Icons of the holy passion-bearers. Icon of the Royal Passion-Bearers

Canonization of the royal family- glorification as Orthodox saints of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife and five children, shot in the basement of Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918.

In 1981 they were canonized as martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, and in 2000, after lengthy disputes that caused significant resonance in Russia, they were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, and are currently revered by it as "Royal Passion-Bearers."

Key dates

1918 - execution of the royal family.
In 1928 they were canonized by the Catacomb Church.
In 1938 they were canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church (this fact is disputed by Professor A.I. Osipov). The first news of believers appealing to the Synod of the Serbian Church with a request for the canonization of Nicholas II dates back to 1930.
In 1981 they were glorified by the Russian Church Abroad.
October 1996 - The ROC Commission on the glorification of the Royal Martyrs presented its report
On August 20, 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia, revealed and unrevealed.

Remembrance Day: July 4 (17) (day of execution), as well as among the Council of New Martyrs - January 25 (February 7), if this day coincides with a Sunday, and if it does not coincide, then on the nearest Sunday after January 25 (February 7).

Background

Execution

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the Romanovs and their servants were shot in the basement of the Ipatiev House by order of the “Ural Council of Workers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Deputies,” headed by the Bolsheviks.

Almost immediately after the announcement of the execution of the Tsar and his family, sentiments began to arise in the religious layers of Russian society, which ultimately led to canonization.

Three days after the execution, on July 8 (21), 1918, during a service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, Patriarch Tikhon delivered a sermon in which he outlined the “essence of the spiritual feat” of the tsar and the attitude of the church to the issue of execution: “The other day a terrible thing happened: the former Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich was shot... We must, obeying the teachings of the word of God, condemn this thing, otherwise the blood of the shot will fall on us, and not just on 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.” In addition, Patriarch Tikhon blessed the archpastors and pastors to perform memorial services for the Romanovs.

The almost mystical respect for the anointed saint characteristic of the people, the tragic circumstances of his death at the hands of enemies and the pity that the death of innocent children evoked - all these became components from which the attitude towards the royal family gradually grew not as victims of a political struggle, but as to Christian martyrs. As the Russian Orthodox Church notes, “the veneration of the Royal Family, begun by Tikhon, continued - despite the prevailing ideology - throughout several decades of the Soviet period of our history. Clergy and laity offered prayers to God for the repose of the murdered sufferers, members of the Royal Family. In the houses in the red corner one could see photographs of the Royal Family.” There are no statistics on how widespread this veneration was.

In the emigrant circle, these sentiments were even more obvious. For example, reports appeared in the emigrant press about miracles performed by the royal martyrs (1947, see below: Announced miracles of the royal martyrs). Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, in his 1991 interview characterizing the situation among Russian emigrants, points out that “many abroad consider them saints. Those who belong to the patriarchal church or other churches perform memorial services in their memory, and even prayer services. And in private they consider themselves free to pray to them,” which, in his opinion, is already local veneration. In 1981, the royal family was glorified by the Church Abroad.

In the 1980s, voices began to be heard in Russia about the official canonization of at least the executed children (unlike Nikolai and Alexandra, their innocence does not raise any doubts). Mention is made of icons painted without a church blessing, in which only they were depicted, without their parents. In 1992, the Empress's sister was canonized Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna, another victim of the Bolsheviks. However, there were many opponents of canonization.

Arguments against canonization

The death of Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family was not a martyrdom for Christ, but only political repression.
The unsuccessful state and church policies of the emperor, including such events as Khodynka, Bloody Sunday and the Lena massacre and the extremely controversial activities of Grigory Rasputin.
The abdication of the anointed king from the throne should be considered as a church-canonical crime, similar to the refusal of a representative of the church hierarchy from the priesthood.
“The religiosity of the royal couple, for all its outwardly traditional Orthodoxy, bore a clearly expressed character of interconfessional mysticism.”
The active movement for the canonization of the royal family in the 1990s was not spiritual, but political.
“neither the holy Patriarch Tikhon, nor the holy Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd, nor the holy Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsa, nor the holy Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov), nor the holy Archbishop Thaddeus, nor Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky), who, without a doubt, will soon be canonized, nor the other hierarchs now glorified by our Church, the new martyrs, who knew much more and better than we do now, the personality of the former Tsar - none of them ever expressed thoughts about him as a holy passion-bearer (and at that time this could still be stated in whole voice)"
The responsibility for “the gravest sin of regicide, which weighs on all the peoples of Russia,” as advocated by supporters of canonization, also causes deep bewilderment.

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad canonized Nicholas and the entire royal family in 1981. At the same time, the Russian new martyrs and ascetics of that time were canonized, including the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Tikhon (Bellavin).

ROC

The official church of the latter raised the issue of canonization of the executed monarchs (which, of course, was related to the political situation in the country). When considering this issue, she was faced with the example of other Orthodox churches, the reputation that those who perished had long ago begun to enjoy in the eyes of believers, as well as the fact that they had already been glorified as locally revered saints in the Yekaterinburg, Lugansk, Bryansk, Odessa and Tulchin dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church .

In 1992, by the determination of the Council of Bishops from March 31 - April 4, the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints was entrusted “when studying the exploits of the Russian new martyrs, begin researching materials related to the martyrdom of the Royal Family”. From 1992 to 1997, the Commission, headed by Metropolitan Juvenaly, devoted 19 meetings to the consideration of this topic, in between which members of the commission carried out in-depth research work to study various aspects of the life of the Royal Family. At the Council of Bishops in 1994, the report of the chairman of the commission outlined the position on a number of studies completed by that time.

The results of the Commission’s work were reported to the Holy Synod at a meeting on October 10, 1996. A report was published in which the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on this issue was announced. Based on this positive report, further steps became possible.

Main points of the report:

Canonization should not provide reasons or arguments in political struggle or worldly confrontations. Its purpose, on the contrary, is to promote the unification of the people of God in faith and piety.
In connection with the particularly active activities of modern monarchists, the Commission especially emphasized its position: “the canonization of the Monarch is in no way connected with monarchical ideology and, moreover, does not mean the “canonization” of the monarchical form of government... Glorifying the saint, the Church does not pursue political goals... but testifies to the people of God who already honor the righteous man, that the ascetic whom she canonizes really pleased God and stands before the Throne of God for us, regardless of what position he occupied in his earthly life.”
The commission notes that in the life of Nicholas II there were two periods of unequal duration and spiritual significance - the time of his reign and the time of his imprisonment. In the first period (staying in power) the Commission did not find sufficient grounds for canonization; the second period (spiritual and physical suffering) is more important for the Church, and therefore it focused its attention on it.

Based on the arguments taken into account by the Russian Orthodox Church (see below), as well as thanks to petitions and miracles, the Commission voiced the following conclusion:

“Behind the many sufferings endured by the Royal Family over the last 17 months of their lives, which ended with execution in the basement of the Ekaterinburg Ipatiev House on the night of July 17, 1918, we see people who sincerely sought to embody the commandments of the Gospel in their lives. In the suffering endured by the Royal Family in captivity with meekness, patience and humility, in their martyrdom, the evil-conquering light of Christ's faith was revealed, just as it shone in the life and death of millions of Orthodox Christians who suffered persecution for Christ in the 20th century. It is in understanding this feat of the Royal Family that the Commission, in complete unanimity and with the approval of the Holy Synod, finds it possible to glorify in the Council the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in the guise of the passion-bearers Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.”

In 2000, at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church, the royal family was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, revealed and not revealed (with a total number of 860 people). The final decision was made on August 14 at a meeting in the hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and until the very last moment it was not known whether canonization would take place or not. They voted by standing, and the decision was made unanimously. The only church hierarch who spoke out against the canonization of the royal family was Metropolitan Nikolai (Kutepov) of Nizhny Novgorod: “ When all the bishops signed the act of canonization, I noted next to my painting that I was signing everything except the third paragraph. The third point was the Tsar-Father, and I did not sign up for his canonization. ...he is a state traitor. ... he, one might say, sanctioned the collapse of the country. And no one will convince me otherwise."The canonization ceremony took place on August 20, 2000.

From the “Act of the Conciliar Glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in the 20th Century”:

“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. In the last Orthodox Russian monarch and members of his Family, we see people who sincerely sought to embody the commandments of the Gospel in their lives. In the suffering endured by the Royal Family in captivity with meekness, patience and humility, in their martyrdom in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 4 (17), 1918, the evil-conquering light of Christ's faith was revealed, just as it shone in life and death millions of Orthodox Christians who suffered persecution for Christ in the 20th century... Report the names of the newly glorified saints to the Primates of the fraternal Local Orthodox Churches for their inclusion in the calendar.”

Arguments for canonization, taken into account by the Russian Orthodox Church

Circumstances of death- physical, moral suffering and death at the hands of political opponents.
Widespread popular veneration the royal passion-bearers served as one of the main reasons for their glorification as saints.

“appeals from individual clergy and laity, as well as groups of believers from different dioceses, supporting the canonization of the Royal Family. Some of them bear the signatures of several thousand people. Among the authors of such appeals are Russian emigrants, as well as clergy and laity of the fraternal Orthodox Churches. Many of those who contacted the Commission spoke out in favor of the speedy, urgent canonization of the Royal Martyrs. The idea of the need for the speedy glorification of the Tsar and the Royal Martyrs was expressed by a number of church and public organizations.” Over three years, 22,873 requests were received for the glorification of the royal family, according to Metropolitan Juvenaly.

« Testimonies of miracles and grace-filled help through prayers to the Royal Martyrs. They are talking about healings, uniting separated families, protecting church property from schismatics. There is especially abundant evidence of the streaming of myrrh from icons with images of Emperor Nicholas II and the Royal Martyrs, of the fragrance and the miraculous appearance of blood-colored stains on the icon faces of the Royal Martyrs.”
Personal piety of the Sovereign: the Emperor paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church, donated generously for the construction of new churches, including outside Russia. Their deep religiosity distinguished the Imperial couple from the representatives of the then aristocracy. All its members lived in accordance with the traditions of Orthodox piety. During the years of his reign, more saints were canonized than in the previous two centuries (in particular, Theodosius of Chernigov, Seraphim of Sarov, Anna Kashinskaya, Joasaph of Belgorod, Hermogenes of Moscow, Pitirim of Tambov, John of Tobolsk).
“The Emperor’s church policy did not go beyond the traditional synodal system of governing the Church. However, it was during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II that the church hierarchy, which had until then been officially silent on the issue of convening a Council for two centuries, had the opportunity not only to widely discuss, but also to practically prepare for the convening of a Local Council.”
The activities of the empress and led. princesses as sisters of mercy during the war.
“Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich often compared his life to the trials of the sufferer Job, on whose church memorial day he was born. Having accepted his cross in the same way as the biblical righteous man, he endured all the trials sent down to him firmly, meekly and without a shadow of a murmur. It is this long-suffering that is revealed with particular clarity in the last days of the Emperor’s life. From the moment of abdication, it is not so much external events as the internal spiritual state of the Sovereign that attracts our attention.” Most witnesses to the last period of the life of the Royal Martyrs speak of the prisoners of the Tobolsk Governor's House and the Yekaterinburg Ipatiev House as people who suffered and, despite all the mockery and insults, led a pious life. “Their true greatness stemmed not from their royal dignity, but from the amazing moral height to which they gradually rose.”

Refuting the arguments of opponents of canonization

Blame for the events Bloody Sunday cannot be placed on the emperor: “The order to the troops to open fire was given not by the Emperor, but by the Commander of the St. Petersburg Military District. Historical data does not allow us to detect in the actions of the Sovereign in the January days of 1905 a conscious evil will directed against the people and embodied in specific sinful decisions and actions.”
Nicholas’s guilt as an unsuccessful statesman should not be considered: “we must evaluate not this or that form government structure, but the place that a specific person occupies in the state mechanism. The extent to which a person was able to embody Christian ideals in his activities is subject to assessment. It should be noted that Nicholas II treated the duties of the monarch as his sacred duty.”
Abdication of the tsar's rank is not a crime against the church: “The desire, characteristic of some opponents of the canonization of Emperor Nicholas II, to present his abdication of the Throne as a church-canonical crime, similar to the refusal of a representative of the church hierarchy from the priesthood, cannot be recognized as having any serious grounds . The canonical status of the Orthodox sovereign anointed to the Kingdom was not defined in the church canons. Therefore, attempts to discover the elements of a certain church-canonical crime in the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II from power seem untenable.” On the contrary, “The spiritual motives for which the last Russian Sovereign, who did not want to shed the blood of his subjects, decided to abdicate the Throne in the name of internal peace in Russia, gives his action a truly moral character.”
“There is no reason to see in the relations of the Royal Family with Rasputin signs of spiritual delusion, and even more so of insufficient church involvement.”

Aspects of canonization

Question about the face of holiness

In Orthodoxy, there is a very developed and carefully worked out hierarchy of the faces of holiness - categories into which it is customary to divide saints depending on their works during life. The question of which saints the royal family should be ranked among causes a lot of controversy among various movements of the Orthodox Church, which have different assessments of the life and death of the family.

Passion-bearers- the option chosen by the Russian Orthodox Church, which did not find grounds for canonization as martyrs. In the tradition (hagiography and liturgical) of the Russian Church, the concept of “passion-bearer” is used in relation to those Russian saints who, “imitating Christ, patiently endured physical, moral suffering and death at the hands of political opponents. In the history of the Russian Church, such passion-bearers were the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb (+1015), Igor Chernigovsky (+1147), Andrei Bogolyubsky (+1174), Mikhail Tverskoy (+1319), Tsarevich Dimitri (+1591). All of them, with their feat of passion-bearers, showed a high example of Christian morality and patience.”
Martyrs- despite the classification of the death of the royal family as martyrdom (see above the definition of the Council of Bishops), in order to be included in this rank of holiness it is necessary to suffer precisely for testifying to one’s faith in Christ. Despite this, the ROCOR in 1981 glorified the royal family in this very image of holiness. The reason for this was the reworking of the traditional principles of canonization in the guise of martyrs by Archpriest Mikhail Polsky, who fled from the USSR, who, based on the recognition of the “Soviet power” in the USSR as essentially anti-Christian, considered “new Russian martyrs” all Orthodox Christians killed by government officials in Soviet Russia. Moreover, in his interpretation, Christian martyrdom washes away all previous sins from a person.

The faithful- the most common face of holiness for monarchs. In Russia, this epithet even became part of the official title of the Grand Dukes and the first Tsars. However, traditionally it is not used for saints canonized as martyrs or passion-bearers. Another important detail is that persons who had the status of a monarch at the time of death are glorified in the ranks of the faithful. Nicholas II, having abdicated the throne, on the instructions of the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy A.I. Osipov, created a temptation for believers, without enduring, according to the word of the Gospel, to the end (Matthew 10:22). Osipov also believes that during the abdication of the throne, there was also a renunciation of the grace received, according to the teachings of the church, during the creation of the world at the moment of the crowning of the kingdom. Despite this, in radical monarchist circles, Nicholas II is revered among the faithful.
Also in radical monarchist and pseudo-Orthodox circles, the epithet “ redeemer" This is manifested both in written appeals sent to the Moscow Patriarchate when considering the issue of canonization of the royal family, and in non-canonical akathists and prayers: “ O most wonderful and glorious Tsar-Redeemer Nicholas" However, at a meeting of the Moscow clergy, Patriarch Alexy II unequivocally spoke out about the inadmissibility of this, stating that “ if he sees books in some temple in which Nicholas II is called the Redeemer, he will consider the rector of this temple as a preacher of heresy. We have one Redeemer - Christ».

Metropolitan Sergius (Fomin) in 2006 spoke disapprovingly of the campaign of nationwide conciliar repentance for the sin of regicide, carried out by a number of near-Orthodox circles: “ The canonization of Nicholas II and his family as passion-bearers does not satisfy the newly minted zealots of the monarchy", and called such monarchical predilections " heresy of reign" (The reason is that the face of the passion-bearers does not seem “solid” enough for monarchists).

Canonization of servants

Along with the Romanovs, four of their servants, who followed their masters into exile, were also shot. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized them together with the royal family. And the Russian Orthodox Church points out a formal error committed by the Church Abroad during canonization against custom: “It should be noted that the decision, which has no historical analogies in the Orthodox Church, to include among the canonized, who accepted martyrdom together with the Royal Family, the royal servant of the Roman Catholic Aloysius Yegorovich Trupp and the Lutheran goblettress Ekaterina Adolfovna Schneider”.

The position of the Russian Orthodox Church itself regarding the canonization of servants is as follows: “Due to the fact that they voluntarily remained with the Royal Family and accepted martyrdom, it would be legitimate to raise the question of their canonization.”. In addition to the four shot in the basement, the Commission mentions that this list should have included those “killed” in various places and in different months of 1918: Adjutant General I. L. Tatishchev, Marshal Prince V. A. Dolgorukov, “uncle” of the Heir K. G. Nagorny, children's footman I. D. Sednev, maid of honor of the Empress A. V. Gendrikova and goflektress E. A. Schneider. However, the Commission concluded that it “does not seem possible to make a final decision on the existence of grounds for the canonization of this group of laity, who accompanied the Royal Family as part of their court service,” since there is no information about widespread named prayerful commemoration of these servants by believers, in addition , there is no information about their religious life and personal piety. The final conclusion was: “The commission came to the conclusion that the most appropriate form of honoring the Christian feat of the faithful servants of the Royal Family, who shared its tragic fate, today can be the perpetuation of this feat in the lives of the Royal Martyrs.”.

In addition, there is another problem. While the royal family is canonized as passion-bearers, it is not possible to include the servants who suffered in the same rank, since, as one of the members of the Commission stated in an interview, “the rank of passion-bearers has been applied since ancient times only to representatives of the grand ducal and royal families.” .

Society's reaction to canonization

Positive

The canonization of the royal family eliminated one of the contradictions between the Russian and Russian Churches Abroad (which canonized them 20 years earlier), noted in 2000 the chairman of the department of external church relations, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. The same point of view was expressed by Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov (chairman of the Association of the House of Romanov), who, however, refused to participate in the act of canonization in Moscow, citing that he was present at the canonization ceremony, which was held in 1981 in New York by the ROCOR.
Andrei Kuraev: “it was not the image of the reign of Nicholas II that was canonized, but the image of his death... The 20th was a terrible century for Russian Christianity. And you can’t leave it without drawing some conclusions. Since this was the age of martyrs, one could go in two ways in canonization: try to glorify all the new martyrs (...) Or canonize a certain Unknown Soldier, honor one innocently executed Cossack family, and with it millions of others. But this path for church consciousness would probably be too radical. Moreover, in Russia there has always been a certain “tsar-people” identity.”

Modern veneration of the royal family by believers

Churches

The chapel-monument to the deceased Russian emigrants, Nicholas II and his august family was erected at the cemetery in Zagreb (1935)
Chapel in memory of Emperor Nicholas II and Serbian King Alexander I in Harbin (1936)
Church of St. Tsar-Martyr and St. New Martyrs and Confessors in Villemoisson, France (1980s)
Temple of the Sovereign Icon Mother of God, Zhukovsky
Church of St. Tsar Martyr Nicholas in Nikolskoye
Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers Nicholas and Alexandra, village. Sertolovo
Monastery in honor of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers near Yekaterinburg.

Icons

Myrrh-streaming icons

Myrrh-streaming icon in Butovo
Myrrh-streaming icon in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Biryulyovo
The myrrh-streaming icon of Oleg Belchenko (the first report of myrrh-streaming in the house of the writer A.V. Dyakova on November 7, 1998, that is, before the canonization of the royal family), is located in the Church of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi

Bleeding icon
Fragrant icon

Iconography

There is both a collective image of the whole family and each member individually. In the icons of the “foreign” model, the Romanovs are joined by canonized servants. Passion-bearers can be depicted both in contemporary clothing from the early twentieth century, and in stylized Ancient Rus' robes, in style reminiscent of royal robes with parsun.

Figures of the Romanov saints are also found in the multi-figure icons “Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia” and “Cathedral of the Patron Saints of Hunters and Fishermen.”

Relics

Patriarch Alexy, on the eve of the sessions of the Council of Bishops in 2000, which performed an act of glorification of the royal family, spoke about the remains found near Yekaterinburg: “We have doubts about the authenticity of the remains, and we cannot encourage believers to venerate false relics if they are recognized as such in the future.” Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov), referring to the judgment of the Holy Synod of February 26, 1998 (“Assessing the reliability of scientific and investigative conclusions, as well as evidence of their inviolability or irrefutability, is not within the competence of the Church. Scientific and historical responsibility for those accepted during the investigation and studying the conclusions regarding the “Ekaterinburg remains” falls entirely on the Republican Center for Forensic Research and the Prosecutor General’s Office Russian Federation. Solution State Commission the identification of the remains found near Yekaterinburg as belonging to the Family of Emperor Nicholas II raised serious doubts and even confrontations in the Church and society."), reported to the Council of Bishops in August 2000: “The “Ekaterinburg remains” buried on July 17, 1998 in St. Petersburg today cannot be recognized by us as belonging to the Royal Family.”

In view of this position of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has not undergone any changes since then, the remains identified by the government commission as belonging to members of the royal family and buried in July 1998 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral are not venerated by the church as holy relics.

Relics with a clearer origin are revered as relics, for example, Nicholas’s hair, cut at the age of three.

Announced miracles of the royal martyrs

The miraculous deliverance of hundreds of Cossacks. A story about this event appeared in 1947 in the Russian emigrant press. The story contained in it dates back to the time civil war, when a detachment of White Cossacks, surrounded and driven by the Reds into impenetrable swamps, called for help to Tsarevich Alexei, who had not yet been officially glorified, since, according to the regimental priest, Fr. Elijah, in trouble, one should have prayed to the prince, as to the ataman of the Cossack troops. To the soldiers’ objection that the royal family had not been officially glorified, the priest allegedly replied that the glorification was taking place by the will of “God’s people,” and swore to the others that their prayer would not remain unanswered, and indeed, the Cossacks managed to get out through the swamps that were considered impassable. The numbers of those saved by the intercession of the prince are called - “ 43 women, 14 children, 7 wounded, 11 old people and disabled people, 1 priest, 22 Cossacks, a total of 98 people and 31 horses».

The miracle of dry branches. One of the latest miracles recognized by official church authorities occurred on January 7, 2007 in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod, which was once a place of pilgrimage for the last tsar and his family. Boys from the monastery orphanage, who came to the church to rehearse the traditional Christmas performance, allegedly noticed that the long-withered branches lying under the glass of the icons of the royal martyrs had sprouted seven shoots (according to the number of faces depicted on the icon) and produced green flowers with a diameter of 1-2 cm resembling roses, and the flowers and the mother branch belonged to different plant species. According to publications referring to this event, the service during which the branches were placed on the icon was held on Pokrov, that is, three months earlier.

Miraculously grown flowers, four in number, were placed in an icon case, where by the time of Easter “they had not changed at all,” but by the beginning of Holy Week of Great Lent, green shoots up to 3 cm long suddenly erupted. Another flower broke off and was planted in the ground , where it turned into a small plant. What happened to the other two is unknown.

With the blessing of Fr. Savva, the icon was transferred to the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, to the Savvin chapel, where it apparently remains to this day.

The descent of the miraculous fire. Allegedly, this miracle occurred in the Cathedral of St. Iveron monastery in Odessa, when during a service on February 15, 2000, a tongue of snow-white flame appeared on the altar of the church. According to the testimony of Hieromonk Peter (Golubenkov):

When I finished giving communion to people and entered the altar with the Holy Gifts, after the words: “Save, Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance,” a flash of fire appeared on the throne (on the paten). At first I didn’t understand what it was, but then, when I saw this fire, it was impossible to describe the joy that gripped my heart. At first I thought it was a piece of coal from a censer. But this small petal of fire was the size of a poplar leaf and all white. Then I compared the white color of the snow - and it’s impossible to even compare - the snow seems grayish. I thought that this demonic temptation happens. And when he took the cup with the Holy Gifts to the altar, there was no one near the throne, and many parishioners saw the petals Holy Fire scattered throughout the antimension, then gathered together and entered the altar lamp. Evidence of that miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire continued throughout the day...

A miraculous image. In July 2001, in the monastery cathedral of the village of Bogolyubskoye, in the upper hemisphere of the ceiling, an image with a crown on his head gradually began to appear, in which they recognized the last king of the Romanov dynasty. According to witnesses, it is not possible to create something like this artificially, since the village is relatively small in size, and everyone here knows each other; moreover, it would be impossible to conceal such work by building scaffolding up to the ceiling at night, and at the same time leaving unnoticed would be impossible . It is also added that the image did not appear instantly, but appeared constantly, as if on photographic film. According to the parishioners of the Holy Bogolyubsky Church, the process did not end there, but on the right side of the iconostasis the image of Queen Alexandra Feodorovna and her son gradually began to appear.

Skeptical perception of miracles

MDA Professor A.I. Osipov writes that when assessing reports of miracles associated with the royal family, it should be taken into account that such “ facts in themselves do not at all confirm the holiness of those (person, confession, religion) through whom and where they occur, and that such phenomena can also occur by virtue of faith - “according to your faith be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29 ), and by the action of another spirit (Acts 16:16-18), “to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24), and, perhaps, for other reasons still unknown to us».

Osipov also notes the following aspects of canonical norms regarding miracles:

For church recognition of a miracle, the testimony of the ruling bishop is necessary. Only after it can we talk about the nature of this phenomenon - whether it is a divine miracle or a phenomenon of another order. For most of the described miracles associated with the royal martyrs, such evidence is absent.
Declaring someone a saint without the blessing of the ruling bishop and a council decision is a non-canonical act and therefore all references to the miracles of royal martyrs before their canonization should be viewed with skepticism.
The icon is an image of an ascetic canonized by the church, therefore miracles from those painted before the official canonization of the icons are doubtful.

“The rite of repentance for the sins of the Russian people” and more

Since the late 1990s, annually, on the days dedicated to the anniversaries of the birth of the “Tsar-Martyr Nicholas” by some representatives of the clergy (in particular, Archimandrite Peter (Kucher)), in Taininsky (Moscow region), at the monument to Nicholas II by the sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov, a special “Rite of repentance for the sins of the Russian people” is performed; the holding of the event was condemned by the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church (Patriarch Alexy II in 2007).

Among some Orthodox Christians, the concept of the “Tsar Redeemer” is in circulation, according to which Nicholas II is revered as “the redeemer of the sin of infidelity of his people”; the concept is called by some the “royal redemptive heresy”

The greatness of the last Russian Emperor, who set the example of the Orthodoxy of the Sovereign for many centuries, does not consist in victorious battles, glorious exploits and a rich heritage. It is embodied in serving Christ and Russia not only of that era and time, but to the state of the future century, for the sake of which he accepted a difficult death. Together with the Great Sovereign, the martyr's crown was shared by his relatives and like-minded people, his family - Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.

Russian Tsars decoration

The last Russian emperor of the Romanov dynasty in history remained an example and example of Orthodoxy in power. With his pious life and service to the people, Emperor Nicholas II fully corresponds to the idea of a true believing Christian and an Orthodox person who professes faith in Christ not only in words, but also in deeds. Moreover, faith in the Lord was not some kind of gesture of advertising policy and propaganda of the ruler, but a deep basis of the worldview of the great sovereign. Christian principles formed the basis of the policies of Emperor Nicholas II. Together with the tsar, Orthodox principles were fully shared by all members of his family. In 2000, the royal family was canonized as the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.

People's veneration of the great martyrs

Since the violent death of members of the royal family, ordinary people in the Urals could not simply throw those killed into oblivion. In Yekaterinburg, people began to come to the place where the house stood, in the basement of which a murder was committed, they brought order to this territory and considered this place difficult and special. A memorable date in the history of the veneration of martyrs was July 16, 1989. On this day, prayers were openly heard in memory of the Royal Martyrs for the first time. Initially, at that time, the still atheistically minded authorities of the city of Yekaterinburg perceived this impromptu prayer service as a challenge to the authorities. Many prayer participants were arrested that day. The next year, on this day, even more people gathered to pray for the Holy Martyrs. Soon, on the site of the destroyed house, a house was erected near which believers began to pray and read an akathist to the Royal Passion-Bearers. A year later, a procession of the Cross was held to the royal place, a divine service was performed, and from that moment on, prayer requests from the Orthodox began to reach the places where the crowned martyrs suffered martyrdom.

Sign miracle to strengthen faith

The first evidence that the great sovereign and his family continue to condescend to sinners occurred during the installation of a worship cross at the site of the terrible execution of members of the crowned family in October 1990. During its erection in rainy weather, the clouds suddenly parted and a bright light fell from the sky. The miraculous sign lasted about a quarter of an hour, then disappeared. At that moment, all those praying felt the presence of God. The place where the Royal Passion-Bearers met their martyrdom was undoubtedly marked by a sign of holiness.

No less special are the places where the bodies of the dead were destroyed, and perhaps some of their particles remained. And there were quite a lot of signs and signs that these places were holy, as eyewitnesses say, evidence from heaven. People saw a fiery cross and pillars of fire, some saw images of members of the royal family... And for many this became a turning point in their spiritual life. The Royal Passion-Bearers brought many Orthodox Christians to Christ. After the destruction of the royal family, Orthodox Russia continued to have a father in Tsar Nicholas II.

Prayer books at the throne for the Russian land

With the revival of spirituality in society, people began to understand that the last Russian Tsar and members of his family became sincere petitioners in heaven for the well-being of the Russian land. During the period of atheism and atheism, many negative myths formed around the royal family, but gradually society reconsidered its attitude towards the Romanov family. With the revival of Orthodoxy, people were able to interpret many of the actions and principles of the Christian king from the point of view of a believer, whose true value is love and care for one’s neighbor, as well as humility and renunciation of one’s own interests for the sake of the well-being of one’s neighbor.

"Their eyes reflect the sky..."

She testified that during her student years she treated the Royal dynasty in the same way as most of her contemporaries. One day, walking down the street, she noticed a group portrait of the Romanov family displayed in a window. The amazed student suddenly realized that the eyes of these people reflected the sky. In reality, a person's eyes reflect what he is looking at, but people endowed with the ability to constantly turn their gaze to the sky are quite rare. Perhaps that is why people began to turn to prayer requests more and more often, and not only on the day of remembrance of the Royal Passion-Bearers.

A true example of an Orthodox family

The royal martyrs forever remained in the memory of Christian descendants as an example of an Orthodox family, in which domostroy reigned, but at the same time all members were one. The problem of the modern family is that parents constantly do not have enough time to fully communicate with their children, to spend time in each other’s company. The Romanov family set an example of the unity of everyone around common values. About the Orthodox upbringing of children, Tsarina Alexandra said that parents themselves should be what they want their children to be. This should happen not in words, but in deeds, since people who are authoritative for children can instruct them with examples of their lives. This axiom has been known to everyone for many centuries, but it is not enough just to know, you must be able to put this knowledge into the basis of the system pedagogical impact for children. And the example of such a family, which the Royal Passion-Bearers left for their descendants, is very vivid.

Bearer of the ideals of Holy Rus'

Most representatives of the highest aristocracy of the early 20th century were called Christians only by name, not accepting Orthodoxy as the basis of their own worldview. Tsar Nicholas II saw his mission on earth completely differently. The royal passion-bearers took the Orthodox faith seriously, and therefore in high society they were considered strangers and incomprehensible. Until their last hour, members of the crowned family continued to pray to the Lord and the Saints, thereby showing their jailers an example of humility and deep faith in the justice of God's will. The hope in the protection of heavenly intercessors is also confirmed by the fact that during the service performed for the royal family three days before the execution, while singing the prayer “Rest with the saints...” all the Royal martyrs simultaneously knelt down. Therefore, the murder of members of the Romanov family cannot be presented as political - this act is regarded as sacrilege. Until now, Russia bears the great sin of regicide.

“The king has forgiven us and in heaven asks that the Lord forgive...”

Today, the Great Martyrs are increasingly being addressed with prayer requests for the strengthening of the family, the health of the heirs, and the correct formation of their moral spirit in accordance with Christian ideals. It is important for spiritual Russia that many churches began to be dedicated to the Passion-Bearers. The Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers is also being built in Moscow itself. This church traces its history back to 2011 - it was then that the decision to build it was made. This is the first church in the throne room dedicated to the canonized Romanov family. The Orthodox have been talking for a long time about the need to have such a temple in Moscow, which is why the parishioners have a special reverence for this monastery. Problems modern Russia require special prayer support and help in resolution, so Orthodox Christians flocked to the Church of the Royal Passion-Bearers with prayers for the revival and prosperity of the Russian state.

"The light of Christ's faith..."

During the persecution of the imperial family, she showed the world an example of unity around the Lord and true faith. The temple that bears the name of the Holy Passion-Bearers has the same calling: to rally true believing Christians around Christ the Savior. A special day for the parishioners of this temple is the Day of Remembrance of the Royal Passion-Bearers, which is traditionally celebrated by the church on July 17. Special services are held on this day in the Moscow church, which is based on a capsule with soil brought from the site of the tragic death of canonized members of the holy family. Therefore, it is believed that the holy remains remain with people in this place during prayers and appeals to the Lord and the Holy Crowned Great Martyrs.

with the face of the martyr king

At the end of the 90s of the 20th century, on the day of the Royal Passion-Bearers, one of his patients presented a Moscow doctor with an icon with the face of the canonized Tsar. The believing doctor constantly prayed to this image in all life situations, and after a while he noticed small blood-colored spots appearing on the icon. The doctor took the icon to the church, where during the prayer service all those present suddenly felt a wonderful aroma emanating from the face of the Martyr Tsar. Over the next three weeks, the fragrance did not stop, especially spreading throughout the church at the moment when the akathist to the Royal Passion-Bearers was read. The icon visited many churches and monasteries, but everywhere worshipers noted the unusual fragrance emanating from the image. The first healing from the icon, officially recorded, was healing from blindness in 1999. Since then, the miraculous image has visited many dioceses, and miracles of healing have been recorded in each. Since then it has become a famous shrine, to which thousands of those suffering for healing flock every year. The Great Russian Sovereign, even after his martyrdom, continues to solve the problems of people who turned to him for help.

“According to your faith may it be unto you...”

Not only does the canonized Sovereign condescend to the Russian people with his miraculous help, but through the prayers of any Orthodox Christian, miracles of faith have been recorded. A resident of Denmark, who had suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction for more than 16 years, sincerely wanted to get rid of his vices. On the advice of Orthodox friends, he went on a trip to famous places in Russia, and visited Tsarskoye Selo. At that moment, when the service of the Royal Passion-Bearers was going on in a small church, where members of the crowned family once prayed, the Dane mentally turned to the sovereign with a request for healing from a destructive passion. At that same moment, he suddenly felt that the habit had left him. Four years after the miraculous healing, the Dane converted to Orthodoxy with the name Nicholas in honor of the last crowned Romanov.

Intercession of canonized martyrs

Not only is the great sovereign ready to condescend to sinners and help them, but also the rest of the canonized martyrs come to the aid of believers. A case was recorded of helping a true believer girl who especially revered the royal family. Through the miraculous intercession of the Romanov children, the girl was delivered from hooligans trying to harm her. This incident convinced many that the prayer service to the Royal Passion-Bearers ensures the constant protection of members of an innocently murdered family.

The glorification of the sovereign Emperor Nicholas II and his family was the beginning of the repentance of the Russian people before God for the sin of apostasy from their king and betraying him into the hands of enemies.

Even the smallest sin, just a thought admitted into the heart, alienates a person from his Creator and darkens his soul. The same one that weighs on Russia is special because it is directed against God’s anointed one. The Holy Scriptures directly say that even if God Himself turns away from His anointed one, no one dares to shed his blood, just as the prophet David did not raise his hand against King Saul, who sought to kill him.

This sin is becoming increasingly recognized by Orthodox people. The veneration of St. is growing everywhere. royal martyrs. Many icons of the royal family are painted. But, unfortunately, in the majority - with violations of the iconographic canons of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, they are thoughtlessly replicated. The newspaper “Orthodox Rus'” (No. 2 (20), 1999) reproduces two controversial iconographies at once. One of them is “The Opening of the Fifth Seal” (it is discussed in detail in the work of O.V. Gubareva), the other is a prophecy of the image of the martyr king. This image is of an extremely low artistic level and is simply ugly. In addition, the martyr king in this picture is named as “St. Tsar Redeemer Nicholas." We, of course, can talk about the sacrificial, redemptive nature of the martyrdom of the sovereign, but directly calling him “redeemer” on icons is an impermissible heresy. There is no such order of saints in the Church. We call only our Lord Jesus Christ the Redeemer. It is unlikely that such an icon will find a response in the hearts of believers.

The current kind of anarchy in the creation of icon paintings of the royal family is only a reflection of the general situation in modern icon painting. In many ways, this is a legacy of past centuries, when icon painting came under the strong influence of secular Western art and its study in theological schools was limited to the narrow framework of church archeology. Only now are some theological institutions beginning to take a more attentive approach to this problem, as there is a growing understanding that the revival of spirituality is unthinkable without a genuine revival of icon painting. It is no coincidence that the ancient holy fathers called the icon the first step to the knowledge of God and celebrated the victory of icon veneration over iconoclasm with the all-church holiday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843).

In the middle of the 16th century, a Council was convened in Moscow, designed to stop the process of destruction of ancient piety that was just beginning. His definitions (“Stoglav”) included a number of provisions concerning the preservation of the existing order in icon painting. First of all, it was about the need to supervise the behavior of icon painters, who began to turn their ministry into a craft. “Cursed be you who do God’s work carelessly. And those who at this time painted icons without studying, by self-will, and not according to the image, and exchanged those icons cheaply ordinary people, ignorant villagers, then such icon painters should be prohibited. Let them learn from good masters, and to whom God will give to write in the image and likeness, and he will write, but to whom God will not give, and such icon work should not be touched, so that the name of God will not be blasphemed for the sake of such writing.” The “Stoglava” also noted the need for spiritual control over the canonicity of icon painting: “Also, for archbishops and bishops within their borders, in all cities and villages, and in monasteries, to test icon masters and examine their letters themselves, and for each of the saints who have elected within their borders the best master painters, order that they supervise all icon painters and that there should be no bad or dishonest people among them; and archbishops and bishops look over the masters themselves, and protect them and honor them more than other people. And the saints should have great care about this, each in his own area, so that icon painters and their students should paint from ancient models, and not describe the Deities out of self-thinking and with their own guesses.”

There is no doubt that many of the provisions of the Council of 1551 have not lost their value for our time. Let me speak out in favor of establishing supervisory councils in the dioceses under the ruling axiere, which would include specialists in church art and, perhaps, issue some kind of permits to artists, icon painters, and architects to work for the Church. Such measures, it seems to me, can also change situations where the quality and canonicity of wall painting and interior decoration, the arrangement of iconostases in new churches, the restoration of old icons and the painting of new icons depend not so much on the financial capabilities of parishes, but on the personal tastes of elders and rectors.

Church art is a godly and very serious matter, about which much is said in the Holy Tradition. It is especially sinful for us, Russians, to forget about this, because everyone knows that it was with church beauty that Rus' was baptized. Appeal to the Holy Tradition and strict adherence to the teachings of the Church on the iconographic image is the main advantage of the work of O. V. Gubareva. The author, in a calm and balanced tone, points out frequent errors in domestic and foreign iconography, however, not limiting himself to criticism, but offering his own version of the image of St. royal martyrs. In my opinion, the new iconography is excellent. Nothing to take away and nothing to add. The author's commentary indicates that a lot of careful work was done, with love for the work and the fear of God. The image undoubtedly reflects the martyrdom of the saints and their earthly service. Just the vision of the future icon already evokes a feeling of prayer.

The found strict ceremonial composition and good proportions make it possible to paint both large temple and home images. In addition, its traditionally closed construction allows, if necessary, to supplement the icon with hagiographical marks or images of other new martyrs in the margins. Pleases and careful attitude the author to the already established idea among the church people about the iconographic depiction of the royal family.

I would like the icons painted according to this pattern to be accepted by every Orthodox Christian.

I hope that the work of O. V. Gubareva will become the beginning of a serious conversation about the place of the icon and its language in the modern life of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Hieromonk Konstantin (Blinov)

Currently, there are several widely circulated iconographies of the holy royal martyrs. In connection with their upcoming canonization, new ones appear. But how correctly do they reveal the feat of the sovereign and his family? Who determines their content and what guides them?

There is an opinion that to practice icon painting you do not need to have any special knowledge - it is enough to master the technique of writing and be a pious Christian. This can really be limited if you use good samples. But Nicholas II is the only martyr tsar in the entire history of the Church. There is no example of the feat of his family. Therefore, it is quite difficult to paint an icon worthy of these saints, and the main reason is that the authors of iconography either do not know the patristic teaching about the image, or for them it exists separately from creativity. Hence the formal approach to the search for historical analogies, to compositional and color structure, to the use of the so-called “reverse perspective”.

Therefore, before directly analyzing specific icon paintings, let us turn to the Holy Tradition.

The teaching of the Church on the iconographic image can be found in many holy fathers, but, basically, it is set out in the Acts of the VII Ecumenical Council (787), in the works of St. John of Damascus († late 7th century) and Rev. Theodore the Studite († 826), who formulated their teachings in opposition to the Christological heresy of iconoclasm. At the Council, it was determined that the correct veneration of icons is, first of all, the true confession of Christ and the Holy Trinity, and honest icons should be created not by artists, but by the holy fathers. In the Acts it was written that “icon painting was not invented by painters at all, but on the contrary, it is an approved statute and tradition of the Catholic Church”; in content they are equal to the Holy Scripture: “What the narrative expresses in writing, the same painting expresses with paints...”, “the image follows the Gospel narrative in everything and explains it. Both are beautiful and worthy of honor, for they complement each other” (Acts of the Ecumenical Councils. Kazan, 1873. Vol. VII). And in order to subsequently avoid any attempts to introduce innovations into the teaching of the Church, this last of the Ecumenical Councils decreed: “What is preserved in the Catholic Church according to Tradition admits neither addition nor decrease, and whoever adds or subtracts anything faces great danger.” punishment, because it is said: cursed is he who transgresses the boundaries of his fathers (Deut. XXVII, 17).”

If one of the first theologians, Origen († 254), counted up to three semantic levels in the Holy Scripture, and subsequent ones distinguished at least six in it, then the icon is just as multifaceted and profound. Only her images are not verbal, but artistic and are created in a special, not similar to literary, language of painting.

Rev. Theodore the Studite, summarizing and logically completing the entire patristic experience in icon painting, gave a definition of icons, and also pointed out its difference from any other human creation. An icon, he teaches, is a work of art created according to the laws artistic creativity, established by God Himself, for “God is called the Creator and Artist of everything,” creating according to the laws of His Absolute Beauty. This is not just a painting or a portrait, the purpose of which is only to depict the created World, reflecting Divine Beauty. In the face of the saint, the icon painter strives to capture only the One Whose image he is; however, everything that is of the flesh is swept away. To achieve such a lofty goal, the creator of the icon must have the gift of spiritual vision and adhere to certain artistic rules, which Rev. Theodore the Studite also cites in his works (Priest. V. Preobrazhensky. The Venerable Theodore the Studite and His Time. M., 1897).

For example, the saint writes, when Christ was visible, in Him, in His human nature, those who looked at Him according to their capabilities, also contemplated His Divine Image, which was revealed in full only at the moment of the Transfiguration. And it is the transfigured body of Christ that we see on His holy icons. “One can see in Christ His image (eikon) abiding in Him, and in the image one can see Christ contemplated as a prototype.”

For saints who have achieved Christ's perfection in something, the image of God also becomes visible to others and shines in the flesh. Visible image of God Ven. Theodore the Studite calls it “the seal of likeness.” Its imprint, he says, is the same everywhere: in the living saint, in his image and in the Divine nature of the Creator, the bearer of the seal itself. Hence the connection of the icon with the Prototype and its miraculousness.

The task of the creator of the icon is to recognize this seal in the old man and depict it. At the same time, the icon painter should not introduce anything superfluous and invent something new, remembering that an icon is always realistic and documentary. (For the holy fathers of the VII Ecumenical Council, the very existence of icons of Christ was confirmation of the authenticity of His incarnation.)

Ancient icons were always painted strictly within the limits established by the holy fathers according to the canons consecrated by the Church and were considered miraculous from the moment they were painted, and not because they were prayed for.

In Rus', understanding of the spiritual creativity of the icon painter was preserved for quite a long time. The first icons, not canonical, but painted by human wisdom, appeared only in the middle of the 16th century. Allegory, which is widespread in the West, noticeably predominates in them, and the symbolic images of Holy Scripture are no longer interpreted and find a pictorial interpretation, according to conciliar teaching, but are depicted directly. They were prohibited from being written by the Moscow Councils; St. Maxim the Greek († 1556), Patriarch Nikon († 1681) smashed them as heretical. But our difficult domestic history - the Time of Troubles, the Schism, the reforms of Peter I, which destroyed the Patriarchate, and much more - pushed the issue of icon veneration far beyond the basic interests of the state and the Church.

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the discovery of the Russian icon. In 1901, Nicholas II approved the Committee of Trusteeship of Russian Icon Painting. However, the revolution and the subsequent persecution of the Church set back icon painting and church art in general for a long time.

The current inattention to the ancient teachings of the Church is sometimes explained by reasoning of this kind: it is completely unnecessary, moreover, it is alien to the Church itself, invented by art historians, and distracts believers from the “true” veneration of icons. As evidence, many miraculous shrines are cited, in which not only the canon is not observed, as, for example, in the Kozelshchansky icon of the Mother of God, painted in a Catholic pictorial manner, but there are even images that are prohibited from being painted (for example, the God of Hosts in the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God) . But in the last three centuries, these icons were not glorified by God to disgrace the ancient canons? Such thoughts lead to hidden iconoclasm and even Protestantism, since God works miracles where they pray to Him, including outside churches and without icons. His condescension to human weaknesses and imperfections never meant the abolition of patristic Tradition.

Today, when the Orthodox faith is being revived again on Russian soil and thousands of new icons are being painted, the restoration of the patristic teachings, which had been consigned to oblivion, has become an urgent task. Having studied Sacred Tradition, under the guidance of ancient books, one can not create (like the holy fathers), but compose new canonical images; interpret existing icon paintings differently, interpreting them symbolically and mystically.

Let's look at several of the most common iconographies of St. royal martyrs. One of the first images, painted in the Russian diaspora, represents the saints Tsar and Tsarina standing on either side of Tsarevich Alexei and holding a cross above his head. Their daughters are written in the margins holding candles in their hands (Ill.: Alferyev E. E., Emperor Nicholas II as a man of strong will. Jordanville, 1983). This and some other icons of the royal martyrs reflected the search for a compositional solution in historical analogies.

The most famous iconography, in which the holy king and queen are present, is the image of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross: St. Emperor Constantine and St. Empress Elena stands on both sides of the Patriarch, holding the Life-Giving Cross on his head. In ancient images, the Patriarch forms the semblance of a temple, on the dome of which the Equal-to-the-Apostles Sovereigns erect a cross. This is a symbolic image of the creation of the Church on earth: the Body of Christ crucified on the Cross, with which we are united by the priesthood, which received special grace for this on the day of Pentecost. The literal repetition of the composition with the replacement of the figure of the Patriarch with the image of Tsarevich Alexei deprives the image of symbolic imagery. Only certain associations arise with the beginning of the Way of the Cross in Russia and the sacrifice of a pure youth.

Starting from this, in almost all subsequent iconographies, the figure of the heir to the throne becomes the center of the composition. Placing the image of Tsarevich Alexei, a villainously murdered innocent child, in the center of the iconography is humanly understandable, but mystically it is incorrect. The center of the image should be the king, anointed for the kingdom in the image of Christ.

Also, the image of the Empress and Grand Duchesses in the vestments of sisters of mercy, and the sovereign with the heir - in military uniform. Here the desire is obvious to emphasize their modesty, selfless service in the world and thereby confirm their holiness. But still, the sovereign and his family were killed not because they had military ranks and worked in the hospital, but because they belonged to the reigning house. It must be borne in mind that in the Church (and therefore on icons), according to biblical tradition, clothing has a symbolic meaning. The saints are God's chosen ones who came to the wedding feast of His Son in wedding garments (Matt. XXII, 2-14). Gold, pearls, and precious stones depicted on them are all symbolic signs of the Heavenly Jerusalem, as it is described in the Gospel.

The same iconographic error on some icons depicts an open scroll in the hands of Nicholas II with words from the Book of Job inscribed on it. Any icon, no matter who is depicted on it, is always addressed to the Most Holy Trinity itself, which means that the text given on the scrolls should speak only about God. The scroll itself, as a rule, is held by the one who wrote it: prophet, evangelist, saint or monk. However, everything that reminds of the earthly path of the saint himself is given in the margins or in stamps. But the main thing is that it is not at all necessary to introduce into the iconography any details that indirectly confirm the holiness of the royal martyrs, since the icon does not prove, but shows the holiness of those standing on it.

But still, the allegory used in the above-mentioned foreign iconographies was sanctified, although not by Tradition, but by time, which cannot be said about many newly painted icons. Of particular note is the icon from the iconostasis of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery “The Opening of the Fifth Seal”, which is completely unacceptable and does not fit into either the canons or traditions.

The royal martyrs are depicted here under the Throne of Christ Pantocrator in some black cave; everyone except Nicholas II, who is alone in red, is dressed in white clothes. Below in the margin is the text of the apocalyptic vision of St. Apostle John the Theologian. Verbal images are transferred to the icon without proper comprehension and interpretation. Such an interpretation, far from patristic, closes all the deep mystical meanings of Revelation. Hence the literary name, while usually icons are named after the saints depicted on them, or after a holiday associated with an event in Sacred history. After all, “in the image the prototype appears and one in the other with a difference in essence. That’s why the image of a cross is called a cross, and the icon of Christ is called Christ, not in the proper, but figurative sense.”

The proposed iconography of “The Breaking of the Fifth Seal” is neither an image of saints, because although they are recognizable, they are not even named, nor an icon of a holiday, because the indicated event does not directly exist either in the life of the past or the future century. This is a vision that carries mysterious images of future historical events.

On VII Ecumenical Council the holy fathers clearly prescribed to adhere to the obligatory historical basis of any image: “Seeing icon painting, we come to the memory of Their (Christ, the Mother of God and the saints) godly life.” The word “remembrance” in the mouths of the holy fathers is devoid of everyday connotations; it has an exclusively liturgical meaning, since the sacrament of the Eucharist itself is established in remembrance of Christ: “Do in remembrance of Me” (Luke XXII, 19). How can one be united in eternity with vision? How can you pray to him? This question was a stumbling block for believers, when from the middle of the 16th century icons with a complicated symbolic and allegorical plot began to appear, requiring written explanations on the image (for example, the famous “Four-Part” icon of 1547 from State Museums Moscow Kremlin). These icons had to be deciphered like paintings by contemporary German mystics (Bosch), which is why they were banned.

But still, if the icon painter wanted to capture an apocalyptic vision, why did he depict the royal martyrs in it, turning them into nameless saints? And if you wanted to sanctify the feat of Nicholas II and his family, why did you turn to the Apocalypse? The history of the Church does not know such an image of martyrs. The canonical image of someone testifying for the faith - wearing a cloak and holding a cross in his hand. Some great martyrs, glorified by special miracles, have their own additional attributes. Thus, the Great Martyr George - in armor and often in the image of the Victorious on a white horse, striking a serpent with a spear; Great Martyr Panteleimon - with oil in his hand; Great Martyr Barbara - in royal robes. But such details are written in icons to reveal the peculiarities of the ministry of the saints, that is, they help to most fully perceive how the saint revealed God in himself, how he became like Christ.

The feat of Nicholas II is special. He is not just a martyr - he is the murdered anointed of God, and we will not find historical analogies in icon painting. We also know other revered slain kings. This is Constantine XI, who died during the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, when the citizens of Byzantium refused to defend themselves and the king, with a small detachment of people loyal to him, went to the defense of the capital to perish along with his state. This was the conscious death of the Tsar for the Fatherland. Two more are from Russian history of the 19th century: Paul I and Alexander II. But all of them were not canonized.

It is impossible to portray Nicholas II simply as a martyr who suffered for his faith. Even a priest killed for the word of God is remembered by the Church as a martyr, and Nicholas II was a tsar, He was anointed as king with chrism and accepted a special sacred service. “The king is similar in nature to all man, but in power he is similar to the Most High God” (Rev. Joseph of Volotsky († 1515). “The Enlightener”). St. Simeon of Thessalonica (first half of the 15th century) wrote: “Sealed with the world, seal and anointing of the Existing King of all, the King is clothed with power, placed in His image on earth and accepts the grace of the Spirit communicated by the fragrant world. The King is sanctified by the Holy One and consecrated by Christ as the King of the sanctified. Then the King, as the supreme ruler of all, places a crown on the head, and the Crowned One bows his head, paying obedience to the Lord of all - God. Having passed the temple, which signifies life here, he enters the Royal Doors of the sanctuary, where he stands near the Priests praying for him: may he receive the kingdom from Christ. Soon afterwards he is honored with the very Kingdom of Christ in the pledge that he accepts.<...>Having entered the sanctuary, as if into heaven, the King partakes of the very Heavenly Kingdom of Jesus Christ our God, and through holy communion he is fulfilled as a King” (St. Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. Conversation about sacred rites and sacraments of the church // Works of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. St. Petersburg, 1856. Series “Writings of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church relating to the interpretation of Orthodox worship”).

The king is the image of Christ the Pantocrator, and the earthly kingdom is the image of the Kingdom of Heaven. The rite of acceptance by the king of his power is called the crowning of the kingdom, that is, the king is married to the state in the image of the apocalyptic vision of the apostle. John, where Heavenly Jerusalem appears as the Bride of the Lamb: “And one of the seven angels came to me<...>and he said to me, “Come, I will show you the wife, the bride of the Lamb.” And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, which came down from heaven from God.<...>The saved nations will walk in the light of it (the Lamb), and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it.<...>And nothing will be cursed anymore; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it” (Rev. XXI, 9-10; XXI, 24; XXII, 3). It is precisely the image of this heavenly marriage, about which St. Paul says: “This great mystery” (Eph. V, 32) is marriage between a man and a woman. If Christ says about this earthly union: “And the two will become one flesh” (Matt. XIX, 5), then how immeasurably greater is the unity of the king and the kingdom. The king personifies the entire state and its people, like Christ, who represents the entire Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, in icons, the feat of Nicholas II should be interpreted through his earthly service.

It is well known that Nicholas II abdicated the throne and therefore last year In his life he was not a king, but an ordinary person. But from a church point of view, his renunciation was formal: signing the papers does not destroy the power of the sacrament. (Married spouses, for example, cannot get married in 3AGS; can the one married to the kingdom do this?)

Nicholas II is often reproached for not dealing with the troublemakers. But is the power of Christ tyranny? If the power of the king is its image, then it can only be based on the love and loyalty of his subjects to the sovereign. The king himself, like the Heavenly Father, is always the redeemer of the sins of his people. The sovereign, by his abdication, only recorded the fact of the collapse of the state council. The words he wrote in his diary then: “There is treason, cowardice, and deception all around,” are evidence of this. He did not deviate from his vows made at the wedding; the kiss of the cross and the oaths were broken by the people.

The “Certificate approved on the election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the Russian throne by Tsar and Autocrat,” which, of course, Nicholas II knew well, says that “the entire consecrated cathedral, and the sovereign boyars, and the entire royal synclitate, and the Christ-loving army, and there are Orthodox Christians,” “may the scripture in it be unforgettable throughout generations and generations and forever,” they kissed the cross for allegiance to the Romanov family. “And whoever does not want to listen to this conciliar code, God wills it, and begins to speak differently,” will be excommunicated from the Church as a “schismatic” and “destroyer of the law of God,” and “will be clothed in an oath.” Nicholas II was always aware of his royal service and at the end of his life did not abandon it. On the contrary, he died as a king and passion-bearer. The sovereign meekly accepted the sin of the people's retreat and atoned for it with blood, like Christ the King of kings. Christ delivered humanity from the oath imposed on it for the fall of its forefathers; the king, by his sacrifice, became like Christ, freeing the people and future generations from the curse.

Another earthly service of Nicholas II should be reflected in the icon: He was the head of the family council, which shared with him his martyrdom. Just as God sent His Only Begotten Son to die, so the sovereign did not look for ways to evade God’s will, he sacrificed his life, managing to raise the same obedience to God in his children and strengthen in his wife. In his small family cathedral, he embodied the Christian ideal, which he strove to achieve throughout Russia.

Taking into account all that has been said, it is possible to develop an iconography project that would, to some extent, reflect the feat of Nicholas II in accordance with the teaching of the Church about the image.

The Sovereign should be depicted against a golden background, signifying the light of Heavenly Jerusalem, with a cross in his hand, in royal robes and in a mantle, which is the sacred robe of the king, placed on him after the sacrament of confirmation as a sign of his obligations to the Church. On his head should not be the imperial crown, which is a symbolic image of the power and estate of the emperor, but the more historically and mystically correct Monomakh cap. All clothing and mantle should be covered with golden assist (rays of Divine glory) and decorated with pearls and precious stones. His place, as the universal head, is in the center of the icon and above the others. Considering the peculiarity of the royal service, one could fold the fingers of his right hand in a fatherly blessing. On both sides of the sovereign are members of his family, in royal robes, in martyr's cloaks and with crosses. The queen, who was crowned king together with Nicholas II, should have a crown on her head. The princesses have their heads covered with scarves, from under which their hair can be visible. It is appropriate to wear tiaras over them, like those of the Great Martyr Barbara, who was also of royal descent. The prince can be depicted as on most icons: in princely robes and a martyr's crown, only of a more ancient type (like that of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica).

The second plan in icons is usually symbolic. Although, as a rule, it is present in holiday icons, the complexity of the iconography, in which it is necessary to reflect the unity of the feat, the royal dignity and family ties of those depicted, requires auxiliary symbolic signs. Therefore, it makes sense to include the figure of Nicholas II in the image of the temple - so often the icons depict Christ (“Assurance of Thomas”), the Mother of God (“Annunciation”) and any king, even a villain (for example, Herod on the fresco “Massacre of the Innocents” in the Chora Monastery) , because every king is the image of his kingdom. The temple is an image of the sovereign’s physical temple, mystically absorbing the entire council of subjects for whom he suffered and now prays in heaven. On the icons, in order to emphasize the special connection of the saints with the central image, architectural extensions are placed behind them, rhythmically and compositionally connected with it. It seems that this is also appropriate here: the symbol of the temple then acquires a new meaning - a family cathedral.

To give the icon another, ecclesiological meaning, on both sides of the temple you can depict the worshiping archangels Michael and Gabriel with their hands covered as a sign of reverence. Its architecture, as if continuing the figures of the upcoming king, queen and their children, becomes the image of the Prepared Throne, the Church of the future century, growing and strengthening on the blood of martyrs.

Often in icons the background architecture appears recognizable (for example, St. Sophia in the Intercession). The new iconography should depict not the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, as on one of the existing icons, but the Theodore Sovereign Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo. This cathedral was built by the sovereign at his own expense, was a prayer temple for his family and in its architectural design embodied the ideas of Nicholas II about Holy Rus' and the conciliar statehood, which he sought to revive. In addition, since the very architectural image of this temple contains and even deliberately emphasizes the idea of conciliarity, it very naturally fits into the artistic and symbolic structure of the icon.

The most interesting for the image is the southern facade of the temple. Many architectural details and two extensions opening on the sides: the bell tower and the porch of the royal entrance - help to emphasize the connection of all those present in the central figure of the sovereign. He stands along the axis of the temple dome, as the head of all, on an elevation symbolizing the throne: both royal and sacrificial. The small dome next to the officer's entrance, which appears above the image of Tsarevich Alexei, becomes a sign distinguishing him as the heir to the throne.

To prevent the icon from becoming an image of the Feodorovsky Cathedral, it is necessary to present it with a certain degree of convention, from two perspective points, so that at the edges of the icon its architecture appears to be turned toward the center. In terms of volume, it should not occupy more than a third of the entire composition. And in color - it is filled with transparent, almost white ocher with ocher trims and golden domes and roofs. 0

The Kazan image and the fate of the Russian state

“Mother of God... Glory to the kings, strength to the people,” the people said. The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God becomes the Sovereign Intercessor. This confirmed the continuity of Rus' from Byzantium, whose “representative” was always the icon of Hodegetria. The veneration becomes so great new shrine Russian state, the Kazan image of the Mother of God Hodegetria, that in the 1580s the stichera of the most revered icon in Rus' - the Mother of God Hodegetria - were included in the service of the revealed icon.

Worship of the Kazan image of the Mother of God spread among the common people throughout Russia. The procession of “Kazanskaya” to the West and East confirmed and strengthened the Orthodox faith.

The copy of the icon of the Mother of God, found in Kazan, consecrated the royal chambers for many centuries. Generations of Russian rulers prayed before this holy image, offered thanks, and asked for intercession and protection in difficult times.

The first copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the capital city back in the 16th century. This was the very first copy of the miraculous image, made in the year the shrine was found - in 1579. The archbishop and mayors, having outlined the circumstances of its acquisition, sent the icon in 1579 to Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV as documentary evidence of the Kazan miracle.

Ivan the Terrible gave great value iconography, especially since the copy could have been made quite accurate. We know from Hermogenes’ narrative that the found icon was in remarkable preservation. On the other hand, in those days they had their own idea of a “copy”: if we were talking about an icon, then it was not necessary to reproduce the original absolutely accurately. It was, first of all, about the correctness of the composition. Each icon has its own strict tradition: the symbol of Kazan is a special turn of the head of the Mother of God and the position of the Infant God.

The royal copy of the Kazan Icon was most likely located in the Cross (prayer) room of the royal palace, where morning and evening prayers, and sometimes church services, were held. Krestovaya was a repository of the household shrines of the Russian tsars: crosses, icons from their successors, parents and relatives, reliquaries with holy relics, copies of miraculous icons, relics of the Holy Land. The lower tier of the Krestovaya home iconostasis was occupied by especially revered images of the Savior and the Mother of God, icons of saints - heavenly patrons of members of the royal family, which constituted their “prayer”. It was in this tier that she stood miraculous icon.

Wedding of the royal couple in the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg

The service to the Kazan image says: “Rejoice, rejoice, Mother of God Hodegetria, always instructing all the faithful to follow every path of salvation.”(Canon, canto 7). Processions of the cross on the days of the celebration of the Kazan Icon were performed according to the same rite as the glorified icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir - main shrine Russian state of the Rurik dynasty. In nothing else was the veneration of the Kazan image by Russian tsars and emperors expressed so clearly as in the organization of capital religious processions for the “Kazan” holidays.

The great religious procession on October 22 (according to the old “calendar”), 1634, to the Presentation of the Golden-Domed Church from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was described in detail by the European scientist Adam Olearius. The procession is opened by candle sellers and sweepers of the wooden flooring, who covered the entire route of the religious processions. In front of the move are three banner bearers, behind them are “61 priests in church vestments,” clergy, sovereign and patriarchal choristers. The deacons carry ripids - “four cherubs on long sticks” and a lantern. It is known that for the big procession the following were issued: a large banner, a large Korsun cross, a crystal and “written” cross, an image of the Mother of God of Petrovsk, “that the wonderworker Peter wrote,” images of the Moscow metropolitans Peter and Jonah, an image “Prayer for the people of the Most Pure Mother of God” ( Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya with the saints present in prayer), the image of Elijah the Prophet and other icons, as well as a golden exalted cross on a silver platter, a holy cup of water, four shandalas, a silver ladle and other things necessary for the service.

The Patriarch walks under a blue canopy, led, as usual, by the deacons, arm in arm. Behind him, under a red canopy, accompanied by boyars and princes, comes the king, followed by the boyars. The passage is closed by those carrying a red throne-chair, leading a horse by the bridle and pulling a sleigh drawn by two white horses.

The “Church Official” confirms that on the day of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God “the large Vladimir icon, and all the miraculous icons, and all the upper ones are used” (i.e. from the upper Kremlin palace churches). The miraculous icons were “Gradtsky and cathedral”, i.e. from Kremlin cathedrals and Moscow churches. Among the “images of forty” were the icons of St. Varlaam of Khutyn, Tsarevich Demetrius, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Leonty of Rostov, St. Sergius of Radonezh, and others. At the “head” of the move, Adam Olearius numbers about two hundred people. Many worshipers also took part in the process.

Procession of the Cross in the Moscow Kremlin

The first big religious procession in Moscow - from the Kremlin to the new Kazan Cathedral took place just a few days after the solemn consecration of the temple on October 22, 1636. On Fire Square, a pavement of smoothly planed logs up to seventy meters wide was laid, stretching from the Kazan Cathedral to Lobnoye Mesto, which later received the name Red Bridge, or Red Square.

By decree of the tsar, from 1660-1661, religious processions to the Kazan Cathedral on the days of the celebration of the Kazan Icon were carried out according to the old style on October 22 and July 8 with walking “through the cities” - the city walls of the Kremlin, China, the White and Zemlyanoy cities: “and the procession takes place according to all cities." Processions of the cross were carried out “in all cities” only on the days of the celebration of the Kazan Icon. Moscow was under the sovereign protection of Hodegetria of Kazan.

They walked through the Kremlin and Kitai-gorod “from the holiday”, i.e. from the Kazan Cathedral, after the liturgy (later long passages began to begin before the liturgy). Along the walls of the Kremlin we headed to the Spassky Gate, then to the Tainitsky Gate. On the Kremlin walls, the Patriarch indicated to bless the water in three places: at the Spassky Gates (this was done by the archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery), Tainitsky (archimandrite of the metochion of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery) and at the Trinity Gate on the Stone Bridge over the Neglinnaya River, which connected the Kremlin with Vozdvizhenka.

Red Square

They climbed the walls of China at the Neglimensky Gate, went to the tower, which was taken first during the assault on Kitay-Gorod on October 22, 1612, and consecrated water here. Walking around Kitay-Gorod also began from the Moskvoretsky Gate. The Patriarchs held processions of the cross from the Execution Ground in the White City and Skorodoy (Earth City). The main “initial” icons went from the Place of Execution to the Kazan Cathedral, and “smaller and other images from the forties” were separated for religious processions along the walls of cities. They climbed the walls of the White City at the Sretensky Gate and walked to the right (to Kitay-gorod) and to the left. Along Skorodom they headed in different directions from the Petrovsky Gate. Tsars and Patriarchs walked around the Kremlin city and China. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was invariably, with rare exceptions, on the days of the celebration of the icon in the Kazan Cathedral, often visiting it with the queen and children on other days and participating in walks along the walls. There was a special painting with detailed instructions on which of the white and black “authorities” and archpriests should go where and where to sprinkle holy water on the walls, compiled by the keymasters of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

During processions of the cross, all of Moscow was consecrated. On October 22, 1667 and 1668, Patriarch Macarius of Antioch took part in the procession together with Patriarch Joasaph II of Moscow. At Lobnoye Mesto the Gospel was read in Greek and Slavic; both Patriarchs blessed the people with two icons of the Mother of God of Kazan, “which were in use from the sovereign from above” (i.e. from the palace churches).

According to the Institution on religious processions in Moscow, compiled in 1800 by Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, only on the day of Epiphany during the procession to the Moscow River I and on two feasts of the Kazan Icon (July 8/21 and October 22/November 4) processions were appointed “all forty”, for all the rest - selectively. Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov) instructed Christians performing the crucifixion: “When you enter a procession of the cross, think that you are walking under the leadership of the saints whose icons are marching in it, and that you are approaching the Lord Himself, since it is possible for us to be weak. The earthly shrine signifies and calls upon the heavenly shrine. The presence of the Cross of the Lord and holy icons and sprinkling blessed water cleanses the air and earth from our sinful impurities, removes dark forces and brings light ones closer. Use this help for your faith and prayer and do not make it useless for you through your negligence. Hearing church singing in the procession, connect your prayer with it, and if you cannot hear it from a distance, call upon the Lord, the Mother of God and His saints in the way of prayer known to you... It doesn’t matter if you lag behind in body, do not lag behind the shrine in spirit.” .

The Royal Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is the most mysterious and least studied of the most important miraculous lists. The Divine Protection of the Russian Tsars - the Rurikovichs and the Romanovs, like many ancient icons of the royal house, was lost...

Royal veneration of the shrine

Ivan the Terrible (1547—1584)

For the conquering tsar, the appearance of the Mother of God on the new Russian lands became a real sign. happened on the day of the celebration, it was to the Mother of God that Ivan Vasilyevich prayed before the campaign. The appearance of the miraculous image became evidence of spiritual victory, a sign of the true annexation of the lands. The royal response to this event was the highest command to build a church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos on the site of the appearance of the icon and convent. Grozny made a significant donation from his own treasury for the construction of the monastery.

Theodore Ioannovich (1584-1598)

The son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsar Feodor Ioannovich, revered the Kazan image no less than his father. He perceived the miraculous image as a symbol of the unity of the Russian lands, a symbol of the heavenly protection of the sovereign power. The king spent many solitary hours in prayer in front of the bright image.

In 1594, by his decree, “construction began, to replace the previous wooden, stone church in the name of the Holy Icon of the Kazan Mother of God, with chapels in the name of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Alexander Nevsky.”

This church was consecrated in October 1595 by Metropolitan Hermogenes. At the same time, the Kazan Mother of God Monastery was significantly expanded: the staff of nuns was increased to 64, the monastery churches received new rich icons, vestments and church utensils. The first-revealed image of the miraculous Kazan is overlaid with gold, precious stones and pearls from the royal treasures.

During the period of change of dynasties, Kazan, through her Moscow image, saved all of Russia from false tsars, bringing a new dynasty under her protection - the Romanovs.

Veneration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God by the Romanov dynasty

The Romanovs venerated the icon of the Kazan Mother of God even before the Time of Troubles. The mother of the future Tsar Mikhail, Elder Marfa Ivanovna, blessed her young son with the Kazan image before sending, by the will of Tsar Boris Godunov, into exile to the Zaonezhsky churchyard of Tolvui and then to Chelmuzh. The icon of the Mother of God of Kazan became the “travel” of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich (now it is kept in the Kostroma Museum-Reserve). The Kazan icon belongs to the Hodegetria type; in Rus' the name of this image of the Mother of God was translated as Guide, Mentor, Helper. The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God became an assistant and guide to the first of the new kings, 16-year-old Michael.

Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg

With the establishment of the Romanov dynasty in Rus', the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos began to be revered as a state shrine that saved Rus' from unrest and Latinism. The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was revered by the Romanov family from the first Tsar Michael to the last holy Tsar-Passion-Bearer Nicholas II as a state shrine, the Sovereign Intercessor, extending Her cover over all of Russia.

The kings of the Romanov dynasty revered the Kazan Icon as their special patroness and treated it as a family shrine.

Mikhail Feodorovich (1613-1645)

On the Week of Orthodoxy on February 21, 1613, the Sovereign of the new royal dynasty, Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov, was popularly elected by the Zemsky Sobor in Rus'. On Sunday, July 11, 1613, Metropolitan Ephraim of Kazan and Sviyazhsk crowned young Mikhail in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. During the royal crowning, the scepter and apple (orb) were held by the heroes of the militia: boyar Prince Dimitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy and Prince Dimitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky.

The calling of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom

When Mikhail Feodorovich ascended the throne, Russia was in a disastrous state. At first the king did not have a palace, there was no money or weapons in the treasury; at the same time, there were enemies on Russian soil: the Swedes in Novgorod, the Poles in the Smolensk region. To calm the kingdom after the Time of Troubles, the young tsar was forced to make great concessions to external enemies: the Swedes received lands up to the eastern shores of lakes Ladoga and Peipus, so that the Russians from then on were much more distant from the Baltic Sea than during the reign of the Livonian Order; Poland had to cede the Smolensk region.

In February 1626, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich married Evdokia Lukianovna Streshneva. Before the wedding, Patriarch Filaret blessed his son with the image of the Mother of God of Korsun, and his mother, the great empress nun Marfa Ivanovna, with the image of the Mother of God Hodegetria, surrounded by “chasing with stone.” In the illustrated “Description in Persons,” telling about the Tsar’s marriage, Elder Martha blesses Michael in the Ascension Kremlin Monastery, where she lived, with a Kazan icon, most likely a royal copy. On the walls of the Golden and Faceted Chambers in miniatures “Descriptions” there are several images of icons of the Kazan Mother of God.

Particular veneration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God dates back to the reign of Mikhail Feodorovich. Apparently, this is not at all accidental: people still retained a living memory of the image that led Russia out of many years of fratricidal massacre; for them, the events of the Time of Troubles were still living history. In the perception of the Russian people, the Kazan Icon had already saved, and then constantly protected from destruction not only the country, but also its inhabitants. An example is “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn,” the hero of which, a contemporary of Mikhail Feodorovich, was delivered from an agreement signed with the devil only through prayer in front of the Kazan Icon in Moscow. It is noteworthy that the king himself witnessed this miracle.

“Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich of all Russia and his mother, the great old monk Marfa Ivanovna, began to keep great faith in this image and ordered to celebrate twice a year and the procession from the crosses: the first celebration and procession from the crosses - July on the 8th day of the Holy Great Martyr Procopius on the day when the Most Pure Mother of God appeared in the city of Kazan, and another celebration - in the month of October on the 22nd day in memory of our holy father Averky of Erapol, the wonderworker, how the Moscow state was cleansed." The holiday of October 22 became the day of liberation of Russia.

The festivities of October 22 and July 8 (now these dates fall on November 4 and July 22) were very solemn. A description of church services and religious processions “to the Most Pure Kazan on Ustretenskaya” (to the Vvedenskaya Church on Sretenka) is given by the “Tale of Effective Rites” of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich was on his way to Vespers and prayer services at the Church of the Presentation. Here everyone prayed before the miraculous Moscow Kazan Icon-Liberator. In the Assumption Kremlin Cathedral, usually in the presence of Patriarch Philaret, Great Vespers with litia was served, and subsequently the All-Night Vigil. At the end of Vespers, a prayer service was performed in the center of the church in front of the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. At the cathedral prayer service, officials and people stood with candles. Matins was served with polyeleos. The Patriarch came out for the celebration; candles for the celebration were sent from the royal palace. Processions of the cross during the celebration of the Kazan Icon were performed according to the same rite as the famous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir - the main shrine of the Russian state and the Rurik dynasty. So unusually great was the veneration of the new shrine of the Russian state - the Kazan image of the Mother of God Hodegetria already under the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty.

Kazan Cathedral on Red Square

The icon became a national shrine, “the palladium of the royal house of the Romanovs, the protector of the capital of the kingdom and the guardian of the throne” by 1636, when the stone Kazan Cathedral was built on Red Square in Moscow. It was one of the few churches in Rus' at that time dedicated to this image, but immediately took second place in the hierarchy of capital churches. The cathedral was erected at the expense of the royal family, which, as the “New Chronicler” testifies, “started to hold great faith in that image and ordered it to be celebrated twice a year and set the course from the cross.” Thus, the veneration of the image was increasingly combined for Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and his family with the perception of the Kazan Icon as a symbol of the patronage of the Mother of God not only for the Russian state, but especially for their family - the new royal dynasty. This personal attitude, growing faith and veneration of the image can be considered the main sources for the creation of more and more new churches, first in Moscow, and then throughout Russia.

A new temple in the beloved royal palace village of Kolomenskoye was consecrated in the name of the Kazan Icon. In the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, in the tombstone iconostasis at the burials of the first kings of the Romanov dynasty, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was placed, which was originally the “grave” of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and was in the icon case above the place of his burial.

Alexey Mikhailovich (1645-1676)

The all-Russian celebration of the Kazan Icon was established in 1649 by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Alexei Mikhailovich - the son and successor of Mikhail Feodorovich, ascended the throne at 16 years old.

Tsar Alexei, just like his father, the first sovereign of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Feodorovich, and his grandfather, Patriarch Filaret (Feodor Nikitich Romanov), revered the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God as the patroness of the Romanov family and a state shrine.

Alexei Mikhailovich was loved by the people like none of the Moscow kings. He was praised for his meekness, which is why his title included the Quiet One. He was also distinguished by his piety and strictly observed fasts, and during Great Lent, four days a week he ate only black bread with salt or cucumber and only ate fish for two days during the entire fast. Alexey Mikhailovich was compassionate towards the poor; on meat-eating week he invited them to the palace and dined with them. In big holidays the king visited prisons and distributed money, pies, etc. to the prisoners. He loved to take part in church rites and celebrations celebrated by the Church, and appeared at them, surrounded by pomp. The ritual of the Patriarch's procession on a donkey (horse) on Palm Sunday, performed in memory of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, was particularly solemn; in this ritual, the king led the donkey by the reins.

His daily prayers before the Kazan Royal Icon of the Mother of God granted a long-awaited miracle - the birth of an heir to the throne. In 1649, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the local Moscow (and Kazan) holiday in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God became all-Russian. The reason for this decree was the birth of the heir, Tsarevich Dmitry Alekseevich, during the all-night service on October 22 (old style). This day, October 22, became a great holiday of the Russian Church.

This joyful event for the tsar was attributed to him by the grace of the Mother of God, and from that time on, Alexei Mikhailovich began to look at the Moscow Icon of the Kazan Mother of God not only as the deliverer of Russia from the invasion of foreigners and internal turmoil, but also as a personal Patroness. This view was inherited by subsequent kings from the House of Romanov, and the royal Kazan image remained with them until the last day of the existence of their dynasty.

On the days of celebration (July 8/21 and October 22/November 4), solemn services were held for the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow. In the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square, more than twenty people served Patriarch Nikon at the all-night vigil. The Patriarch in Greek vestments read a prayer for the blessing of the loaves at the litiya. Like Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Patriarch Nikon was an admirer of the Kazan Hodegetria. In 1653, the remains of the Patriarch-Martyr Hermogenes, the “self-witness” of the shrine revealed in 1579 in Kazan, were transferred from the Chudov Monastery to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

In the Romanov family, in addition to the main Kazan image, there were a certain number of other copies of the ancient icon. On the “family” icon of the Tsar, painted after the birth of the Tsar’s daughter Evdokia and which became one of the relics of Alexei Mikhailovich, the central place was occupied by the image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The miraculous image is surrounded by images of the family’s patron saints and St. Sergius of Radonezh. The intercession of the Mother of God for the Russian land and intercession for the royal family is the main spiritual idea of this icon.

During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, like Hodegetria of Constantinople once did, the Kazan Icon became the guardian of the capital of Russia - Moscow.

Ivan (John) V Alekseevich (1682-1696)

The Royal Kazan Icon is very rarely mentioned in official documents. A rare exception can be considered an archival record that in 1687 for Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, brother and co-ruler of Peter I, Mikhail Milyutin “made an icon case for the Royal image of the Mother of God of Kazan.”

Peter I (1689-1725)

“The great emperor, reader of God and keeper of church statutes and a strong keeper of the faith,” the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was especially reverent about the miraculous Kazan icon, which accompanied him on constant campaigns.

Peter the Great became the first of the Russian tsars to visit the site of the discovery of the Kazan Icon and venerate the first-revealed icon at the site of its appearance. According to the surviving travel journals of Peter I, one can trace his water route from Moscow to Kazan, where the emperor and his retinue arrived in 1722 during the Persian campaign. On June 3, 1722, Peter I arrived in the city, where “at the entrance of His Majesty they fired from cannons from all over the city, and listened to the liturgy in the cathedral church.” Then he visited the metropolitan, “from there he was in the Devichye Monastery, where the miraculous image of the Apparition of the Kazan Mother of God.”

Peter and Paul Cathedral, built in memory of Peter I's visit to Kazan

Peter the Great and his attitude to the miraculous Kazan image are characterized by the story of intercession for the Petersburg copy of the holy icon, recorded by his contemporary. “On St. Petersburg Island there is a wooden church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos of Kazan and the image of the Mother of God is decorated. And the then Archimandrite of the Nevsky Monastery, Theodosius, was very fond of the salary; then he was the Archbishop of Novgorod; having arrived at the Kazan Church to inspect the order of the church, he said that the image of the Virgin Mary stands low in the iconostasis, all sorts of people touch it; ordered to take her and take her to the Nevsky Monastery; Not long after, he stripped the robe and ordered it to be placed at the holy gates of the same monastery. And the parishioners of that church were notified of this and were in great sorrow and lamentation.

The same church had a parishioner, the director of the printing house, and His Majesty, in his knowledge and favor, Mikhailo Petrovich Avramov, was very sorry about this and took the courage to ask His Majesty... and to that His Majesty did not say anything. And in time there was a congress on Victory Day at the Postal Court, in that presence there were also sacred persons, firstly Stefan of Ryazan, Feofan Skopsky, Theophylact of Tver. His Majesty treated everyone to various wines, and, coming to the table where the bishops were sitting, he sat down on a chair and began speaking: “Father, tell me, what does an image mean that is miraculous and not miraculous? The writing is the same." To this, the Eminence said: “Your Majesty, by your grace we have been granted and have become despondent; we cannot answer from Holy Scripture,” and thus ended his speech.

He looked sternly at the orderly: “What kind of hat do you have and whose?” The orderly announced that the sovereign. Then, with a great heart, he said to the orderly: “Like you, worthless fellow, discourteous, the great sovereign’s hat, which the sovereign wears on his head, and you crumple it under your shoulder. But where is that hat that was on my head and was shot through by a bullet in the Poltava battle?” And to this the orderly said that that hat was kept in the Treasury. And after that saying, he began to say: “Most gracious sir, the truth itself has shown a clear argument: the hat that your orderly holds under his shoulder, but also the hat that is stored in the Treasury, are the same wool and the work of human hands, but there is a great difference: that it on such a great man it was on the head and pierced by a bullet, which is why it is, unlike other hats, kept in reverence; and certainly the image and writing on the board, and the colors are the same, but in this the Lord glorifies the promise to write and the pious writer for his zealous faith, and in this he is glorified by the working of miracles from the image of what was written.” The next day, His Majesty Peter I sent the orderly Semyon Baklanovsky to the Nevsky Monastery to the archimandrite and ordered him to tell him with anger that he put the image with the same salary in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God and, according to that exact order, brought it and installed it.”

When the capital was moved to St. Petersburg, one of the ancient images was brought to the city on the Neva - a copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which now consecrated the young capital with its light, and through it the entire Fatherland.

Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

Russian empresses especially often turned to the Mother of God with prayers and venerated the Kazan Icon...

During the reign of Peter’s successor, Empress Anna Ioannovna, in 1736, by her personal command, a stone church “in honor of the Kazan Blessed Virgin Mary” was erected on the Admiralty Side in St. Petersburg, where the miraculous Kazan image was transferred.

Catherine II (1762—1796)

Catherine II on the steps of the Kazan Cathedral,
greeted by the clergy on accession day June 28, 1762

The special attitude towards the Kazan shrine of Empress Catherine II is known, who decorated the crown of the first-appeared icon of the Mother of God with a diamond crown. And here’s another historical fact: after the coup in June 1762, which brought her to power, the guard and crowds of enthusiastic people swore allegiance to the new empress near the Kazan Cathedral.

Paul I (1796-1801)

At the end of the 18th century, Emperor Paul I included November 4, the autumn holiday of Kazan, among the time holidays, i.e. non-present days of the Russian Empire.

Alexander I (1801-1825)

In the royal chambers of Moscow there are also other, as ancient as the royal, or later copies of the Kazan icon. Tsar Alexander I valued ancient icon writing and was often given Kazan images as gifts. One of the decorations of his home iconostasis was an icon of the Nevyansk letter, authored by one of the Bogatyrev dynasty of icon painters, who “personally had the good fortune to present his work to the icon of the Kazan Mother of God to Sovereign Alexander I and receive an award, receive a gold watch...”.

Nicholas II (1894—1917)

Nicholas II, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a passion-bearer, was perhaps the most religious of the Romanovs who ruled Russia in the 19th century. His ideal was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his ancestor, perhaps one of the brightest personalities among our sovereigns.

The attitude of Nicholas II to the Kazan image can be demonstrated by several examples from his short life and martyrdom. One of the main relics of the family of the last Russian Emperor - the wedding icon of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, the work of the legendary Carl Faberge, was a triptych made of gilded silver with miniatures of the Annunciation, the Savior and the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God surrounded by the heavenly patrons of the royal family - St. Nicholas and St. Alexandra and the faces of the four Apostles. Decorated with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, tourmalines, and garnets, the icon was presented to the crowned couple by the sister of the future empress, Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna.

At the beginning of the First World War, Nicholas II decides to follow the example of his great ancestor, Emperor Alexander I, and accepts an obligation before God: not to make peace while at least one enemy soldier remains on Russian soil, not to lose heart before trials, to wage war until victory. On August 2, 1914, after a magnificent, solemn service in the Winter Palace, His Majesty swears on the Gospel before the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. Thus, the miraculous icon again became a witness to the course of great Russian history. Now the emperor would rather accept death than change his word...

It is well known that all the Romanovs, in one way or another, were aware of the role of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God not only in the fate of Russia, but also in the fate of their imperial house. Comparing historical facts, we can conclude that the holy representatives of the Romanovs prayerfully foresaw the tragic relationship between the death of the miraculous image and the impending death of the imperial house. Royal icon after the massacre of the family of Emperor Nicholas II, he disappears. Today, like many other miraculous Kazan lists, it is hidden from us...

It is known that in the Ipatiev House, where the monstrous massacre of the royal family took place, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was discovered among the personal icons of Nicholas II. Sovereign Intercessor and sad days trials was the support of the last representatives of the reigning dynasty.

Veneration of the Kazan Icon by representatives of the Romanov family

It was not only the sovereigns from the Romanov dynasty who paid special attention to the Kazan image of the Blessed Virgin Mary among other Mother of God icons. Let us give just a few facts of the veneration of the holy icon by representatives of the sovereign family.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Filaret, the keeper of the traditions of the Holy Apostolic Church and the true holy Orthodox faith, who, by the Providence of God, became the head of the Russian state together with his son Mikhail Feodorovich, deeply revered, like his predecessor Patriarch Ermogen, the Kazan icon - the Intercessor of the Russian state and the Orthodox faith. According to his will, an image of the Kazan Mother of God, covered with silver, was placed at the head of the coffin of Patriarch Philaret in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

In the middle of the second half of the 17th century, many Kazan icons were painted by both patriarchal icon painters and sovereign isographers of the Armory Chamber. The Tsar's icon painter Nikita Pavlovets painted a Kazan image of the Feast in a tray for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1675. For Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna in 1667, the famous royal icon painter Guriy Nikitin created “cypress folding frames” with the Kazan icon in the center. In the mansions of Queen Natalia Kirillovna, the outstanding royal iconographer Simon Ushakov painted two icons of the Mother of God of Kazan in 1674 and 1676.

The famous miraculous St. Petersburg Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was commissioned by the Dowager Tsarina Paraskeva Feodorovna Romanova, wife of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, brother and co-ruler of Peter I.

Prince John Konstantinovich, canonized as the new martyrs of Russia, was the honorary patron of the brotherhood of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

In the year of the celebration of the three-hundredth anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty in Kazan, at the site of the discovery of the first-revealed Kazan icon, the future martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna consecrated the cave temple and chapel built by her cares and labors. This creation of the temple was an attempt to resist the sacrilege that had taken place, the disappearance of the first-revealed icon in 1904, disastrous for the Imperial House, disastrous for Russia...

Successors to power and the image of the Sovereign Intercessor

In the modern Moscow Kremlin during reconstruction former building The Senate, now serving as the residence of the President of the Russian Federation, was equipped with a small prayer room with a throne in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The iconostasis contains seven amber icons using the Florentine mosaic technique, created by the restorers of the Amber Room. This is how Orthodox traditions continue...

The Life of the Holy Blessed Tsar, Martyr Nicholas Alexandrovich and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna

Childhood
On the sixth of May according to the old style or the eighteenth according to the new style, on the day of remembrance of the holy righteous Job the Long-Suffering in the year 1868 from the Nativity of Christ in Tsarskoe Selo, a new heir to the throne appeared in the royal Romanov dynasty, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Fedorovna. The boy was baptized with the name Nikolai. A little later, on May 25/June 7, 1872, in Darmstadt - the capital of one of the small German duchies in the family of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig and the third daughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Alice of England, Princess Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice, the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was born .

The idea that the august heirs and heiresses were brought up in conditions of pampering and permissiveness, as a rule, is very far from the truth - future sovereigns and their crowned spouses received a strict, even harsh upbringing, a serious education - both scientific and spiritual.

It is known that Alexander III did not order his heirs to be spoiled: “I need normal, healthy Russian children,” he said. This phrase contains all the fundamental components of such upbringing - healthy, that is, hardened, stable, not accustomed to all sorts of excesses, respectful to elders and ready to protect the younger. Russians - this is especially emphasized by the emperor - means they were raised in their native Orthodox faith, but how could it be otherwise if for each of them the time could come to become the anointed tsar.

Tsarevich Nikolai spent his childhood in Gatchina, received a comprehensive education, in addition to the compulsory Greek and Latin, he knew several European languages, Russian and world history. Prominent scientists, public and military figures - professors from St. Petersburg University and the Academy of the General Staff - were involved in training the future monarch. Like all high-born heirs, from birth he was enrolled in the lists of several military regiments at once, in 1884 he entered active military service, in 1887 he continued regular service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment and before his accession to the throne he commanded the first battalion of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment in rank of colonel. At the same time, from childhood, the future Russian sovereign showed a special love for God, strictly observed all the traditions of the Orthodox Church and carried through his entire life the Christian ideals instilled in him from childhood.

Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, known as Alix at home, received the nickname Sunny, Sunshine, for her cheerful and lively disposition. And the seven ducal children were not spoiled barchuk: they dressed simply, and the strict mother tried to ensure that the children did not remain idle. The girls cleaned the rooms themselves, lit the fireplace themselves, and so on. And, of course, everyone was raised in Christian piety, but in the Protestant faith. When Alix was 6 years old, her mother, Alice of England, passed away - diphtheria, which they could not treat at that time, took her life. Sunny took the death of her beloved mother hard, but her grandmother, Queen Victoria, took the children, especially the youngest, under her loving care, thereby softening the irreparable loss for them. Now Alix received her upbringing and education in the English royal house.

The royal couple
In 1884, the first meeting of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich with Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt took place: her elder sister, the future Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the fifth son of Alexander II. At first, a friendly sympathy arose between the Tsarevich and the princess, which grew stronger over the years, then turned into a mutual feeling, and in 1889, the adult Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich asked his father and mother for their blessing to marry the German princess. And - the emperor refused. His Majesty believed that his son was still too young to start a family. The next five years did not change the decision of the heir to the throne, but strengthened his determination, and even his father’s severity could not resist it: in 1894, Alexander III gave the highest blessing to marriage union with Alice Gessen. For the young people, this was a great joy; Princess Alice was confused by one thing about the possibility of such a marriage - the bride of the heir to the throne had to convert to the Orthodox faith, and Alix was raised in Protestantism and was confident in her religion.

However, everything changed very quickly. By that time, Alexander III's health was already deteriorating. In the autumn of the same year, the emperor and his family went to the Crimea, to the Livadia residence, but there was no improvement, and on October 20, Alexander III died, and the next day, there, in the palace church, Princess Alice, through the sacrament of confirmation, reunited with the Russian Orthodox Church with the name of Alexander Fedorovna.

Mourning for the deceased emperor did not become an obstacle to the wedding - the throne of the Empire should not have been empty for a long time, they decided to hold the wedding, but extremely modestly, and it took place on November 14, 1894. Alexander III developed his own program to prepare Tsarevich Nicholas for succession to the throne, but his departure did not allow it to be completed in full, and the young tsar took upon his shoulders the entire burden of ruling such a complex, politically dysfunctional state at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: “The Twentieth century... even more homeless, / The darkness is even more terrible than life, / Even more terrible and huge / The shadow of Lucifer’s wing...”, wrote A.A. about that time. Block.

At the time of his ascension to the throne, the young emperor was not fully introduced to state affairs. He comprehended the science of being a monarch in practice, trusting the reports of ministers, and his lively mind, excellent education, military discipline, which left its mark on everything, and endless faith in the holiness of the Russian State, entrusted to him by the providence of God and the sacrament of anointing for the kingdom, helped him. However, everyone noted that, unlike his strict, stern father, Nicholas II was softer, tactful, very modest in manners, and many noted among themselves that he did not have the steely will of Alexander III. The father’s main instruction for the young sovereign was his words: “I bequeath to you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect autocracy, bearing in mind that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Let faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the basis of your life. Be strong and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience,” and for the last Russian monarch the sacredness of his duty to Holy Russia, Russia was immutable, as was his confidence - all of its huge people also believe in the sacredness of the Anointed One of God. Time has shown how wrong he was when the temptation of false freedom turned out to be stronger than the priesthood and faith...

In 1896, after the end of mourning, a coronation took place in Moscow, the crowning of the kingdom through the sacrament of confirmation. Nicholas II understood with all his soul what it means to be God’s Anointed, accepting this grace as the highest responsibility before the Lord and people: “Then the king stood on an elevated place and made a covenant before the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep His commandments and His revelations and His statutes for all heart and with all my soul” (2 Kings 23; 3).

A year after the wedding in 1895, Grand Duchess Olga was born into the royal family, Tatiana in 1897, Maria in 1899, and Anastasia in 1901. The august spouses loved their daughters, rejoiced at them, the girls grew up in love, but reasonable - Alexandra Fedorovna raised her daughters, like her mother, not to be white-handed. Having accepted Orthodoxy, the empress followed it heartily and therefore monitored the growth of her daughters in piety and virtuous life. However, Their Majesties prayed to God to give them an heir so that the royal line would not be interrupted.

In 1903, the royal family visited the Sarov monastery to take part in the celebrations on the occasion of the glorification of St. Seraphim, and a year later Tsarevich Alexei was born, but the boy, as it soon turned out, was seriously ill - he was diagnosed with hemophilia, a rare disease expressed in the inability of blood to clot. . Alexandra Fedorovna suffered deeply, and in connection with the emerging illness, everything was done to protect the baby from all possible risks.

The Empress, the daughter of a German duke and an English princess, and now the wife of the Anointed Tsar of the Russian Empire, fell in love with Orthodoxy with all her soul and raised all her children this way. Attending services on Sundays and holidays and observing all fasts was mandatory. But this religiosity, sometimes surpassing the formal fulfillment of church traditions by other, even the most noble nobility, was not just a tribute, the duty of the kings to please God. It came from the very heart of the august couple. Numerous pilgrimages and veneration of holy relics and revered icons, visits to churches and monasteries in Russia during trips necessary for state affairs were an integral, spiritually necessary part of their life. Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Feodorovna considered the brevity of the services in the house church of the palace unacceptable and attended special sovereign services in the Tsarskoe Selo Feodorovsky Cathedral, where the empress prayed fervently in front of the lectern with liturgical books, following the progress of the entire service.

The piety of the last sovereign is evidenced by the fact that more saints were canonized under him than in the previous two centuries. From 1896 to 1916, such ascetics of Orthodoxy as St. Theodosius of Chernigov, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Joasaph of Belgorod, St. Hermogen of Moscow, St. Pitirim of Tambov, St. John of Tobolsk were canonized as saints, and St. Princess Anna of Kashin was restored to veneration. During the reign of Nicholas II, a lot of money was donated for the construction of new churches and the restoration of dilapidated ones - 10,000 churches were built and equipped and 250 new monasteries were created, the sovereign himself was repeatedly present at the foundation and consecration of others. Saint John of Kronstadt was highly revered by the royal family, and after his death the emperor ordered an annual nationwide prayerful commemoration of him.

Under Emperor Nicholas II, the synodal system of governing the Church was preserved, but under him the church hierarchy had the opportunity to both discuss necessary issues and prepare for the convening of a Local Council.

What was taken for the softness of Nikolai Alexandrovich’s character was in fact nothing more than his desire to follow the spiritual and moral principles of Christianity, which is not always compatible with the need to rule, and sometimes quite harshly. However, in government activities Russian Tsar sought to introduce personal moral and ethical standards that were based on the principles of Christian morality, remembering his father’s instructions: “Let faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the basis of your life,” and also: “... obey yourself and your conscience.”

Relationships in the family were cordial and mutually trusting. Everyone loved and protected each other - and mother, near whom, when she was unwell, one of her daughters would certainly be, and Alyoshenka, the center of attention of all members of the family, the sovereign himself was everything to everyone - father, mentor, friend. The illness of the Tsarevich was not subject to disclosure, but when in 1912 the heir’s health sharply deteriorated, it was said about it, and prayers for his health were served throughout Russia. Alexandra Feodorovna, being deeply religious, endlessly prayed to the Lord to grant her son healing from an incurable disease, and at that time Grigory Rasputin appeared in her circle, who played an ambiguous role in the fate of both Russia and the royal family. In any case, both the Grand Duchess - the Venerable Martyr Elizaveta Feodorovna, who accepted monasticism after the death of the husband of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich from the bomb of the Socialist-Revolutionary Kalyaev, and the fighter against "Rasputinism" Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir, who also held the rank of First Member of the Holy Synod, later canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the guise of a holy martyr, they tried to protect both the empress and the royal family from him as much as possible.

At the turn of the century
In foreign policy, the Orthodox worldview of Nicholas II was reflected in the proposal of Russia, and, to call a spade a spade, the sovereign himself, to convene and hold a conference where the issues of maintaining peace and reducing arms could be brought up for interstate discussion. This proposal became historically important for many years to come. The proposal was accepted, as a result, the Hague Conference of 1899 was convened, and then, almost on the threshold of the First World War, the Hague Conference of 1907, which had a huge influence on the course of all public peacekeeping activities of the 20th century, tormented by two world wars and many brutal local military conflicts.

Internal turmoil, the revolutionary situation of 1905–1907, provoked by the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese Campaign, Russia's involvement in international unrest and the First World War, which broke out in 1914... Truly, the burden that fell on the shoulders of Nicholas II, still a very young man, was great. ...

Nevertheless, in February 1913, Russia celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty as a prosperous country. In the spring, the royal family went on a trip to ancient Russian cities, where devotion to the Anointed One of God and veneration of the royal sovereignty were strong and sincere, in contrast to the capitals, where they went underground, but revolutionary sentiments did not subside. However, then they could not get the degree of popular support they needed in order to rock Russian statehood. Russia became a strong state - industry developed successfully, the army and navy grew stronger, and the agrarian reform bore fruit. All this was the result of reasonable government.

Russia's entry into the First world war It began unexpectedly: Austria attacked Serbia, Nicholas II found it necessary to stand up for his Orthodox Christian brothers, and in July 1914 Germany declared war on Russia. This war then became the First World War, since almost all major European states were involved in it, becoming either opponents or allies of Russia. Russia suffered a defeat in East Prussia because it became necessary to provide military support to its ally France. The war dragged on. By the way, the royal decree in those years strictly prohibited the sale of alcohol - a unique case in world practice, when usually the main anesthetic for people in difficult times was a glass of strong drink.

His Majesty visited Headquarters more and more often; all spheres were under his vigilant care - military and logistics. The Empress and her eldest daughters, Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana, completed nursing courses and devoted themselves to caring for the wounded in the Tsarkoye Selo infirmary.

In August 1915, Nicholas II went to Mogilev to fulfill his duty to God and the Fatherland as commander-in-chief of the troops, and as a reasonable commander, he made all decisions together with the military council. He was constantly at Headquarters, and Tsarevich Alexei often visited him. From the empress he received news from the capital about how the ministers were conducting business in his absence.

The tsar returned to Tsarskoe Selo in January and was there until the end of February; the situation in the country was heating up. The revolutionaries felt that the moment of revenge was coming. On February 22, 1917, the tsar left for Headquarters - it was a good time for the spring offensive and the possibility of defeating the German troops. But this moment was used by internal opponents of the autocracy. Whether by accident or intentionally, there were interruptions in the supply of bread to Petrograd. This was used as a sign for the beginning of the unrest - the revolutionary forces quickly fueled panic, followed by strikes, rallies and processions with the slogans “Down with war!”, “Down with autocracy!” In the Duma, the Socialist Revolutionaries started a debate criticizing the tsarist government; there was no talk of any Christian virtues, especially since the virus of atheism had already penetrated the minds and souls of many public figures. Power is what the fight was for.

On February 25, the tsar received a report of unrest, sent part of the troops to Petrograd, and he himself decided to go to Tsarskoe Selo, obviously to be closer to the scene of events and worrying about his wife and children. 150 versts before Tsarskoe Selo, the Tsar’s train was stopped, since all the roads to Petrograd were blocked by the rebels. On March 1, the royal train arrived in Pskov.

The Tsar and the command could not reliably know what chaos was happening in the Duma, on which the Tsar placed the hope that Duma leaders would be able to control the situation, and revolutionary confusion was already happening in the capital. The Emperor spoke on the phone with the Chairman State Duma M.V. Rodzianko was ready to do anything to calm down the unrest, but Rodzianko said that it was too late. Either it was necessary to bring in the main troops and suppress the uprising by force, or to abdicate the throne.

Historians still argue whether the sovereign acted correctly, but he acted as a Christian sovereign. The military campaign against Petrograd meant one thing - the beginning of a civil war against the backdrop of participation in the world war and the death of the country. Abdication is the only way to save Russia, of which everyone around him convinced the tsar, and next to the tsar were, first of all, the front commanders. If his family were with him, how much easier it would have been to make this bitter decision. The Tsar decided to abdicate for himself and for the heir in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.

After the abdication of the sovereign, representatives of the Provisional Government escorted the sovereign to Tsarskoye Selo. The emperor's last address to the army was full of dignity, nobility and humility. He called for loyalty to the Provisional Government, which, in essence, betrayed him, for the fulfillment of military duty until victory, but this message did not reach the troops, since the Provisional Government was not interested in demonstrating such qualities that raised the personality of Nikolai Alexandrovich as a sovereign and a person in the eyes of the public and discredited the current rulers. Nobility would expose dishonor.

From the personal diary of the sovereign: “My renunciation is needed. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step.” General D.N. He said to Dubensky: “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at its head ask me to leave the throne and pass it on to my son and brother, then I am ready to do this, I am even ready to give not only my kingdom, but also my life for the Motherland.” "

The provisional government, a completely artificially created, politically unviable body, lasted in power for a little more than six months. On October 26/November 8 it was arrested.

...In Tsarskoye Selo, where Nikolai Alexandrovich was taken under arrest on March 9, the family spent five months. Worship, reading, sharing meals. Of the clergy, Fr. stayed with the royal family. Afanasy Belyaev, who kept the notes, preserved his memories of the royal family, of their participation in divine services, which he calls reverent and touching. “You have to see for yourself and be so close to understand and see how fervently, in the Orthodox manner, often on their knees, the former royal family prays to God. With what humility, meekness, and humility, having completely surrendered themselves to the will of God, they stand behind the divine service.” Impression from the children’s confession: “Grant, Lord, that all children will be as morally high as the children of the former Tsar. Such kindness, humility, obedience to the parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity of thoughts and complete ignorance of earthly dirt - passionate and sinful - left me in amazement ... "

Tsarskoye Selo conclusion
Alexandra Feodorovna’s letters exude the same purity, kindness, and spiritual light. From a letter to cornet S.V. Markov: “It hurts, it’s hard on the soul, but grief cleanses us. Remember the life and suffering of the Savior, and your life will seem to you not as black as you thought.” Months passed, and Fr. Afanasy noted in his diary that the guards treated the royal family more and more irritably and rudely. From a spiritual point of view, this is understandable - it was the same irritation that meekness, humility, faith and spiritual strength, despite suffering, caused in those who kept the first Christians under arrest and tortured.

From the diary of Fr. Athanasius about the prayer of the deposed sovereign: “Now the humble servant of God Nicholas,<…>friendly to all his enemies, not remembering insults, praying earnestly for the prosperity of Russia, deeply believing in her glorious future,<…>tearfully asks for forgiveness for his voluntary and involuntary sins.”

Meanwhile, the commission to investigate the activities of the Russian Emperor completed its work, and no signs of guilt were found. This was not part of the plans of the Provisional Government, and the august family was not released, but was sent further away, to Tobolsk, supposedly to avoid unrest if the tsar was released. This happened on August 1, 1917, and even then it was obvious how temporary the Provisional Government itself was. The day before departure took place Divine Liturgy, where the entire royal family and the remaining servants prayed together. Everyone together asked God for help and intercession, for they had a presentiment that this path was Way of the Cross all Christians in times of persecution.

In Tobolsk, for the first time in a long time, they were able to go to church on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then days passed without information, without any news about what was happening in Russia. What was received clearly indicated that the country was sliding into the abyss of civil discord. Kerensky's refusal to Kornilov's proposal to lead troops to Petrograd doomed Russia to state chaos. The sovereign’s sacrifice for the good of the state, about which no one thought or cared, turned out to be in vain, and he understood this with bitterness and pain.

On October 25, a revolution happened, the Bolsheviks came to power, the sovereign wrote about this in his diary that this time was “much worse and more shameful than the events of the Time of Troubles.” At first, the attitude towards the prisoners was quite tolerant, but then a soldiers’ committee was formed, which considered it its duty to indicate to the “former tsar” his true position, for example, from March 1, an order was received to transfer the Romanov family to soldiers’ rations.

And yet, Alexandra Fedorovna writes in her diary words full of faith in God, in His mercy over Russia and in its bright future. How much noble forgiveness there is in the one who had great earthly power, but, having lost it, did not lose faith in the power of the Lord, accepting everything that befell her family and Motherland: “How I want to share everything with my beloved sick person, to experience everything and with follow him with love and excitement, and so with the Motherland. I've felt like her mother for too long to lose that feeling.<….>. She hurt us, offended us, slandered us.<...>, but we still love her deeply and want to see her recovery, like a sick child with bad, but also good qualities, and my native homeland..."

“When will all this end? Whenever God pleases. Be patient, dear country, and you will receive a crown of glory, a reward for all your suffering.<... >How can you live if there is no hope? You must be cheerful, and then the Lord will give you peace of mind. It’s painful, annoying, insulting, ashamed, you suffer, everything hurts, it’s punctured, but there is silence in your soul, calm faith and love for God, who will not abandon His own and will hear the prayers of the zealous and will have mercy and save...”

After information was received about the decision to conclude a separate peace with Germany, the Tsar did not hide his disappointment, and when the Germans demanded that the Bolsheviks hand over the royal family to them, the former Princess Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, and now Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, stated: “I prefer to die in Russia than to be saved by the Germans.”

Last months. Ipatiev House
On April 22, a detachment led by Commissar Yakovlev arrived from the capital. A few days later, Yakovlev says that he must take the sovereign away. The Tsar believed that they wanted to take him to Moscow to sign the Brest Peace Treaty, so he said: “I’d rather let my hand be cut off than sign this shameful treaty.” Fearing for her husband, Alexandra Feodorovna decided to go with him, taking Princess Maria with her. The remaining daughters remained in Tobolsk for now with the ill Tsarevich Alexei.

However, they were taken not to Moscow, but to Yekaterinburg, where the rest of the Grand Duchesses and the Grand Duke were later taken. There is practically no information about their stay in the Ipatiev House. It is only known that Archpriest John Storozhev performed services there twice. Here is some fragmentary information. About the service on May 20/June 2: “The deacon spoke the petitions of the litanies, and I sang. Two female voices (I think Tatyana Nikolaevna and one of them) sang along with me, sometimes in a low bass voice, and Nikolai Alexandrovich... They prayed very earnestly...” His impression of the sovereign in the last days of his life: “Nikolai Alexandrovich<…>made an impression on me with his firm gait, his calmness and especially his manner of looking intently and firmly into the eyes...”

Living conditions under arrest in Ipatiev's house were much worse than in Tobolsk. Commissar Avdeev, under whose supervision the royal family was there, was always drunk and was looking for ways to humiliate the prisoners. Upon arrival, the royal couple was roughly searched. They took away their food and smoked in front of them, blowing smoke straight into their faces. They slept on the floor, which could not but affect their son’s health, thank God, there was a doctor nearby, Evgeny Botkin, who tried to be a mediator between them and the soldiers. Of the servants, who, in essence, ceased to be servants, but were a faithful support, there were 4 people left: Anna Demidova, I.S. Kharitonov, A.E. Troupe and boy Lenya Sednev.

Everyone understood that their death was a matter of time, and from the lips of the Grand Duke one day it sounded: “If they kill, as long as they don’t torture...” Occasionally they were allowed to write letters, here are the lines from the surviving letter of Tsarevna Olga: “Father asks me to tell everyone to those who remained devoted to him, and to those on whom they can have influence, so that they do not avenge him, since he has forgiven everyone and prays for everyone, and so that they do not avenge themselves, and so that they remember that the evil that now in the world, it will be even stronger, but that it is not evil that will defeat evil, but only love.”

Seeing this meekness, this kindness, the guards began to be gentler, even more understanding towards the prisoners, and Avdeev was no exception. As soon as this became known, Avdeev was replaced by Commissar Yurovsky, and security officers and partly Austro-German prisoners were installed as guards.

Exodus
And at the threshold of the grave
Breathe into the mouths of Your servants
Superhuman powers
Pray meekly for your enemies.
This is what Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna wrote in her poem...

July 1/14 Fr. John Storozhev performed a divine service in Ipatiev’s house, which became the last for the royal family, and on the night of July 16-17, Yurovsky woke up all those arrested and said that they were going to another place, since the city was restless. After some time, everyone was escorted to a semi-basement room with one barred window. Everyone was carrying small things and pillows in their hands, the sovereign was carrying his son. Alexandra Feodorovna asked to bring two chairs, the chairs were brought, pillows were placed on them, and the Empress and Alexei Nikolaevich sat down on them. There was no concern, as we began to get used to all sorts of sudden moves. A few minutes later, Yurovsky returned, having apparently given the last orders to the executioners, came almost close to the Tsar and said: “Nikolai Alexandrovich, according to the resolution of the Ural Regional Council, you and your family will be shot.” It was so unexpected that the sovereign asked again: “What? What?" At that moment, Yurovsky shot him several times almost point-blank, the others burst into the room, everyone already knew who his victim was, and it was all over.

The remains of the royal family and everyone who was with them were taken out and placed in a truck, the running engine of which was supposed to muffle the shots.

Before sunrise, the dead were taken to the forest near the village of Koptyaki, they tried to get rid of the possibility of identification, and then they were thrown into that now memorable mine - Ganina Yama.
Thus ended the earthly journey of the last sovereign of the Russian land, Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children.

The Tsarevich's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, writes: “Their true greatness stemmed not from their royal dignity, but from the amazing moral height to which they gradually rose.<…>And in their very humiliation they were a striking manifestation of that amazing clarity of soul, against which all violence and all rage are powerless and which triumphs in death itself.”

After the announcement of the execution of the royal family, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon blessed the archpastors and shepherds to perform memorial services for the former sovereign. On July 8/21, 1918, during a service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, he 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, and not just those who committed it. We know that, having abdicated the throne, he did this with the good of Russia in mind and out of love for her.”

Meaning of the icon
The iconography of the holy royal martyrs-passion-bearers is undergoing its formation today, but it became relevant almost earlier than the canonization of the august passion-bearers took place in the Russian Orthodox Church. Throughout the Soviet period, following the call of Patriarch Tikhon for the all-Russian commemoration of the martyred royal family, many kept photographs of the royal family in the red corner of their homes, where icons are usually placed. Prayer books were compiled, memorial services were held according to the wishes of Patriarch Tikhon, and since 1980 in Russia, the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints began to receive petitions for the canonization of at least the murdered innocent royal children, for whom there was nothing to reproach. Under the petitions of bishops, clergy, and ordinary laymen, received over three years, there were, according to Bishop Yuvenaly, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna, 22,873 signatures. The petitions, among other things, described miracles associated with the names of the holy martyrs of the Romanov dynasty.

The commission considered the petitions from 1992 to 1996, as a result the decision was made: “Behind the many sufferings endured by the Royal Family over the last 17 months of their lives, which ended in the execution in the basement of the Ekaterinburg Ipatiev House on the night of July 17, 1918, we see people who sincerely sought to implement the commandments of the Gospel in their lives. In the suffering endured by the Royal Family in captivity with meekness, patience and humility, in their martyrdom, the evil-conquering light of Christ's faith was revealed, just as it shone in the life and death of millions of Orthodox Christians who suffered persecution for Christ in the 20th century.

It is in understanding this feat of the Royal Family that the Commission, in complete unanimity and with the approval of the Holy Synod, finds it possible to glorify in the Council the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in the guise of the passion-bearers Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.”

On August 14, 2000, at a meeting in the hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, with a vote by standing, it was unanimously decided to glorify the royal family as saints as part of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, revealed and not revealed, of which there are 860 people. The canonization ceremony took place on August 20 of the same year. The servants and Doctor Botkin, who went with them to death out of love and devotion, are forever immortalized by name in their lives. With them are also other courtiers from among those close to the king.

The opinion of the Church about the rightness or wrongness of Nicholas II’s abdication of the throne, which he ascended as the Anointed of God, was as follows: abdication of the throne in favor of his brother was not a renunciation of the will of the Lord: “Spiritual motives for which the last Russian Sovereign, who did not want to shed the blood of his subjects, decided to abdicate the Throne in the name of internal peace in Russia, gives his action a truly moral character.”

The entire family was canonized as martyrs by the Orthodox Church Foreign a little earlier, in 1981.

What a miracle happened
Nowadays there is evidence of numerous miracles that occurred as a result of prayerful requests for protection to them and from their icons, which had already been created by that time. Healings of the sick, the union of families on the verge of destruction, and the streaming of myrrh with images of the emperor and members of his family were recorded.

Let’s talk about one such miracle in more detail. In 1998, the doctor Oleg Belchenko was presented with an icon of the Holy Martyr Nicholas II. A deeply religious man, he prayed before her every day, and suddenly stains similar to blood stains began to appear on the icon. The doctor brought the icon to Sretensky Monastery, and during the prayer service a wonderful fragrance began to spread from the icon - the icon began to myrrhize. The flow of myrrh has been witnessed in other temples and monasteries. As an example of healing, one can cite how 87-year-old pensioner Alexander Mikhailovich, who had long been blind, regained his sight when a towel with a small amount of the world flowing from the icon was applied to his face.

After this miracle, the icon was placed in the altar, and then the icon visited other dioceses, where cases of healing from diseases such as severe hepatitis, pancreatitis, fractures, etc. were also noted. In one of the Moscow churches, during a prayer service in front of the icon, all liturgical the books smelled fragrant for several more days.

In conclusion
...In one of his sermons on the occasion of the canonization of the holy royal family, speaking about the life feat of the sovereign, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh cited the words of St. John Chrysostom that “anyone can rule and rule, but only an emperor can give his life for his people.” And further: “The burden of centuries of Russian untruth fell on him; he was crushed by the weight of all the injustice, all the evil, all the cruelty that had accumulated in our history, century after century. He died, not wanting to throw this weight off his shoulders, wanting to share with his people all the consequences of the tragic Russian history from the beginning to the end.”

Let us pray with the whole world to the Holy Royal Family in front of its icon for the unity and strength of both our families and the entire Russian state. May they protect us and our borders with their prayers and contribute to the prosperity of Russia with their prayers at the Throne of the Lord.