On 19th May 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church marked the anniversary of the birth of Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich – the future Emperor Nicholas II – who was born on 19th (O.S. 6th) May 1868 – the day when St. Job of the Long Suffering was born..

In connection with this historic date, Orthodox churches throughout Russia and abroad performed Divine Liturgies in memory of Russia’s much slandered Tsar.

From the very beginning of his reign, Nicholas II treated the duties as Emperor and Tsar of the Russian Empire as a sacred duty. As God’s Anointed, he strongly believed that for the hundred million Russian people the Tsar’s power was and remained sacred.

The family of Emperor Nicholas II was imbued with the spirit of the Orthodox faith. They lived in accordance with the traditions of Orthodox piety. Obligatory attendance at divine services on Sundays and feast days, observing fasts were an integral part of their lives. The August couple not only visited churches and monasteries during their numerous trips, venerated miraculous icons and relics of saints, but also made pilgrimages, as was the case in 1903 during the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

The Emperor paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church throughout his reign. Like all Russian emperors, Nicholas II generously donated from his own funds for the construction of new churches, including those outside Russia. During the 22+ years of his reign, the number of parish churches in Russia increased by more than 10 thousand, and more than 250 new monasteries were opened. The Emperor himself participated in the laying of new churches and other church celebrations.

The personal piety of the Tsar was also manifested in the fact that during the years of his reign more saints were canonized than in the two previous centuries, when only 5 saints were glorified. During Nicholas II’s reign, the following saints were glorified: St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), St. Seraphim of Sarov (1903), St. Joasaph of Belgorod (1911), St. Ermogen of Moscow (1913), St. Pitirim of Tambov (1914), St. John of Tobolsk (1916) were canonized, and the veneration of St. Princess Anna of Kashin was renewed (1909).

The Holy Emperor Nicholas II said: “If you see me calm, it is because I have the firm, the absolute conviction that the fate of Russia, my own fate, and that of my family is in the hands of God, Who has placed me where I am. Whatever happens, I will bow to His will, conscious of never having had a thought other than that of serving the country that He confided to me.”

VIDEO: Nicholas II: The Last Orthodox Tsar of Russia
with Paul Gilbert (in English)

In 2020, the Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner of Mesa Potamos in Cyprus invited me to research, write and narrate this 20-minute English-language VIDEO, within the framework of the project for the book “The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal“, of which I was a project colleague. The VIDEO has been watched by more than 134,000 people to date!

CLICK on the LINK to watch the VIDEO: Nicholas II: The Last Orthodox Tsar of Russia

VIDEO: Piety of His Imperial Majesty Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II
Duration: 11 minutes, 24 seconds

A wonderful collection of vintage newsreels from the Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive at Krasnogorsk (RGAKFD).

This newsreel has preserved for posterity those moments when Emperor Nicholas II together with his Family attend the divine services, kisses reverently the cross and the icons, blesses his troops, makes the sign of the cross, participates in the sacred processions and converses with the religious leaders.

Soundtrack: 1) Song «Tsar Nicholas» (written and composed by Gennady Ponomarev; sung by the famous Russian singer Zhanna Bichevskaya in 1999); 2) Fragment of the national anthem of the Russian Empire «God Save the Tsar» (another name: «The Prayer of Russians»; written by Vasily Zhukovsky in 1814, sung by Zhanna Bichevskaya).

CLICK on the LINK to watch the VIDEO: Piety of His Imperial Majesty Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II

© Paul Gilbert. 21 May 2025

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NICHOLAS II: RUSSIA’S LAST ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN MONARCH

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

PAPERBACK EDITION – PRICE $10.99

E-BOOK EDITION – PRICE $9.99

BOOK DESCRIPTION

This book is not only for Orthodox and non-Orthodox persons, but for any one who shares an interest in the life, death, and martyrdom of the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II.

An illustrated Introduction by independent researcher Paul Gilbert explores the piety of Nicholas II, and his devotion to the Russian Orthodox Church, which reached its fullest development and power, during his 22-year reign.

This book further examines the trials and tribulations the Tsar endured, which later led to his canonization by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Paperback edition, with 134 pages + 23 black & white photographs