A Memorial Service Was Served at the Grave of a Russian Volunteer of the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa

DECR Communications service, 05.05.2026.

On April 22, 2026, Archpriest Daniil Lugovoy, dean of the parishes of the South African Diocese in the Republic of South Africa and rector of the Cathedral of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Johannesburg, served a memorial service at the grave of Russian officer L.S. Pokrovsky in the city of Utrecht (KwaZulu-Natal Province), South Africa.

Leonid Sergeyevich Pokrovsky participated in the Anglo-Boer War as a volunteer and was mortally wounded by an English sniper on December 25, 1900. Twenty-five years later, he was reburied on the grounds of the Dutch Reformed Church in the city of Utrecht.

A monument crowned with a stone statue was erected over his grave. “He voluntarily gave his life for an oppressed people,” is written on the pedestal.

At the grave of L.S. Pokrovsky, words of the memorial prayer were offered. “Eternal memory” was proclaimed for all Russian volunteers who found their final resting place far from their native land. Flowers were laid at the monument.

The commemorative ceremony was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to South Africa R.E. Ambarov, Military Attaché N.A. Tsybulya, staff of the Russian Embassy in South Africa, residents of Utrecht, and parishioners of the Cathedral of St. Sergius.

A memorial wall dedicated to participants in the Anglo-Boer War has been set up at the nearby city museum. Among others, it bears the names of about 90 Russians who fought on the side of the Boers. Flowers were also laid at the memorial wall in memory of those who perished in that war, reports the website of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa.

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A Memorial Service Was Served at the Grave of a Russian Volunteer of the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons