home Health technologies Holy Royal Passion-Bearers (†1918). Miracles of the Royal Martyrs

Holy Royal Passion-Bearers (†1918). Miracles of the Royal Martyrs

Complete collection and description: prayer to the holy royal martyrs for the spiritual life of a believer.

Prayer to the Royal Passion-Bearers Nicholas, Alexandra, Alexy, Maria, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia

Memory: Memory on Sunday January 25 / February 7, or on the nearest Sunday preceding or following January 25 (New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia), Third Week after Pentecost (Council of St. Petersburg Saints), July 4 / 17

The family of the Royal Passion-Bearers: Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, princesses Maria, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei is an amazing and pious family that was able to carry their “Ipatiev” cross with dignity and courage. They pray to them for family well-being, love between spouses, proper education children, about maintaining chastity and purity, about a good bride or groom. The royal family is asked for prayerful help in illness, sorrow, persecution, and imprisonment.

Royal Passion-Bearers: Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, princesses Maria, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei. Icon

First Troparion to the Royal Passion-Bearers, tone 4

Today, faithful people, let us brightly honor the seven honorable royal passion-bearers, Christ’s one home Church: Nicholas and Alexandra, Alexy, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. For this reason, not being afraid of the bonds and sufferings of many kinds, I accepted death and desecration of bodies from those who fought against God and improved my boldness towards the Lord in prayer. For this reason, let us cry out to them with love: O holy passion-bearers, listen to the voice of repentance and the lamentation of our people, strengthen the Russian land in love for Orthodoxy, save from internecine warfare, ask God for peace and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion 1 to the Royal Passion-Bearers, tone 8

Chosen as the King of those reigning and by the Lord ruling from the line of the kings of Russia, the faithful martyr, who accepted mental torment and bodily death for Christ and was crowned with heavenly crowns, to you, as our merciful patron, we cry out with love and gratitude: Rejoice, royal passion-bearers, for Holy Rus' before God the zeal of the prayer book.

Second Troparion to the Royal Passion-Bearers, tone 5

You meekly endured the deprivation of the earthly kingdom, the bonds and sufferings of many different kinds, bearing witness to Christ even to the point of death from the atheists, the great passion-bearer, the God-crowned Tsar Nicholas, for this sake, with a martyr’s crown in heaven, crowning you with the queen and your children and servants, Christ the God, pray to Him to have mercy on the country Russian and to save our souls.

Kontakion II to the Royal Passion-Bearers, tone 6

The hope of the king, the martyr and the queen, and strengthen the children and servants, and inspired them to Your love, having foreshadowed the future peace for them, with those prayers, Lord, have mercy on us.

The Greatness of the Royal Passion-Bearers

We magnify you, holy royal passion-bearers, and honor your honest sufferings, which you naturally endured for Christ.

First Prayer to the Royal Passion-Bearers

Oh, holy seven, royal passion-bearers, Nicholas, Alexandro, Alexia, Maria, Olgo, Tatiano and Anastasia!

You, bound by the union of the love of Christ, are your home, as small church, they piously arranged nature and adorned nature with humility in the midst of earthly greatness. In the time of fratricidal warfare and persecution of the godless in our fatherland, placing all their trust in God, the image of patience and suffering of the entire Russian land showed to nature and, praying for the tormentors, slander, bonds and exile, mockery, ridicule and slander, murder and desecration of the body courageously endured naturally. For this reason, natural intercessors for us came from the earthly kingdom to the heavenly kingdom.

Oh, holy saints of God! Pray to God for us, that the Church may preserve our unanimity and strong faith, protect our country with peace and prosperity and deliver it from internecine warfare and division, make the powers that be wise, embellish the army with courage, save the people from ruin, strengthen Christian spouses in fidelity and love, children He will increase in piety and obedience, and all of us together with you will be worthy to sing the Most Honorable and Magnificent Name of the Life-Giving Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Troparion to the passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas, tone 5

You meekly endured the kingdom of the earthly deprivation, bonds and sufferings of many different kinds, bearing witness to Christ even to the point of death from the God-fighters, the great passion-bearer, the God-crowned Tsar Nicholas. For this reason, Christ God, your children and servants, has crowned you with the Queen in heaven with a martyr’s crown. Pray to him to have mercy on the Russian country and save our souls.

Kontakion to the Passion-Bearer Tsar Nicholas, tone 3

The imitator of the Myra representative, faithful to Tsar Nicholas, the Second Wonderworker appeared to you. Having fulfilled the Gospel of Christ, you laid down your life for your people and saved the innocent, and especially the guilty, from death. For these sakes, you were sanctified by the blood of martyrdom, as a great martyr of the Church of Christ.

First prayer to the passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas

Oh, holy passion-bearer to Tsar Nicholas the Martyr! The Lord has chosen you as His anointed one, to be merciful and right to judge your people and to be the guardian of the Orthodox Church. For this reason, with the fear of God, you performed royal service and cared for souls. The Lord, testing you like Job the Long-Suffering, allows you reproach, bitter sorrow, betrayal, betrayal, alienation of your neighbors and abandonment of the earthly kingdom in mental anguish. All this for the good of Russia, as her faithful son, having endured, and as a true servant of Christ, receiving a martyr's death, you have reached the Heavenly Kingdom, where you enjoy the Highest glory at the Throne of all the Tsar, together with your holy wife Queen Alexandra and your royal children Alexy, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Now, having great boldness in Christ the King, pray that the Lord will forgive the sin of the apostasy of our people and grant forgiveness of sins and instruct us in all virtues, so that we may acquire humility, meekness and love and be made worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom, where the new martyrs and all the saints are together. Russian confessors let us glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Second prayer to the passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas

O holy great Russian Tsar and passion-bearer Nicholas! Listen to the voice of our prayer and lift up to the Throne of the all-seeing Lord the groaning and sighing of the Russian people, once chosen and blessed by God, but now fallen and departed from God. Resolve the perjury that hitherto weighs heavily on the Russian people. We have sinned grievously by apostasy from the Heavenly King, leaving the Orthodox faith to be trampled upon by the wicked, breaking the conciliar oath and not forbidding the murder of yours, your family and your faithful servants.

Not because we obeyed the commandment of the Lord: “Touch not my anointed,” but to David, who said: “Whoever stretches out his hand against the Lord’s Anointed, will not the Lord strike him?” And now, worthy of our deeds, we are acceptable, for even to this day the sin of shedding the royal blood weighs on us.

To this day our holy places are being desecrated. Fornication and lawlessness do not diminish from us. Our children are given over to reproach. Innocent blood cries to heaven, shed every hour in our land.

But see the tears and contrition of our hearts, we repent, just as the people of Kiev once did before Prince Igor, who was martyred by them; like the people of Vladimir before Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, who was killed by them, we ask: pray to the Lord, may he not turn away from us completely, may he not deprive the Russian people of His great chosenness, but may he give us the wisdom of salvation, so that we can rise from the depths of this fall.

Imashi, Tsar Nicholas, have great boldness, for you shed your blood for your people, and you laid down your soul not only for your friends, but also for your enemies. For this reason, stand now in the Everlasting Light of the King of Glory, as His faithful servant. Be our intercessor, protector, and protector. Do not turn away from us, and do not leave us to be trampled underfoot by the wicked. Grant us the strength to repent, and incline God’s justice to mercy, so that the Lord will not destroy us completely, but may He forgive us all and mercifully have mercy on us, and save the Russian land and its people. May our Fatherland be delivered from the troubles and misfortunes that have befallen us, may it revive faith and piety, and may it restore the throne of the Orthodox Kings, so that the prophecies of the saints of God may come true. And may the Russian people throughout the entire universe glorify the all-praised name of the Lord and serve Him faithfully until the end of the age, singing the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Glorification of the passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas

We magnify you, the passion-bearing saint of Tsar Nicholas, and we honor your honest suffering, which you endured for Christ.

Akathist to the Royal Passion-Bearers:

Canon to the Royal Passion-Bearers:

Hagiographic and scientific-historical literature about the passion-bearers Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, princesses Maria, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia:

Blessed Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich and his family– Moscow Diocesan Gazette
Myths about the Holy Tsar-Passion-Bearer Nicholas II– Yulia Komleva
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna: her love will still find a response– Andrey Manovtsev
Who killed the Emperor?– Deacon Vladimir Vasilik
To correctly understand Tsar Nicholas II, you must be Orthodox.. Answers of an Orthodox Englishman to puzzling questions about the holy Emperor Nicholas II - Archpriest Andrei Philips
The religious and mystical meaning of the murder of the royal family– Archbishop Averky Taushev

Read other prayers in the "Orthodox Prayer Book" section

Read also:

© Missionary and apologetic project “Towards Truth”, 2004 – 2017

When using our original materials, please provide the link:

The Romanovs on icons and prayers to the holy Royal Passion-Bearers (film "The Murder of the Royal Romanov Family")

Somewhere far away in the Urals,

Where granite touches the sky,

On a dark night, like a victim, in the basement

The Anointed One of God was killed.

He was killed with his children and wife,

With a handful of servants faithful to the grave,

And since then over the unfortunate country

Blood flows and darkness deepens.

Many years behind the Iron Curtain

The country is locked like a prisoner -

There they mock at the black mass

Satan is above the crucified Christ.

Thus the change of government took place

And the division of Your royal garments.

How right you are - only lies and treason

Replaced our old motto.

Satan became the helmsman in power,

Covering Your royal trail,

The country has experienced a lot of grief,

But there is no “freedom” even for the dead.

We are sinners, Russian Tsar, before God,

We are also sinners before You,

We are Your debtors in many ways.

You suffered for the truth and “us.”

But there is a time and measure for everything, -

After the night the dawn will come,

And the Lord will put the fanatic to shame

For the murder of Rus' and the Tsar.

Freedom provocateur will be cursed,

The seventeenth year will be cursed

And you, Sovereign Emperor,

He will be honored as a saint by the people.

And in the forest, on distant Iset,

He will build a temple of marble,

So that all people in the world know,

That the righteous man was martyred there.

(V. A. Petrushevsky 1930)

I don’t know how things stand with this now, because, as we remember, in 2007 a joint act on the canonical communion of the two churches was signed and, therefore, apparently the saints are now common. Is it so? The answer could not be found. Many people still do not accept the holiness and martyrdom of the Romanovs, but nevertheless, this is already an accomplished fact, which is reflected both in icon painting and in existing akathists and prayers to the royal martyrs.

We pray to you with faith and love, help us to bear our cross with patience, gratitude, meekness and humility, placing our hope in the Lord and committing everything to the hand of God. Teach us purity and chastity of heart, yes, according to the apostle’s verb, we always rejoice, we pray unceasingly, we give thanks for everything. Warm our hearts with the warmth of Christian love. Heal the sick, guide the young, make parents wise, give joy, consolation and hope to the grieving, turn the erring to faith and repentance. Protect us from the wiles of the evil spirit and from all slander, misfortune and malice.

Do not forsake us, your intercession for those who ask. Pray to the All-Merciful Lord and the Most Pure Virgin Mary for the Russian Empire! May the Lord strengthen our country through your intercession, may He bestow upon us all that is good for this life and make us worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, where together with you and with all the saints of the Russian land we will glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Icon "Cathedral of the Holy New Martyrs of Russia from the atheists who were killed"

But first, I will make a small digression and it concerns those who rightfully became new saints according to the unified version. These are those who died during the execution in the Ipatiev House: Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, 50 years old; Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 46 years old; their daughters – Olga, 23 years old; Tatyana, 21 years old; Maria, 19 years old; Anastasia, 17 years old; and the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, 14 years old. And their faithful subjects: Evgeny Botkin, physician; Ivan Kharitonov, cook; Alexey Trupp, valet Anna Demidova, maid. And also those who died in the mine near Alapaevsk: Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna; Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; princes - John Konstantinovich; Konstantin Konstantinovich; Igor Konstantinovich; Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; (son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich from his morganatic marriage with Olga Pistolkors); Elizabeth Feodorovna's cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva); Fyodor Semenovich Remez, manager of the affairs of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (the situation with him is not very clear, supposedly even the ROCOR did not recognize him as a martyr, but why.). Such an official mournful list, which did not include several more names of those people who were also in the last days of the royal family and were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. In the above Western icon, everyone on the list is represented as holy martyrs.

Icon "Martyrs of the Ipatiev House and Martyrs of the Alapaevsk Mine"

August Sisters of Mercy – Tatiana, Olga and Alexandra

Life physician of the royal family Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin and the retinue that followed the royal family to Tobolsk

Small icon "Royal Martyrs"

Icon "The Holy Blessed Tsar-Martyr Nicholas"

Icon "Holy Martyr Nicholas in the Lives"

Icon "Tsar-Martyr Saint Nicholas" (Western letter)

We repent, as the people of Kiev once did before Prince Igor, who was tortured by them, like the people of Vladimir before the Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, whom they killed, and we ask boldly: for the blood of Your saints, grant us repentance, free our Fatherland from the troubles and misfortunes that have befallen us, revive the Russian land, in the fall with Your glory and grant her the Orthodox Tsar, so that the prophecies of Your saints may come true and may the Russian people sing glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Iconographic images of Tsar-martyr Nicholas II

Icon-portrait "Empress Alexandra Feodorovna"

Iconographic images of the martyr queen Alexandra Feodorovna

Icon "Blessed Martyr Tsarevich Alexei"

Iconographic images of the Tsarevich-martyr Alexei

Icon "Holy Royal Passion-Bearers"

Iconographic images of the martyrs-daughters Anastasia, Tatiana, Maria, Olga

Oh, holy new martyr, blessed Russian princess Olgo (Tatiana; Maria; Anastasia); You stand with your soul in heaven at the Throne of the Lord, and on earth, by the grace given to you, you perform various healings; look mercifully at the people who are coming and praying before your most pure image and asking for your help; Forgive the Lord for your holy prayers for us and ask us forgiveness of sins, healing for the sick, healing for the sorrowing and needy, ambulance, pray to the Lord, may he give us a Christian death and a good answer at his terrible judgment, so that we, together with you and all the new martyrs and passion-bearers of our land, may be honored to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Icon "New Martyr Elizabeth" (Western letter)

Icon "Holy Martyr Elizabeth"

O holy new martyrs of Russia, Grand Duchess Elisaveto and her sister of the cross, the most venerable nun Varvaro, who ended her path in many torments, fulfilled the Gospel commandments with deeds in the monastery of Mercy, laboring for the sake of the Orthodox faith until death in these last times, and good fruit in the patience of the passions brought to Christ! Pray to Him, as the Conqueror of death, that He may establish the Russian Orthodox Church and our Fatherland, redeemed by the blood and suffering of the new martyrs, and not allow our property to be plundered by the enemy of Russia. Behold, the crafty enemy has armed himself against us, although he will destroy us in internecine battles, sorrows, unbearable sorrows, illnesses, needs and fierce misfortunes. Pray to the Lord to cast down all their feeble insolence; Strengthen faith in the hearts of the Russian people, so that when the hour of testing comes upon us, we will receive the gift of courage through your prayers, having rejected ourselves and taken up our cross, we will follow Christ, crucifying our flesh with passions and lusts. Save us from all evil, sanctify the paths of our life, grant unfeigned repentance, silence and peace to our souls, ask the Lord for all of us to be delivered from bitter ordeals and eternal torment and to be heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints who have pleased God from the ages, so that we joyfully give praise , honor and worship of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Iconographic images of the holy martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna

Icon with family portraits royal martyrs

Icons "Royal Martyrs"

As we see, everything is very non-standard and far from the canons. Time will tell whether our church will ever develop a unified type of icons of the royal passion-bearers, but for now there are still several interesting iconographic works on this topic.

Icon "Holy Tsar-Redeemer Nicholas"

He was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna. The upbringing he received under the guidance of his father was strict, almost harsh. “I need normal, healthy Russian children” - this was the demand the Emperor put forward to the educators of his children. And such an upbringing could only be Orthodox in spirit. Even as a small child, the Heir Tsarevich showed special love for God and His Church. He received a very good education at home - he knew several languages, studied Russian and world history, deeply versed in military affairs, was a widely erudite person. Emperor Alexander III had a program of comprehensive preparation of the Heir for the performance of royal duties, but these plans were not destined to be fully realized.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Princess Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice) was born on May 25 (June 7), 1872 in Darmstadt, the capital of a small German duchy, by that time already forcibly incorporated into the German Empire. Alice's father was Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her mother was Princess Alice of England, the third daughter of Queen Victoria. In her infancy, Princess Alice - at home she was called Alix - was a cheerful, lively child, receiving the nickname “Sunny” (Sunny) for this. The children of the Hessian couple - and there were seven of them - were brought up in deeply patriarchal traditions. Their life passed according to the rules strictly established by their mother; not a single minute should pass without doing anything. The children's clothing and food were very simple. The girls lit the fireplaces themselves and cleaned their rooms. From childhood, their mother tried to instill in them qualities based on a deeply Christian approach to life.

Alix suffered her first grief at the age of six - her mother died of diphtheria at the age of thirty-five. After the tragedy she experienced, little Alix became withdrawn, alienated, and began to avoid strangers; She calmed down only in the family circle. After the death of her daughter, Queen Victoria transferred her love to her children, especially her youngest, Alix. Her upbringing and education from now on took place under the control of her grandmother.

The first meeting of the sixteen-year-old Heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and the very young Princess Alice took place in 1884, when her elder sister, the future Martyr Elizabeth, married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the Tsarevich’s uncle. A strong friendship began between the young people, which then turned into deep and growing love. When in 1889, having reached adulthood, the Heir turned to his parents with a request to bless him for his marriage to Princess Alice, his father refused, citing the Heir’s youth as the reason for the refusal. I had to submit to my father's will. In 1894, due to the unshakable determination of the son, usually soft and even timid in dealing with his father, Emperor Alexander III gave his blessing for the marriage. The only obstacle remained the transition to Orthodoxy - according to Russian laws, the bride of the Heir to the Russian throne must be Orthodox. A Protestant by upbringing, Alice was convinced of the truth of her confession and was at first embarrassed by the need to change her religion.

The joy of mutual love was overshadowed by a sharp deterioration in the health of his father, Emperor Alexander III. A trip to Crimea in the fall of 1894 did not bring him relief; a serious illness inexorably took away his strength...

On October 20, Emperor Alexander III died. The next day, in the palace church of the Livadia Palace, Princess Alice was united to Orthodoxy through Confirmation, receiving the name Alexandra Feodorovna.

Despite the mourning for his father, it was decided not to postpone the wedding, but it took place in the most modest atmosphere on November 14, 1894. The days of family happiness that followed soon gave way for the new Emperor to the need to assume the entire burden of governing the Russian Empire.

The early life of Alexandra III did not allow her to fully complete the preparation of the Heir to fulfill the duties of a monarch. He was not yet fully introduced to the higher affairs of state; after his accession to the throne, he had to learn a lot from the reports of his ministers.

However, the character of Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was twenty-six years old at the time of his accession, and his worldview by this time were completely determined.

Persons standing close to the court noted his lively mind - he always quickly grasped the essence of the questions presented to him, his excellent memory, especially for faces, and the nobility of his way of thinking. But the Tsarevich was overshadowed by the powerful figure of Alexander III. Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his gentleness, tact in his manners, and modest manners, gave many the impression of a man who had not inherited the strong will of his father.

The guidance for Emperor Nicholas II was his father’s political testament: “I bequeath to you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect autocracy, bearing in mind that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Let faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the basis of your life. Be strong and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience.”

From the very beginning of his reign as a Russian power, Emperor Nicholas II treated the duties of a monarch as a sacred duty. The Emperor deeply believed that for the hundred million Russian people, tsarist power was and remains sacred. He always had the idea that the Tsar and Queen should be closer to the people, see them more often and trust them more.

The year 1896 was marked by coronation celebrations in Moscow. Royal wedding - most important event in the life of a monarch, especially when he is imbued with deep faith in his calling. The Sacrament of Confirmation was performed over the royal couple - as a sign that just as there is no higher, so there is no more difficult on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service, the Lord ... will give strength to our kings (1 Sam. 2:10). From that moment the Emperor felt himself to be a true Anointed One of God. Betrothed to Russia since childhood, he seemed to have married her on that day.

To the great sorrow of the Tsar, the celebrations in Moscow were overshadowed by the disaster on the Khodynskoye Field: a stampede occurred in the crowd awaiting royal gifts, in which many people died. Having become the supreme ruler of a huge empire, in whose hands the entire legislative, executive and judicial power was practically concentrated, Nikolai Alexandrovich took upon himself enormous historical and moral responsibility for everything that happened in the state entrusted to him. And the Sovereign considered one of his most important duties to be the preservation of the Orthodox faith, according to the word of the Holy Scripture: “the king... made a covenant before the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep His commandments and His revelations and His statutes with all my heart and with all my soul” (2 Kings 23 , 3). A year after the wedding, on November 3, 1895, the first daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, was born; she was followed by the birth of three daughters, full of health and life, who were the joy of their parents, the Grand Duchesses Tatiana (May 29, 1897), Maria (June 14, 1899) and Anastasia (June 5, 1901). But this joy was not without an admixture of bitterness - cherished wish The royal couple had the birth of an Heir, so that the Lord would add days to the days of the king, and extend his years for generations and generations (Ps. 60:7).

The long-awaited event took place on August 12, 1904, a year after the Royal Family’s pilgrimage to Sarov, for the celebration of the glorification of St. Seraphim. It seemed that a new bright streak was beginning in their family life. But a few weeks after the birth of Tsarevich Alexy, it turned out that he had hemophilia. The child's life hung in the balance all the time: the slightest bleeding could cost him his life. The mother's suffering was especially intense...

Deep and sincere religiosity distinguished the Imperial couple from representatives of the then aristocracy. From the very beginning, the upbringing of the children of the Imperial Family was imbued with the spirit of the Orthodox faith. All its members lived in accordance with the traditions of Orthodox piety. Compulsory attendance at worship services on Sundays and holidays, fasting during fasting were an integral part of the life of the Russian tsars, for the tsar trusts in the Lord, and in the goodness of the Most High he will not be shaken (Ps. 20:8).

However, the personal religiosity of Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich, and especially his wife, was undoubtedly something more than simple adherence to traditions. The royal couple not only visit churches and monasteries during their numerous trips, venerate miraculous icons and relics of saints, but also make pilgrimages, as they did in 1903 during the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Brief services in court churches no longer satisfied the Emperor and Empress. Services were held especially for them in the Tsarskoe Selo Feodorovsky Cathedral, built in the style of the 16th century. Here Empress Alexandra prayed in front of a lectern with open liturgical books, carefully following the progress of the church service.

The Emperor paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church throughout his reign. Like all Russian emperors, Nicholas II generously donated to the construction of new churches, including outside Russia. During the years of his reign, the number of parish churches in Russia increased by more than 10 thousand, and more than 250 new monasteries were opened. The emperor himself participated in the laying of new churches and other church celebrations. The personal piety of the Sovereign was also manifested in the fact that during the years of his reign more saints were canonized than in the two previous centuries, when only 5 saints were glorified. During the last reign, St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), St. Seraphim of Sarov (1903), Holy Princess Anna Kashinskaya (restoration of veneration in 1909), St. Joasaph of Belgorod (1911), St. Hermogenes of Moscow (1913), Saint Pitirim of Tambov (1914), Saint John of Tobolsk (1916). At the same time, the Emperor was forced to show special persistence, seeking the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Saints Joasaph of Belgorod and John of Tobolsk. Emperor Nicholas II highly revered the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt. After his blessed death, the king ordered a nationwide prayerful commemoration of the deceased on the day of his repose.

During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, the traditional synodal system of governing the Church was preserved, but it was under him that the church hierarchy had the opportunity not only to widely discuss, but also to practically prepare for the convening of a Local Council.

The desire to introduce Christian religious and moral principles of one’s worldview into public life has always distinguished the foreign policy of Emperor Nicholas II. Back in 1898, he approached the governments of Europe with a proposal to convene a conference to discuss issues of maintaining peace and reducing armaments. The consequence of this was the peace conferences in The Hague in 1889 and 1907. Their decisions have not lost their significance to this day.

But, despite the Tsar’s sincere desire for the First World, during his reign Russia had to participate in two bloody wars, which led to internal unrest. In 1904, without declaring war, Japan began military operations against Russia - the revolutionary turmoil of 1905 became the consequence of this difficult war for Russia. The Tsar perceived the unrest in the country as a great personal sorrow...

Few people communicated with the Emperor informally. And everyone who knew his family life firsthand noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and the consent of all members of this closely knit family. Its center was Alexey Nikolaevich, all attachments, all hopes were focused on him. The children were full of respect and consideration towards their mother. When the Empress was unwell, the daughters were arranged to take turns on duty with their mother, and the one who was on duty that day remained with her indefinitely. The children's relationship with the Emperor was touching - he was for them at the same time a king, a father and a comrade; their feelings changed depending on the circumstances, moving from almost religious worship to complete trust and the most cordial friendship.

A circumstance that constantly darkened the life of the Imperial family was the incurable illness of the Heir. Attacks of hemophilia, during which the child experienced severe suffering, were repeated several times. In September 1912, as a result of a careless movement, internal bleeding occurred, and the situation was so serious that they feared for the life of the Tsarevich. Prayers for his recovery were served in all churches in Russia. The nature of the illness was a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings while participating in the normal routine of palace life. The Empress understood well that medicine was powerless here. But nothing is impossible for God! Being a deeply religious person, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to fervent prayer in the hope of a miraculous healing. Sometimes, when the child was healthy, it seemed to her that her prayer had been answered, but the attacks were repeated again, and this filled the mother’s soul with endless sorrow. She was ready to believe anyone who was able to help her grief, to somehow alleviate the suffering of her son - and the Tsarevich’s illness opened the doors to the palace to those people who were recommended to the Royal Family as healers and prayer books. Among them, the peasant Grigory Rasputin appears in the palace, who was destined to play his role in the life of the Royal Family, and in the fate of the entire country - but he had no right to claim this role. People who sincerely loved the Royal Family tried to somehow limit Rasputin’s influence; among them were the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the Holy Martyr Metropolitan Vladimir... In 1913, all of Russia solemnly celebrated the three-hundredth anniversary of the House of Romanov. After the February celebrations in St. Petersburg and Moscow, in the spring, the Royal Family completes a tour of ancient Central Russian cities, the history of which is connected with the events of the early 17th century. The Tsar was greatly impressed by the sincere manifestations of the people's devotion - and the population of the country in those years was rapidly increasing: in a multitude of people there is greatness to the king (Proverbs 14:28).

Russia was at the peak of glory and power at this time: industry was developing at an unprecedented pace, the army and navy were becoming more and more powerful, agrarian reform was being successfully implemented - about this time we can say in the words of Scripture: the superiority of the country as a whole is a king who cares about the country ( Ecclesiastes 5:8). It seemed that all internal problems would be successfully resolved in the near future.

But this was not destined to come true: the first World War. Using the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by a terrorist as a pretext, Austria attacked Serbia. Emperor Nicholas II considered it his Christian duty to stand up for the Orthodox Serbian brothers...

On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which soon became pan-European. In August 1914, the need to help its ally France led Russia to launch an overly hasty offensive in East Prussia, which resulted in a heavy defeat. By the fall it became clear that there was no imminent end to hostilities in sight. However, since the beginning of the war, internal divisions have subsided in the country on a wave of patriotism. Even the most difficult issues became solvable - the Tsar’s long-planned ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages for the entire duration of the war was implemented. His conviction of the usefulness of this measure was stronger than all economic considerations.

The Emperor regularly travels to Headquarters and visits various sectors of his huge army, dressing stations, military hospitals, rear factories - in a word, everything that played a role in the conduct of this grandiose war. The Empress devoted herself to the wounded from the very beginning. Having completed courses for sisters of mercy, together with her eldest daughters - Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana - she spent several hours a day caring for the wounded in her Tsarskoye Selo infirmary, remembering that the Lord requires us to love works of mercy (Mic. 6, 8).

On August 22, 1915, the Emperor left for Mogilev to assume command of all Russian armed forces. From the beginning of the war, the Emperor considered his tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief as the fulfillment of a moral and national duty to God and the people: he appointed paths for them and sat at their head and lived as a king in the circle of soldiers, as a comforter to those who mourn (Job 29, 25). However, the Emperor always provided leading military specialists with broad initiative in resolving all military-strategic and operational-tactical issues.

From that day on, the Emperor was constantly at Headquarters, and the Heir was often with him. About once a month the Emperor came to Tsarskoe Selo for several days. All important decisions were made by him, but at the same time he instructed the Empress to maintain relations with the ministers and keep him informed of what was happening in the capital. The Empress was the person closest to him, on whom he could always rely. Alexandra Feodorovna herself took up politics not out of personal ambition and thirst for power, as they wrote about it then. Her only desire was to be useful to the Emperor in difficult times and to help him with her advice. Every day she sent detailed letters and reports to Headquarters, which was well known to the ministers.

The Emperor spent January and February 1917 in Tsarskoe Selo. He felt that the political situation was becoming more and more tense, but continued to hope that a sense of patriotism would still prevail and retained faith in the army, whose position had improved significantly. This raised hopes for the success of the great spring offensive, which would deal a decisive blow to Germany. But forces hostile to the sovereign also understood this well.

On February 22, the Emperor left for Headquarters - this moment served as a signal for the enemies of order. They managed to sow panic in the capital because of the impending famine, because during the famine they will get angry and blaspheme their king and their God (Isa. 8:21). The next day, unrest began in Petrograd caused by interruptions in the supply of bread; they soon developed into a strike under political slogans - “Down with war”, “Down with autocracy”. Attempts to disperse the demonstrators were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, debates were going on in the Duma with sharp criticism of the government - but first of all these were attacks against the Tsar. The deputies claiming to be representatives of the people seemed to have forgotten the instruction of the supreme apostle: Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king (1 Pet. 2:17).

On February 25, Headquarters received a message about unrest in the capital. Having learned about the state of affairs, the Emperor sends troops to Petrograd to maintain order, and then he himself goes to Tsarskoe Selo. His decision was obviously caused by both the desire to be in the center of events to make quick decisions if necessary, and concern for his family. This departure from Headquarters turned out to be fatal. 150 versts from Petrograd, the Tsar's train was stopped - the next station, Lyuban, was in the hands of the rebels. We had to go through the Dno station, but even here the path was closed. On the evening of March 1, the Emperor arrived in Pskov, at the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky.

There was complete anarchy in the capital. But the Tsar and the army command believed that the Duma controlled the situation; V telephone conversations with the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko, the Emperor agreed to all concessions if the Duma could restore order in the country. The answer was: it's too late. Was this really the case? After all, only Petrograd and the surrounding area were covered by the revolution, and the authority of the Tsar among the people and in the army was still great. The Duma's response confronted the Tsar with a choice: abdication or an attempt to march on Petrograd with troops loyal to him - the latter meant civil war while the external enemy was within Russian borders.

Everyone around the Emperor also convinced him that renunciation was the only way out. The commanders of the fronts especially insisted on this, whose demands were supported by the Chief of the General Staff M.V. Alekseev - fear and trembling and murmuring against the kings occurred in the army (3 Ezra 15, 33). And after long and painful reflection, the Emperor made a hard-won decision: to abdicate both for himself and for the Heir, due to his incurable illness, in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The Emperor left supreme power and command as a Tsar, as a warrior, as a soldier, not forgetting his high duty until the last minute. His Manifesto is an act of the highest nobility and dignity.

On March 8, the commissioners of the Provisional Government, having arrived in Mogilev, announced through General Alekseev the arrest of the Sovereign and the need to proceed to Tsarskoye Selo. IN last time he addressed his troops, calling on them to be loyal to the Provisional Government, the very one that arrested him, to fulfill their duty to the Motherland until complete victory. The farewell order to the troops, which expressed the nobility of the Tsar’s soul, his love for the army, and faith in it, was hidden from the people by the Provisional Government, which banned its publication. The new rulers, some overcoming others, neglected their king (3 Ezra 15, 16) - they, of course, were afraid that the army would hear the noble speech of their Emperor and Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

In the life of Emperor Nicholas II there were two periods of unequal duration and spiritual significance - the time of his reign and the time of his imprisonment, if the first of them gives the right to talk about him as an Orthodox ruler who fulfilled his royal duties as a sacred duty to God, about the Sovereign , remembering the words of the Holy Scripture: Thou hast chosen me as king for Thy people (Wisdom 9:7), then the second period is the way of the cross of ascension to the heights of holiness, the path to Russian Golgotha...

Born on the day of remembrance of the holy righteous Job the Long-Suffering, the Tsar accepted his cross just like the biblical righteous man, and endured all the trials sent down to him firmly, meekly and without a shadow of a murmur. It is this long-suffering that is revealed with particular clarity in the story of the last days of the Emperor. From the moment of abdication, it is not so much external events as the internal spiritual state of the Sovereign that attracts attention. The Emperor, having accepted, as it seemed to him, the only correct solution, nevertheless experienced severe mental anguish. “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at the head of it ask me to leave the throne and hand it over to my son and brother, then I am ready to do this, I am even ready to give not only my kingdom, but also my life for the Motherland. I think no one who knows me doubts this,” the Emperor said to General D.N. Dubensky.

On the very day of abdication, March 2, the same General Shubensky recorded the words of the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count V.B. Fredericks: “The Emperor is deeply sad that he is considered an obstacle to the happiness of Russia, that they found it necessary to ask him to leave the throne. He was worried about the thought of his family, which remained alone in Tsarskoe Selo, the children were sick. The Emperor is suffering terribly, but he is the kind of person who will never show his grief in public.” Nikolai Alexandrovich is also reserved in his personal diary. Only at the very end of the entry for this day does his inner feeling break through: “My renunciation is needed. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step. I agreed. A draft Manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them the signed and revised Manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason and cowardice and deceit all around!”

When the unrest that began in Petrograd spread to Tsarskoe Selo, part of the troops rebelled, and a huge crowd of rioters - more than 10 thousand people - moved towards the Alexander Palace. The Empress that day, February 28, almost did not leave the room of the sick children. She was informed that all measures would be taken to ensure the safety of the palace. But the crowd was already very close - a sentry was killed just 500 steps from the palace fence. At this moment, Alexandra Feodorovna shows determination and extraordinary courage - together with Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, she bypasses the ranks of soldiers loyal to her, who have taken up defense around the palace and are ready for battle. She convinces them to come to an agreement with the rebels and not shed blood. Fortunately, at this moment prudence prevailed. The Empress spent the following days in terrible anxiety about the fate of the Emperor - only rumors of abdication reached her. It was only on March 3 that she received a short note from him. The Empress’s experiences during these days were vividly described by an eyewitness, Archpriest Afanasy Belyaev, who served a prayer service in the palace: “The Empress, dressed as a nurse, stood next to the Heir’s bed. Several thin wax candles were lit in front of the icon. The prayer service began... Oh, what a terrible, unexpected grief befell the Royal Family! The news arrived that the Tsar, who was returning from Headquarters to his family, was arrested and even possibly abdicated the throne... One can imagine the situation in which the helpless Tsarina, a mother with her five seriously ill children, found herself! Having suppressed the weakness of a woman and all her bodily ailments, heroically, selflessly, devoting herself to caring for the sick, [with] complete trust in the help of the Queen of Heaven, she decided first of all to pray before the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God. Hotly, on her knees, with tears, the Earthly Queen asked for help and intercession from the Queen of Heaven. Having venerated the icon and walked under it, she asked to bring the icon to the beds of the sick, so that all the sick children could immediately venerate it. To the Miraculous Image. When we took the icon out of the palace, the palace was already cordoned off by troops, and everyone in it was arrested.”

On March 9, the Emperor, who had been arrested the day before, was transported to Tsarskoe Selo, where the whole family was eagerly awaiting him. An almost five-month period of indefinite stay in Tsarskoye Selo began. The days passed in a measured manner - with regular services, shared meals, walks, reading and communication with family. However, at the same time, the life of the prisoners was subjected to petty restrictions - A.F. Kerensky announced to the Emperor that he should live separately and see the Empress only at the table, and speak only in Russian. The guard soldiers made rude comments to him; access to the palace for persons close to the Royal Family was prohibited. One day, soldiers even took away a toy gun from the Heir under the pretext of a ban on carrying weapons.

Father Afanasy Belyaev, who regularly performed divine services in the Alexander Palace during this period, left his testimonies about the spiritual life of the Tsarskoye Selo prisoners. This is how the Matins service took place in the palace good friday March 30, 1917. “The service was reverent and touching... Their Majesties listened to the entire service while standing. Folding lecterns were placed in front of them, on which the Gospels lay, so that they could follow the reading. Everyone stood until the end of the service and left through the common hall to their rooms. You have to see for yourself and be so close to understand and see how the former royal family fervently, in the Orthodox manner, often on their knees, prays to God. With what humility, meekness, and humility, having completely surrendered themselves to the will of God, they stand behind the divine service.”

The next day the whole family went to confession. This is what the rooms of the royal children looked like, in which the Sacrament of Confession was performed: “What amazingly Christian decorated rooms. Each princess has a real iconostasis in the corner of the room, filled with many icons of different sizes depicting especially revered saints. In front of the iconostasis is a folding lectern, covered with a shroud in the form of a towel; prayer books and liturgical books, as well as the Holy Gospel and a cross are placed on it. The decoration of the rooms and all their furnishings represent an innocent, pure, immaculate childhood, ignorant of everyday dirt. To listen to prayers before confession, all four children were in the same room..."

“The impression [from the confession] was this: God grant that all children would be as morally high as the children of the former Tsar. Such kindness, humility, obedience to the parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity of thoughts and complete ignorance of earthly dirt - passionate and sinful, writes Father Afanasy, - I was amazed, and I was absolutely perplexed: is it necessary to remind me as a confessor about sins, perhaps unknown to them, and how to incite them to repent of the sins known to me.”

Kindness and peace of mind did not leave the Empress even in these most difficult days after the abdication of the Sovereign from the throne. These are the words of consolation she addresses in a letter to cornet S.V. Markov: “You are not alone, do not be afraid to live. The Lord will hear our prayers and will help, comfort and strengthen you. Do not lose your faith, pure, childish, remain as small when you become big. It is hard and difficult to live, but ahead there is Light and joy, silence and reward, all suffering and torment. Walk straight on your path, do not look to the right or left, and if you do not see a stone and fall, do not be afraid and do not lose heart. Get up again and move forward. It hurts, it’s hard on the soul, but grief cleanses us. Remember the life and suffering of the Savior, and your life will seem to you not as black as you thought. We have the same goal, we all strive to get there, let us help each other find the way. Christ is with you, do not be afraid."

In the palace Church or in the former royal chambers, Father Athanasius regularly celebrated the all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy, which were always attended by all members of the Imperial family. After the Day of the Holy Trinity, alarming messages appeared more and more often in the diary of Father Afanasy - he noted the growing irritation of the guards, sometimes reaching the point of rudeness towards the Royal Family. The spiritual state of the members of the Royal Family does not go unnoticed by him - yes, they all suffered, he notes, but along with the suffering their patience and prayer increased. In their suffering they acquired true humility - according to the word of the prophet: Say to the king and queen: humble yourself... for the crown of your glory has fallen from your head (Jer. 13:18).

“...Now the humble servant of God Nikolai, like a meek lamb, kind to all his enemies, not remembering insults, praying earnestly for the prosperity of Russia, believing deeply in her glorious future, kneeling, looking at the cross and the Gospel... expresses to the Heavenly Father the innermost secrets of his long-suffering life and, throwing himself into the dust before the greatness of the Heavenly King, tearfully asks for forgiveness for his voluntary and involuntary sins,” we read in the diary of Father Afanasy Belyaev.

Meanwhile, serious changes were brewing in the lives of the Royal prisoners. The Provisional Government appointed a commission to investigate the activities of the Emperor, but despite all efforts to discover at least something discrediting the Tsar, nothing was found - the Tsar was innocent. When his innocence was proven and it became obvious that there was no crime behind him, the Provisional Government, instead of releasing the Tsar and his August wife, decided to remove the prisoners from Tsarskoye Selo. On the night of August 1, they were sent to Tobolsk - this was done allegedly in view of possible unrest, the first victim of which could be the Royal Family. In fact, by doing so, the family was doomed to the cross, because at that time the days of the Provisional Government itself were numbered.

On July 30, the day before the departure of the Royal Family to Tobolsk, the last Divine Liturgy was served in the royal chambers; for the last time, the former owners of their home gathered to pray fervently, asking with tears, on kneel, the Lord for help and intercession from all troubles and misfortunes, and at the same time realizing that they were entering the path outlined by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself for all Christians: They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, handing you over to prison, and bringing you before the rulers for My name’s sake (Luke 21:12). The entire Royal family and their already very few servants prayed at this liturgy.

On August 6, the royal prisoners arrived in Tobolsk. The first weeks of the Royal Family's stay in Tobolsk were perhaps the calmest during the entire period of their imprisonment. On September 8, the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the prisoners were allowed to go to church for the first time. Subsequently, this consolation extremely rarely fell to their lot. One of the greatest hardships during my life in Tobolsk was almost complete absence all sorts of news. The letters arrived with a huge delay. As for newspapers, we had to be content with a local leaflet, printed on wrapping paper and giving only old telegrams several days late, and even those most often appeared here in a distorted and truncated form. The Emperor watched with alarm the events unfolding in Russia. He understood that the country was rapidly heading towards destruction.

Kornilov suggested that Kerensky send troops to Petrograd to put an end to the Bolshevik agitation, which was becoming more and more threatening day by day. The Tsar’s sadness was immeasurable when the Provisional Government rejected this last attempt to save the Motherland. He understood perfectly well that this was the only way to avoid an imminent disaster. The Emperor repents of his abdication. “After all, he made this decision only in the hope that those who wanted to remove him would still be able to continue the war with honor and would not ruin the cause of saving Russia. He was afraid then that his refusal to sign the renunciation would lead to civil war in sight of the enemy. The Tsar did not want even a drop of Russian blood to be shed because of him... It was painful for the Emperor to now see the futility of his sacrifice and realize that, having in mind then only the good of his homeland, he had harmed it with his renunciation,” recalls P. Gilliard , teacher of Tsarevich Alexei.

Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks had already come to power in Petrograd - a period had begun about which the Emperor wrote in his diary: “much worse and more shameful than the events of the Time of Troubles.” The news of the October revolution reached Tobolsk on November 15. The soldiers guarding the governor's house warmed up to the Royal Family, and several months passed after the Bolshevik coup before the change in power began to affect the situation of the prisoners. In Tobolsk, a “soldiers’ committee” was formed, which, striving in every possible way for self-affirmation, demonstrated its power over the Sovereign - they either force him to take off his shoulder straps, or destroy the ice slide built for the Tsar’s children: he mocks the kings, according to the word of the prophet Habakkuk (Hab. 1 , 10). On March 1, 1918, “Nikolai Romanov and his family were transferred to soldiers’ rations.”

The letters and diaries of members of the Imperial Family testify to the deep experience of the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes. But this tragedy does not deprive the Royal prisoners of fortitude, faith and hope for God’s help.

“It’s incredibly difficult, sad, hurtful, ashamed, but don’t lose faith in God’s mercy. He will not leave his homeland to perish. We must endure all these humiliations, disgusting things, horrors with humility (since we are unable to help). And He will save, long-suffering and abundantly merciful - He will not be angry to the end... Without faith it would be impossible to live...

How happy I am that we are not abroad, but with her [the Motherland] we are going through everything. Just as you want to share everything with your beloved sick person, experience everything and watch over him with love and excitement, so it is with your Motherland. I felt like her mother for too long to lose this feeling - we are one, and share grief and happiness. She hurt us, offended us, slandered us... but we still love her deeply and want to see her recovery, like a sick child with bad but also good qualities, and our homeland...

I firmly believe that the time of suffering is passing, that the sun will again shine over the long-suffering Motherland. After all, the Lord is merciful - he will save the Motherland...” wrote the Empress.

The suffering of the country and people cannot be meaningless - the Royal Passion-Bearers firmly believe in this: “When will all this end? Whenever God pleases. Be patient, dear country, and you will receive a crown of glory, a reward for all your suffering... Spring will come and bring joy, and dry up the tears and blood shed in streams over the poor Motherland...

There is still a lot of hard work ahead - it hurts, there is so much bloodshed, it hurts terribly! But the truth must finally win...

How can you live if there is no hope? We must be cheerful, and then the Lord will give peace of mind. It’s painful, annoying, insulting, ashamed, you suffer, everything hurts, it’s punctured, but there is silence in your soul, calm faith and love for God, who will not abandon His own and will hear the prayers of the zealous and will have mercy and save...

...How much longer will our unfortunate Motherland be tormented and torn apart by external and internal enemies? Sometimes it seems that you can’t endure it anymore, you don’t even know what to hope for, what to wish for? But still, no one like God! May His holy will be done!”

Consolation and meekness in enduring sorrows are given to the Royal prisoners by prayer, reading spiritual books, worship, and Communion: “... The Lord God gave unexpected joy and consolation, allowing us to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, for the cleansing of sins and eternal life. Bright jubilation and love fill the soul.”

In suffering and trials, spiritual knowledge, knowledge of oneself, one’s soul, increases. Striving for eternal life helps to endure suffering and gives great consolation: “...Everything that I love suffers, there is no counting of all the dirt and suffering, and the Lord does not allow despondency: He protects from despair, gives strength, confidence in a bright future even at this point.” light."

In March it became known that a separate peace with Germany had been concluded in Brest. The Emperor did not hide his attitude towards him: “This is such a shame for Russia and it is “tantamount to suicide.” When there was a rumor that the Germans were demanding that the Bolsheviks hand over the Royal Family to them, the Empress declared: “I prefer to die in Russia than to be saved by the Germans.” The first Bolshevik detachment arrived in Tobolsk on Tuesday, April 22. Commissioner Yakovlev inspects the house and gets acquainted with the prisoners. A few days later, he reports that he must take the Emperor away, assuring that nothing bad will happen to him. Assuming that they wanted to send him to Moscow to sign a separate peace with Germany, the Sovereign, who under no circumstances abandoned his high spiritual nobility (remember the Message of the Prophet Jeremiah: king, show your courage - Epistle Jer. 1, 58), firmly said : “I’d rather let my hand be cut off than sign this shameful agreement.”

The heir was ill at that time, and it was impossible to carry him. Despite fear for her sick son, the Empress decides to follow her husband; Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna also went with them. Only on May 7, family members remaining in Tobolsk received news from Yekaterinburg: the Sovereign, Empress and Maria Nikolaevna were imprisoned in Ipatiev’s house. When the Heir's health improved, the remaining members of the Royal Family from Tobolsk were also taken to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in the same house, but most of the people close to the family were not allowed to see them.

There is much less evidence left about the Yekaterinburg period of imprisonment of the Royal Family. Almost no letters. Basically, this period is known only from brief entries in the Emperor’s diary and the testimony of witnesses in the case of the murder of the Royal Family. Particularly valuable is the testimony of Archpriest John Storozhev, who performed the last services in the Ipatiev House. Father John served mass there twice on Sundays; the first time was on May 20 (June 2), 1918: “... the deacon spoke the petitions of the litanies, and I sang. Two female voices (I think Tatyana Nikolaevna and one of them) sang along with me, sometimes in a low bass voice and Nikolai Alexandrovich... They prayed very earnestly..."

“Nikolai Alexandrovich was dressed in a khaki tunic, the same trousers, and high boots. On his chest is an officer's St. George's Cross. There were no shoulder straps... [He] impressed me with his firm gait, his calmness and especially his manner of looking intently and firmly into the eyes..." wrote Father John.

Many portraits of members of the Royal Family have been preserved - from beautiful portraits of A. N. Serov to later photographs taken in captivity. From them one can get an idea of the appearance of the Sovereign, Empress, Tsarevich and Princesses - but in the descriptions of many people who saw them during their lifetime, Special attention usually given to the eyes. “He looked at me with such lively eyes...” Father John Storozhev said about the Heir. Probably, this impression can most accurately be conveyed in the words of the Wise Solomon: “In the bright gaze of the king there is life, and his favor is like a cloud with the latter rain...” In the Church Slavonic text this sounds even more expressive: “in the light of life the son of kings” (Proverbs 16 , 15).

Living conditions in the “special purpose house” were much more difficult than in Tobolsk. The guard consisted of 12 soldiers who lived in close proximity to the prisoners and ate with them at the same table. Commissar Avdeev, an inveterate drunkard, worked every day together with his subordinates to invent new humiliations for the prisoners. I had to put up with hardships, endure bullying and obey the demands of these rude people - among the guards were former criminals. As soon as the Emperor and Empress arrived at Ipatiev’s house, they were subjected to a humiliating and rude search. The Royal couple and the Princesses had to sleep on the floor, without beds. During lunch, a family of seven was given only five spoons; The guards sitting at the same table smoked, brazenly blew smoke into the faces of the prisoners, and rudely took food from them.

A walk in the garden was allowed once a day, at first for 15-20 minutes, and then no more than five. The behavior of the guards was completely indecent - they were even on duty near the door to the toilet, and they did not allow the doors to be locked. The guards wrote obscene words and made indecent images on the walls.

Only Doctor Evgeny Botkin remained with the Royal Family, who surrounded the prisoners with care and acted as a mediator between them and the commissars, trying to protect them from the rudeness of the guards, and several tried and true servants: Anna Demidova, I. S. Kharitonov, A. E. Trupp and the boy Lenya Sednev.

The faith of the prisoners supported their courage and gave them strength and patience in suffering. They all understood the possibility of a speedy end. Even the Tsarevich somehow escaped the phrase: “If they kill, just don’t torture them...” The Empress and the Grand Duchesses often sang church hymns, which their guards listened to against their will. In almost complete isolation from outside world Surrounded by rude and cruel guards, the prisoners of the Ipatiev House show amazing nobility and clarity of spirit.

In one of Olga Nikolaevna’s letters there are the following lines: “Father asks to tell all those who remained devoted to him, and those on whom they may have influence, that they do not take revenge for him, since he has forgiven everyone and is praying for everyone, and so that they do not avenge themselves, and so that they remember that the evil that is now in the world will be even stronger, but that it is not evil that will defeat evil, but only love.”

Even the rude guards gradually softened in their interactions with the prisoners. They were surprised by their simplicity, they were captivated by their dignified spiritual clarity, and they soon felt the superiority of those whom they thought to keep in their power. Even Commissar Avdeev himself relented. This change did not escape the eyes of the Bolshevik authorities. Avdeev was removed and replaced by Yurovsky, the guards were replaced by Austro-German prisoners and people chosen from among the executioners of the “extraordinary emergency” - the “special purpose house” became, as it were, its department. The life of its inhabitants turned into continuous martyrdom.

On July 1 (14), 1918, Father John Storozhev performed the last divine service in the Ipatiev House. The tragic hours were approaching... Preparations for the execution were being made in the strictest secrecy from the prisoners of the Ipatiev House.

On the night of July 16-17, around the beginning of three, Yurovsky woke up the Royal Family. They were told that there was unrest in the city and therefore it was necessary to move to a safe place. About forty minutes later, when everyone had dressed and gathered, Yurovsky and the prisoners went down to the first floor and led them into a semi-basement room with one barred window. Everyone was outwardly calm. The Emperor carried Alexei Nikolaevich in his arms, the others had pillows and other small things in their hands. At the request of the Empress, two chairs were brought into the room, and pillows brought by the Grand Duchesses and Anna Demidova were placed on them. The Empress and Alexei Nikolaevich sat on the chairs. The Emperor stood in the center next to the Heir. The remaining family members and servants settled in different parts of the room and prepared to wait for a long time - they were already accustomed to night alarms and various types of movements. Meanwhile, armed men were already crowded in the next room, waiting for the killer’s signal. At that moment, Yurovsky came very close to the Emperor and said: “Nikolai Alexandrovich, according to the resolution of the Ural Regional Council, you and your family will be shot.” This phrase was so unexpected for the Tsar that he turned towards the family, stretching out his hands to them, then, as if wanting to ask again, he turned to the commandant, saying: “What? What?" The Empress and Olga Nikolaevna wanted to cross themselves. But at that moment Yurovsky shot at the Sovereign with a revolver almost point-blank several times, and he immediately fell. Almost simultaneously, everyone else started shooting - everyone knew their victim in advance.

Those already lying on the floor were finished off with shots and bayonet blows. When it seemed that everything was over, Alexei Nikolaevich suddenly groaned weakly - he was shot several more times. The picture was terrible: eleven bodies lay on the floor in streams of blood. After making sure that their victims were dead, the killers began to remove their jewelry. Then the dead were taken out into the yard, where a truck was already standing ready - the noise of its engine was supposed to drown out the shots in the basement. Even before sunrise, the bodies were taken to the forest in the vicinity of the village of Koptyaki. For three days the killers tried to hide their crime...

Most of the evidence speaks of the prisoners of the Ipatiev House as suffering people, but deeply religious, undoubtedly submissive to the will of God. Despite the bullying and insults, they led a decent family life in Ipatiev’s house, trying to brighten up the depressing situation with mutual communication, prayer, reading and feasible activities. “The Emperor and Empress believed that they were dying as martyrs for their homeland,” writes one of the witnesses to their life in captivity, the Heir’s teacher, Pierre Gilliard, “they died as martyrs for humanity. Their true greatness stemmed not from their kingship, but from the amazing moral height to which they gradually rose. They became an ideal force. And in their very humiliation they were a striking manifestation of that amazing clarity of soul, against which all violence and all rage are powerless and which triumphs in death itself.”

Along with the Imperial family, their servants who followed their masters into exile were also shot. These, in addition to those shot along with the Imperial family by Doctor E. S. Botkin, the Empress’s room girl A. S. Demidova, the court cook I. M. Kharitonov and footman A. E. Trupp, included those killed in various places and in different months 1918 Adjutant General I.L. Tatishchev, Marshal Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, “uncle” of the Heir K.G. Nagorny, children's footman I.D. Sednev, maid of honor of the Empress A.V. Gendrikova and goblettress E.A. Schneider.

Soon after the execution of the Tsar was announced, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon blessed the archpastors and pastors to perform memorial services for him. His Holiness himself on July 8 (21), 1918, during a service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, said: “The other day a terrible thing happened: the former Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich was shot... We must, obeying the teaching of the word of God, condemn this matter, otherwise the blood of the executed person will fall on us, and not just those who committed it. We know that he, having abdicated the throne, did so with the good of Russia in mind and out of love for her. After his abdication, he could have found security and a relatively quiet life abroad, but he did not do this, wanting to suffer with Russia. He did nothing to improve his situation and resignedly resigned himself to fate.”

Many clergy and laity secretly offered prayers to God for the repose of the murdered sufferers, members of the Royal Family. IN last years in many houses in the red corner one could see photographs of the Royal Family, and icons depicting the Royal Martyrs began to circulate in large numbers. Prayers addressed to them, literary, cinematic and musical works were compiled, reflecting the suffering and martyrdom of the Royal Family. The Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints received appeals from ruling bishops, clergy and laity in support of the canonization of the Royal Family - some of these appeals had thousands of signatures. By the time of the glorification of the Royal Martyrs, a huge amount of evidence had accumulated about their gracious help - about the healing of the sick, the unification of separated families, the protection of church property from schismatics, about the streaming of myrrh from icons with images of Emperor Nicholas and the Royal Martyrs, about the fragrance and the appearance of blood stains on the icon faces of the Royal Martyrs colors.

One of the first witnessed miracles was the deliverance during the civil war of hundreds of Cossacks surrounded by red troops in impenetrable swamps. At the call of the priest Father Elijah, in unanimity the Cossacks addressed a prayer appeal to the Tsar-Martyr, the Sovereign of Russia - and incredibly escaped the encirclement.

In Serbia in 1925, a case was described when an elderly woman, whose two sons died in the war and the third was missing, had a dream vision of Emperor Nicholas, who reported that the third son was alive and in Russia - in a few months the son returned home.

In October 1991, two women went to pick cranberries and got lost in an impassable swamp. Night has fallen and swamp bog could easily drag in unwary travelers. But one of them remembered the description of the miraculous deliverance of a detachment of Cossacks - and, following their example, she began to fervently pray for help to the Royal Martyrs: “Murdered Royal Martyrs, save us, servant of God Eugene and Love!” Suddenly, in the darkness, the women saw a glowing branch from a tree; Grasping it, they got out to a dry place, and then went out into a wide clearing, along which they reached the village. It is noteworthy that the second woman, who also testified to this miracle, was at that time still a person far from the Church.

student high school from the city of Podolsk, Marina is an Orthodox Christian who especially reveres Royal Family- through the miraculous intercession of the Tsar’s children, she was saved from a hooligan attack. The attackers, three young men, wanted to drag her into a car, take her away and dishonor her, but suddenly they fled in horror. Later they admitted that they saw the Imperial children who stood up for the girl. This happened on the eve of the Feast of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple in 1997. Subsequently, it became known that the young people repented and radically changed their lives.

Dane Jan-Michael was an alcoholic and drug addict for sixteen years, and became addicted to these vices from an early youth. On the advice of good friends, in 1995 he went on a pilgrimage to the historical places of Russia; He also ended up in Tsarskoe Selo. On Divine Liturgy in the house church where the Royal Martyrs once prayed, he turned to them with an ardent plea for help - and felt that the Lord was delivering him from sinful passion. On July 17, 1999, he converted to the Orthodox faith with the name Nicholas in honor of the holy Martyr Tsar.

On May 15, 1998, Moscow doctor Oleg Belchenko received an icon of the Martyr Tsar as a gift, in front of which he prayed almost every day, and in September he began to notice small blood-colored spots on the icon. Oleg brought the icon to the Sretensky Monastery; During the prayer service, all those praying felt a strong fragrance from the icon. The icon was transferred to the altar, where it remained for three weeks, and the fragrance did not stop. Later, the icon visited several Moscow churches and monasteries; the flow of myrrh from this image was repeatedly witnessed, witnessed by hundreds of parishioners. In 1999, miraculously, at the myrrh-streaming icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, 87-year-old Alexander Mikhailovich was healed of blindness: a complex eye operation did not help much, but when he venerated the myrrh-streaming icon with fervent prayer, and the priest serving the prayer service covered his face with a towel with marks peace, healing came - vision returned. The myrrh-streaming icon visited a number of dioceses - Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, Odessa... Everywhere where the icon visited, numerous cases of its myrrh-streaming were witnessed, and two parishioners of Odessa churches reported healing from leg disease after praying before the icon. The Tulchin-Bratslav diocese reported cases of grace-filled help through prayers before this miraculous icon: the servant of God Nina was healed of severe hepatitis, parishioner Olga received healing of a broken collarbone, and the servant of God Lyudmila was healed of a severe lesion of the pancreas.

During the Jubilee Council of Bishops, parishioners of the church being built in Moscow in honor of the Monk Andrei Rublev gathered for joint prayer to the Royal Martyrs: one of the chapels of the future church is planned to be consecrated in honor of the new martyrs. While reading the akathist, the worshipers felt a strong fragrance emanating from the books. This fragrance continued for several days.

Many Christians now turn to the Royal Passion-Bearers with prayer for strengthening the family and raising children in faith and piety, for preserving their purity and chastity - after all, during the persecution, the Imperial family was especially united and carried the indestructible Orthodox faith through all the sorrows and suffering.

The memory of the holy passion-bearers Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, their children - Alexy, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia is celebrated on the day of their murder, July 4 (17), and on the day of the cathedral memory of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia, January 25 (February 7), if this the day coincides with Sunday, and if it does not coincide, then on the nearest Sunday after January 25 (February 7).

Moscow Diocesan Gazette. 2000. No. 10-11. pp. 20-33.

July 17 is the day of remembrance of the holy Royal Passion-Bearers of the Most Pious Autocratic Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, the Wife of His Most Pious Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the Heir of the Blessed Tsarevich Alexy Nikolaevich, the Blessed Grand Duchesses Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaev us.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, a terrible crime was committed - in Yekaterinburg, in the basement of the Ipatiev House, the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, His Family and faithful people who voluntarily remained with the Royal prisoners and shared Their fate were shot.

The Day of Remembrance of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers allows us to see how it is possible for a person to follow Christ and be faithful to Him, despite any sorrows and trials in life. After all, what the holy Royal martyrs endured goes beyond the boundaries of human understanding. The suffering they endured (suffering not only physical, but also moral) exceeds the measure of human strength and capabilities. Only a humble heart, a heart completely devoted to God, was capable of bearing such a heavy cross. It is unlikely that anyone else's name has been so maligned as that of Tsar Nicholas II. But very few endured all these sorrows with such meekness and such complete trust in God, as the Emperor did.

Childhood and adolescence

The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna (daughter of the Danish king Christian VII). He born May 6 (19), 1868 on the day of rights Job the Long-Suffering near St. Petersburg, in Tsarskoe Selo.

The upbringing he received under the guidance of his father was strict, almost harsh. "I need normal, healthy Russian children"- this was the demand put forward by the Emperor to the educators of his children. And such an upbringing could only be Orthodox in spirit. Even as a small child, the Heir Tsarevich showed special love for God and His Church. He was deeply touched by every human grief and every need. He began and ended the day with prayer; He knew well the order of church services, during which he loved to sing along with the church choir. Listening to stories about the Passion of the Savior, he felt compassion for Him with all his soul and even pondered how to save Him from the Jews.

He received a very good education at home - he knew several languages, studied Russian and world history, was deeply versed in military affairs, and was a widely erudite person. The best teachers of that time were assigned to him and he turned out to be a very capable student.

At the age of 16 he was enrolled in active duty military service. At the age of 19, he was promoted to junior officer, and at 24, to colonel of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment. And Nicholas II remained in this rank until the end.

A serious test was sent to the Royal Family in the fall of 1888: a terrible crash of the royal train occurred near Kharkov. The carriages fell with a roar from a high embankment down the slope. By the providence of God, the life of Emperor Alexander III and the entire August family was miraculously saved.

A new test followed in 1891 during the Tsarevich’s trip to the Far East: an attempt was made on his life in Japan. Nikolai Alexandrovich almost died from a saber blow from a religious fanatic, but the Greek Prince George knocked down the attacker with a bamboo cane. And again a miracle happened: only a slight wound remained on the head of the Heir to the Throne.

In 1884, in St. Petersburg, the marriage of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (now canonized as Saint Martyr Elizabeth, commemorated July 5) was solemnly celebrated. Young Nicholas II was then 16 years old. At the celebrations, he saw the bride’s young sister - Alix (Princess Alice of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England). A strong friendship began between the young people, which then turned into deep and growing love. Five years later, when Alix of Hesse visited Russia again, the heir made the final decision to marry her. But Tsar Alexander III did not give his consent. "Everything is in the will of God,- the heir wrote in his diary after a long conversation with his father, “Trusting in His mercy, I calmly and humbly look to the future.”

Princess Alice - the future Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - was born on May 25, 1872 in Darmstadt. Alice's father was Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her mother was Princess Alice of England, the third daughter of Queen Victoria. In her infancy, Princess Alice - at home she was called Alix - was a cheerful, lively child, receiving the nickname “Sunny” (Sunny) for this. The children of the Hessian couple - and there were seven of them - were brought up in deeply patriarchal traditions. Their life passed according to the rules strictly established by their mother; not a single minute should pass without doing anything. The children's clothing and food were very simple. The girls lit the fireplaces themselves and cleaned their rooms. From childhood, their mother tried to instill in them qualities based on a deeply Christian approach to life.

For five years the love of Tsarevich Nicholas and Princess Alice was experienced. Being already a real beauty, to whom many crowned suitors wooed, she answered everyone with a decisive refusal. Likewise, the Tsarevich responded with a calm but firm refusal to all his parents’ attempts to arrange his happiness differently. Finally, in the spring of 1894, the august parents of the heir gave their blessing to the marriage.

The only obstacle remained the transition to Orthodoxy - according to Russian laws, the bride of the Heir to the Russian throne must be Orthodox. She perceived this as apostasy. Alix was a sincere believer. But, raised in Lutheranism, her honest and straightforward nature resisted the change of religion. Over the course of several years, the young princess had to undergo the same rethinking of faith as her sister Elizabeth Feodorovna. But the princess’s complete conversion was helped by the sincere, passionate words of the heir to Tsarevich Nicholas, pouring out from his loving heart: “When you learn how beautiful, gracious and humble our Orthodox religion is, how magnificent our churches and monasteries are and how solemn and majestic our services are, you will love them and nothing will separate us.”

The days of their engagement coincided with the dying illness of Emperor Alexander III. 10 days before his death they arrived in Livadia. Alexander III, wanting to pay attention to his son’s bride, despite all the prohibitions of doctors and family, got out of bed, put on his dress uniform and, sitting in a chair, blessed the future spouses who fell at his feet. He showed great affection and attention to the princess, which the queen later remembered with excitement all her life.

Accession to the throne and beginning of reign

The joy of mutual love was overshadowed by a sharp deterioration in the health of his father, Emperor Alexander III.

Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich ascended the throne after the death of his father - Emperor Alexander III - October 20 (old style) 1894. That day, in deep sorrow, Nikolai Alexandrovich said that he did not want the Royal crown, but accepted it, fearing to disobey the will of the Almighty and his father’s will.

The next day, amid deep sadness, a ray of joy flashed: Princess Alix accepted Orthodoxy. The ceremony of joining it to the Orthodox Church was performed by the All-Russian Shepherd John of Kronstadt. During Confirmation, she was named Alexandra in honor of the holy Martyr Queen.

In three weeks, November 14, 1894 took place in the Great Church of the Winter Palace wedding Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich and Princess Alexandra.

Honeymoon took place in an atmosphere of funeral services and mourning visits. "Our wedding," the empress later recalled, was like a continuation of these funeral services, they just dressed me in a white dress.”

On May 14 (27), 1896, the coronation took place Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

By a fateful coincidence, the days of the coronation celebrations were overshadowed tragedy on the Khodynka field, where about half a million people gathered. On the occasion of the coronation May 18 (31) folk festivities were scheduled on Khodynskoye Field. In the morning, people (often families) began to arrive on the field from all over Moscow and the surrounding area, attracted by rumors of gifts and the distribution of valuable coins. At the time of distribution of gifts, a terrible stampede occurred, which claimed the lives of more than a thousand people. The next day, the Tsar and Empress attended the memorial service for the victims and provided assistance to the families of the victims.

The tragedy on Khodynka was considered a gloomy omen for the reign of Nicholas II, and at the end of the 20th century it was cited by some as one of the arguments against his canonization (2000).

Royal family

The first 20 years of the royal couple's marriage were the happiest in their personal family life. The Royal Couple exemplified a truly Christian family life. The relationship between the August Spouses was characterized by sincere love, cordial understanding and deep fidelity.

Born in the fall of 1895 first daughter- Great Princess Olga. She had a very lively mind and prudence. It is not surprising that her father often consulted with her, even on the most important issues. Holy Princess Olga loved Russia very much and, just like her father, she loved the simple Russian people. When it came to the fact that she could marry one of the foreign princes, she did not want to hear about it, saying: "I don't want to leave Russia. I am Russian and I want to remain Russian."

Two years later, a second girl was born, named in Holy Baptism Tatiana, in two more years - Maria, and two years later - Anastasia .

With the advent of the children, Alexandra Feodorovna gave them all her attention: she fed them, bathed herself every day, was constantly in the nursery, not trusting her children to anyone. The Empress did not like to remain idle for a minute, and she taught her children to work. The two eldest daughters, Olga and Tatyana, worked with their mother in the infirmary during the war, performing the duties of surgical nurses.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna presents instruments during an operation. Vel is standing behind. Princesses Olga and Tatiana.

But the cherished desire of the Royal couple was the birth of an Heir. The long-awaited event has happened August 12, 1904, a year after the pilgrimage of the Royal Family to Sarov, for the celebrations of the glorification of St. Seraphim. But just a few weeks after birth Tsarevich Alexy It turned out that he had hemophilia. The child's life hung in the balance all the time: the slightest bleeding could cost him his life. Those close to him noted the nobility of the Tsarevich’s character, the kindness and responsiveness of his heart. "When I am King, there will be no poor and unhappy,- he said. - I want everyone to be happy."

The Tsar and Queen raised their children in devotion to the Russian people and carefully prepared them for the upcoming work and feat. "Children must learn self-denial, learn to give up own desires for the sake of other people,” the Empress believed. The Tsarevich and the Grand Duchesses slept on hard camp beds without pillows; they dressed simply; clothes and shoes were passed down from the eldest to the youngest. The food was the simplest. Tsarevich Alexei’s favorite food was cabbage soup, porridge and black bread, "which,- as he said, - all my soldiers eat."

The Tsar's surprisingly sincere gaze always shone with genuine kindness. One day the Tsar visited the cruiser Rurik, where there was a revolutionary who had sworn an oath to kill him. The sailor did not fulfill his vow. "I couldn't do it," he explained. “Those eyes looked at me so meekly, so affectionately.”

Persons standing close to the court noted the lively mind of Nicholas II - he always quickly grasped the essence of the issues presented to him, his excellent memory, especially for faces, and the nobility of his way of thinking. But Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his gentleness, tact in his manners, and modest manners, gave many the impression of a man who had not inherited the strong will of his father.

The Emperor was unmercenary. He generously helped those in need from his own funds, without thinking about the size of the requested amount. "He will soon give away everything he has"- said the manager of His Majesty’s office. He did not like extravagance and luxury, and his dresses were often mended.

Religiosity and view of one's power. Church politics

The Emperor paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church and generously donated for the construction of new churches, including outside Russia. During the years of his reign, the number of parish churches in Russia increased by more than 10 thousand, and more than 250 new monasteries were opened. The emperor personally participated in the laying of new temples and in other church celebrations. During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, the church hierarchy had the opportunity to prepare for the convening of a Local Council, which had not been convened for two centuries.

The personal piety of the Sovereign was manifested in the canonization of saints. During the years of his reign, Saint Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1903), Holy Princess Anna Kashinskaya (restoration of veneration in 1909), Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (1911), Saint Hermogen of Moscow (1913) were canonized as saints. year), Saint Pitirim of Tambov (1914), Saint John of Tobolsk (1916). The Emperor was forced to show special persistence in seeking the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Saints Joasaph of Belgorod and John of Tobolsk. Nicholas II highly revered the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt. After his blessed death, the Tsar ordered a nationwide prayerful commemoration of the deceased on the day of his repose.

The imperial couple were distinguished by their deep religiosity. The Empress did not like social interaction or balls. The education of the children of the Imperial Family was imbued with a religious spirit. Brief services in court churches did not satisfy the Emperor and Empress. Services are held especially for them in the Tsarskoye Selo Feodorovsky Cathedral, built in the Old Russian style. Empress Alexandra prayed here in front of a lectern with open liturgical books, carefully watching the service.

Economic policy

The Emperor celebrated the beginning of his reign with deeds of love and mercy: prisoners in prisons received relief; there was a lot of debt forgiveness; Significant assistance was provided to needy scientists, writers and students.

The reign of Nicholas II was a period of economic growth: in 1885-1913, the growth rate of agricultural production averaged 2%, and the growth rate of industrial production was 4.5-5% per year. Coal production in the Donbass increased from 4.8 million tons in 1894 to 24 million tons in 1913. Coal mining began in the Kuznetsk coal basin.
The construction of railways continued, the total length of which, amounting to 44 thousand kilometers in 1898, by 1913 exceeded 70 thousand kilometers. In terms of the total length of railways, Russia surpassed any other European country and was second only to the United States.

In January 1887, a monetary reform was carried out, establishing a gold standard for the ruble.

In 1913, all of Russia solemnly celebrated the three-hundredth anniversary of the House of Romanov. Russia was at that time at the pinnacle of glory and power: industry was developing at an unprecedented pace, the army and navy were becoming more and more powerful, agrarian reform was being successfully implemented, and the country's population was rapidly increasing. It seemed that all internal problems would be successfully resolved in the near future.

Foreign policy and the Russo-Japanese War

Nicholas II treated the duties of the monarch as his sacred duty. For him, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was a model politician - both a reformer and a careful guardian national traditions and faith. He inspired the first world conference on the prevention of war, which took place in the capital of Holland in 1899, and was the first among rulers to defend universal peace. During his entire reign, the Tsar did not sign a single death sentence, not a single request for pardon that reached the Tsar was rejected by him.

In October 1900, Russian troops, as part of the suppression of the uprising in China by the troops of the Eight Power Alliance (Russian Empire, USA, German Empire, Great Britain, France, Japanese Empire, Austria-Hungary and Italy), occupied Manchuria.

Russia's lease of the Liaodong Peninsula, construction of the Chinese-Eastern railway and the establishment of a naval base at Port Arthur, Russia's growing influence in Manchuria clashed with the aspirations of Japan, which also laid claim to Manchuria.

On January 24, 1904, the Japanese ambassador presented the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs V.N. Lamzdorf with a note, which announced the termination of negotiations, which Japan considered “useless,” and the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia; Japan recalled its diplomatic mission from St. Petersburg and reserved the right to resort to “independent actions” as it deemed necessary to protect its interests. On the evening of January 26, the Japanese fleet attacked the Port Arthur squadron without declaring war. On January 27, 1904, Russia declared war on Japan. The Russian-Japanese War began (1904-1905). The Russian Empire, having an almost threefold advantage in population, could field a proportionately larger army. At the same time, the number armed forces Russia directly in the Far East (beyond Lake Baikal) amounted to no more than 150 thousand people, and, taking into account the fact that most of these troops were involved in guarding the Trans-Siberian Railway/state border/fortresses, about 60 thousand people were directly available for active operations. On the Japanese side, 180 thousand soldiers were deployed. The main theater of military operations was the Yellow Sea.

The attitude of the leading world powers to the outbreak of war between Russia and Japan split them into two camps. England and the USA immediately and definitely took the side of Japan: an illustrated chronicle of the war that began to be published in London even received the name “Japan’s Struggle for Freedom”; and American President Roosevelt openly warned France against its possible action against Japan, saying that in this case he would “immediately take her side and go as far as necessary.”

The outcome of the war was decided by the naval battle of Tsushima in May 1905, which ended in the complete defeat of the Russian fleet. On May 23, 1905, the Emperor received, through the US Ambassador in St. Petersburg, a proposal from President T. Roosevelt for mediation to conclude peace. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Russia recognized Korea as Japan's sphere of influence, ceded Southern Sakhalin and the rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalniy to Japan.

Defeat in Russian-Japanese war(the first in half a century) and the subsequent suppression of the unrest of 1905-1907. (subsequently aggravated by the emergence of rumors about Rasputin’s influence) led to a decline in the authority of the emperor in ruling and intellectual circles.

Revolution of 1905-1907

At the end of 1904, the political struggle in the country intensified. The impetus for the start of mass protests under political slogans was the shooting by imperial troops in St. Petersburg of a peaceful demonstration of workers led by priest Georgy Gapon January 9 (22), 1905. During this period, the strike movement took on a particularly wide scale; unrest and uprisings occurred in the army and navy, which resulted in mass protests against the monarchy.

On the morning of January 9, columns of workers totaling up to 150,000 people moved from different areas to the city center. At the head of one of the columns, priest Gapon walked with a cross in his hand. As the columns approached military outposts, the officers demanded that the workers stop, but they continued to move forward. Electrified by fanatical propaganda, the workers stubbornly strove for the Winter Palace, ignoring warnings and even cavalry attacks. To prevent a crowd of 150,000 from gathering in the city center, the troops were forced to fire rifle salvos. In other parts of the city, crowds of workers were dispersed with sabers, swords and whips. According to official data, in just one day on January 9, 96 people were killed and 333 wounded. The dispersal of the unarmed march of workers made a shocking impression on society. Reports of the shooting of the procession, which repeatedly overestimated the number of victims, were spread by illegal publications, party proclamations, and passed on by word of mouth. The opposition placed full responsibility for what happened on Emperor Nicholas II and the autocratic regime. Priest Gapon, who had escaped from the police, called for an armed uprising and the overthrow of the dynasty. Revolutionary parties called for the overthrow of the autocracy. A wave of strikes took place under political slogans across the country. The traditional faith of the working masses in the Tsar was shaken, and the influence of the revolutionary parties began to grow. The slogan “Down with autocracy!” has gained popularity. According to many contemporaries, the tsarist government made a mistake by deciding to use force against unarmed workers. The danger of rebellion was averted, but the prestige of the royal power was irreparably damaged.

Bloody Sunday is undoubtedly a dark day in history, but the role of the Tsar in this event is much lower than the role of the organizers of the demonstration. For by that time the government had already been under a real siege for more than a month. After all, “Bloody Sunday” itself would not have happened if it were not for the atmosphere of political crisis that liberals and socialists created in the country. (author's note - an analogy with today's events involuntarily suggests itself) . In addition, the police became aware of plans to shoot the sovereign as he came out to the people.

In October, a strike began in Moscow, which spread throughout the country and grew into the All-Russian October political strike. On October 12-18, over 2 million people went on strike in various industries.

This general strike and, above all, the strike of railway workers, forced the emperor to make concessions. On August 6, 1905, the Manifesto of Nicholas II established the State Duma as “a special legislative advisory institution, which is given the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals.” The Manifesto of October 17, 1905 granted civil liberties: personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and union. Trade unions and professional-political unions, Councils of Workers' Deputies arose, the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Revolutionary Party were strengthened, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the "Union of October 17", "The Union of the Russian People" and others were created.

Thus, the liberals' demands were fulfilled. The autocracy went to the creation of parliamentary representation and the beginning of reform (Stolypin agrarian reform).

World War I

The World War began on the morning of August 1, 1914, on the day of remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Blessed Pasha of Sarov of Diveyevo said that the war was started by the enemies of the Fatherland in order to overthrow the Tsar and tear Russia apart. “He will be higher than all the kings,” she said, praying for portraits of the Tsar and the Royal Family along with icons.

On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia: Russia entered the world war, which for it ended in the collapse of the empire and dynasty. Nicholas II made efforts to prevent war in all the pre-war years, and in the last days before its outbreak, when (July 15, 1914) Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began bombing Belgrade. On July 16 (29), 1914, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Wilhelm II with a proposal to “transfer the Austro-Serbian issue to the Hague Conference” (to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague). Wilhelm II did not respond to this telegram.

Emperor Nicholas II at headquarters

The First World War, which began with two heroic exploits of Russia - the salvation of Serbia from Austria-Hungary and France from Germany, pulled the best people's forces to fight the enemy. Since August 1915, the sovereign himself spent most of his time at headquarters, away from the capital and the palace. And so, when victory was so close that both the Council of Ministers and the Synod were already openly discussing the question of how the Church and the state should behave in relation to Constantinople liberated from Muslims, the rear, having finally succumbed to the flattering propaganda of the atheists, betrayed its To the Emperor. An armed uprising began in Petrograd, the tsar's connection with the capital and family was deliberately interrupted. Treason surrounded the sovereign on all sides; his orders to the commanders of all fronts to send military units to suppress the rebellion were not carried out.

Abdication

Intending to personally find out the situation in the capital, Nikolai Alexandrovich left headquarters and went to Petrograd. In Pskov, a delegation from the State Duma came to him, completely cut off from the whole world. The delegates began to ask the sovereign to abdicate the throne to calm the rebellion. The generals of the Northern Front also joined them. They were soon joined by the commanders of other fronts.

The Tsar and his closest relatives made this request on their knees. Without violating the oath of the Anointed One of God and without abolishing the Autocratic Monarchy, Emperor Nicholas II transferred Royal power to the eldest of the family - brother Mikhail. According to recent studies, the so-called. The “manifesto” of abdication (signed in pencil!), drawn up contrary to the laws of the Russian Empire, was a telegram from which it followed that the Tsar had been betrayed into the hands of his enemies. Let him who reads understand!

Deprived of the opportunity to contact headquarters, his family, and those he still trusted, the Tsar hoped that this telegram would be perceived by the troops as a call to action - the release of God’s Anointed. To our greatest regret, the Russian people were unable to unite in the sacred impulse: “For the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.” Something terrible has happened...

How correctly the Emperor assessed the situation and the people around Him is evidenced by a short entry, which became historical, made by Him in his diary on this day: “There is treason, cowardice, and deceit all around.” Grand Duke Michael refused to accept the crown, and the monarchy in Russia fell.

Icon Mother of God"Sovereign"

It was on that fateful day March 15, 1917 In the village of Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, a miraculous appearance of the icon of the Mother of God, called “Sovereign”, took place. The Queen of Heaven is depicted on it in royal purple, with a crown on her head, with a Scepter and Orb in her hands. The Most Pure One took upon herself the burden of Tsarist power over the people of Russia.

During the abdication of the sovereign, the empress did not receive news from him for several days. Her torment in these days of mortal anxiety, without news and at the bedsides of five seriously ill children, surpassed everything that one could imagine. Having suppressed in herself the weakness of women and all her bodily ailments, heroically, selflessly, she devoted herself to caring for the sick, with complete trust in the help of the Queen of Heaven.

Arrest and execution of the royal family

The Provisional Government announced the arrest of Emperor Nicholas II and his August wife and their detention in Tsarskoye Selo. The arrest of the Emperor and Empress did not have the slightest legal basis or reason. The commission of inquiry appointed by the Provisional Government tormented the Tsar and Tsarina with searches and interrogations, but did not find a single fact convicting them of treason. When one of the commission members asked why their correspondence had not yet been published, he was told: “If we publish it, the people will worship them as saints.”

The life of the prisoners was subjected to petty restrictions - A.F. Kerensky announced to the Emperor that he must live separately and see the Empress only at table, and speak only in Russian. The guard soldiers made rude comments to him; access to the palace for persons close to the Royal Family was prohibited. One day, soldiers even took away a toy gun from the Heir under the pretext of a ban on carrying weapons.

July 31 the royal family and a retinue of devoted servants were sent under escort to Tobolsk. At the sight of the August Family simple people they took off their hats, crossed themselves, many fell to their knees: not only women, but also men cried. The sisters of the Ioannovsky Monastery brought spiritual literature and helped with food, since all means of subsistence were taken away from the Royal Family. Restrictions in the life of the Prisoners intensified. Mental anxieties and moral suffering greatly affected the Emperor and Empress. They both looked exhausted, gray hair appeared, but their spiritual strength still remained in them. Bishop Hermogenes of Tobolsk, who at one time spread slander against the Empress, now openly admitted the mistake. In 1918, before his martyrdom, he wrote a letter in which he called the Royal Family the “long-suffering Holy Family.”

All the royal passion-bearers were undoubtedly aware of the approaching end and were preparing for it. Even the youngest - the holy Tsarevich Alexy - did not close his eyes to reality, as can be seen from the words that accidentally escaped from him: “If they kill, they just don’t torture”. The sovereign’s devoted servants, who courageously followed the royal family into exile, also understood this. “I know that I will not come out of this alive. I pray only for one thing - that I not be separated from the sovereign and allowed to die with him,”- said Adjutant General I.L. Tatishchev.

The royal family on the eve of arrest and virtual collapse Russian Empire. Anxiety, excitement, grief for a once great country

The news of the October revolution reached Tobolsk on November 15. In Tobolsk, a “soldiers’ committee” was formed, which, striving in every possible way for self-affirmation, demonstrated its power over the Tsar - they either forced him to take off his shoulder straps, or destroyed the ice slide built for the Tsar’s children. On March 1, 1918, “Nikolai Romanov and his family were transferred to soldiers’ rations.”

Their next place of imprisonment was Ekaterinburg. There is much less evidence left about the Yekaterinburg period of imprisonment of the Royal Family. Almost no letters. Living conditions in the “special purpose house” were much more difficult than in Tobolsk. The royal family lived here for two and a half months among a gang of arrogant, unbridled people - their new guards - and were subjected to bullying. Guards were posted in all corners of the house and monitored every movement of the prisoners. They covered the walls with indecent drawings, mocking the Empress and the Grand Duchesses. They were even on duty near the door to the toilet, and they did not allow us to lock the doors. A guardhouse was set up in the lower floor of the house. The dirt there was terrible. Drunken voices were constantly bawling revolutionary or obscene songs, to the accompaniment of fists pounding on the piano keys.

Uncomplaining submission to the will of God, gentleness and humility gave the royal passion-bearers the strength to firmly endure all suffering. They already felt themselves on the other side of existence and with prayer in their souls and on their lips they were preparing for their transition to eternal life. IN Ipatiev House a poem was found written by the hand of Grand Duchess Olga, which is called “Prayer”, its last two quatrains speak of the same thing:

Lord of the world, God of the universe,
Bless us with your prayer
And give rest to the humble soul
At an unbearably terrible hour.
And at the threshold of the grave
Breathe into the mouths of Your servants
Superhuman powers
Pray meekly for your enemies.

When the Royal Family was captured by the godless authorities, the commissioners were forced to change their guards all the time. Because under the miraculous influence of the holy prisoners, being in constant contact with them, these people unwittingly became different, more humane. Captivated by the royal simplicity, humility and philanthropy of the crowned passion-bearers, the jailers softened their attitude towards them. However, as soon as the Ural Cheka felt that the guards of the royal family were beginning to be imbued with good feelings towards the prisoners, they immediately replaced them with a new one - from the Chekists themselves. At the head of this guard stood Yankel Yurovsky. He was constantly in touch with Trotsky, Lenin, Sverdlov and other organizers of the atrocity. It was Yurovsky, in the basement of the Ipatiev House, who read the order of the Yekaterinburg Executive Committee and was the first to shoot directly in the heart of our holy Tsar-Martyr. He shot at children and finished them off with a bayonet.

Three days before the murder of the royal martyrs, a priest was invited to them for the last time to perform a service. Father served as a liturgist; according to the order of the service, it was necessary to read the kontakion “Rest with the saints...” in a certain place. For some reason, this time the deacon, instead of reading this kontakion, sang it, and the priest also sang. The royal martyrs, moved by some unknown feeling, knelt down...

On the night of July 16-17 the prisoners were lowered into the basement under the pretext of a quick move, then soldiers with rifles suddenly appeared, the “verdict” was hastily read out, and then the guards opened fire. The shooting was indiscriminate - the soldiers had been given vodka beforehand - so the holy martyrs were finished off with bayonets. Together with the Royal Family, the servants died: the doctor Evgeny Botkin, the maid of honor Anna Demidova, the cook Ivan Kharitonov and the footman Trupp, who remained faithful to them to the end. The picture was terrible: eleven bodies lay on the floor in streams of blood. After making sure that their victims were dead, the killers began to remove their jewelry.

Pavel Ryzhenko. In Ipatiev's house after the execution of the royal family

After the execution, the bodies were taken outside the city to an abandoned mine in the tract Ganina pit, where they were destroyed for a long time using sulfuric acid, gasoline and grenades. There is an opinion that the murder was ritual, as evidenced by the inscriptions on the walls of the room where the martyrs died. One of them consisted of four cabalistic signs. It was deciphered like this: " Here, on the orders of satanic forces. The Tsar was sacrificed to destroy the State. All nations are informed of this." Ipatiev's house was blown up in the 70s.

Archpriest Alexander Shargunov in the magazine "Russian House" for 2003. writes: “We know that the majority among the top of the Bolshevik government, as well as the bodies of repression, such as the sinister Cheka, were Jews. Here is a prophetic indication of the appearance from this environment of the “man of lawlessness,” the Antichrist. For the Antichrist, as the holy fathers teach, will be by origin a Jew from the tribe of Dan. And his appearance will be prepared by the sins of all mankind, when dark mysticism, debauchery and criminality become the norm and law of life. We are far from thinking of condemning any people for their nationality. In the end, Christ Himself according to the flesh he came from this people, His apostles and the first Christian martyrs were Jews. It’s not a matter of nationality..."

The date of the savage murder itself - July 17 - is no coincidence. On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the holy noble prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, who consecrated the autocracy of Rus' with his martyrdom. According to the chroniclers, the conspirators killed him in the most brutal manner. Holy Prince Andrei was the first to proclaim the idea of Orthodoxy and Autocracy as the basis of the statehood of Holy Rus' and was, in fact, the first Russian Tsar.

About the significance of the feat of the royal family

The veneration of the Royal Family, begun by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon in the funeral prayer and word at the memorial service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow for the murdered Emperor three days after the Yekaterinburg murder, continued throughout several decades of the Soviet period of our history. During the entire period of Soviet power, frantic blasphemy was poured out against the memory of the holy Tsar Nicholas, nevertheless, many people, especially in emigration, revered the martyr Tsar from the very moment of his death.

Countless testimonies of miraculous help through prayers to the Family of the last Russian Autocrat; popular veneration of the royal martyrs in the last years of the 20th century became so widespread that in August 2000 at the Jubilee Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia canonized as holy passion-bearers. They are commemorated on the day of their martyrdom - July 17.

The famous Moscow archpriest, a deeply convinced monarchist, Father Alexander Shargunov, spoke very accurately about the internal, ideologically-deep, purely spiritual and timeless foundations of the feat of the royal family:

As you know, today’s detractors of the Tsar, both left and right, constantly blame him for his abdication. Unfortunately, for some, even after canonization, this remains a stumbling block and temptation, while this was the greatest manifestation of his holiness.

When speaking about the holiness of Tsar Nicholas Alexandrovich, we usually mean his martyrdom, connected, of course, with his entire pious life. The feat of his renunciation is a feat of confession.

To understand this more clearly, let us remember who sought the abdication of the Emperor. First of all, those who sought a turn in Russian history towards European democracy or, at least, towards a constitutional monarchy. The Socialists and Bolsheviks were already a consequence and extreme manifestation of the materialist understanding of history.

It is known that many of the then destroyers of Russia acted in the name of its creation. Among them there were many who were honest in their own way, wise people, who were already thinking “how to organize Russia.” But it was, as Scripture says, earthly, spiritual, demonic wisdom. The stone that the builders then rejected was Christ and Christ's anointing. The anointing of God means that the earthly power of the Sovereign has a Divine source. The renunciation of the Orthodox monarchy was a renunciation of divine authority. From power on earth, which is called upon to direct the general course of life to spiritual and moral goals - to the creation of conditions most favorable for the salvation of many, power that is “not of this world,” but serves the world precisely in this highest sense.

Most of the participants in the revolution acted as if unconsciously, but it was a conscious rejection of the God-given order of life and the God-established authority in the person of the King, the Anointed of God, just as the conscious rejection of Christ the King by the spiritual leaders of Israel was conscious, as described in the Gospel parable of the evil vinedressers. They killed Him not because they did not know that He was the Messiah, the Christ, but precisely because they knew it. Not because they thought that this was a false messiah who should be eliminated, but precisely because they saw that this was the real Messiah: “Come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance will be ours.” The same secret Sanhedrin, inspired by the devil, directs humanity to have a life free from God and His commandments - so that nothing prevents them from living as they want.

This is the meaning of “treason, cowardice and deception” that surrounded the Emperor. For this reason, Saint John Maksimovich compares the suffering of the Emperor in Pskov during his abdication with the suffering of Christ Himself in Gethsemane. In the same way, the devil himself was present here, tempting the Tsar and all the people with him (and all humanity, according to the exact words of P. Gilliard), as he once tempted Christ Himself in the desert with the kingdom of this world.

For centuries, Russia has been approaching the Ekaterinburg Golgotha. And here the ancient temptation was revealed in full. Just as the devil sought to catch Christ through the Sadducees and Pharisees, setting Him nets unbreakable by any human tricks, so through the socialists and cadets the devil puts Tsar Nicholas before a hopeless choice: either apostasy or death.

The king did not retreat from the purity of God’s anointing, did not sell his divine birthright for the lentil stew of earthly power. The very rejection of the Tsar occurred precisely because he appeared as a confessor of the truth, and this was nothing other than the rejection of Christ in the person of Christ’s Anointed. The meaning of the abdication of the Sovereign is the salvation of the idea of Christian power.

It is unlikely that the Tsar could have foreseen what terrible events would follow his abdication, because purely outwardly he abdicated the throne in order to avoid the senseless shedding of blood. However, by the depth of the terrible events that were revealed after his renunciation, we can measure the depth of suffering in his Gethsemane. The king was clearly aware that by his renunciation he was betraying himself, his family and his people, whom he dearly loved, into the hands of enemies. But the most important thing for him was fidelity to the grace of God, which he received in the Sacrament of Confirmation for the sake of the salvation of the people entrusted to him. For all the most terrible troubles that are possible on earth: hunger, disease, pestilence, from which, of course, the human heart cannot help but tremble, cannot be compared with the eternal “crying and gnashing of teeth” where there is no repentance. And as the prophet of the events of Russian history, the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, said, if a person knew that there is eternal life, which God gives for faithfulness to Him, he would agree to endure any torment for a thousand years (that is, until the end of history, together with all the suffering people). And about the sorrowful events that followed the abdication of the Sovereign, the Monk Seraphim said that the angels would not have time to receive souls - and we can say that after the abdication of the Sovereign, millions of new martyrs received crowns in the Kingdom of Heaven.

You can do any kind of historical, philosophical, political analysis, but the spiritual vision is always more important. We know this vision in the prophecies of the saint righteous John Kronstadt, Saints Theophan the Recluse and Ignatius Brianchaninov and other saints of God, who understood that no emergency, external government measures, no repression, the most skillful policy could change the course of events if there was no repentance among the Russian people. The truly humble mind of Saint Tsar Nicholas was given the opportunity to see that this repentance would, perhaps, be bought at a very high price.

After the renunciation of the Tsar, in which the people took part through their indifference, hitherto unprecedented persecution of the Church and mass apostasy from God could not but follow. The Lord showed very clearly what we lose when we lose the Anointed One of God, and what we gain. Russia immediately found satanic anointed ones.

The sin of regicide played a major role in the terrible events of the 20th century for the Russian Church and for the whole world. We are faced with only one question: is there atonement for this sin and how can it be realized? The Church always calls us to repentance. This means realizing what happened and how it continues in today's life. If we really love the Martyr Tsar and pray to him, if we truly seek the moral and spiritual revival of our Fatherland, we must spare no effort in order to overcome the terrible consequences of mass apostasy (apostasy from the faith of our fathers and trampling on morality) in our people .

There are only two options for what awaits Russia. Or, through the miracle of the intercession of the Royal Martyrs and all the new Russian martyrs, the Lord will grant our people to be reborn for the salvation of many. But this will happen only with our participation - despite natural weakness, sinfulness, powerlessness and lack of faith. Or, according to the Apocalypse, the Church of Christ will face new, even more formidable shocks, in the center of which the Cross of Christ will always be. Through the prayers of the Royal Passion-Bearers, who lead the host of new Russian martyrs and confessors, may it be given to us to withstand these trials and become partakers of their feat.

With his feat of confession, the Tsar disgraced democracy - “the great lie of our time,” when everything is determined by the majority of votes, and, in the end, by those who shout louder: We do not want Him, but Barabbas, not Christ, but the Antichrist.

Until the end of time, and especially in the last times. The Church will be tempted by the devil, like Christ in Gethsemane and on Calvary: “Come down, come down from the Cross.” “Give up from those demands for the greatness of man that Your Gospel speaks of, become more accessible to everyone, and we will believe in You. There are circumstances when this needs to be done. Come down from the cross, and the affairs of the Church will go better.” The main spiritual meaning of today's events is the result of the 20th century - the increasingly successful efforts of the enemy so that “salt loses its strength”, so that the highest values of humanity turn into empty, beautiful words.

(Alexander Shargunov, Russian House magazine, No. 7, 2003)

Troparion, tone 4
Today, people of good faith will brightly honor the honorable Seven of the Royal Passion-Bearers of Christ, the One Home Church: Nicholas and Alexandra, Alexy, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Because of these bonds and many different sufferings, you did not fear, you accepted death and desecration of bodies from those who fought against God, and you improved your boldness towards the Lord in prayer. For this reason, let us cry out to them with love: O holy passion-bearers, listen to the voice of peace and groaning of our people, strengthen the Russian land in love for Orthodoxy, save from internecine warfare, ask God for peace and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion, tone 8
In the election of the Tsar of the Reigning and the Lord of the Lord from the line of the Tsars of Russia, the blessed martyrs, who accepted mental torment and bodily death for Christ, and were crowned with heavenly crowns, cry out to you as our merciful patron with loving gratitude: Rejoice, Royal passion-bearers, for holy Rus' before God with zeal in prayer. .

Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.

There were seven of you on one cross...

Prayers

Troparion to the Holy Royal Martyrs

You have meekly endured the deprivation of the earthly kingdom, / the bonds and sufferings of many different kinds, / bearing witness to Christ even to the point of death from the atheists, / the great passion-bearer, the God-crowned Tsar Nicholas, / for this sake, with a martyr’s crown in heaven, / crowning you with the queen and your children and servants Christ God, / pray to Him to have mercy on the Russian country / and save our souls.

Kontakion to the Holy Royal Martyrs

The hope of the martyr king / with the queen and strengthen his children and servants, / and inspired them to Your love, foreshadowing the future peace for them, / through those prayers, Lord, have mercy on us.

Troparion of the Royal Passion-Bearers

Today, faithful people, let us brightly honor/ the seven honorable royal passion-bearers,/ Christ’s one home Church:/ Nicholas and Alexander,/ Alexy, Olga, Tatian, Maria and Anastasia./ They, who were not afraid of the bonds and sufferings of many different kinds,/ died from those who fought against God and accepted the desecration of bodies/ and improved boldness towards the Lord in prayer./ For this sake, let us cry out to them with love:/ O holy passion-bearers,/ listen to the voice of repentance and the lamentation of our people,/ confirm the Russian land in love for Orthodoxy,/ save from internecine warfare ,/ ask God for peace and peace // and great mercy for our souls.

ORTHODOX TV CHANNEL "UNION" OFFERS TO YOUR ATTENTION A REPORT ABOUT THE PENITENTAL CROSS PROCESSION FROM THE TEMPLE ON THE BLOOD OF EKATERINBURG TO THE GANIN YAMA STOCK

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) Beloved brothers and sisters, today we commemorate in prayer one of the most tragic events not only of the terrible, bloody 20th century, but of all Russian history. 93 years ago, on the night of July 17, 1918, around this time, at night, the guards who kept the Tsarsvennaya Family in chains for 78 days in a house on the corner of Voznesensky Prospekt and Voznesensky Lane woke them up. There was an order to go down to the basement, a very cramped room

Andrey Manovtsev The Martyr Queen Alexandra Feodorovna is often, simply put, disliked. They manage to recognize her holiness - canonization in the category of passion-bearers - and remain with the stereotypes of a hundred years ago: they say she had a bad influence on the king, was hysterical and retrograde, etc. She destroyed Russia - many Orthodox Christians still think so! They don't know what they think. For all this is just some kind of scum of consciousness, going back to the consciousness of those who betrayed both the emperor and Russia.

IMAGE OF THE FUTURE RUSSIAN TSAR

On July 17, the Russian Orthodox Church prayerfully remembers the martyrdom of the family of the last Russian emperor. Modern historians, writers, politicians, and even ordinary people have ambivalent assessments of the role and significance of Nicholas II in the history of Russia. He is reproached for being excessively soft, pliable, and lacking willpower. Someone still doubts the holiness of the august family. But everyone agrees on one thing - Nicholas II was an ideal family man, husband, father, and the Empress was an example of a loving wife and caring mother. In memory of the holy passion-bearers, we present to your attention an excerpt from the book Marina Kravtsova “Raising children using the example of the holy royal martyrs” Moscow, 2003)

Schedule

In any book on raising a child, the authors will definitely recommend to us an approximate daily routine for children of different ages. Of course, the regime is very necessary and important (provided, of course, that it does not turn into constant torture for the child). And everything would be fine, except for one thing: there is no time for prayer. And without this, without sanctifying the coming day by turning to God, everything else is no longer so important. It was different in the family of Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich. “The entire external and spiritual structure home life The royal family was a typical example of the pure, patriarchal life of a simple Russian religious family, recalled M. K Dieterichs. - Getting up from sleep in the morning or going to bed in the evening, each of the family members said his own prayer, after which in the morning, having gathered together as much as possible, the mother or father loudly read the Gospel and Epistles assigned for that day to the other members. Likewise, when sitting down at the table or getting up from the table after eating, everyone performed the prescribed prayer and only then took food or went to their room. They never sat down at the table if my father was delayed by something: they waited for him.”

In this family, the alternation of various activities was also regulated, and the regime was observed quite strictly. But not so strict that it becomes unbearable for children. The daily routine did not burden the princesses and the prince.

When the imperial family was in Tsarskoe Selo, its life was more family-like than in other places, receptions were limited due to the poor health of the empress. The retinue did not live in the palace, so the family gathered at the table without strangers and quite easily. Children, growing up, dined with their parents. Pierre Gilliard left a description of the winter of 1913/14, spent by the family in Tsarskoye Selo. Lessons with the heir began at 9 o'clock with a break between 11 o'clock and noon. During this break, a walk in a carriage, sleigh or car was taken, then classes resumed until breakfast, until one o'clock in the afternoon. After breakfast, the teacher and student always spent two hours in the air. The Grand Duchesses and the Emperor, when he was free, joined them, and Alexei Nikolaevich had fun with his sisters, descending from the ice mountain, which was built on the shore of a small artificial lake. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, lessons resumed until lunch, which was served at 7 o'clock for Alexei Nikolaevich and at 8 for the rest of the family. We ended the day by reading a book out loud.

Idleness was absolutely alien to the family last emperor. Even after the arrest that took place in Tsarskoe Selo, Nikolai Alexandrovich and his family were always at work. According to M. K Diterichs, “we got up at 8 o’clock in the morning; prayer, morning tea for everyone together... They were allowed to walk twice a day: from 11 to 12 o'clock in the morning and from 2 and a half to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. In their free time from school, the Empress and her daughters sewed something, embroidered or knitted, but were never left without something to do. At this time, the Emperor was reading in his office and putting his papers in order. In the evening, after tea, the father came to his daughters’ room; They set him up an armchair and a table, and he read aloud the works of Russian classics, while his wife and daughters, listening, did needlework or drew. From childhood, the sovereign was accustomed to physical work and taught his children to do it. The emperor usually used an hour of his morning walk for exercise, and he was accompanied for the most part by Dolgorukov; They talked about contemporary topics experienced by Russia. Sometimes, instead of Dolgorukov, one of his daughters accompanied him when they recovered from their illness. During daytime walks, all family members, with the exception of the empress, were engaged in physical work: clearing snow from the park paths, or chopping ice for the cellar, or cutting off dry branches and cutting down old trees, preparing firewood for the coming winter. With the onset of warm weather, the whole family began setting up a large vegetable garden, and some officers and guard soldiers, who were already accustomed to the royal family and sought to show it their attention and goodwill, took part in this work.”

Gilliard also writes about this, talking about the imprisonment of the royal family in Tobolsk: “The emperor suffered from a lack of physical labor. Colonel Kobylinsky, to whom he complained about this, ordered birch trunks to be brought, bought saws and axes, and we could now prepare the firewood that was so needed in the kitchen, as well as in the house to fire our stoves. This work in the open air was great entertainment for us during our stay in Tobolsk. The Grand Duchesses in particular became ardently addicted to this new sport.”

It should be noted here that the Grand Duchesses did not disdain such activities as, for example, weeding in the garden even before their arrest. The eldest daughters in the last years of their father’s reign, during the First World War, were loaded to the limit. The Empress always made every effort to provide real benefit neighbors, and involved children in charity work. This should be discussed in more detail.

Education

Since Emperor Nicholas's time was entirely devoted to state affairs, Alexandra Feodorovna was in charge of the children's education. Pierre Gilliard, recalling his first lessons with Olga and Tatiana, who were then ten and eight years old, respectively, described the Empress’s attitude towards her daughters’ educational activities: “The Empress does not miss a single word of mine; I have a very clear feeling that this is not a lesson that I am giving, but an examination to which I am undergoing... During the following weeks, the Empress was regularly present at the children's lessons... She often had to discuss with me the techniques and methods of teaching when her daughters left us living languages, and I was always amazed at the common sense and insight of her judgments.” Gilliard was clearly surprised by this attitude of the empress and “retained a very clear memory of the extreme interest with which the empress treated the upbringing and education of her children, completely devoted to her duty.” He talks about how Alexandra Feodorovna wanted to instill in her daughters attentiveness to their mentors, “demanding from them order, which is the first condition of politeness... While she was present at my lessons, at the entrance I always found books and notebooks carefully placed on the table in front of each of them. my students. I was never made to wait a single minute.”

Gilliard is not the only one who testifies to the empress’s attention to children’s educational activities. Sophie Buchshoeveden also writes: “She enjoyed being present in the lessons and discussing the direction and content of the lessons with the teachers.” And Alexandra Feodorovna herself told the emperor in a letter: “The children have begun their winter lessons. Maria and Anastasia are unhappy, but Baby doesn't care. He’s ready to learn even more, so I told him to keep the lessons longer than forty-fifty minutes, because now, thank God, he’s much stronger.”

Some opponents of the canonization of the royal family were indignant at how Orthodox parents, who had the opportunity to choose mentors for their children, could appoint foreigners and non-Orthodox teachers as their teachers. Turning again to the memoirs of A. A. Taneyeva, let’s see if the august couple was mistaken in this:

“The senior teacher who was in charge of their education was a certain P.V. Petrov. He assigned other mentors to them. Besides him, the foreigners included Mr. Gibbs, Englishman, and Mr. Gilliard. Their first teacher was Mrs. Schneider, who had previously been the teacher of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. She then taught the Russian language to the young empress and remained at court. Trina - as the empress called her - did not always have a pleasant character, but she was devoted to the royal family and followed them to Siberia. Of all the teachers, the children of their majesties most loved Gilliard (Pierre Gilliard - M.K.), who first taught the Grand Duchesses French, and then became Alexei Nikolaevich’s tutor; he lived in the palace and enjoyed the full confidence of their majesties. Mr. Gibbs was also very popular; both followed to Siberia and remained with the royal family until the Bolsheviks separated them.”

Even after the abdication of the sovereign and the arrest of the entire family, not knowing what awaited them all in the future, the august parents decided that the children should not interrupt their studies. “As their Highnesses recovered, they began their lessons, but since teachers were not allowed to see them, with the exception of Gilliard, who was also arrested, Her Majesty divided these duties among everyone. She personally taught all the children the Law of God, His Majesty Alexei Nikolaevich geography and history, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna her younger sisters and brother English language, Ekaterina Adolfovna - arithmetic and Russian grammar, Countess Genne - history, Doctor Derevenko was entrusted with teaching Alexey Nikolaevich natural science, and my father taught him Russian reading. They were both fond of Lermontov's lyrics, which Alexey Nikolaevich learned by heart; in addition, he wrote adaptations and essays based on paintings, and my father enjoyed these activities” (T. S. Melnik-Botkina).

Entertainment

The fact that the royal children never sat idle does not mean that they did not rest at all. The empress also considered children’s games to be a matter, and a very important matter at that: “It is simply a crime to suppress children’s joy and force children to be gloomy and important... Their childhood should be filled, as far as possible, with joy, light, and fun games. Parents should not be ashamed of playing and being naughty with their children. Maybe that’s when they’re closer to God than when they’re doing what they think is the most important work.”

For parents who want to listen to the wise advice of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, these words can warn against two mistakes at once. First: adults have a tendency to sharply limit childish fun, while they often forget that children are children and their play cannot be constantly sacrificed for activities, even the most important ones. The second mistake: letting the child take its course, not being interested in his activities during leisure hours, as, for example, many mothers do, allowing their children to play for hours on end. computer games. Organizing children's play unobtrusively and wisely is a great talent. Fortunately for themselves, the royal children did not know computers and they had wise, loving parents who were always ready to share their fun, and therefore the rest of the grand duchesses and the heir was always cheerful and healthy.

If now parents themselves played with their children, or at least simply thought about what they were playing and how their children were having fun, many troubles could be avoided. This is not an exaggeration. What is play for a child? An act of creativity, learning, the first lessons of life. Normal children's play develops a child, teaches him to make decisions and be independent. True, this does not mean that children's games should be strictly regulated. Otherwise, parents, afraid of falling into the first two mistakes, will make the third - they will constantly interfere in the child’s play “from their adult bell tower,” wanting to make it correct and “developing.”

The fact that Her Majesty, not because of “pedagogical principles,” but from the heart felt the need to share the children’s leisure time, is evidenced by an excerpt from her letter to her eldest daughter: “And the fact that your old mother who loves you is always sick also darkens your life, poor kids. I’m very sorry that I can’t spend more time with you and read, and make noise, and play together, but we must endure everything.” A completely sincere sigh!

Tsar Nicholas, as already mentioned, also really loved spending time with children, playing and having fun with them. “During his daytime walks, the sovereign, who loved to walk a lot, usually walked around the park with one of his daughters, but he also happened to join us, and with his help we once built a huge snow tower, which took on the appearance of an impressive fortress and occupied us for several weeks "(P. Gilliard). Thanks to Nikolai Alexandrovich, his children fell in love with physical exercise. The sovereign himself, according to Julia Den’s story, loved being in the fresh air, he was an excellent shooter and an excellent athlete. He had extremely strong hands. His favorite pastime was rowing. He loved kayaking and canoeing. When the imperial family vacationed in the Finnish skerries, the sovereign spent whole hours on the water.

The royal children practically did not know external entertainment, such as trips and balls. They themselves invented activities for themselves, besides playing in the air, walking and physical exercise, - for example, they organized home theater performances. These little plays always became a joyful event, giving both children and parents mental peace even in the tragic days of their imprisonment. The Grand Duchesses were very fond of solving puzzles. And Tsarevich Alexei, like any boy, collected all sorts of little things in his pocket - nails, ropes, and so on - the most interesting toys.

Summer trips to the skerries or Crimea were a great joy for the royal children. During these short trips, the sailors taught the children to swim. “But besides swimming, there was a lot of joy on these trips: boat rides, trips to the shore, to islands where you could potter around and pick mushrooms. And how many interesting things are on the yachts and ships that accompanied them! Rowing and sailing boat races, fireworks on the islands, flag lowering with ceremony” (P. Savchenko).

The whole family loved animals. In addition to dogs and a cat, they had a donkey Vanka, with whom the Tsarevich loved to play. “Vanka was an incomparable, smart and funny animal,” recalls P. Gilliard. - When they wanted to give Alexey Nikolaevich a donkey, they turned to all the dealers in St. Petersburg for a long time, but to no avail; then the Ciniselli circus agreed to give up the old donkey, which, due to its decrepitude, was no longer suitable for performances. And this is how “Vanka” appeared at court, apparently fully appreciating the palace stables. He amused us very much, as he knew many of the most incredible tricks. With great dexterity, he turned out his pockets in the hope of finding sweets in them. He found a special charm in old rubber balls, which he casually chewed with one eye closed, like an old Yankee.”

This is how the four daughters and son of Emperor Nicholas II spent their leisure time. Their games and entertainment, while promoting cheerfulness, did not in any way disrupt children's spontaneity and strengthened the children's friendship with their parents. This close friendship contributed to the unity of the family not only in joy, but also in grief, when in captivity the holy family showed even people who were hostile to them an amazing example of love and unity in the face of mortal danger.

Based on materials from the bookMarina Kravtsova"Raising children using the example of the holy royal martyrs." - M.: 2003

The majestic Church-monument on the Blood in the name of All Saints who shone in the Russian Land, erected on the site of the villainous murder of the Royal Family

in the basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg

The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II was the eldest son of the Emperor: Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna (daughter of the Danish king Christian VII). He was born on May 6, 1868. Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich ascended the throne after the death of his father, Emperor Alexander III, on October 20, 1894. The coronation to the throne took place on May 14, 1896 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

The wife of Nikolai Alexandrovich was Princess Alice of Hesse, the granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria. Princess Alice - the future Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - was born on May 25, 1872 in Darmstadt. The wedding of Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Feodorovna took place on November 14, 1894. Four daughters were born into the Royal Family: Olga (November 3, 1895), Tatiana (May 29, 1897), Maria (June 14, 1899), Anastasia (June 5, 1901). On July 30, 1904, the Royal couple had a long-awaited son, heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Alexy. Nicholas II treated the duties of the monarch as his sacred duty.

The emperor, naturally reserved, felt calm and complacent primarily in his narrow family circle. Those who knew the Emperor's family life noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and harmony of all members of this closely knit Family. Its center was Tsarevich Alexy, all affections, all hopes were focused on him. A circumstance that darkened life Imperial Family, the heir had an incurable illness. Attacks of hemophilia, during which the child experienced severe suffering, were repeated several times. The nature of the illness was a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings while participating in the normal routine of palace life.

The imperial couple were distinguished by their deep religiosity. The Empress did not like social interaction or balls. The education of the children of the Imperial Family was imbued with a religious spirit. All its members lived in accordance with the traditions of Orthodox piety. Mandatory attendance at divine services on Sundays and holidays, and fasting during fasting were an integral part of their life. The personal religiosity of the Tsar and his wife was not a simple adherence to traditions. The royal couple visits churches and monasteries during their numerous trips, venerates miraculous icons and relics of saints, and makes pilgrimages, as was the case in 1903 during the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Brief services in court churches did not satisfy the Emperor and Empress. Services are held especially for them in the Tsarskoye Selo Feodorovsky Cathedral, built in the Old Russian style. Empress Alexandra prayed here in front of a lectern with open liturgical books, carefully watching the service.

As a politician and statesman, the Emperor acted based on his religious and moral principles.

Since the beginning of the First World War, the Tsar regularly travels to Headquarters, visits military units of the active army, dressing stations, military hospitals, rear factories - in a word, he does everything that was important for waging this war.

From the very beginning of the war, the Empress devoted herself to the wounded. Having completed nursing courses together with her eldest daughters, Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana, she spent several hours a day caring for the wounded in the Tsarskoye Selo infirmary.

The Emperor viewed his tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief as the fulfillment of a moral and national duty to God and the people, however, always giving leading military specialists broad initiative in resolving the entire range of military-strategic and operational-tactical issues.

On March 2, 1917, representatives of the State Duma and traitors from the high military command forced Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. Renouncing Tsarist power, the Tsar hoped that those who wanted to remove him would be able to bring the war to a victorious end and would not destroy Russia. He was afraid that his refusal to sign the renunciation would lead to civil war in front of the enemy. The Tsar did not want even a drop of Russian blood to be shed because of him. The sovereign, having made, as it seemed to him, the only correct decision, nevertheless experienced severe mental anguish. “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at its head ask me to leave the throne, then I am ready to do this, I am even ready to give not only my kingdom, but also my life for the Motherland,” said the Tsar.

The spiritual motives for which the last Russian Sovereign, who did not want to shed the blood of his subjects, abdicated the throne in the name of internal peace in Russia, give his act a truly moral character. It is no coincidence that when discussing in July 1918 at the Council of the Local Council the question of the funeral commemoration of the murdered Sovereign, Saint Tikhon, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', decided on the widespread service of memorial services with the commemoration of Nicholas II as Emperor.

In the life of Emperor Nicholas II there were two periods of unequal duration and spiritual significance - the time of his reign and the time of his imprisonment.

Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich often compared his life to the trials of the sufferer Job, on whose church memorial day he was born. Having accepted his cross in the same way as the biblical righteous man, he endured all the trials sent down to him firmly, meekly and without a shadow of a murmur. It is this long-suffering that is revealed with particular clarity in the last days of the Emperor’s life. Most witnesses to the last period of the life of the Royal Martyrs speak of the prisoners of the Tobolsk Governor's House and the Yekaterinburg Ipatiev House as people who suffered and, despite all the mockery and insults, led a pious life. In the Royal Family, which found itself in captivity, we see people who sincerely sought to embody the commandments of the Gospel in their lives.

The Imperial Family spent a lot of time in soulful reading, especially the Holy Scriptures, and in indefatigable attendance at divine services. Kindness and peace of mind did not leave the Empress during this difficult time. Alexandra Feodorovna’s letters reveal the full depth of her religious feelings - how much strength of spirit they contain, grief over the fate of Russia, faith and hope for God’s help! And no matter who she wrote to, she found words of support and consolation. These letters are real testimonies of the Christian faith.

Consolation and strength in enduring sorrows were given to the prisoners by spiritual reading, prayer, worship, and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Many times the Empress’s letters speak about the spiritual life of her and other members of the Family: “There is consolation in prayer: I feel sorry for those who find it unfashionable and unnecessary to pray.” In another letter she writes: “Lord, help those who cannot accommodate the love of God in hardened hearts, who see only all the bad things and do not try to understand that all this will pass; It cannot be otherwise, the Savior came and showed us an example. Whoever follows His path, following love and suffering, understands all the greatness of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Together with their parents, the Tsar's children endured all humiliation and suffering with meekness and humility. Archpriest Afanasy Belyaev, who confessed the Tsar’s children, wrote: “The impression [from the confession] was this: God grant that all the children would be as morally high as the children of the former Tsar. Such kindness, humility, obedience to the parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity of thoughts and complete ignorance of earthly dirt - passionate and sinful - left me in amazement.”

In almost complete isolation from the outside world, surrounded by rude and cruel guards, the prisoners of the Ipatiev House display amazing nobility and clarity of spirit.

Their true greatness stemmed not from their royal dignity, but from the amazing moral height to which they gradually rose.

On the night of July 3-4, 1918, the villainous murder of the Royal Family took place in Yekaterinburg.

Together with the Imperial Family, their servants who followed their masters into exile were killed: Doctor E. S. Botkin, the Empress’s room girl A. S. Demidova, the court cook I. M. Kharitonov and footman A. E. Trupp, as well as those killed in different places and in different months of 1918, Adjutant General I. L. Tatishchev, Marshal Prince V. A. Dolgorukov, “uncle” of the Heir K. G. Nagorny, children's footman I. D. Sednev, maid of honor of the Empress A. V. Gendrikova and goflekt-rissa E. A. Schneider.

The veneration of the Royal Family, already begun by St. Tikhon in the funeral prayer and word at the memorial service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow for the murdered Emperor three days after the Yekaterinburg murder, continued throughout the entire Soviet period of Russian history, despite cruel persecution from the godless authorities. Clergy and laity offered prayers to God for the repose of the murdered sufferers, members of the Royal Family. In the houses in the red corner, admirers of the Royal Passion-Bearers, risking their lives, placed their photographs. Of particular value are publications containing testimonies of miracles and gracious help through prayers to the Royal Passion-Bearers. They talk about healings, uniting separated families, and protecting church property from schismatics. There is especially abundant evidence of the myrrh streaming from icons with images of Emperor Nicholas II and the Royal Passion-Bearers, about the fragrance and the miraculous appearance of blood-colored stains on the icon faces of the Royal Passion-Bearers.

Diagnostics and diseases. Medicines from A to Z