Paul I (1754-1801) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination on 24 March 1801.  Devoted to Russia and steadfast in the Orthodox faith from his childhood, he opposed the revolutionary and anti-religious currents then disturbing Europe.  During his brief reign he improved the circumstances of peasants, serfs and soldiers, and did much to aid the education and living conditions of the Orthodox clergy.  He was brutally murdered by members of the nobility and military leaders who resented his reforms.  Emperor Paul’s memory having long been revered by the Russian Orthodox Church, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has directed that prayers be offered in his memory on the Saturday closest to the two-hundred and twentieth anniversary of his assassination, Saturday 27 March.  In this parish he will be commemorated at the general panikhida to be served at 5.00pm on Saturday 3 April.