Moscow hosts an international exhibition to mark 130 years of co-operation between the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the peoples of the Middle East.
In June 1881, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich went to Palestine accompanied by his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, and their cousin, Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. Together, they visited the sacred sights of Jerusalem, and it was here that Sergei helped to found the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.
The establishment of the Society was declared on 21 May 1882.The purpose of the Society was dedicated to the upkeep of Orthodox shrines in the Holy Land and the provision of services to Russian pilgrims. Grand Duke Sergei served as Chairman of the Society and his status as patron of the Russian presence in Jerusalem is believed to have given him more pleasure than any of his other duties.
When Grand Duke Sergei, was murdered by terrorists in Moscow in 1905, he was succeeded as President of the Society by his widow, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who served until 1917, when the Society was dissolved.
Today, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is once again thriving in the Holy Land.