A memorial service in the city of Utrecht

On 1 March 2024, Archpriest Daniel Lugovoy, rector of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Johannesburg, celebrated a funeral service at the grave of Russian officer L.S. Pokrovsky in the city of Utrecht, located 400 km from the capital of South Africa, Pretoria, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Pokrovsky was mortally wounded by an English sniper on 25 December 1900 during the Anglo-Boer War. He was reburied 25 years later in the grounds of the Dutch Reformed Church of Utrecht. A monument topped by a stone statue was subsequently erected over his grave. "He voluntarily gave his life for an oppressed people," the pedestal reads.

The words of requiem prayer were said over his grave, and "Eternal Memory" was proclaimed to all Orthodox volunteers who found their final resting place far from their native land. Then flowers were laid on behalf of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in South Africa and the Russian military attaché. The memorial ceremony was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Ilya Igorevich Rogachev, representatives of the attaché, staff of the Russian Embassy in South Africa, residents of Utrecht and parishioners of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

A memorial wall to the Anglo-Boer War was erected at the nearby city museum. The names of about 90 Russians who fought on the side of the Boers are embossed on it. Among them are Prince Bagration-Mukhransky, Counts Bobrinsky, Kanetsky and Komarovsky. In the war participated, according to some data, 225 Russian soldiers and officers, Russian settlers, and also operated a branch of the Russian Red Cross. One of the most prominent and brave military commanders was Eugene Maximov, who rose to the rank of general in the Boer army. Flowers were also laid at the Wall of Remembrance in memory of all those who died in the war.

On the eve of this commemorative event, Stepan Lugovoi, a student of the Sunday school of the parish of St Sergius of Radonezh, held a class hour about the Anglo-Boer War and Russian volunteers at the school of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in South Africa.

For the first time, a memorial service and laying flowers at the grave of Russian officer L.S. Pokrovsky in Utrecht were held on 25 February 2014. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this tradition, which allowed us to rediscover the pages of history, honour the memory of the fallen in the Anglo-Boer War, brought Russians and Afrikaners closer together, and added new content to their communication.