Russian Orthodox Church | Nicholas II

Nicholas II’s grave near Ekaterinburg under threat

PHOTO: Paul Gilbert standing at the entrance to the Romanov Memorial in July 2018

On 10th March 2025, the head of the Ekaterinburg based Romanov Memorial Charitable Foundation Ilya Korovin, issued a press release expressing concern that the grave of Nicholas II, his family and four faithful retainers at Porosenkov Log is now under threat of development by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

According to Kovovin, the Russian Orthodox Church will soon recognize the Ekaterinburg remains as those of the Imperial Family, and that such an announcement may very well threaten the Romanov Memorial at Porosenkov Log.

“If the Bishop’s Council of the ROC agree with the authenticity of the remains, then a serious question will arise about the fate of the Romanov Memorial,” said Kovovin. “This area has been preserved in its original form since 1918. It is the only place associated with Russia’s last Tsar in Ekaterinburg, which has survived to this day unchanged,” he added.

PHOTO: an Orthodox cross marks the place where Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, three of their children: Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia and their four faithful retainers were reburied by the regicides in July 1918. The remains of Alexei and Maria were buried in a second grave nearby.

Recall that it was at Porosenkov Log that the regicides buried the remains of the Imperial Family the day after they attempted to destroy their bodies at the Four Brothers Mine at Ganina Yama, situated 3.8 km [2.4 miles] down the road. The remains were initially discovered in June 1979 by Geliy Trofimovich Ryabov (1932-2015) and Alexander Nikolaevich Avdonin (born 1932). On 16th July 1999, the Romanov Memorial was opened on the site of the graves.

The land in and around the Romanov Memorial has been the subject of debate between Korovin and the ROC since 2021, after the Ekaterinburg Diocese requested the transfer of the land by the Sverdlovsk Region. The illegal drilling of wells was subsequently carried out, despite the fact that Porosenkov Log was recognized as an object of cultural heritage in 2014.

In September 2024, the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites (UGOOKN) excluded the Romanov Memorial from the list of protected monuments, which raises concerns for Torovin, who is now challenging the decision in court.

It is no longer a question of “if” but “when” the ROC recognizes the Ekaterinburg remains as those of the Imperial Family [the decision rests with the Bishops Council of the Russian Orthodox Church]. The church’s interest in the land in and around the Romanov Memorial may confirm their plans to construct another monastery – similar to that at Ganina Yama – or memorial church to glorify the Holy Royal Martyrs at Porosenkov Log. The Ekaterinburg Diocese has refused to comment on any possible development.

***

FURTHER READING:

ROC preparing to build memorial church at Porosenkov Log by Paul Gilbert 4th March 2023

The fate of Porosenkov Log and Ganina Yama by Paul Gilbert, 14th February 2022

104 years on, Orthodox Church still split over murdered tsar’s remains by Paul Gilbert 6th April 2021

Will the Bishops Council’s decision on the Ekaterinburg Remains cause a schism within the ROC? by Paul Gilbert, 20th September 2021

30th anniversary of the exhumation of the remains of Nicholas II and his family by Paul Gilbert, 7th July 2021

Bones of Contention: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Ekaterinburg Remains by Paul Gilbert, 23rd November 2021

The Tsar’s Chapel in Pskov, in memory of the Tsar’s abdication

Posted on January 23 by Paul Gilbert

In 2003, a memorial chapel in memory of the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II was constructed on the square in front of the modern-day railway station in Pskov. The Chapel of the Resurrection of Christ was officially opened and consecrated on 17th July 2003.

Recall that on the night of 14/15 (O.S 2/3) March 1917, in a carriage of the Imperial Train, which was detained at the Varshavsky Railway Station in Pskov, the last Russian autocrat signed the act of abdication from the throne. The monarchy and the Russian Empire ceased to exist.

The Varshavsky Railway Station was built 140 years ago (on 9th September 1863) in connection with the opening of the St. Petersburg – Warsaw Railway. The two-storey station building, was restored anew for the 1100th anniversary of the city in 2003.

The chapel’s architect Sergei Nikolaevich Kondratiev, wanted to construct the chapel to correspond with the station building. He chose the architectural style of Imperial Russia, based on the famous examples of St. Petersburg, Oranienbaum and Peterhof.

The tiny chapel stands 17 meters [56 ft.] in height, it is crowned with a dome and a small cupola on which a gilded cross is installed. The dome is covered with sheet copper, the dome and the cross are made of a special alloy made at one of the defense plants in Chelyabinsk. The single colour scheme of the chapel’s facade is a combination of golden-brown, green and white.

A marble plaque was installed on the side of the chapel, on which the inscription is engraved: “The Tsar’s Chapel was built in the year of the 1100th anniversary of Pskov as a repentance and deep sorrow of the people of Pskov over the tragic death of the last Russian Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov.”

New museum dedicated to Nicholas II and his family opens in Pskov region

Posted on January 9 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: entrance to the exhibition which takes up the entire ground floor of the
recently constructed Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in Dno

On 26th December 2024, a new museum dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II and his family was officially opened and consecrated in the Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in the Russian city of Dno, situated 114 km from Pskov.

Recall that on the same day, a new monument to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was unveiled and consecrated on the grounds of the church.

Metropolitan Matthew of Pskov and Porkhov performed the rite of consecration of the museum to the Royal Passion-Bearers. The museum takes up the entire ground floor of the church. Admission to the museum is FREE to all!

PHOTO: His Eminance performs the rite of consecration of the museum to the Royal Passion-Bearers

The interiors of the museum are a wonderful example of modern exhibition spaces, designed in the Neo-Russian Style [aka the Russian Revival Style], characteristic of the early twentieth century and beloved by Russia’s last Tsar.

The museum is divided into two halls. The first hall, which is painted burgundy-green, combined with dim lighting. Burgundy is the colour of the Imperial Porphyry, green is the colour of the monk. In this hall, the exposition explores the life of the Imperial Family from Emperor Nicholas II’s and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s childhood to the tragic vents of 1917. Two stands describe the history of the House of Romanov – from the calling to the throne of Mikhail Feodorovich in 1613 and to the death and martyrdom of Nicholas II 305 years later.

Archival photographs and documentary materials, diary entries, testimonies of contemporaries, statements by prominent public and church figures reveal in detail the life of the Imperial Family. They tell about their service to Russia, their close family relations, and the historical context of the events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition, the exposition explores the cultural, scientific, and political life of the Russian Empire during the era of Nicholas II.

PHOTOS: four double-sided mobile stands display documents and
photos which explore the life of Emperor Nicholas II and his family

The photographs and documents are displayed on four double-sided mobile stands on small wheels with stoppers. At the northern and southern walls there are carved white-stone lecterns with carvings, under which relics of the era of Emperor Nicholas II are placed. In the eastern part of the hall there is a passage through three brass decorative arches which leads to the White Hall. Between the arches, there are four kiot stands made of white stone with carvings (initials), glass, lighting and a carved finial, dedicated to the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna. The ceiling is dark, with diffused and directional track lighting.

In the White Hall there is information about the Way of the Cross of the Imperial Family – the period from the events at the Dno station, the Tsar’s abdicated in March 1917, to the murder of Nicholas II and his entire family on 17th July 1918 in Ekaterinburg and the subsequent history of the veneration and glorification of the Imperial Family as saints. Extensive textual and illustrative material makes it possible to speculatively walk this path together with the Royal Passion-Bearers, to come into spiritual contact with the last year of their lives, to see the light of the Paschal victory in the darkness of the Ipatiev House.

CLICK on the photos below to enlarge and see in greater detail . . .

Also in the White Hall there are stands dedicated to the faithful retainers, who voluntarily followed the Imperial Family into exile and shared their sufferings, showing an example of loyalty to duty; stands dedicated to the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the Alapaevsk Martyrs, who were murdered by the Bolsheviks the day after the Imperial Family; two kiot stands dedicated to Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich; and stands dedicated to the memory, glorification and modern veneration of the Holy Royal Martyrs.

The hall is crowned by a large carved icon case with an icon of the Royal Martyrs, visible from the very entrance to the burgundy-green hall. The saints are depicted in white robes with a reference to the apocalyptic image of martyrs overcoming earthly sufferings and faithful to Christ (Revelations 6:9-12).

The White Hall is also used as a venue for small gatherings. The 4 white stands can be rrolled to the sides, thereby freeing up the central space of the hall. Attached to the ceiling in this room is a screen that can be opened in the eastern part of the hall, with a projector at the entrance to the burgundy-green hall. Folding chairs which are stored in the adjoining utility room, provide for guests attending lectures, films and other events.

CLICK on the photos below to enlarge and see in greater detail . . .

The museum is a project of love and deepest respect to the Holy Royal Martyrs and their feat on the Cross, which formed the basis of the feat of faith of all the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church and the preservation of the Holy Russian spirit in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The opening of the new museum in Dno is the fourth such museum in Russia dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II and his family, the other three are the Museum of the Holy Royal Family in the Tsarsky Cultural and Educational Center, situated in the Patriarchal Compound of the Church on the Blood (Ekaterinburg); the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II (Tobolsk); and the Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family (Kotelniki-Moscow).

PHOTO: icon of the Royal Martyrs in the White Hall

19th December marks the name day of Nicholas II

Posted on December 19 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: contemporary icon depicting the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and Saint Nicholas of Myra – aka Nicholas the Wonderworker (born 270- died 343 A.D.)

Today – 19th (O.S. 6th) December – the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the name day of Emperor Nicholas II. The Tsar’s patron saint is Saint Nicholas of Myra – aka Nicholas the Wonderworker (born 270- died 343 A.D.).

Upon his birth on 19th (O.S. 6th) May 1896, the future Emperor and Tsar of Russia received the traditional Romanov name – “Nikolai” (Nicholas). His name can be attributed to “naming a male after an uncle” (a custom which dates from the Rurik dynasty), in which Nicholas was named in memory of his father’s elder brother and mother’s fiancé, Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-1865), who died at the age of 21. The names, patronymics, and namesake saints of the Tsesareviches themselves (Nicholas of Myra) and their fathers (Alexander Nevsky) coincided. The Holy Tsar-martyr Nicholas II’s name day is marked on 6th December according to the Old Style Julian calendar, the day on which St. Nicholas the Wonderworker died.

Nicholas the Wonderworker was a Christian saint, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Byzantium). He is revered as a miracle worker, considered the patron saint of sailors, merchants and children.

A patron saint is a person who has special meaning, and is often represented in pictures, icons, or statues. Most Orthodox Christians have a patron saint, and they usually receive this saint on the day of their baptism.

Russians celebrate name days separately from birthdays. Celebrations range from the gifting of cards and flowers to full-blown celebrations similar to birthday parties. Such a celebration begins with attendance at the divine services marking that day (in the Russian tradition, the All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy), and usually with a festive party thereafter. The Russian Imperial Family followed the tradition of giving name day gifts.

Before the October Revolution of 1917, Russians regarded name days as important as, or more important than, the celebration of birthdays, based on the rationale that one’s baptism is the event by which people become “born anew” in Christ.

Nicholas II took particular joy in celebrating his name day, and recorded his memories in his diary . . .

From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1915:

“Sunday. It was strange and pleasant to spend my name day at home! We attended mass. The whole family arrived for breakfast; We sat in the small library at three tables. Then we went to Alexei and sat with him…”

From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1916:

“We got up early and in the morning the congratulations began. Walking back from the church, I greeted the units that celebrate their holidays today. The report, under Shuvaev, was short. A lot of people were eating breakfast. I received gifts from Alix and the children…”

From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1917:

“My name day was spent calmly and not following the example of previous years. A moleben [prayer service] was served at 12 o’clock. The soldiers of the 4th regiment in the garden, who were on guard, all congratulated me, and I congratulated them on their regimental holiday. I received three pies and sent one of them to the guard.” [The Imperial Family were living under house arrest in Tobolsk at the time, it would be Nicholas’s last name day – Ed.]

In 1885, the future Emperor Nicholas II], was presented with an unusual icon of his heavenly patron St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The icon was painted by Grigory Zhuravlev, who had no arms or legs, but used his teeth to paint the image.

For decades the icon sat hidden away in the vast funds of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. In recent years, the provenance of the icon was discovered in 2023, thanks to the help of a local historian, Alexander Malinovskiy.

Obituary: His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia (1929-2008)

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia

On this day – 5th December 2008 – His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia (1929-2008) died in Peredelkino, at the age of 79.

Alexei Mikhailovich Rüdiger was born in Tallinn, Estonia on 23rd February 1929. He was elected Patriarch of Moscow eighteen months prior to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. He became the first Russian Patriarch of the post-Soviet period to be chosen without government pressure; candidates were nominated from the floor, and the election was conducted by secret ballot.

In July 1998 Alexei II decided not to officiate at the funeral of Emperor Nicholas II and his family in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, citing doubts about the authenticity of their remains. He also banned bishops from taking part in the funeral ceremony.

In the face of skepticism, Patriarch Alexei II was obliged to profess agnosticism over the identity of the bodies, as a way to avoid massive internal rifts within the church. He also claimed that the Church had been sidelined in the investigation.

The funeral was attended by Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Prince Michael of Kent and more than 50 descendants of the Romanov dynasty. Maria Vladimirovna Romanova, her son and her mother, were the only Romanov descendants who refused to participate, also citing doubts about the authenticity of the Rkaterinburg remains.

PHOTO: Patriarch Alexei and Queen Elizabeth II. Moscow, 18th October 1994

Instead, Patriarch Alexei II, Maria Vladimirovna Romanova, her son George Hohenzollern, and her mother Leonida Georgievna (1914-2010) attended a liturgy for the murdered Imperial Family at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church, situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad [named Zagorsk during the Soviet years], about 70 km north-east of Moscow.

Under His Holiness’s leadership, the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia who suffered under Communism were glorified, beginning with the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Metropolitan Vladimir, and Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazansky) of Petrograd in 1992.

In 2000, after much debate, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Emperor Nicholas II and his family, as Passion-Bearerss[1][2]. Their canonization took place on 20th August 2000, at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

PHOTO: two very sombre photos of Patriarch Alexei standing at Mine No. 7 (collapsed) at Ganina Yama[3]. It was around this place, that the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was built.

On 23rd September of the same year, during his visit to the Urals, Patriarch Alexei II laid a memorial capsule in the eastern wall of the foundation of the future church. The construction of the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg. The church, which was completed in 2003, was built on the site of the Ipatiev House, where the Imperial Family along with four faithful retainers were murdered on 17th July 1918. The Ipatiev House was demolished in September 1977.

On the same day, His Holiness visited the Ganina Yama[3] tract [situated 15 km (10 miles) north of Ekaterinburg] and, having blessed the establishment of the monastic monastery, put his signature on the master plan of the monastery. The first stone of the monastery was laid on 1st October 2000. On 27th December, the Holy Synod officially “blessed the opening of a monastery in the name of the Holy Royal Martyrs in the Ganina Yama[3] tract”. On 28th December, the all-male Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs was established here.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia died at his home in Peredelkino [southwest of Moscow] on 5th December 2008, from heart failure, aged 79. He died 80 days short of his 80th birthday.

The funeral service for His Holiness was performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, he was buried in the Cathedral of the Epiphany, the vicarial church of the Moscow Patriarchs in Yelokhovo, located in the Basmanny district of Moscow.

Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!

NOTES:

[1] Despite their official designation as “passion-bearers” in 2000, by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, Emperor Nicholas II and his family are often referred to as “martyrs” in Church publications, icons, and in popular veneration by the people.

[2] Emperor Nicholas II and his family were canonized as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) in 1981.

[3] Ganina Yama is the generally accepted name of the abandoned Isetsky mine, located in the Four Brothers tract, overgrown with birch and pine forests, situated situated in the Sverdlovsk region.

Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers consecrated near Khabarovsk

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers

On 4th November 2024, the Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was consecrated, in the Petropavlovsky (Peter and Paul) Convent – located 60 km from the city of Khabarovsk.

The new Russian Orthodox church is dedicated to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers[1] – Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children and the family’s four faithful retainers, all of whom died a martyr’s death following their brutal murder by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg, on the night of 16/17 July 1918.

The church was consecrated by Metropolitan Artemy of Khabarovsk and the Amur Region. The church is a metochion[2] of the Petropavlovsky (Peter and Paul) Convent.

A two-tiered iconostasis was installed, made by Moscow craftsmen, in which a lot of gold leaf was used. The icons were painted by the sisters of the convent, as was the painting for the altar. The main icon in the iconostasis is a unique mosaic icon of the Imperial Family, also handmade by the nuns. Their work was highly praised by specialists of the All-Russian Art and Research Conservation Center, which is considered to be Russia’s foremost authority in the field of the restoration of historical and art monuments.

Construction of the six-domed Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers began in 2018, and was financed thanks to donations of parishioners and local patrons.

PHOTO: the iconostasis features a mosaic icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs (sedond from right)

“From this day on, its doors will be open to everyone who asks for mutual love and respect in the family, raising children in faith and piety, overcoming life’s adversities with firm hope in God,” said Nikolai Shevtsov, Chairman of the Legislative Duma of the Khabarovsk Region. “Let the Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers become such a place for Khabarovsk residents and guests of the capital,” he added.

In this church, many new and original elements have been created, which are not found in the Far East regions of the Russian Federation, in particular, bronze doors ordered from central Russia. The floor in the church is decorated with original mosaics of the Byzantine style. This monastic metochion is the first in the Khabarovsk Region. The abbess of the church is nun Antonia.

A monument of Nicholas II and his family was installed on the grounds of the church. It was made by the Moscow sculptor Vladimir Lepeshov, a member of the Union of Artists of Moscow and Russia, combining seven busts of members of the family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

PHOTO: monument to Nicholas II and his family, installed on the grounds of the church

NOTES:

[1] On 1st November 1981, the Imperial Family were canonized as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).

On 20th August 2000, the the Imperial Family were canonized as passion-bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate.

Passion-bearers are people who face death with resignation, in a Christ-like manner, as distinguished from martyrs, the latter historically killed for their faith. Proponents cited the piety of the Tsar and his family and reports that the Tsarina and her eldest daughter Olga prayed and attempted to make the sign of the cross immediately before they died.

Despite their official designation as “passion-bearers” by the Moscow Patriarchate, they are nevertheless spoken of as “saints” in Orthodox publications, icons, and in popular veneration by the people.

[2] A metochion is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir perform in the UK

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

Photo © Diocese of Sourozh

On 24th October 2024, with the blessing of Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, the Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir performed a concert of sacred music at the Cathedral of the Dormition in London, England.

The creative team under the direction of Adrian Fekula unites choir directors and singers from the USA, France and Great Britain. The choral ensemble aims to preserve the heritage and traditions of Russian Orthodox music abroad, focusing on the works of Russian church composers of the 20th century.

During the Divine Liturgy, which was celebrated by the Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh, Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, assisted by Priest Vasily Gandzyuk, Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch, Protodeacon Ioan Sîlnic and Deacon Alexander Kapustin, a mixed group of singers sang, which included the choir of the Dormition Cathedral and the singers of the Tsar Nicholas II choir. The choirmaster was Dmitry Tugarinov.

Photo © Diocese of Sourozh

After the divine service, a concert was held in the church. Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, addressing the participants of the performance, warmly greeted the guests on behalf of the Rector of the Dormition Cathedral, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, and thanked them for the opportunity to hear the masterpieces of the Russian church singing, reports the diocesan website.

The choir’s program included works by famous Russian church composers B. Ledkovsky, S. Taneyev, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, A. Nikolsky, N. Cherepnin, N. Golovanov, P. Chesnokov, N. Kedrov, S. Trubachev, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, and A. Kastalsky.

The concert was attended by parishioners of the London Cathedral and parishes of the Diocese of Sourozh, who came from various cities of Great Britain. Among those gathered were a large number of British people interested in Russian sacred music.

Photo © Diocese of Sourozh

Click HERE to read more about the Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir

America’s first bust of Nicholas II was installed in New York City in 2018

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: this bust is considered the most faithful
to the likeness of Emperor Nicholas II

NOTE: this article was originally published on 7 December 2019,
it was revised and updated on 4th October 2024 – PG

On 17th July 2018, the feast day of the Holy Royal Passion-bearers, a bust of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, was installed and consecrated in the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York City. The bronze bust is considered to be the most faithful to the likeness of Emperor Nicholas II.

The bust was donated to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) by the head of the Foundation “Under the Protection of the Mother of God” Eugene (Evgeny) Korolev, with the organizational participation of the head of the Military Orthodox Mission, Igor Smykov.

Attending the divine services were parishioners and faithful of various parishes, representatives of the Romanov family, and Cossack delegates.ners and faithful of various parishes, representatives of the Romanov family, and Cossack delegates.

Upon completion of the service, Fr. Tikhon read aloud Metropolitan Hilarion’s Epistle on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the martyrdom of the holy and right-believing Royal Passion-bearers: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsesarevich Alexei, and Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatian, Maria and Anastasia.

His Eminence and the clergy served a short moleben [service of intercession] before icons of the Royal Passion-bearers and other holy relics housed at the Synodal cathedral: a reliquary with the right hand of the Holy Nun-Martyrs Elizabeth and Barbara.

Metropolitan Hilarion then thanked all those who prayerfully honored this day with their presence, and gave the floor to the general director of the Russian National Creative Workshop “Art-Project,” LLC, and the International Foundation for Mutual Development & Strengthening of Spiritual Unity and the Religious & Historical Values of Russian Orthodoxy in the Homeland & Abroad “Under the Protection of the Theotokos,” Eugene (Evgeny) Korolev. It was these organizations that presented the cathedral a gift: a bust of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II.

CLICK on the above image to watch a VIDEO of the consecration of the bust.
DURATION: 3 minutes, 30 seconds. LANGUAGE: Russian

“This image was first made before the revolution, out of stone. During Perestroika in the Soviet Union, vandals desecrated it,” Korolev explained. “After the fall of the USSR, in 1993, the bust was brought from Crimea to Moscow, to the workshop of Russian national artist Vyacheslav Klykov. They created a mold of the bust and poured it in bronze. Unfortunately, we do not know the identity of the original artist who created this marvelous work. But we do know that this monument is considered the most faithful to the likeness of Emperor Nicholas II. I would like to offer my respect to Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov (1938-2006) for granting new life to this work of art.

“In Russia they are currently celebrating the ‘Tsar’s Days,’ and I think the most important thing for us is to learn lessons from this tragedy and never repeat them.”

Korolev congratulated everyone on the occasion of the feast, and presented Metropolitan Hilarion with a dove prepared in the workshop, as well as pouches with soil from the holy sites of Yekaterinburg, where Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, and their children were held captive, and where they were all murdered.

For his work with the Cossacks, Eugene Korolev presented Fr. Tikhon with the Order of Emperor Nicholas the Second.

Flanked by clergy, the First Hierarch proceeded to the entrance to the cathedral, where the bust of the Tsar-Passionbearer Nicholas II had been installed, and blessed it. The festivities concluded with a banquet in the cathedral hall.

PHOTO: Metropolitan Hilarion (1948-2022) of Eastern America and New York, talks
with members of the media in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.

The Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

The Tsar Nicholas II Choir is a men’s ensemble based in New York City, dedicated to performing Russian liturgical and secular music. The choir was founded in 2017 – the year marking the 100th anniversary of the fateful events of 1917: the Russian Revolution and the abdication of Nicholas II, Russia’s last Emperor. The choir’s name reflects that connection.

The Revolutions of February and October 1917, the abdication of the Tsar, and the subsequent Civil War sent untold numbers of Russians into exile. The ensemble is the direct inheritor of the religious and cultural traditions of these first emigres. Most members of the choir are of Russian, Ukrainian, or Belorussian descent. All members are Russian Orthodox, most speak Russian, and all hold Orthodoxy, and Russian culture and music dear to their hearts. The choir therefore views as its mission the preservation of old Russian traditions, and the maintenance of newer ones developed outside of Russia throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

This commitment is reflected in the choir’s chosen repertoire; alongside folk songs and compositions of many celebrated Russian composers of the 18th-20th centuries are works written by Russian emigres and their descendants. The choir also works actively among the youth to keep these traditions and this music alive for posterity.

In 2017 the Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir made it’s first trip to the Russian Federation. The group toured St. Petersburg, singing the Divine Liturgy in St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and at the Trinity Cathedral of the city’s St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and performing several concerts. One of these concerts was held in the hall of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. On more than one occasion, people who heard the choir perform asked what part of Russia the choir was from, not believing that such a choir could come from the United States.

Also in 2017 the choir had its first experience of the warm hospitality of the Serbian people. In 2019 the choir hosted another Russian men’s choir based in Australia, singing several joint concerts and services with the Russian Orthodox Male Choir of Australia.

The St. Nicholas II Choir is conducted by Adrian Fekula. Like all of the singers, Adrian is an amateur. He works in finance full-time, but studied music in high school and college, having studied conducting under Professor David Harris at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he was also the assistant conductor of the college choir. Adrian currently serves as the assistant conductor of the Metropolitan’s Choir of the Cathedral of the Sign in New York City – the center of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Click HERE to watch and listen to the Tsar Nicholas II Men’s Choir
sing some of their most popular songs.

The abbess who came to the aid of the Imperial Family in Ekaterinbburg in 1918

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

Today – 29th July 2024 – marks the 90th anniversary of the death of Schema Magdalena (Dosmanova), the last abbess of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent[1] in Ekaterinburg before the October 1917 Revolution.

An early calling

Pelagia Stefanovna Dosmanova (future mother Magdalena) was born in 1847 into a merchant family in the city of Irbit, Perm province. In 1859, her pious parents brought their 12-year-old daughter to the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery[2] in Ekaterinburg.

For her first obedience, the young novice helped in the convent candle factory, then in the rector’s cells. Over the years, she was entrusted with more and more complex and responsible obediences, and Sister Pelagia performed every task with zeal. All the sisters loved her, sensing in her a special spiritual strength, which was combined with a soft, loving attitude towards every person.

In 1893, Pelagia Dosmanova was tonsured and became the nun Magdalena, and just two years later the sisters unanimously elected her abbess “in the conviction that she was of a pious life, of a meek disposition,” as they wrote in the act of election.

PHOTO: the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent [Monastery] [2] in Ekaterinburg

Mother Magdalena

Having become abbess, Mother Magdalena worked tirelessly: she decorated the churches, equipped the cells of the sisters, ensuring that the monastery was in perfect order – she wanted the monastery to look like “paradise on earth”.

Matushka Magdalena taught the sisters to pray, and introduced them to reading books on which many generations of monastics were brought up from ancient times. She also took care of the spiritual needs of the faithful who lived near the monastery. Parents often came to visit the monastery, on one occasion a novice took them to the icon-painting workshop, Suddenly, unexpectedly for the parents, all the sisters who were there, as one, stood up and bowed low, with deep reverence. The parents were moved to tears.

Many girls came to the monastery to lead a monastic life under the wise guidance of Mother Magdalena. By 1917, the number of sisters had increased to almost a thousand.

During the First World War, Mother Magdalena, according to the commandment of the Lord, tried to ease the sorrows of her countrymen, the monastery donated money and valuables for the needs of Russia’s soldiers at the front; while an infirmary for wounded soldiers was arranged at the monastery.

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II and his family. 1913.

Comes to the aid of the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House

In 1918, Ekaterinburg became a place of exile for many people who were deemed objectionable to the new Bolshevik order, which included bishops, priests and members of the Imperial Family. Mother Magdalena’s heart ached for every innocent prisoner.

From April to July, when Nicholas II and his family were kept under arrest in the Ipatiev House, the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent were praying for them, asking God to relieve their sufferings, and to give them the strength to bear everything with Christian humility.

The sisters’ help came not only through prayer but also through deeds. Often disregarding their own safety, they supported the Tsar and his family, by bringing various foods to them through the guards.

Matushka Magdalena gave her blessing to the sisters to carry food to the Ipatiev House for the imprisoned Emperor and his family: milk for Tsesarevich Alexei, cream, eggs, butter, bread, pastries, vegetables, and meat.

On 18th June 1918, a month before their murder, Empress Alexandra Feodorvna acknowledged the kindness shown them by the nuns, and made the following entry in her diary: “The kind nuns are now sending milk and eggs for Alexei and for us, as well as cream.”

The sisters carried food every day until the last day – 16th July – the eve of which the Imperial Family and their four faithful retainers were all shot to death in the basement of the Ipatiev House.

PHOTO: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

In May 1918, when the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna arrived in Ekaterinburg, she was placed under house arrest, along with other members of the Romanov family], and two faithful retainers. They were all held in the Atamanovskie Rooms Hotel [the building has survived to the present day].

The sisters petitioned the Bolsheviks for the Grand Duchess to be allowed to live in the monastery. However, their request was rejected. Two months later, they were sent to the city of Alapaevsk, where they too were murdered.

The sisters also came to the aid of Bishop Germogen (Dolganev) of Tobolsk, also imprisoned in a local jail. The nuns delivered dinner to Vladyka from the monastery, Mother Magdalena visited him, and one day, at her request, Vladyka was allowed to serve a mass in prison, at which many prisoners took communion.

Matushka Magdalena and the sisters of the the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent performed a confessional feat, by openly helping the Imperial Family and other prisoners. Indeed, at that time people were afraid not only to help political prisoners, but even simply to express sympathy for them, knowing that their punishment could lead to imprisonment or execution.

PHOTO: Bolsheviks seize and confiscate valuables
from the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery, 1920s

“Monastery” on the Third Zagorodnaya

Sadly, the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery did not escape the fate suffered by most Orthodox churches and monasteries. In 1920, the monastery was closed, all the sisters were evicted. Over the gates of the monastery, the Bolsheviks hung a large banner: “Long live the World Communist Revolution!“. Mother Magdalene and the sisters looked at this slogan with heartache, often coming to pray at the walls of their native monastery. The monastery, which they had been landscaping for years, was now a pitiful sight, ravaged and defaced with communist inscriptions.

Mother Magdalena settled not far from the monastery, in a private house on Tretya Zagorodnaya Street (now Schmidt Street). Eighteen sisters came to live with her, while the others often came to her for prayer, advice and spiritual edification. During this mournful period, the virtues of Mother Magdalena and her spiritual experience acquired over many years were fully manifested. Having lost her pastoral position and her native monastery, she did not lose heart nor faith. Despite the hardships and persecutions under the Bolshevik and later the Soviet regimes, Matushka Magdalena remained true to her Orthodox faith.

In the house on Tretya Zagorodnaya, the sisters lived as they did in the monastery – every night they read the akathist in front of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God; during the day they worked, read the scriptures, and went to church together. Mother Magdalena combined prudent indulgence with moderate severity. She instructed the sisters to begin and end each day with the Jesus Prayer[3].

PORTRAIT: portrait of Schema Magdalena (Dosmanova). Artist unknown

Blessed Old Woman

The monastery had been closed for many years, yet despite this, new sisters still came to Mother Magdalena, who wanted to devote themselves to God.

In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks ordered the closure of churches and monasteries, and the arrest of priests, clergy, nuns and monks. The arrests carried out by the atheistic authorities did not bypass Mother Magdalena, but during interrogations she acted as a fool, which led the Chekists astray. She was arrested 8 times, and imprisoned for three months.

Three days before her death, Mother Magdalena predicted that she would die in three days. During the remaining three days of her life, she received daily communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. As Matushka Magdalena lay on her deathbed, many believers came to say goodbye to her. She blessed each of them with the icon of Christ the Redeemer, and the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

On 29th (O.S. 16th) July 1934, surrounded by her “children”, Mother Magdalena calmly surrendered her spirit to the Lord. Just before her death, she overshadowed everyone with the Tikhvin Icon and said: “I hand you over to the Mother of God …”.

PHOTO: Mother Magdalena’s final resting place, on the
grounds of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent in Ekaterinburg

Mother Magdalena was buried at the Ivanovo Cemetery, located in the city center of Ekaterinburg. A wooden cross was placed on the grave, and on the tablet the spiritual daughters wrote with reverence and love: “Pray to God for us, dear Matushka!”.

On 5th February 2021, Mother Magdalena’s earthly remains were exhumed from her grave in the Ivanovo Cemetery, and reburied in a new resting place at the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent.

Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!

NOTES:

[1] The Novo-Tikhvinsy Convent is a community of female monastics. It was founded in the late 18th century, growing out of an alms-house at the cemetery church in Ekaterinburg. It is the home of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God. During the Tsarist period, the convent grew to consist of six churches, numerous cells, a hospital, and an almshouse. The dominant building on the monastery grounds is the cathedral dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky.

[2] In English usage since about the 19th century the term “convent” almost invariably refers to a community of women, while “monastery” refers to a community of men. In historical usage they are often interchangeable.

[3] “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

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The following NEW title was compiled and edited by independent researchers and Romanov historian Paul Gilbert was published in August 2024.

This fascinating new study features 14 chapters on this tragic event, which include the memoirs of a British intelligence officer and journalist, and two First-English translations. In addition, 11 chapters were written by Paul Gilbert, based on new documents sourced from Russian archival and media sources over the past decade.

Please refer to the link provided for further details about the content of this new title . . .

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