Behind
all wars, revolution, downfall of kingdoms, – all the political events of
external history – we see the hidden working of spiritual laws and, in the
final analysis, God’s Providence concerning the fates of peoples and nations.
Any other explanation of the reasons for the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 would
be incomprehensible and inaccurate. One thing is certain: the Russian society’s
apostasy from God and the Church brought down God’s wrath upon Russia. As in
the many cases of ancient Israel’s apostasy from God, about which we read in
the Bible, Russia’s malady could not be cured by ordinary measures. For the
sake of instruction and correction God would hand the Jews over into the hands
of infidels; the very same fate befell Russia in the beginning of the 20th
century.
Through
Tsar Nicholas II – an irreproachably pure and wonderful person – God’s will was
made manifest in the world. His fate, in essence, was deeply tragic. He was
born on the day of St. Job the Much-suffering and was keenly aware that his
life was similar to Job’s martyric path.
His
knowledge of his fate was truly prophetic. “I have more than a presentiment, –
he used to say, – that I am doomed to terrible trials, and that I will not be
rewarded for them in this world.” Beginning with Russia’s defeat in the
Russo-Japanese war, which was followed by the revolution of 1905-1907, which
diminished the Tsar's power and freed the forces of anarchy and outright evil, the
foundations of Russian sovereignty tottered more and more. “I am unsuccessful
in all my undertakings, – the Tsar bitterly concluded, – I have no luck.
However, man’s will is so powerless anyway.” He realized that he was not
subjectively to blame for Russia’s misfortunes; the good of the motherland
meant more to him than anything else, and he did everything he could for this
good. Tsar Nicholas’s conscience was clear before God, but his moral suffering,
nevertheless, reached extraordinary proportions. Thus once, – this was during
the first Russian revolution, – from the depths of his inner anguish the Tsar
uttered prophetic words which indicated with absolute accuracy the role he was
invisibly assigned to play in Russia’s fate by God Himself.
“Perhaps
a sacrifice is needed for the salvation of Russia, – said the Sovereign. – I
shall be that sacrifice. May God’s will be done.” In saying this the Tsar was
like the martyrs of ancient times, who freely and without coercion gave
themselves up to suffering for Christ. Nicholas II was murdered in July of 1918
not simply as a helpless and defenseless person: the extraordinary courage of
his behavior as he descended into the cellar of the Ipatyev house with his sick
son in his arms, and even earlier, when he and the Empress refused to emigrate
or flee the country, – all this speaks of the fact that their souls were ready
for sacrificial and Christ-like suffering, which fulfilled the prophetic words
spoken by him 10 years before.
When
Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia came to the aid of this small
Slavic nation. This event still lives in the historic memory of the Serbs; and
if among European nations there is still anyone who loves Russia and Russians –
it is the Serbs. However, their greatest love was for Tsar Nicholas II, who had
sanctioned Russia’s participation in the war. It was the Serbs who began
venerating the Russian Tsar as a saint, placing him on a par with their great
Saint Savva of Serbia. And it was among the Russians in Serbia that the issue
of canonizing the Royal Family was brought up for the first time in 1938.
The
beginning of the war brought success to the Russians at the front, and the
country was gripped by patriotic fervor. The rear provided immense aid to the
front; the Empress and the Princesses took an active part in it. After learning
the art of nursing, they daily spent many hours in the hospitals. The Empress
and her daughters Olga and Tatyana tended the wounded and sat with the dying,
providing great comfort to the sufferers. The Empress and Tatyana also worked
as surgical nurses; it is not hard to imagine their courage, patience and truly
Christian love: assisting the doctors in numerous amputations of injured limbs
required, besides training, great moral strength. The Winter Palace was also
turned into a huge hospital. This enterprise also included the preparation of
undergarments, warm clothes, and other items needed by the soldiers at the
front; the entire work was organized by the Empress. She also sent to the front
a multitude of Gospels, icons, and crosses, which were handed out to the
soldiers. One can imagine the joy of a soldier who had received such a blessing
from the Empress!
Soon,
however, our armies’ offensive stopped, while our losses began to increase.
Discontent arose in the top circles of society – both in the capital and at
military headquarters. The revolutionaries made use of the lack of success at
the front, in order to disseminate their propaganda at the front and in the
rear. The Germans quickly moved toward the heart of Russia; in these
conditions, wishing to raise the spirit of the troops, the Tsar took upon
himself the supreme command and moved to General Headquarters, deployed at
Mogilev. Prince Alexis went with him to the front.
However,
making use of the Tsar’s absence from the capital, oppositional aristocracy
increased its activity. The court discussed the advisability of a coup d’etat,
placing Grand Duke Nicholas (the Tsar’s uncle) on the throne. The opposing
faction asserted that the Tsar and the Empress stood in the way of Russia’s
victory in the war; Grand Duke Nicholas sent the Tsar a telegram, entreating
him to abdicate the throne. Similar telegrams were also sent by the majority of
the commanding officers at the front. And when a revolution occurred in
February 1917, the Tsar's entourage took the side of the provisional
government. The Tsar was assured that only his abdication from the throne could
save Russia. And in the face of such betrayal the Tsar sacrificed himself,
heeding these voices. After a fervent prayer during the night in front of an
icon, he abdicated the throne; this took place on March 2nd. “There is no
sacrifice that I would not make for the true good and salvation of Russia. For
this reason I am ready to abdicate the throne” – such is the telegram he sent
to the chairman of the Duma.
However,
after the abdication everything turned out contrary to what theopposition was
expecting: the people began to fall prey to their basest passions and moral
decay set in; with unbridled speed Russia rushed towards destruction. The
Tsar’s sacrifice was accepted by God, but not in the way that the architects of
the abdication had in mind: there was no immediate outward benefit from it. The
Tsar had been that mystic principle which had restrained the forces of evil;
now nothing prevented anti-Christian elements from entering into the world.
A new era
began for the Sovereign and his family: their worldly life ended and their
saints’ life began, together with their Christian exploits. The Tsar and his
entourage were kept under guard at Tsarskoye Selo. The prisoners pinned their
hopes only on God’s will, and the Lord helped them retain their inner peace
until the very end. The Tsar and his family were subjected to humiliation and
mockery from the guards and the other “new” people who now surrounded them. On
July 31st the martyrs’ path to Golgotha began: they were taken from their
palace and sent on to Siberia.
On August
6th the Royal Family arrived in Tobolsk on the ship “Rus’.” “My heart bleeds
inexpressibly for the dear homeland,” – these words of the Empress in a private
letter describe the inner state of the entire family. But its members were cheerful:
they were fortified by their faith, the Church, and God’s grace. They
faithfully participated in church services; the Empress and the children sang
in the choir. Through their suffering the Royal Martyrs’ spirit grew stronger.
“God’s way is a daily cross,” – the Empress wrote these words of St. Isaac the
Syrian in her notebook. “Christians must undergo sorrows and external and
internal warfare, in order to conquer these blows through patience. Such is the
path of Christianity,” – another of her excerpts (from St. Mark the Great)
reveals to us the inner state of the sufferers.
On the
eve of Pascha of 1918 the Royal Family was parted. A commissar arrived from the
Bolsheviks in Moscow and announced to the Tsar that he would be taken away. The
Empress decided to accompany her husband despite great inner agony, since she
was thus being forced to part from the sick Prince Alexis. Princess Maria went
together with her parents… This parting was a torment for the entire family.
The royal
couple was detained by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg. In early May the other
members of the family came here, together with several loyal servants. The
martyrs had two and a half months to live. They were tormented with increasing
subtlety, but even among the brutal guards there were those who bowed down
before their Christian meekness and humility.
During
the night of July 17th the greatest crime was committed: innocent, holy people,
together with God’s anointed, were heinously murdered. Three days before this
villainy a church service was served for the Royal Family. When the prayer
“Grant repose with the saints…” was sung, the martyrs unexpectedly got down on
their knees. As though sensing their imminent end, they sang a funereal hymn
for themselves… That fatal night the guards came for them, saying that they
were being taken out of the city. Instead, they were taken down to the cellar;
several chairs were standing there, and the Tsar sat in the middle, holding the
Tsarevich in his arms. Together with the Royal Family were Doctor Botkin and
their loyal servants. They waited for a sign of departure, but instead a
commissar entered the cellar accompanied by soldiers.
The
commissar – his name was Yurovskiy – announced the forthcoming execution. The
Empress only had time to make the sign of the cross; she was killed instantly,
at the same time as the Emperor. Prince Alexis and Princess Anastasia suffered
longer than the rest; the first bullets did not bring them death, and so the
soldiers killed them off with bayonets. The doctor and the three servants died
also, sharing the fate of the Royal Family out of love for them. This
sacrilegious murder was not simply a private crime of the political revolution:
it was a universal sin. The burden of the sin of regicide still continues to
lie upon Russia.
Tsar
Nicholas II and his family were the carriers of the ideals of Holy Russia, of
the ideals of Orthodoxy. In contrast to many people of that era – Christians in
name only – they treated Orthodoxy with all seriousness. They were God’s elect
and, therefore, people not of this world; they were alien to the society of
those times. As true Christians, they were persecuted in this world; their
sorrowful path was crowned by martyrdom. Now, together with all the other
Russian saints, they stand before Christ in prayer for Russia.
Source: http://www.holy-transfiguration.org/library_en/royal_providence.html
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