| Having discussed also the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty, the archpastors decreed: 1. To decree to the abbots and abbesses and rectors of the monasteries and parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to commemorate the Royal Passion-Bearers during the dismissal of Liturgies in the following manner: “The Holy Righteous Passion-Bearers Tsar-Martyr Nicholas, Tsarina Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexei, Tsarevnas Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia; Holy Martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara and those martyred with them,” to commence on January 1/14 until the end of 2013. 2. And before the veneration of the cross during the first Sunday of Great Lent, to sing Eternal Memory to the Righteous Tsars and Tsarinas of the Romanov Dynasty and to “all members of the family of the All Russian Royal House,” in accordance with the Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. 3. The general celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty will be held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto, Canada, on September 5-8, 2013, to coincide with a Russian Orthodox conference and a session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. At the proposal of Bishop Peter, the Synod decided: “To instruct the clergymen of all monasteries and churches of the Russian Church Abroad, on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ, to prayerfully mark the 200th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon, commemorating Righteous Tsar Alexander Pavlovich and all the Orthodox leaders and warriors who laid down their lives for the Faith, the Tsar and Fatherland.” Discussing the practice of divine services in the Russian Church Abroad, the members of the Synod of Bishops noted the importance of preserving traditions inherited from the holy fathers, founders of the part of the Russian Orthodox Church located abroad, and carefully examining persons preparing for ordination into the clerical ranks and those wishing to be received into the bosom of the Russian Church Abroad. |
| YEKATERINBURG, July 17./TASS/. Tens of thousands of pilgrims walked more than 20 kilometers in an overnight procession in the Urals to honor the memory of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family who were killed on July 17, 1918. Photo: Donat Sorokin/TASS The procession, which began at the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg and ended at a monastery in the Sverdlovsk Region, was held as part of an international festival of the Orthodox culture “Tsar Days,” Bishop Yevgeny of the Yekaterinburg eparchy told reporters. Delegations from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, New Zealand and also Grand Duchess Olga Kulikovskaya-Romanova and MP of the lower house, the State Duma, and former prosecutor of Crimea Natalya Poklonskaya took part in the procession. “This is a duty and great honor for me to be here tonight. Each year the number of people (participants of the procession) grows by some tens of thousands. This is a river of people, this is love that cannot be portrayed by actors, and impossible to falsify…this is love that lives in the souls and hearts for our saint monarch, for our motherland,” Poklonskaya explained. Tsar Nicholas II , who abdicated his throne on March 2, 1917, together with his family were executed by a firing squad in the Ipatyev House’s basement in Yekaterinburg overnight from July 16 to July 17, 1918, following a resolution by the Urals Soviet of Workers’ and Peasants’ Deputies that was controlled by the Bolsheviks. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Tsar Nicholas, Tsarina Alexandra, Crown Prince Alexis, and Princesses Olga, Tatyana, Maria, and Anastasia in 2000 as New Martyrs for Christ. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| In preparation for such a council, Tsar Nicholas II (r. 1894–1917) authorized the formation of a Pre-Conciliar Commission in 1906. The year before, the Holy Synod had asked all the Russian bishops for their recommendations concerning Church reform. Sixty-one out of 63 diocesan bishops responded in favor of significant reform. However, in April of 1907, Tsar Nicholas changed his mind, for political reasons, about allowing the Church to hold a great council. The work of the Pre-Conciliar Commission was halted. At this time Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra were coming under the influence of a shadowy lay figure with hypnotic healing powers named Gregory Rasputin (1869–1916). Posing as an authentic Orthodox staretz (spiritual elder), he was actually a Khlyst sectarian who had been condemned as a heretic in Tobolsk. Especially because he was able to give relief to the royal couple’s hemophiliac son, the Tsarevich Alexis, he was eventually granted great influence in the affairs of the Royal Family and the Church, to the discredit of both. He was assassinated in December of 1916. On March 2, 1917, under great pressure for political and ecclesiastical reform, and with Russia suffering severe military setbacks in the Great War, Tsar Nicholas abdicated. A provisional democratic government was set up, led by Alexander Kerensky (1881–1970), which allowed the Church again to undertake preparations for the long anticipated All-Russian Council. The Council of Moscow, 1917–1918 After much debate, it was decided that each diocese would send delegates to the Council from among the clergy and the laity-as at the First All-American Sobor in Mayfield, Pennsylvania, in 1907-to sit in council with the bishops, who would make the final decisions in matters of Church doctrine and practice. In August of 1917, in the shadow of the impending Bolshevik Revolution, the Council convened in Moscow-rather than in Saint Petersburg, the headquarters of the Holy Synod ever since the Patriarchate was abolished under Emperor Peter I in 1721. This in itself indicated a strong desire on the part of the Church to return to its traditional patterns of life and organization before the era of the Petrine Reform. |
| Tweet Нравится Russia, the Romanovs and the Red Cross: Vienna exhibition highlights charity of St. Elizabeth Moscow, February 3, 2017 Members of the Romanov family serving in a hospital during World War I. Photo: Wikipedia A new exhibition dedicated to the history of the Russian branch of the Red Cross and the role of the royal family, especially that of the Grand Duchess St. Elizabeth the New Martyr, opened Wednesday, February 1 in the Viennese offices of the United Nations. The exhibition, “Charity in History: Contribution of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna to the Activities of the Russian Red Cross Society,” presents historical material about St. Elizabeth and the work of the Red Cross Society in Russia, including photos and other archive materials gathered by The Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Grand Duke Sergius Enlightenment Society and International Committee of the Red Cross highlighting the first years of the foundation, reports news.com.au . “The long history of charity and philanthropy in Russia is based on the Christian tradition and our national culture, which has always encouraged Russian Tsars, Emperors and nobility to generously contribute to extensive humanitarian activities of numerous medical, social and religious institutions. The Russian Red Cross Society is one of the oldest Red Cross organizations in the world, and its early history is closely linked to the royal family and the nobility of the Russian Empire,” said exhibition curator Anna Gromova, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of The Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Grand Duke Sergius Enlightening Society. The Russian Red Cross Society is one of the world’s oldest arms of the International Committee of the Red Cross which was founded in 1859, growing out of Tsar Alexander II’s “Community for Care for the Sick and Wounded Soldiers” founded in 1867 and given to the care of the tsarina Maria Alexandrovna. Many members of the royal family and nobility would participate in the organization’s work, although, as the exhibition highlights, the contribution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth is especially noteworthy. |
| Let me with humility now share with you a poem, “To My Beloved Mama”, written by the Royal Martryr Grand Duchess Olga, the eldest daughter of the Tsarina Alexandra, on 23 April 1917. This poem was written in Tsarskoye Selo. You are filled with anguish For the suffering of others. And no one’s grief Has ever passed you by. You are relentless Only toward yourself, Forever cold and pitiless. But if only you could look upon Your own sadness from a distance, Just once with a loving soul- Oh, how you would pity yourself. How sadly you would weep. It has been said that without a doubt, as a Orthodox Christian the New Martyr Tsarina Alexandra had for many years forseen intuitively a terrible end for herself, and as a consequence seldom smiled, living, as it were, always in a somber shadows of Eternity. Indeed, she and her Martyr Tsar had long sensed the rising force of darkness in Russia, the approaching monster of revolution. In the year 1917, their dark foreboding became reality. Placed under arrest and confined, first by the Provisional (Kerenskyite) Government and then by the Bolsheviks, the Martyr Tsar and Martyr Tsarina were not even allowed to communicate with each other. Everything the Russian people had given to the Tsar, Tsarina and their children was taken away from them.The homes that had been built in honor of the Tsars of Russia, the holy icons they loved, even their clothes! Their devoted friends had also been driven away, some short to death, others simply going missing. This Holy Royal Family were to receive crowns of Martyrdom, and they were prepared for this gift from above, inwardly and outwardly. Their Martyr’s crowns were not easily won. We have details of the Tsar, Tsarina and their beloved children being insulted, humiliated, and, on occasion, even spat upon (and their food spat upon); they were divested of every trace of worldly goods and earthly honor; they were rejected and their Sovereign dignity repudiated by their own subjects – not only by the multitudes, but by princes and traitorous, fraudulent dukes as well. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra. Selective Writings In looking for examples of truly radiant ones we find a loving mother, a devoted wife, a struggling Orthodox Christian, and one who truly loved Russia - the Holy Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra (Romanov), Russia " s last Empress. Father Demetrios Serfes 31 May 2005 Introduction by Father Demetrios Serfes In looking for examples of truly radiant ones we find a loving mother, a devoted wife, a struggling Orthodox Christian, and one who truly loved Russia -the Holy Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra (Romanov), Russia’s last Empress. Who was this Russian Empress? She was the grandaughter of Queen Victoria of England, and the sister of Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who also became a Holy Martyr in Russia, the beloved wife of His Imperial Majesty Tsar Nicholas II, devoted mother of four loving daugthers Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, and one son -the joy of her life- Tsarevich Alexis. This very special Empress was the “Matushka” -the Mother of all of Russia. A mother who cared not only for her beloved family, but also for the country, in which she frequently spoke in terms of love and devotion. She came from Germany, with a devout Lutheran background, and on her marriage to Nicholas became a sincere convert to Russian Orthodoxy. This was not easy for her – she had to find her own path towards her salvation virtually alone, but surely with the help of our loving God, together with His saints, and angels whom she loved dearly. Nothing was more important for this Empress than her Bible, and the faith of the Church which she began to love and became increasingly devoted to, hour by hour and day by day. Nothing became more important for this loving Empress then to learn and to share with others the holy Orthodox Faith in which brought her inner strength and great endurance. Every day there was a lesson for her beloved children, who had to learn about God, His Church and the teachings of the faith. She encouraged the children to learn frist from the Holy Scriptures, and then from the lives of the saints and martyrs of the Church as well as to pray. Wherever the Empress and her family lived, holy icons and holy relics would be found not only her room, but all the children’s rooms, and a chapel was always a central part of her household. A Church was even built in honor of the sufferings of her loving and devoted son the Tsarevich. |
| Already their health will never be what it was, but their souls are growing, and He will provide the strength to carry the cross. There are those who find it diffcult there without mother, but her faith will save her. (Reference unclear-Editor.) I cannot remember without tears. But she knows (wherever she may be) my soul is with her, and those who truly love me ought to remember this, lest our separation be unbearable. To be thus without news is so distressing, so burdensome. You are surprised that suddenly I write so candidly, but this letter will not go by mail-I am less shy of new commandant. We visited him several times in the Lianozov Hospital, took photographs together, so that there is a very different feeling-and then he is a true At that I do not envy him-it must be very difficult for him. But God will reward his every kindness; you see, God helped again. All the same it feels different now that he is our superior and censor. Previous to this he too had suffered. My mind is somewhat weary-today I wrote much to others, and soon it will be time for lessons. It is time to go. May the Lord bless and keep you on all your paths, and may He give you inner peace and tranquility. Most hearfelt regards. Your sister. May 28, Tsarskoye Selo 1917 In concluding this presentation, I must say that these two letters are rare documents by a Christian family, who became holy in their martyrdom. In her letter to the young officer, the Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra the Empress of Russia concluded prophetically- “My soul will always be near, and will always and everywhere follow you and protect you from every evil with prayers.” Editors notes: I certainly would like to thank John Wilson Smith for his kind assistance in the presentation of this text, and I would also like to thank Bob Atchison for his kind permission for the photographs used for the presentation of this web site. Holy Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra, Pray Unto God For Us! Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra. |
| The Tsarevich! Every hour every day, of the life of the Holy Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra was her son. Nothing was more important to her life than her son, and his preparation as the future Tsar of Russial. There are so many photographs of the Tsarina preserved for us, showing her at the bedside of her beloved son Alexis, who suffered from the dangerous condition of Royal Martyr Tsarevich Alexis (photo source: Bob Atchison)hemophilia. The pains of her son where her pains, and she was always ready to wipe away the sweat of his sufferings, remaining at his bedside hour after hour, exhausted yet unshakeable in her devotion. In reading the Tsarina’s diary one can note that the time she spent with her son, she would try to comfort him and read to him selections of the Bible and the lives of the saints, as well, as of course, praying with her son. One can see the strain of this beloved Mother in the many beautiful photographs, who at often look downward in sorrow as his pain brought her to total exhaustion and despair. However the Empress and mother did not and would not despair, as she was strong-willed, and at the same time was blessed with extraordinary patience. She was prepared and willing to endure, and indeed she acted like an angel, always ready to comfort both her son and anyone else who was ill or suffering. Here we have an Empress, a wife, and a mother who was often misrepresented as weak, despotic and withdrawn. The truth is that she was a different person than some history books, and much politically inspired opinion, has suggested. Her faithfulness, love, devotion and generosity ecompassed her God, her countrymen, and her family. She cared deeply for her family, and those with whom she came in contact, her Chruch, and people who loved God and Russia. Nothing was more important than the love of God and His Church to this “Matushka”, the Empress of Russia. If you loved God, then you loved one another, and if you loved Russia, then you also loved your Tsar and his family -and they loved in return! |
| What is more, their sufferings were wholly innocent and righteous. They deserved none of this, not a Tsar or Emperor, not a Tsarina or Empress, not the children, the Grand Duchesses and not the Tsarevich, of their own country Russia, or even the few who remained with them until the last hour. But the Tsarina and her devoted family bore all this with absolute faith and trust in God, with complete resignation to Divine Will, almost in silence, never complaining, and incredibly enough, even without bitterness! Such was their “podvig,” (struggle) their spiritual endeavor. So fervent their Orthodoxy, so great their piety, so deep their faith, so pure their innocence, that they all were found worthy to partake of the Passion of Christ our Lord and join the ranks of the Martyrs and Innocent Sufferers in Christ-their Martyrdom a pure sacrifice, without blemish, for even before their death as Martyrs they unquestionably would have stood before “the dread judgment seat of Christ with untarnished righteousness”. It might be said that the holy angels were with this loving family in all of their lives, especially in the end….”The Bridegroom cometh. We must prepare ourselves to receive HIm,” wrote the Martyr Empress from Tobolsk. She also wrote: “Everything in this world is vain. Let our brows touch the ground for the Ruler of all approaches. We must bow in all humility before His Cross”. As all good loving Christians wear Crosses they must also bare one. In that last hour in the Ipatiev house in Ykaterinburg, the entire Royal Family (and devoted friends, and servants) was miercilessly slain by the Communists on the 17 July in 1918, their souls receiving heavenly crowns from the hands of angels. The innocent sufferings and holy Martyrdom of the Royal Family, the deep humiliation, and cruel death, should indeed evoke the sympathy of everyone with a Chrisitian consceience, everywhere in the world. Our priority now must be repentance, an expression of our love for the Holy Royal Martyrs, asking them to forgive us, and to pray for us poor sinners who must remain on this earth to struggle for our salvation and to carry our Cross. |
| Russian tsar " lived secretly as monk in Siberia " for decades after history books say he died July 24, 2015 New analysis suggests strong similarities between the handwritings of Alexander I and the monk Rumours have long suggested that emperor Alexander I staged his death in 1825 and became holy man Feodor Kuzmich, also known as Feodor Tomsky. A theory was that he wanted forgiveness for any role he may have played in the assassination of his father Pavel I in 1801, or in benefiting from the work of others in slaying the tsar. Now analysis by Svetlana Semyonova, president of Russian Graphological Society, suggests strong similarities between the handwritings of Alexander I and the mysterious monk. " I was given a handwritten by Alexander I at the age of 45, and also another handwritten sample by Feodor Kuzmich, " she said. " As a graphologist, I have noted an unusual style of both handwritings. " Tiny characteristics of the handwriting and the psychological portraits of both authors suggest with the high level of certainty that " it was one and the same man. " The only difference is that in the handwriting of an 82 year old man we can see that he was deep in his spiritual world, arches and circles appeared in his writing. " But key features remained the same in all works. " The tsar died 1 December 1825 at the age of 47. He contracted a cold which developed into typhus, from which he died in the southern city of Taganrog. His wife and empress Elizabeth died the following year, but again amid rumours that the death was faked, and that she became a nun, known as Silent Vera. Sample of Alexander I " s handwriting Newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that her handwriting of the tsarina and nun were also similar. The monk appeared in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 1837 and lived there until his death in 1864. Since 1995, the remains of " saint monk " Feodor are treated like a relic in Tomsk. Professor Andrey Rachinsky, of the Paris Institute of Eastern Languages and Civilisations, said at a forum on Alexander I in Tomsk that various other facts point to a link between the royal and the monk. For example, a portrait of the monk was on the wall of Tsar Alexander III office next to those of his royal predecessors. |
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