On the night of 16/17 July 2025, tens of thousands of pilgrims, clergy and believers from across the Russian Federation and abroad, took part in the Divine Liturgy on the square in front of the Church on the Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land in Ekaterinburg.

This year marks the 107th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife, their five children, and four faithful retainers, who were all brutally murdered in the Ipatiev House in the early morning hours of 17th July 1918.

According to the press service of the Ekaterinburg Diocese, this year’s Tsar’s Days was attended by residents of Ekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region, but also residents of different regions of Russia. In addition, were pilgrims from the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Italy and other countries.

This year’s Divine Liturgy was led by 12 bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Evgeny of Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursky. Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ was performed from 100 Chalices. The service was broadcast live by the First Orthodox TV channel “Soyuz” on YouTube, and Rutube-channels. 

This was followed by a 21-km (13 mile) Cross Procession from the Church on the Blood to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama, in which 40,000 people took part. The procession, which began in the early morning hours of 17th July, took about 4 hours to complete on foot.

“There is no such religious procession, peaceful Christian movement in either Russia, or any where else in the world,” proclaimed Doctor of Historical Sciences Pyotr Multatuli, a noted historian and author, who is considered Russia’s foremost authority on the life and reign of Nicholas II.

The Cross Procession concluded with a moleben [a liturgical service of supplication or thanksgiving] to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Mine No. 7, which is now sacred ground of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-bearers at Ganina Yama.

Tsar’s Days are traditionally held with the support of the Sverdlovsk regional government, the Ekaterinburg city administration and the St. Catherine’s Foundation, which helps in organizing the celebration and supporting pilgrims with water, food, and transport.

Divine Liturgy – Church on the Blood, Ekaterinburg

21-km (13 mile) Cross Procession to Ganina Yama

Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, Ganina Yama

Tsar’s Days

Recall that the first Cross Procession in memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, headed by Metropolitan of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Kirill, took place in 2002, in which more than 2 thousand pilgrims and about 100 clerics participated. It has been held annually in the Ural capital ever since.

In 2018, the year marking the 100th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of the Imperial Family, more than 100, 000 people from across Russia and around the world attended the historic event, including the author of this article, who travelled from Canada to take part.

© Paul Gilbert. 20 July 2025