Charles Sydney Gibbes
Encyclopedia
Charles Sydney Gibbes was the English tutor of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
. Later in his life he became an Orthodox
monk
, adopting the name of Nicholas
after Saint Nicholas The Passion Bearer
. After his return to Britain he became a prominent figure in Orthodoxy
in Britain
. His body lies in Headington cemetery, Oxford
, Oxfordshire
, England
.
, Yorkshire
, England
on 19 January 1876. He was the youngest surviving son of John Gibbs, a bank manager, and Mary Ann Elizabeth Fisher, the daughter of a watchmaker. (Whilst at Cambridge
, Charles Sydney added the `e' to the spelling of his own name.) The fate of a younger son often being to enter the church, at the behest of his father he took the Moral Sciences Tripos at St John's College, Cambridge
, gaining a BA in 1899. He entered upon theological studies in Cambridge
and Salisbury
in preparation for holy orders but realised that he had no religious vocation.
Having some talent at languages, he decided to teach English abroad. In 1901 he went to Saint Petersburg
, Russia
, as tutor to the Shidlovsky family and then the Soukanoff family. He was then appointed to the staff of the Imperial School of Law, and by 1907 he was qualified as vice-president and committee member of the Saint Petersburg Guild of English Teachers. He came to the attention of Tsarina Alexandra
and in 1908 was invited as a tutor to improve the accents of the Grand Duchesses Olga
and Tatiana
; and subsequently Maria and Anastasia
. In 1913 he became tutor to Tsarevich Alexei
. The children referred to him as Sydney Ivanovich.
Sydney Gibbes's career as tutor to the Imperial Family continued until the revolution
. When the Romanov
family were arrested during the February Revolution
, Gibbes was in Saint Petersburg and after his return to Tsarskoe Selo he was denied entry and access to the family throughout their detention there.
Gibbes was only allowed to recover his possessions after 14 August (31 July (O.S.)) 1917 when the family was moved from Tsarskoe Selo to the house of the Governor-General in Tobolsk
in Siberia
. Gibbes opted to go after the family,
arriving in Tobolsk
in October 1917 shortly before the Provisional Government fell to the Bolshevik
s. In May 1918 the Imperial family were moved on to the house of Nicholas Ipatiev
in Yekaterinburg
. Neither Gibbes nor the French tutor, Pierre Gilliard
, nor any of the other servants were allowed to join the family. They were released, but stayed in Yekaterinburg
in the railway carriage which had brought them.
This carriage became part of a refugee train on 3 June and the tutors were in Tyumen
but returned to Yekaterinburg
after the murder of the Imperial family on 16/17 July and the fall of Yekaterinburg
to the White Army
on 25 July. Gibbes and Gilliard were early visitors to the scene of the executions at the Ipatiev House
and were both involved in the subsequent enquiries carried out by Ivan Alexandrovich Sergeiev and by Nicholas Alexievich Sokolov.
As the Bolshevik
s took Perm
and closed in on Yekaterinburg
, enquiries were abandoned and Gibbes and Gilliard left for Omsk
. Gibbes was appointed as a secretary to the British High Commission in Siberia
in January 1919, retreating eastwards as Siberia
was captured by the Red Army
. He was briefly employed at the British
Embassy in Beijing
and then became an assistant in the Chinese Maritime Customs in Manchuria
.
There was a large White Russian
refugee community in Harbin
and it was there in 1922 that he met an orphan, Georges Paveliev, whom he adopted. He established George in 1934 on a fruit farm at Stourmouth House in East Stourmouth in Kent
.
in 1928 and enrolled as an ordinand at St Stephen's House, Oxford
, but again decided that ordination
in the Church of England
was not to be his vocation.
In Harbin
at the age of 58, on 25 April 1934, he was received into the Orthodox
church by Archbishop Nestor of Kamchatka and Petropavlovsk who was there in exile. Gibbes took the baptismal name of Alexei
in honour of the former Tsarevich
. He was tonsured monk
on 15 December, ordained deacon
on 19 December and priest
on 23 December, taking the name Nicholas
in honour of the former Tsar
. In March 1935 he became an Abbot
, probably the first English Orthodox Abbot for nearly a thousand years. He returned to Britain
in 1937 and was established in a parish in London
.
At the time of the Blitz
he moved to Oxford
where in 1941 he established an Orthodox
chapel in Bartlemas. In 1949 he bought a house at 4, Marston Street, subsequently known as Saint Nicholas House, where he kept a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas the Wonderworker
. This chapel was home to several icons and mementos of the Imperial family which he brought with him from Yekaterinburg
, including a chandelier from the Ipatiev House
. (The house was divided into flats in the 1960s, and the chapel was converted into a flat in the late 1980s. It is a co-incidence that St Stephen's House
moved to Marston Street: this happened in 1980.)
When he died, his collection of Russian possessions were left with his adopted son, George, in Oxford
; and George subsequently donated them to the museum at Luton Hoo
. A small chapel was built there to house these memorabilia,
consecrated by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
. The museum has been moved from Luton Hoo
and is now a part of the Wernher Collection in Greenwich
.
Gibbes died at St Pancras Hospital
, London, on 24 March 1963.
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
. Later in his life he became an Orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, adopting the name of Nicholas
Nicholas
Nicholas or Nikolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος , a combination of the words for "victory" and "people" . The name can be understood to mean victory of the people or "power of the people"...
after Saint Nicholas The Passion Bearer
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. After his return to Britain he became a prominent figure in Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. His body lies in Headington cemetery, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Mr. Gibbes
Charles Sydney Gibbes was born in RotherhamRotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 19 January 1876. He was the youngest surviving son of John Gibbs, a bank manager, and Mary Ann Elizabeth Fisher, the daughter of a watchmaker. (Whilst at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Charles Sydney added the `e' to the spelling of his own name.) The fate of a younger son often being to enter the church, at the behest of his father he took the Moral Sciences Tripos at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, gaining a BA in 1899. He entered upon theological studies in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
in preparation for holy orders but realised that he had no religious vocation.
Having some talent at languages, he decided to teach English abroad. In 1901 he went to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, as tutor to the Shidlovsky family and then the Soukanoff family. He was then appointed to the staff of the Imperial School of Law, and by 1907 he was qualified as vice-president and committee member of the Saint Petersburg Guild of English Teachers. He came to the attention of Tsarina Alexandra
Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse
Alix of Hesse and by Rhine later Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova , was Empress consort of Russia as spouse of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of the Russian Empire...
and in 1908 was invited as a tutor to improve the accents of the Grand Duchesses Olga
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia ; , November 16 after 1900 – July 17, 1918) was the eldest daughter of the last autocratic ruler of the Russian Empire, Emperor Nicholas II, and of Empress Alexandra of Russia....
and Tatiana
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia , , was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra...
; and subsequently Maria and Anastasia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
. In 1913 he became tutor to Tsarevich Alexei
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
. The children referred to him as Sydney Ivanovich.
Sydney Gibbes's career as tutor to the Imperial Family continued until the revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. When the Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
family were arrested during the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, Gibbes was in Saint Petersburg and after his return to Tsarskoe Selo he was denied entry and access to the family throughout their detention there.
Gibbes was only allowed to recover his possessions after 14 August (31 July (O.S.)) 1917 when the family was moved from Tsarskoe Selo to the house of the Governor-General in Tobolsk
Tobolsk
Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...
in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Gibbes opted to go after the family,
arriving in Tobolsk
Tobolsk
Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...
in October 1917 shortly before the Provisional Government fell to the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s. In May 1918 the Imperial family were moved on to the house of Nicholas Ipatiev
Ipatiev House
Ipatiev House was a merchant's house in Yekaterinburg where the former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his family and members of his household were executed following the Bolshevik Revolution...
in Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. Neither Gibbes nor the French tutor, Pierre Gilliard
Pierre Gilliard
Pierre Gilliard was a Swiss academic, who was French language tutor to the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918. Years after the Imperial Family was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, Gilliard wrote a book Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, about his time with the family...
, nor any of the other servants were allowed to join the family. They were released, but stayed in Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
in the railway carriage which had brought them.
This carriage became part of a refugee train on 3 June and the tutors were in Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
but returned to Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
after the murder of the Imperial family on 16/17 July and the fall of Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
to the White Army
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
on 25 July. Gibbes and Gilliard were early visitors to the scene of the executions at the Ipatiev House
Ipatiev House
Ipatiev House was a merchant's house in Yekaterinburg where the former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his family and members of his household were executed following the Bolshevik Revolution...
and were both involved in the subsequent enquiries carried out by Ivan Alexandrovich Sergeiev and by Nicholas Alexievich Sokolov.
As the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s took Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
and closed in on Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, enquiries were abandoned and Gibbes and Gilliard left for Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
. Gibbes was appointed as a secretary to the British High Commission in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
in January 1919, retreating eastwards as Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
was captured by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. He was briefly employed at the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Embassy in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and then became an assistant in the Chinese Maritime Customs in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
.
There was a large White Russian
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
refugee community in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
and it was there in 1922 that he met an orphan, Georges Paveliev, whom he adopted. He established George in 1934 on a fruit farm at Stourmouth House in East Stourmouth in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Archimandrite Nicholas
Sydney Gibbes returned to BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1928 and enrolled as an ordinand at St Stephen's House, Oxford
St Stephen's House, Oxford
St Stephen’s House, Oxford , is an Anglican theological college and one of six religious Permanent Private Halls of the University of Oxford, England...
, but again decided that ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
was not to be his vocation.
In Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
at the age of 58, on 25 April 1934, he was received into the Orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
church by Archbishop Nestor of Kamchatka and Petropavlovsk who was there in exile. Gibbes took the baptismal name of Alexei
Alexei
Alexey is a male first name of Eastern-European and East Slavic descent, and is pronounced . It is sometimes romanized as "Alexei", "Aleksei", "Aleksey", "Alexej", "Aleksej", etc....
in honour of the former Tsarevich
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
. He was tonsured monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
on 15 December, ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
on 19 December and priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
on 23 December, taking the name Nicholas
Nicholas
Nicholas or Nikolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος , a combination of the words for "victory" and "people" . The name can be understood to mean victory of the people or "power of the people"...
in honour of the former Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. In March 1935 he became an Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, probably the first English Orthodox Abbot for nearly a thousand years. He returned to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1937 and was established in a parish in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
At the time of the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
he moved to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
where in 1941 he established an Orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
chapel in Bartlemas. In 1949 he bought a house at 4, Marston Street, subsequently known as Saint Nicholas House, where he kept a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas the Wonderworker
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
. This chapel was home to several icons and mementos of the Imperial family which he brought with him from Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, including a chandelier from the Ipatiev House
Ipatiev House
Ipatiev House was a merchant's house in Yekaterinburg where the former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his family and members of his household were executed following the Bolshevik Revolution...
. (The house was divided into flats in the 1960s, and the chapel was converted into a flat in the late 1980s. It is a co-incidence that St Stephen's House
St Stephen's House, Oxford
St Stephen’s House, Oxford , is an Anglican theological college and one of six religious Permanent Private Halls of the University of Oxford, England...
moved to Marston Street: this happened in 1980.)
When he died, his collection of Russian possessions were left with his adopted son, George, in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
; and George subsequently donated them to the museum at Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo straddles the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire borders between the towns of Harpenden and Luton. The unusual name "Hoo" is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, and is more commonly associated with East Anglia.- Early History :...
. A small chapel was built there to house these memorabilia,
consecrated by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh
Antony of Sourozh was best known as a writer and broadcaster on prayer and the Christian life. He was a monk and Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church...
. The museum has been moved from Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo straddles the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire borders between the towns of Harpenden and Luton. The unusual name "Hoo" is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, and is more commonly associated with East Anglia.- Early History :...
and is now a part of the Wernher Collection in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
.
Gibbes died at St Pancras Hospital
St Pancras Hospital
St Pancras Hospital is a public hospital in the St Pancras/Somers Town area of London, near Camden Town. The hospital is controlled by the Camden Primary Care Trust and specialises in geriatric and psychiatric medicine....
, London, on 24 March 1963.