Novosibirsk, July 17, 2017
Photo: nskmi.ru On Sunday, the day before the 99th anniversary of the brutal murder of the holy Royal Martyrs which the Church celebrates today July 17, a monument to Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexey was consecrated on the territory of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Novosibirsk, according to the site of the Novosibirsk Diocese.
The entire square in front of the cathedral was filled with Orthodox Christians. People were also gathered across the street for the youth cross procession, dedicated to the holy Right-Believing Peter and Febronia and the Day of Family, Love, and Loyalty, which was to begin in the city immediately after the consecration of the monument.
The veil was pulled back from the monument to the tune of the state anthem of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar!”
The monument was consecrated by Metropolitan Tikhon of Novosibirsk and Berdsk. The consecration was also attended by Bishop Paul of Kolyvansky, the dean of Novosibirsk churches Archpriest Alexander Novopashin, and the clergy of the Novosibirsk Diocese.
Bishop Tikhon addressed those gathered with a homily in which he noted that holy Tsar Nicholas II remained the central figure of Russian autocracy and Orthodoxy even after his abdication. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church appealed to all Orthodox Christians to perpetuate the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church at the jubilee council at which the Royal Martyrs were canonized. Churches, chapels, and monasteries have been built in the country since then in honor of those who suffered for Christ during the times of persecution.
In fulfillment of the Holy Synod’s recommendation, it was decided to erect a monument to Emperor Nicholas II in Novosibirsk. At the initiative of Novosibirsk residents, an organizing committee was established and the collection of funds was undertaken towards constructing the monument.
“And now, today,” said Vladyka Tikhon, “on this Sunday, when we celebrate a small Pascha, the Tsar stands before us, resurrected from historical oblivion, laying his hand upon the shoulder of his heir. It is a symbol of transferring power and faith to the next generation of Russians. He is as if saying to those gathered today for this youth cross procession, ‘Move forward, but preserve our Russian world, preserve the Orthodox faith; God is with us!’”
Rector of the St. Alexander Nevsky cathedral Archpriest Alexander Novopashin explained that the choice of location for the monument was no accident, as the cathedral itself had been built in honor of Tsar Alexander III the Peacemaker, the father of Tsar Nicholas II, with a donation of 7,500 rubles from Tsar Nicholas II himself for the cathedral’s iconostasis, and donations from Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Tsar Alexander III and mother of Tsar Nicholas II. “Finally, you can see, behind the back of Tsar Nicholas Alexandrovich stands an arch with a cross. It is a symbol of Golgotha!” the priest said.
Fr. Alexander also noted that Novosibirsk was previously known as Novo-Nikolaevsk, in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of Tsar Nicholas II.
