Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - BobAtchison

Pages: 1 2 [3]
31
When I was last in Yekaterinburg Avdonin took us to the Popov House.  We had a long meeting and were told many interesting things by a group of people.  Penny I am sorry to say I was so tired that I couldn't concentrate and I didn't take notes.  They promised to send on lots of things and a complete 'report' but I never got them.

Next year I plan to go back and get as much new information as I can - maybe we should all go at the same time.  I know they say they have new accounts and other evidence.

Bob


32
Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana resembles Alix?
« on: April 13, 2004, 10:57:01 AM »
I think I have read that Tatiana was most like her mother in her movements and personality while Anastasia looked the most like her.

33
The main church was completely preserved - but with some damage from time and a bad roof.  The original lighting fixtures, the ikonostasis, paintings, etc. all there. The famous painting by Nesterov of the way of Martha and Mary was in pretty bad shape when I was there due to water damage, but I imagine it has been repaired since.

The other buildings are there in various states of preservation.   In Ella's original rooms stands her original grand piano with "ELLA", scatched by the Grand Duchess in the surface.  I've been in her cell and the cells of the nuns....

I've been in most of the other buildings, the hospital church is there and I attended services there.  The gardens were overgrown.  The statue of Elizabeth was there - most impressive.  You can really feel her presence there.

Bob

34
Alexandra Feodorovna / Alexandra's Religious Character
« on: April 07, 2004, 12:44:44 PM »
I just posted a new page on this topic on the main menu of the site.  It's by Vladimir Gurko and very interesting, I think.  I hope you enjoy it.

At the same time I posted another page from Gurko on Nicholas and ruling...

Bob

35
The Myth and Legends of Survivors / The Remains in Brussels
« on: April 07, 2004, 11:27:51 AM »
Letter from Metropolitan Vitaly
to the Vice-President of the Russian Federation
Concerning the Murder of the Russian Royal Family

In 1996 Yury Feodorovitch Yarov, Vice-President of the government of the Russian Federation, asked Metropolitan Vitaly a number of questions, mostly concerning the murder of the Russian Royal Family. The following is the Metropolitan's reply to Mr. Yarov, which gives a clear view of the events currently taking place in Russia.

Dear Yury Feodorovitch,

The consul of the Russian Federal government in New York has delivered your letter to me. It covers three points to which I consider it my duty to reply as Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

You write of your government's concern to clarify who was historically responsible for this terrible tragedy - the murder of the Royal Family, and you correctly evaluate this evil deed as a criminal act. Now there is definitely a responsibility, not just towards the Russian people, but towards people all over the world, to resolve this. To this end it is necessary to go back to the chronology of events in 1917 and 1918, and consider on what new laws the new Soviet Bolshevik government was based after the fall of the monarchy and what laws formed the basis of its activities. It is immediately obvious to any unbiased historian that Lenin himself was beyond any doubt the one who issued the orders, provided the inspiration and had complete control of all its activities. It is utterly inconceivable that in that evil and terrible time anyone could dare to do anything at variance with the hypnotic will of Lenin, who had unofficially become the dictator of the whole Bolshevik party. Consequently Lenin was the real murderer of the whole Royal Family and of those who voluntarily shared their fate.

This should be declared throughout the land of Russia, and his unfortunate remains should be buried in the place where he himself asked his terrible henchmen to bury him in his will (Editor's note:next to his mother!) . His corpse has been kept quite long enough as a disgrace to the whole of Russia in the Red Square of our ancient capital.

The second question is concerning our view of the "supposed" remains of the Royal Family. More than forty years ago we held a very solemn funeral in absentia for all the Royal Martyrs in the church built as a memorial to them in Brussels. Later we glorified them as saints together with all the New Martyrs of Russia. So for us, historically speaking, one more very terrible page in the history of our country has irrevocably been turned. Spiritually, the Royal Martyrs are always alive for us, and we ask for their holy prayers before the throne of God both for us, who are still living in this vale of tears, and for our harrowed, defiled and unhappy country. Only from the Lord do we await, if it should be His holy will, that He will miraculously reveal to us their holy relics, or whatever is left of them. We do not expect anything at all from anyone else.

Finally, the small reliquary containing a few fragments of the Royal relics, which were given to us by Sokoloff's commission of investigation, is kept in the Memorial Church in Brussels as a sacred object and so we cannot, and would not dare to, hand it over to any commission.

Please be assured, Yury Feodorovitch, of our very best wishes for the historical investigation which you have undertaken.

[Signed]


Metropolitan Vitaly

****************************************

Interview with Metropolitan Vitaly

Concerning the Relics of the Russian Royal Family

Interview first appeared in the Moscow journal "Radonezh" (1998 No. 1) and was reprinted in "Pravoslavnaya Rus" ("Orthodox Russia") 1998 No.3.

Vladika, we would like to ask you about the holy objects in the church of St. Job the Much Suffering in Belgium. It is said that they include a fragment of relics of the Holy Royal Martyrs, which was brought out of Russia in the past by N.A. Sokoloff, who conducted the investigation into their deaths. Is this correct?


"As I recall, there was a little finger which was attributed to the Empress. Then there were a few more small fragments, but everything was sealed into the walls of the church. So they are not on the altar table and you cannot venerate them. They were all sealed in when the foundation of the church was laid. There are icons and other things that belonged to the Tsar, but the relics themselves, such as they were (there were extremely small amounts) were all embedded into the walls. We cannot demolish the walls and start looking for them. That would be out of the question! I was present at the consecration of the church. At first these relics were kept in Brussels, in a small house church, but we kept them secretly, because there were still relatives of the Romanoff family alive who could have laid claim to them. But when they had all died and there was no direct lawful heir to the throne left, then we embedded these relics in the wall of the church."

************

I found this on the web and am posting it here.

Bob


36
Romanov and Imperial Russia Links / Re: Albert Stopford
« on: March 06, 2004, 12:02:28 PM »
He wrote a book called "The Russian Diary of an Englishman", which is very hard to find.  I did a search on the net and found a few copies ranging from $68.00 - $142.00.

I have a copy - it's one of the books we'd like to put up on the internet.

Bob

Pages: 1 2 [3]