions, and a correct map of her route. She crossed the frontier disguised as a shepherd...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.