A Nativity prayer handwritten in English by the Royal Martyr, Tsaritsa Alexandra, and given to Charles Sydney Gibbes on Christmas, 1917, at the Royal Family’s first place of exile — Tobolsk. Gibbes, an Englishman and tutor to the Tsar’s children, would later become an Orthodox Christian monk and priest in his home country. The prayer is reproduced below exactly as in the handwritten original.
I pray
That Christ the Xmas King may stoop to bless,
And guide you day by day to holiness,
Your Friend in joy, your Comfort in distress;
I pray
That every cloud may lead you to the light,
And He may raise you up from height to height,
Himself the Day-Star of your darkest night;
I pray
That Christ, before whose Crib you bend the knee,
May fill your longing soul abundantly,
With grace to follow Him more perfectly.
1917
Tobolsk Alexandra