On 17th July 2023, a series of events marking the 105th anniversary of the murder of the Imperial Family and their faithful servants and the 25th anniversary of the burial of the remains of the Imperial Family, were held at the SS Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

The events were attended by Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin), the abbot of the Pechersky Ascension Monastery, and deputy head of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS). It was during his visit to the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, that Tikhon laid a bouquet of white roses at the tomb the Imperial Family and their faithful servants, which is located in St. Catherine’s Chapel, a side chapel of the cathedral.

At 12 o’clock, a cannon shot sounded on the Naryshkin Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress in memory of these two historic dates. The shot was fired by the Chairman of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation – State Herald Master, Deputy Director General of the State Hermitage for Scientific Work G.V. Vilinbakhov.

At 14:00 p.m., a Divine Liturgy to the Holy Royal Martyrs was held in the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, after which wreaths and flowers were laid near the tomb with the remains of the Imperial Family.

At 15:00 p.m., a round table was held in the conference hall of the St. John’s Ravelin, at which statesmen, historians, architects and journalists who directly participated in the burial ceremony of the Imperial Family in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1998 spoke. They presented the facts related to the history of the murder of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, the discovery and subsequent burial of their remains in the Catherine Chapel of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral.

During the event, documentary newsreels of the burial ceremony in July 1998 were shown; recordings of interviews with participants of mourning events – including Romanov descendants, historians, authors, artists and cultural figures.

At the end of the round table, Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatyokin) made a brief summary of his book ‘Романовы: убийство, поиск, обретение’ [Romanovs: murder, search, acquisition].

FURTHER READING:

‘On this day – 17th July 1998 – Nicholas II was buried in St Petersburg‘ + PHOTOS and VIDEO

© Paul Gilbert. 24 July 2023