Militsa Vladimirovna Zyornova, née Lavrova (17 August 1899, Tbilisi – 3 February 1994, Oxford) was a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

, dentist, religious figure, icon painter, and wife of the philosopher and theologian Nikolay Zyornov. She was in charge of the house of St. Basil in London and St. Gregory of Nyssa at Oxford.

Life

Militsa Lavrova was born on 17 August in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. She graduated from the Lewandowsky gymnasium in Tbilisi in 1917 and entered

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. In 1921, she left for France to continue her education. Lavrova arrived to Marseilles from

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

hoping to receive education in France. In order to pay for education she had to work as a babysitter, massage therapist, and dentist. In 1927, Lavrova married Nikolay Zyornov in the church of Orthodox Theological Institute of St. Sergei. From 1925 to 1932, Zyornova was a Secretary of the Russian Student Christian Movement in Paris. In 1930, she graduated from the

Paris University The University of Paris (), known metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated with the ca ...

. At that time, her husband Nikolay left for Oxford on a modest scholarship and Zyornova had to stay in Paris to work as an assistant for an American dentist. In 1932, Zyornova defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic "Treatment of parrhea with ultraviolet rays". In 1934 Zyornova joined her husband in Oxford. Along with her husband Nikolay, Zyornova created an Orthodox Center with a chapel for regular services, a hall for lectures and meetings, and a student residence in Oxford. After her husband's death in 1980, Zyornova took care of the center. She was in charge of the house of St. Basil in London and St. Gregory of Nyssa at Oxford. Thanks to Zyornova and her husband, the History of the Orthodox religion was included in the university syllabus. In 1973 jointly with her husband Zyornova published a book ''“Za rubezhom: Belgrad, Paris, Oxford: khronika semii Zyornovyh, 1921-1972”'' about their life abroad. In 1974, the Zyornovs published an article ''“Youth Christian movement in exile”'' in the “Bulletin of the Russian Student Christian Movement Abroad”. Together with her husband, Zyornova wrote a book ''“Zakatnye gody: Epilog khroniki semii Zyornovyh”'' (1981) and even more efforts were made to prepare its English edition ''“Zakatnye gody: Russkiy palomnik na Zapade”'' (1983). Militsa Zyornova died on 3 February 1994 in Oxford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zyornova, Militsa 1899 births 1994 deaths Female religious leaders Moscow State University alumni People from Tbilisi University of Paris alumni Women dentists 20th-century dentists