Recollections of Jerusalem

— About the Book —

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.  Psalm 136:5

Recollections of Jerusalem vividly opens up to us a world very different from our own. It affords the rare opportunity to see major world events through the eyes of one shaped by them, but unable to influence them.
At the outset of World War II, the author, still a young child, travelled to Jerusalem with her mother on pilgrimage. Prevented by the conflict from returning to their home in Yugoslavia, they began a new life, intimately entwined with the city of Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem Anya was raised in the spirit of Holy Russia, manifested in the life of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, the Mount of Olives convent, the Gethsemane convent, and the Bethany School. Her spiritual life was nurtured by St John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, Archbishop Antony (Sinkevich) of Los Angeles, Archpriest George Grabbe, Mother Mary (Robinson), and in particular the English priest-monk Lazarus (Moore). Through Anya’s eyes, we gain new perspectives on their lives and ministries.
Her experiences in Jerusalem would sustain her faith during later years, following her marriage in America, when the Church was geographically distant from Anya and her burgeoning family. Ultimately they would lead her back to the Holy Land with her husband and children.
From a historical perspective, these recollections offer a window into the struggles and aspirations of the Russian diaspora after the Communist takeover of their ancestral homeland. It shows how events such as the Bolshevik revolution, the Russian civil war, and the Arab–Israeli conflict have shaped present realities.

— Author Biography —

Anya Berezina Derrick was born in Belgrade, of Russian parents. She worked as a volunteer nurse in Jerusalem and as a librarian at a West Bank University. She holds M.A.’s in both Russian Language and Literature and Library Sciences. Now enjoying an active retirement, she lives in Everett, Washington.

— Contents —

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Beginnings

Belgrade

Memories of War and Peace

Chapter 2 A Time of Innocence

The Holy Land and the Russian Mission

Bethany Boarding School

Father Lazarus Moore: Spiritual Father and Friend

Holy Week and Pascha

Favorite Teachers

At the Sea of Galilee

Gethsemane  Convent and Royal Patrons

Chapter 3   Coming of Age

Russian Jerusalem

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Nursing in Bethany

Into the Trans-Jordanian Desert

Our Russian Choir Goes to Amman

Notre Dame de Sion School

Courting

Parting from Mother

Chapter 4  Settling in America

Journey to America

St Benedict’s College

An Unexpected  Christmas Card

The Mount of Olives Convent

New York Bound

The Tolstoy Foundation

A Deepening Frienship

Pilgrimage to Jordanville

Engagement and Graduation

Marriage in Manhattan

Beginning a Family

Baptism and Struggles

A Growing Family

A Death in the Holy Land

Visiting the Holy Land

From Jerusalem to Denmark

The Writings of Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Chapter 5  Work on the West Bank

Returning to Palestine

Arriving at Birzeit University

Observations on Local Life

Chapter 6 Russian Encounters

Returning to America

Russian Relatives

West from Russia

Bereavement and New Life

On the Volga to Valaam

A New Friend

The Solovetsky Islands

In the Footsteps of the Imperial Family

Chapter 7  Reflections and Return to the City of Peace