The Church honors the memory of the royal martyrs. Prayer to the holy royal martyrs

Royal Passion-Bearers: Martyr Nicholas II and those like him who were killed

The royal martyrs are the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family. They suffered martyrdom - in 1918 they were shot by order of the Bolsheviks. In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized them as saints. We will talk about the feat and the day of remembrance of the Royal Martyrs, which is celebrated on July 17.

Who are the Royal Martyrs

Royal Passion-Bearers, Royal Martyrs, Royal Family- this is how, after canonization, the Russian Orthodox Church calls the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. They were canonized for the feat of martyrdom - on the night of July 16-17, 1918, on the orders of the Bolsheviks, they, along with the court doctor and servants, were shot in Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg.

What does the word “passion-bearer” mean?

“Passion-bearer” is one of the ranks of holiness. This is a saint who accepted martyrdom for fulfilling God’s Commandments, and most often at the hands of fellow believers. An important part of the passion-bearer’s feat is that the martyr does not hold a grudge against his tormentors and does not resist.

This is the face of saints who suffered not for their actions or for the preaching of Christ, but for the fact by whom they were. The fidelity of the passion-bearers to Christ is expressed in their fidelity to their calling and destiny.

It was in the guise of passion-bearers that Emperor Nicholas II and his family were canonized.

When is the memory of the Royal Passion-Bearers celebrated?

The memory of the holy Passion-Bearers Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia is celebrated on the day of their murder - July 17 according to the new style (July 4 according to the old style).

Murder of the Romanov family

The last Russian emperor, Nicholas II Romanov, abdicated the throne on March 2, 1917. After his abdication, he, along with his family, doctor and servants, were placed under house arrest in the palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Then, in the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government sent the prisoners into exile in Tobolsk. And finally, in the spring of 1918, the Bolsheviks exiled them to Yekaterinburg. It was there that on the night of July 16-17, the Royal Family was shot - by order of the executive committee of the Ural Regional Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies.

Some historians believe that the order for execution was received directly from Lenin and Sverdlov. The question of whether this is so is controversial; perhaps historical science has yet to find out the truth.

Very little is known about the Ekaterinburg period of exile of the Royal Family. Several entries in the emperor's diary have reached us; There are testimonies from witnesses in the case of the murder of the Royal Family. In the house of engineer Ipatiev, Nicholas II and his family were guarded by 12 soldiers. Essentially, it was a prison. The prisoners slept on the floor; the guards were often cruel to them; prisoners were allowed to walk in the garden only once a day.

The royal passion-bearers courageously accepted their fate. A letter from Princess Olga has reached us, where she writes: “Father asks us 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.”

Those arrested were allowed to attend services. Prayer was a great consolation for them. Archpriest John Storozhev performed the last service in the Ipatiev House just a few days before the execution of the Royal Family - July 14, 1918.

On the night of July 16-17, the security officer and leader of the execution, Yakov Yurovsky, woke up the emperor, his wife and children. They were ordered to gather under the pretext that unrest had begun in the city and they urgently needed to move to safe place. The prisoners were escorted to a semi-basement room with one barred window, where Yurovsky informed the Emperor: “Nikolai Alexandrovich, according to the resolution of the Ural Regional Council, you and your family will be shot.” The security officer shot several times at Nicholas II, and other participants in the execution shot at the rest of the condemned. Those who fell but were still alive were finished off with shots and bayonets. The bodies were taken out into the yard, loaded into a truck and taken to Ganina Yama - an abandoned Isetsky. There they threw it into a mine, then burned it and buried it.

Along with the Royal family, the court doctor Yevgeny Botkin and several servants were shot: the maid Anna Demidova, the cook Ivan Kharitonov and the valet Alexei Trupp

On July 21, 1918, during a service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, Patriarch Tikhon 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 too , 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.”

For many decades, no one knew where the executioners buried the bodies of the executed Royal Martyrs. And only in July 1991, the presumed remains of five members of the imperial family and servants were discovered near Yekaterinburg, under the embankment of the Old Koptyakovskaya Road. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case and during the investigation confirmed that these were indeed prisoners of the Ipatiev House.

After several years of research and public controversy, on July 17, 1998, the martyrs were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. And in July 2007, the remains of the son of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria were found.

Canonization of the Royal Family

People abroad have been praying for the repose of the Royal Family since the 1920s. In 1981, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad canonized Nicholas II and his family.

The Russian Orthodox Church canonized the Royal Martyrs almost twenty years later - in 2000: “To glorify the royal family as passion-bearers in the host of new martyrs and confessors of Russia: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.”

Why do we honor the Royal Passion-Bearers?

“We honor the royal family for their devotion to God; for martyrdom; for giving us an example of real leaders of the country who treated it like their own family. After the revolution, Emperor Nicholas II had many opportunities to leave Russia, but he did not take advantage of them. Because he wanted to share the fate with his country, no matter how bitter this fate was.

We see not only the personal feat of the Royal Passion-Bearers, but the feat of all that Rus', which was once called leaving, but which is in fact abiding. As in 1918 in the Ipatiev House, where the martyrs were shot, so here, now. This is a modest, but at the same time majestic Rus', in contact with which you understand what is valuable and what is of secondary importance in your life.

The royal family is not an example of correct political decisions; the Church glorified the Royal Passion-Bearers not for this at all. For us they are an example of the Christian attitude of the ruler to the people y, the desire to serve him even at the cost of his life».

How to distinguish the veneration of the Royal Martyrs from the sin of kingship?

Archpriest Igor FOMIN, rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO:

“The royal family stands among those saints whom we love and glorify. But the Royal Passion-Bearers do not “save us,” because the salvation of man is the work of Christ alone. The royal family, like any other Christian saints, leads and accompanies us on the path to salvation, to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Icon of the Royal Martyrs

Traditionally, icon painters depict the Royal Passion-Bearers without a doctor and servants, who were shot along with them in Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg. We see on the icon Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their five children - princesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and the heir Alexei Nikolaevich.

In the icon, the Royal Passion-Bearers hold crosses in their hands. This is a symbol of martyrdom, known from the first centuries of Christianity, when followers of Christ were crucified on crosses, just like their Teacher. At the top of the icon there are two angels, they carry the image of the icon Mother of God"Sovereign".

Temple in the name of the Royal Passion-Bearers

The Church on the Blood in the name of All Saints, who shone in the Russian land, was built in Yekaterinburg on the site of the house of engineer Ipatiev, in which the Royal Family was shot in 1918.

The Ipatiev House building itself was demolished in 1977. In 1990, a wooden cross was erected here, and soon a temporary temple without walls, with a dome on supports. The first Liturgy was served there in 1994.

Construction of the stone temple-monument began in 2000. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy laid a capsule with a commemorative letter about the consecration of the construction site at the foundation of the church. Three years later, on the site of the execution of the Royal Passion-Bearers, a large white-stone temple, consisting of a lower and an upper temple, grew up. In front of the entrance there is a monument to the Royal Family.

Inside the church, next to the altar, is the main shrine of the Yekaterinburg church - the crypt (tomb). It was installed on the site of the very room where eleven martyrs were killed - the last Russian emperor, his family, the court doctor and servants. The crypt was decorated with bricks and the remains of the foundation of the historical Ipatiev house.

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; knew the rank well church services, during which he liked 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 age 16, he enlisted for active 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. 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 V Great Church Winter Palace took place wedding Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich and Princess Alexandra.

The 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 lives. 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 their own desires for the sake of other people,” the Empress believed. The Tsarevich and the Grand Duchesses slept on hard camp beds without pillows; dressed simply; dresses and shoes were passed down from older to younger. The food was very simple. 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 church hierarchy received the opportunity to prepare for the convening of the 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, and the implementation of agrarian reform, the population of the country increased rapidly. It seemed that everything internal problems will be safely 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 - at the same time a reformer and a careful guardian of 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 of Russian armed forces is directly Far East(beyond Baikal) was 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 execution by imperial troops in St. Petersburg peaceful demonstration 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 total number up to 150,000 people moved from different areas towards 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. October 12-18 at various industries Over 2 million people went on strike in industry.

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. Tsar himself since August 1915 most spent 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 State Duma. 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 the 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 of the 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 Tsarskoe 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 security royal family begins to imbue with kind feelings towards the prisoners, they immediately replaced her with a new one - from the security officers 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. All the time Soviet power frantic blasphemy was poured out against the memory of the holy Tsar Nicholas, nevertheless, many among the people, especially in emigration, from the very moment of his death revered the martyr Tsar.

Countless testimonies about wonderful 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. Renunciation 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 holy righteous John of 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 can change the course of events if there is 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 last times. The Church will be tempted by the devil, like Christ in Gethsemane and on Golgotha: “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.” Main spiritual meaning today's events - the result of the 20th century - the increasingly successful efforts of the enemy so that “salt loses its strength”, so that highest values humanity have turned 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. .

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, for the proper upbringing of children, for the preservation of chastity and purity, for 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

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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 groaning of our people, strengthen the Russian land in love for Orthodoxy, save from internecine warfare, ask God for peace and great mercy on 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, have piously built your house, like a small church, and naturally adorned it 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.

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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.

Memory Holy Royal Martyrs Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children takes place in the Orthodox Church on July 17 according to the new style.

Life and martyrdom royal passion-bearers
Nicholas II was the son of Emperor Alexander III. He was born in 1868 on the day of remembrance of Saint Job the Long-Suffering, which seemed to predict his martyrdom and death. Nikolai Alexandrovich was the eldest son in the royal family, so from an early age he was prepared for future imperial service. He received an excellent education and was a very erudite person.
The future Empress Alexandra was from the small German principality of Hesse-Darmstadt, and before converting to Orthodoxy, her name was Alice. The first meeting of the German princess with the heir to the Russian throne took place in 1884 at the wedding ceremony of her older sister Elizabeth with Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. From that time on, friendships began between the young people, which later turned into great love. However, Emperor Alexander III for a long time did not give his son his blessing for the marriage. Only ten years after they met, the young people were able to get married. Princess Alice at first could not decide to renounce the faith of her fathers and convert to Orthodoxy, but after getting to know him better, she was able to consciously accept Orthodox faith. After the Sacrament of Confirmation, Princess Alice began to be called Alexandra Fedorovna.
Soon, great trials awaited the young family. Emperor Alexander III died untimely, and the burden of control big country was entrusted to his son Nikolai Alexandrovich, who by that time was only 26 years old. From the very first days of the young emperor’s reign, there were people dissatisfied with him and his policies, and over time this discontent grew to hatred not only of the king, but also of his wife. Throughout her reign, the august family suffered from slander leveled against it by the enemies of the autocracy. The people, poisoned by revolutionary ideas, also over time began to distrust the tsar and his wife.
Despite this attitude of their subjects and the difficult situation in the country that arose due to revolutionary sentiments, the royal couple found happiness in family life and mutual love for each other. During their life together, Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Fedorovna had five children: daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia and the long-awaited son Alexei. According to people close to the royal family, the imperial children were raised in the Orthodox spirit and were distinguished by great spiritual purity and sincere faith. The diaries and letters of the Grand Duchesses that have reached us reflect their inner nobility and spiritual beauty, as well as deep humility. In the memoirs of contemporaries, Tsarevich Alexei was also a very bright child. The long-awaited son of the emperor was born with an incurable disease, but the serious illness did not deprive the boy of his cheerfulness or make him become embittered.
The First World War and the revolution of 1917 led to the fact that Emperor Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne. The royal family was arrested and transported first to Tobolsk, and then to Yekaterinburg. A commission was appointed to investigate the activities of the former emperor in order to pass a verdict. While imprisoned and suffering from the rudeness and malice of the soldiers guarding them, they accepted the cross sent to them with humility and meekness, placing all their trust in the Lord. On July 17, 1918, the royal martyrs were shot without trial in Ipatiev’s house. The murder of God's anointed and his entire family had not only political, but also spiritual significance, expressing the fight against God of the new government. Thus, the royal passion-bearers suffered for Christ, remaining faithful to Him until death and receiving the crown of martyrdom.

Veneration of the Royal Passion-Bearers
The veneration of the royal family began immediately after their martyrdom. Three days after the death of the passion-bearers, Patriarch Tikhon, performing a memorial service, delivered a speech in which for the first time the idea was voiced that the Russian Emperor and his family died as martyrs. Numerous miracles performed through prayers to the royal passion-bearers served to deep popular veneration of the saints. Many pilgrims visited Ipatiev's house in Yekaterinburg, in which the royal family suffered a martyr's death, and, in connection with this, the building was destroyed in the seventies.
The canonization of the royal passion-bearers took place in 1981 in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and in 2000 at the Council of Bishops they were canonized as saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. In recent years, many churches and chapels have been built dedicated to the memory of the royal martyrs. Believers turn to them with a request to create a strong family and raise children in the Orthodox spirit.
The canonization of the royal martyrs found many opponents, since people for a long time could not abandon the stereotypes imposed for long years godless power. The slander that haunted the imperial family throughout their lives did not leave them even after death. However, truly Christian life and martyrdom, as well as numerous miracles performed through prayer to the passion-bearers, prove their undoubted holiness.

Troparion, tone 7:
Angels of the Russian land,/and a guide to its resurrection,/to Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandro,/who began the apostasy,/who ruled the power of the blessed one,/and the young Grand Duchess,/who labored well in labor and mercy,/and to the Tsarevich-suffering Alexie,/of the Tsarstvenniya passion-bearers, / like lambs of kindness, / from the godless destroyers of Rus' / torment and slaughter, / now having received the eternal kingdom, / pray to the Heavenly King of Kings / for the Power of your relatives, / to be enlightened by the faith of your fathers / / and to be reborn through repentance.

Kontakion, tone 3:
Today we honor the Royal Passion-Bearers, who served God first in Russia, who bore great toils and sorrows, who were hated by the atheists for piety, and for this sake, as if they were Orthodox, the pillars, who were killed by the servants of the devil. We pray to you, holy martyrs: Nicholas, Alexandro, Alexie,/Olgo, Tatiano, Marie, Anastasia,/pray to Christ God//to enlighten your people with piety.

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

Prayer:
What shall we call, O holy passion-bearer Reign, Tsar Nicholas, Tsarina Alexandro, Tsarevich Alexy, Princess Olgo, Tatiano, Maria and Anastasia! Christ the Lord grants you angelic glory and incorruptible crowns in His Kingdom, but our minds and tongues are perplexed as to how to praise you according to your heritage. 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.

HOLY ROYAL PASSION-BEARERS (†1918)

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, had a deep understanding of 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 age 16, he enlisted for active 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 look calmly and humbly 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. As an infant, Princess Alice—her name at home was Alix—was a cheerful, lively child, earning her the nickname “Sunny” (Sunny). The children of the Hessian couple—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. 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.

The 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.

Tragedy on Khodynka May 18, 1896

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, two years later - 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.

NThe 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 their own desires for the sake of other people,” the Empress believed. The Tsarevich and the Grand Duchesses slept on hard camp beds without pillows; dressed simply; dresses and shoes were passed down from older to younger. The food was very simple. 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 - at the same time a reformer and a careful guardian of 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, the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the establishment of a naval base in Port Arthur, and 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 of Russian armed forces directly in the Far East (beyond Lake Baikal) was 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, it was directly available for active operations about 60 thousand people. 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 the Russo-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. From October 12 to 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 the 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 of the 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 Tsarskoe 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 should 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, ordinary people 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 the arrest and virtual collapse of the 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, in every possible way striving 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 2000 Russian Orthodox Church the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia canonized as holy passion-bearers . Their memory is celebrated on the day of their martyrdom - July 17th .

Why was the royal family canonized?

Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov

Historical facts do not allow us to speak of members of the royal family as Christian martyrs. Martyrdom presupposes for a person the opportunity to save his life through renunciation of Christ. The sovereign's family was killed precisely as the sovereign's family: the people who killed them were quite secularized in their worldview and perceived them primarily as a symbol of the imperial Russia they hated.

In historical notes about Nicholas II, and in his life, a rather restrained and sometimes critical assessment of his state activities is given. Bloody Sunday on January 9, 1905, the problem of the attitude of the sovereign and empress to Rasputin, the problem of the abdication of the emperor - all this is assessed from the point of view of whether this prevents canonization or not.

If we consider the events of January 9, then, firstly, we must take into account that we are dealing with mass riots that took place in the city. They were unprofessionally suppressed, but it was truly a massive illegal demonstration. Secondly, the sovereign did not give any criminal orders that day - he was in Tsarskoe Selo and was largely misinformed by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the mayor of St. Petersburg. Nicholas II considered himself responsible for what happened, hence the tragic entry in his diary, which he left on the evening of that day after learning about what had happened: "Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult!”

As for the renunciation, it was definitely a politically erroneous act. Nevertheless, the sovereign’s guilt is to some extent redeemed by the motives that guided him. The desire of the emperor to prevent civil strife through abdication is justified from a moral point of view, but not from a political point of view... If Nicholas II had suppressed the revolutionary uprising by force, he would have gone down in history as an outstanding statesman, but it is unlikely that he would have become a saint.

All this allows us to take a slightly different look at the figure of the last king. However, the Church is in no hurry to justify Nicholas II in everything. A canonized saint is not sinless.

Five reports devoted to the study of the state and church activities of the last Russian sovereign were submitted to the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints. The commission decided that the activities of Emperor Nicholas II in themselves do not provide sufficient grounds for both his canonization and the canonization of his family members. However, the reports that determined the final - positive - decision of the Commission were the sixth and seventh: “ Last days The Royal Family" and "The Church's Attitude to Passion.

It is the last period of the life of the members of the royal family, spent in captivity, and the circumstances of their death that provide serious grounds for glorifying them as passion-bearers. They realized more and more that death was inevitable, but they managed to preserve spiritual peace in their hearts and at the moment of martyrdom they acquired the ability to forgive their executioners.

The family of Nicholas II is glorified in the rite of passion-bearing , characteristic specifically for the Russian Church. The drama of passion-suffering, “non-resistance to death” lies precisely in the fact that it is precisely weak people, who have often sinned a lot, who find the strength to overcome weak human nature and die with the name of Christ on their lips. This rank is traditionally used to canonize Russian princes and sovereigns who, imitating Christ, patiently endured physical and moral suffering or death at the hands of political opponents. By the way, in the history of the Russian Church there are not many canonized sovereigns. And of the Romanovs, only Nicholas II was canonized as a saint - this is the only case in the 300 years of the dynasty.

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 honest, wise people in their own way, who were already thinking about “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 holy righteous John of 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 can change the course of events if there is 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 Golgotha: “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. .

Prayer to the holy passion-bearer Tsar-martyr Nicholas II
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. A min.