Ekaterinburg, July 18, 2024
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
The Ekaterinburg Diocese is celebrating its annual Royal Days in honor of the holy Royal Martyrs, Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara, and others.
The celebrations last several days, with the highlight calling on the night of July 16–17, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Tsar Nicholas, Tsarina Alexandria, and their children Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, and Alexei.
This year, about 45,000 people gathered at the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg, built on the site of the house where the Royal Family was martyred, for the nighttime Liturgy, followed by a 13-mile procession to the monastery at Ganina Yama, where their lifeless bodies were disposed of, reports Oblastnaya Gazeta.
The Liturgy was celebrated by 13 bishops, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, who was the ruling bishop of Ekaterinburg in 2000 when the Royal Martyrs were canonized as Passion-Bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate (they were canonized as martyrs in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia). The Russian bishops were joined by His Eminence Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis and His Grace Bishop Stefan of Remesiana, representatives of the Churches of Antioch and Serbia to the Moscow Patriarchate, according to the Diocese of Ekaterinburg.
Also serving were Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky) Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, representatives of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
Before the start of the Liturgy, Local Vice Governor Oleg Chemezov presented His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny of Ekaterinburg with a reliquary with a piece of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru
Communion was served from 100 chalices to accommodate the thousands of faithful.
Watch the Divine Liturgy:
Following the Liturgy, at about 3:00 in the morning, the procession of many tens of thousands set off for the Monastery of the Royal Passions-Bearers, chanting the Jesus Prayer as they walked.
The reliquary with the piece of the Belt of the Mother of God and a reliquary with relics of 14 saints of the Ekaterinburg Metropolitanate were carried in the procession.
The procession ended several hours later at the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, with a moleben to the Royal Family.
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