Ekaterinburg, May 21, 2020
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
On Tuesday, May 19, the feast of the Righteous Job the Long-Suffering, the 152nd anniversary of the birth of the Royal Martyr Nicholas II was commemorated in Ekaterinburg with prayers and acts of mercy.
In the memorial Church on the Blood in honor of All Saints of Russia, built on the site of the Ipatiev House where the last Royal Family of Russia was brutally martyred, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye and diocesan clergy.
The sermon before Holy Communion was delivered by Fr. Nikolai Barannikov, a cleric of the Church on the Blood, who noted that the life of the Righteous Job and the life of the Tsar-Martyr are examples of patience and the path to God, reports the Diocese of Ekaterinburg.
“Today’s saints,” Fr. Nikolai said, “give us support and edification, so that we remember that all events are from God, and no matter how difficult they may seem to us, they are for us, and the Lord shows us that we can go the same way of salvation.”
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
Following the service, Met. Kirill congratulated all present on the birthday of the Tsar Nicholas II, noting that the Royal Martyrs now intercede for us all before the throne of God, and that “we can hope for the mercy of God as long as we honor the memory of the holy Martyr Tsar Nicholas and all the holy martyrs who were killed for the Orthodox faith and the Orthodox Fatherland.”
Met. Kirill also spoke in memory of Olga Kulikovskaya-Romanova, the widow of the nephew of Tsar Nicholas who reposed in the Lord on May 1, noting that she donated an icon of the Mother of God that belonged to the Royal Family to the Church on the Blood, which is a reminder of her holy memory.
Following the Divine Liturgy, a bike ride along the route of the Royal Procession to the Monastery of the Royal Passion-bearers in Ganina Yama began from the Church on the Blood, led by Fr. Alexander Salautin.
Tsar Nicholas himself loved sports and was fond of bicycling, Fr. Alexander noted.
The same day, an internet flash mob was held dedicated to reviving the traditions of mercy and charity in Russia. The event, “Days of the White Flower in Ekaterinburg,” was held as part of the 8th “Days of the White Flower” charity festival.
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
“Just as members of the Royal Family were photographed with hand-made white flowers almost 110 years ago, so were residents of Russian cities who participated in this charity event in the early 20th century. Today, reviving the traditions of charity and mercy laid down by the Royal Family, we, citizens of Russia at the beginning of the 21st century, are photographed with white flowers,” the organizers of the event explained.
The flowers will later be auctioned and the funds will be used to help the 5,000 wards of the Orthodox mercy service of the Ekaterinburg Diocese.
