One of the most tragic events in Russian history of the 20th century is the murder of the royal family. According to the Bolsheviks, it was dictated by the so-called. "Revolutionary necessity." Emperor Nicholas II, the last representative of the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, his wife, and their children: four daughters aged 17-23 and Tsarevich Alexei 14, the former heir to the throne, fell victim to the inhuman "revolutionary" logic. People were also shot who, to the last, remained faithful to the tsar and his family: relatives and some of the close ones.
The sin of murder
The anointed of God, his wife and children were brutally murdered, and that sin for many decades burdened all of Russia. Only in 2000, at the turn of the millennium, the murdered emperor Nicholas II and his family did the Russian Orthodox Church canonize as royal martyrs. To glorify the new saints, the icon of Nicholas 2 appeared (photo is presented below), as well as an image dedicated to his royal wife and children.
However, it should be remembered that the perpetuation by icon painters of the royal victims of the October arbitrariness is dictated not only by the desire to glorify them. The appearance of the icon of Nicholas 2 and his family serves as a reminder of the need for the repentance of the whole people who are guilty of a terrible sin - apostasy from the anointed of God, left together with the innocent wife and children in the hands of ruthless enemies. This sin is further aggravated by the fact that neither the emperor, nor his family, nor any of those close at all times of their arrest and detention did not try to show any resistance whatsoever. All of them, with the humble meekness of true Christians, accepted the will of God. This sin still weighs on Russia. And many generations will have to grind it off.
Holy icons as a reminder of the inviolability of the foundations of Orthodoxy
Therefore, it is not surprising that in almost every Orthodox church, as well as at the house of many believers, you can see the icon of the martyr Nicholas 2 and images dedicated to the canonized members of his family. This is their meaning: to recall the martyrdom of the emperor and his loved ones, committed in the name of peace on Russian soil and confirming the inviolability of the foundations of Orthodoxy in the Russian state.
The accomplished historical fact was reflected both in the iconography and in the existing prayers and akathists to the royal martyrs. Today, there are many testimonies of miracles that occurred at prayer requests for protection to the icon of Tsar Nicholas 2 and his family. There have been recorded cases of healing ailments, uniting families that were on the verge of destruction, myrrh-streaming images of the emperor and his relatives.
Icon of Nicholas 2: the story of creation
The history of the iconographic immortalization of the Russian martyr king is amazing and similar to legend. It reflected one of the sad paradoxes of the 20th century. The icon of Nicholas 2, the last Russian emperor, was painted before his canonization in Russia - on the other side of the ocean, in the USA. In 1997, the Russian emigrant Ie Schmit (nee Podmoshenskaya) had a dream in which she saw an icon depicting the emperor - a martyr in grand-ducal robes.
A little earlier, a woman received a small inheritance, and she intended to donate it to some good deed. Waking up, she already knew what she would do with the money. Iya Schmit turned to the icon painter Pavel Tikhomirov, who lives in California, with a request to write the icon of Nicholas 2, which she saw in a dream. They began to study the king’s photo, hoping to find a suitable plot and facial expression similar to a ghostly woman.
The icon of the long-suffering Russian emperor was painted several years before the martyrs of the imperial family were entrusted with the saints. To the right of the sovereign is Nicholas the Wonderworker, his heavenly patron, and to the left is the righteous Job the Long-suffering. The inscription below says that "this holy icon" was created to glorify the Tsar Martyr in Russia.
About the fate of the icon
The icon depicting the Russian Tsar is today kept at the house of Ii Schmidt. But the lithographs made with the image, the woman began to sell, so that they help the Russians, who are experiencing difficulties abroad. Several lithographs turned out to be with his brother Ilya Dmitrevna, hegumen German, who served in the Ryazan St. Nicholas almshouse. He brought them to Russia. One of them in the St. Nicholas almshouse (Ryazan) was seen by O. I. Belchenko, who became her keeper. And it happened eighty years after the abdication, March 15, 1997. Since then, on his initiative, the image of the sovereign began to wander around the temples of Russia, without stopping anywhere for a long time.
One of the miracles associated with the image of the emperor, according to witnesses, is the myrrh-streaming of his icon, taking place on days of special celebrations or memorable historical events, accompanied by an unusual unearthly fragrance. The image, before which the Akathists were read, streamed for several months. For example, on February 28, 1999, on the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, lithography was transferred to the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker located in Pyzhi. The icon was adopted with special solemnity: in front of it they laid the carpet, rang all the bells, and parishioners prayed at that time. According to eyewitnesses, the image of the Sovereign was heavily myrrh that day.
About miraculous healings
There are a lot of facts about miraculous healings from diseases as a result of seeking help from the icon of Nicholas 2. The stories of witnesses were passed from mouth to mouth, glory ran ahead of the image itself.
The first case of miraculous healing was recorded in the temple of the Trinity of Life-Giving (Khokhly). Here, thanks to the icon of the holy tsar-martyr, the sight was returned to retired colonel A. M. Vytyagov.
It also became known about the miraculous healing of a man whose illness did not allow him to feed his family. No doctors helped. When he began to earnestly pray in front of the icon of Sovereign Nicholas II, his health returned.
A case was also recorded in Ukraine when a woman suffering from ascites received relief from torment. Her stomach was so huge that it did not allow breathing. When the woman began to pray to Tsar Nicholas, her stomach fell, the pain stopped and the sufferer died calmly and quietly.
About the veneration of the icon
The icon of Tsar Nicholas, who performed miracles of healing and exuded peace, became widely known. With the lithographic image of the tsar, a flyby over the territory of Russia, as well as the entire globe, was completed. The space religious procession around the Earth (2018), prepared on the initiative of the Military Orthodox Mission, was dedicated to the centenary of the murder of the sovereign and his family, as well as their blessed memory. After that, the shrines (lithographs) were transferred to the most significant monasteries and churches related to the fate of the dynasty: Moscow cloisters, St. Petersburg churches, the Ipatievsky Kostroma monastery, the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg, the monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs on Ganina Yam, as well as in churches Russian abroad. Twice the image of the sovereign visited Mount Athos.
The day of veneration of the icon of Nicholas II is considered July 17 (the date of execution of the royal family in the Ipatiev House). On this day, all believers pray for the fate of Russia and beg forgiveness for the martyrdom of the sovereign and his family.
The reign of Nicholas II can be evaluated in different ways, but the height of his moral character has never been doubted by anyone. He is remembered as a wonderful family man, a wonderful husband and father, a man who is pious and faithful to the commandments of Christ, engaged in charity work and generously making donations for the construction of churches.
Therefore, the icon of the last Russian Tsar pray for the protection and preservation of peace in the family, for the resolution of family problems, for the protection of children and loved ones. The Holy Emperor is asked to protect from the external and internal enemies of the country, from those who are trying to undermine the foundations of Orthodoxy, to strengthen patriotic feelings. Before the myrrh-streaming image of the king, they pray for healing from disease.
On the iconography of the royal martyrs
It is hardly possible to forget that, together with Nicholas II, the martyrdom was accepted by his whole family, including innocent children. Therefore, the icon of the imperial family is no less popular among Russian believers.
The iconography of the Romanov family is based on genuine photos of the emperor’s relatives. The faces of the royal martyrs resemble their photographic portraits. Some masters portray martyrs in icon-painting style. Immortalized in holy images, not only members of the king’s family, but all those who remained faithful to them until their death hour.
About the icon "The Martyrs of the Romanovs"
There are legends about the miracles that took place in prayers to the murdered sovereign Emperor Nicholas II, as well as the innocently tortured empress Alexandra and children: the tsar’s daughters Maria, Tatyana, Anastasia, Olga and Tsarevich Alexei. Until our time, the great intercession of the royal martyrs does not dry out. Turning to them, they pray for their native land, for help and protection.
The days of veneration of the icon “The Holy Royal Martyrs” (“The Martyrs of the Romanovs”) are July 17 (the date of the death of the tsar’s family) and February 7 (the date of the celebration of the Cathedral of the New Martyrs who suffered for Christ’s faith after the October Revolution).
How does the icon help?
Regal sufferers become patrons for all who bear their names. Prayer in front of the Tsar’s family icon helps maintain mutual respect between generations, as well as close relations between relatives, educate children in piety, and strengthen fidelity to Orthodox principles and patriotism in them.