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1

The Final Chapter / Re: Why does the Russian Orthodox Church chooses not to believe....

« Last post by EmHarms on March 11, 2025, 10:19:23 PM »

Ekaterinburg diocese posted this on their VK account a few months ago:

'Opponents of the authenticity of the Tsar's remains sometimes speak on behalf of all Orthodox Christians and predict a new church schism if they are recognized as relics. What can be said in response to this? ? The fact that some of these people make such loud statements "on behalf of the Orthodox," emphasizing the "possible schism" is truly a terrible statement for them. By doing so, they already separate themselves in advance from the Holy Mother Church. Recently, some people have been holding their own conferences, where they express their opinions and evidence "about the falsity of the Tsar's remains," and at the same time they report in the media that they are doing this allegedly "in pursuance of the resolution of the Bishops' Council." I doubt that they received a blessing for these conferences from the ruling bishop of the city of Moscow ? His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. I can say for myself that the Holy Church has experienced numerous schisms and disorders over the course of two thousand years, but one thing remains unshakable - these are the words of Christ the Savior, spoken to the Apostle Peter: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Saint Cyprian of Carthage said very simple words accessible to the human mind and heart: "For whom the Church is not a Mother, God is not a Father." If the Bishops' Council recognizes the "Ekaterinburg remains" as the relics of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, and it is written "It was the will of the Holy Spirit and us...", then the entire Fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church must accept this holy news with reverence and joy. When the holy relics of the Royal Passion-Bearers are placed in reliquaries, and due honors are rendered to them, and numerous worshipers and pilgrims come to them, then, by the ineffable mercy of God, they will show us, sinners, their help, miracles and healings. And then Great Russia will shine in even greater glory and grandeur. Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin)'

So here's my take. The point the Archimandrite makes at the end is key: if & when the remains are officially recognized, they'll be prepared in reliquaries and pieces will be sent to multiple churches. The Orthodox Church operates today the same as it did in the 4th century, and decisions are made on a timeline that might not fit into our understanding. That the remains will be treated as relics is part of the delay; just the reality of things taking time rather than a matter of disrespect.
It's going to be a "Catch-22" for people who don't want further disturbance of the bones: when officially confirmed, there will be pieces of the bodies sent to churches. So either way, there's not going to be the simple matter of just putting the remains back in the tombs. That they haven't been reburied yet is probably a realistic indication that they ARE going to be officially recognized soon, since they wouldn't want to go through the whole rigamarole of exhuming them all over again when that time comes. So it could actually be a good sign of a nearing conclusion.

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BeNeLux Royalty / Prince Frederik Has Died

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on March 10, 2025, 02:28:34 PM »

Prince Frederik, the youngest son of Prince Robert of Luxembourg and Princess Julie of Nassau, left behind a lasting legacy following his death at age 22 this month.

The beloved royal died on March 1 from POLG Mitochondrial disease ? a rare genetic disorder that affects approximately one in 5,000 people.

The genetic disorder affects multiple organ systems and the mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of cells.

RIP. It makes me think a little of Alexei.

https://nypost.com/2025/03/10/entertainment/prince-frederik-of-luxembourgs-heroic-final-act-revealed-before-death-at-22/

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Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: "Romanovy:Ventsenosnaya semya"

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on December 29, 2024, 06:04:35 PM »

Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and give this film a very mixed review. There’s no question but that, as others have noted here, it’s visually stunning, a veritable feast for the eyes. The interior and exterior shots of the Alexander Palace are gorgeous, the sets and costumes are not only beautiful but also as historically accurate as possible (for example, Nicholas and Alexandra’s bedroom is recreated so faithfully that it is almost indistinguishable from photographs of the real thing posted here at the AP site). But that’s it for historical accuracy. The minute you start paying attention to what the characters are actually saying, you realize that what this film presents is not an episode of Russian history but a new Russian national myth about the last tsar and his family. ? 

I suspected this would be the case at the very beginning of the film, when we’re informed that, despite the loss of 2 million men at the front, in February 1917 the power and prestige of the imperial dynasty remained unaffected! Well, that’s news to me and to anyone else who’s ever read anything about the Russian Revolution. Not surprisingly, no mention is made here of Rasputin, recently murdered, or of his deleterious effect on the Romanovs’ reputation. Because as it turns out the Romanovs were "really" brought down not by their own actions or by the Russian people themselves but by the treacherous, lily-livered elite and a conspiracy of "outside" agitators. Thus the outbreak of protests in Petersburg is presented as peaceful and of no danger to the monarchy until two mysterious men (German agents? socialists?) are shown throwing a bomb into the middle of a demonstration. The implication being that the March Revolution was the handiwork of agents provocateurs, and not a "real" expression of the popular will.

Admittedly, maybe I missed something somewhere: my Russian is not what it used to be, so I didn’t always understand all the dialogue, not to mention the fact that the sound in this film is truly lousy – I had to turn the volume up to maximum to hear anything! But as the movie unfolded, my worst suspicions tended to be confirmed… More than once I caught a whiff of bad old Russian anti-Semitism. Didn’t anyone else notice how all the Moscow Bolsheviks had dark beards and long noses and looked suspiciously like every anti-Semite’s stereotypical idea of what a Jew should look like? Lenin conspiring with Sverdlov and Trotsky (!) to kill the Romanovs (no controversy here about who’s idea it actually was! Moscow was fully in charge)… meanwhile a devoted Russian soldier is giving his blood to save the tsarevich’s life… How symbolic!

Also note how the filmmakers are at great pains to show how very Russian the imperial family was… not only in their religious faith but also down to singing Russian romances together and dancing about to the strains of a balalaika (played by the devoted Russian soldier). It’s all beautifully done, of course, and very emotionally affecting, but somehow so manipulative, too, it kind of bothered me. For example, I didn’t understand why the grand duchesses’ hair still hadn’t grown out when over a year had passed since their heads were shaved, unless this was supposed to remind us subliminally of concentration camp victims… Then, cut from the brutal, bloody execution scene to the year 2000 and the ceremonial burial of the imperial family in the cathedral, with everyone in the congregation holding up images of the holy martyrs... I found myself with tears in my eyes… it was all so very effective! But in the end I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this movie. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Kind of like biting into a beautiful, juicy red apple and discovering it’s poisonous.

I finally got to see this movie and I say I have to agree with you. Visually, it was excellent, but everything about it is so white-washed. The politics were glossed over and the Romanovs portrayed as very saint-like. I disliked Alexei in particular. Anastasia had some personality, but it feels really toned down. I suppose that if you come at it from an Orthodox standpoint, it's a great film, but I didn't care for it that much.

Things were bad in Russia, and it was because the system just didn't work and Nicholas refused to reform it. It wasn't because of a few bad men instigating things, it was because Nicholas was an autocrat who responded to unrest with force of arms.

I thought it also did a poor job of showing how the family suffered during their captivity. I was reading "The Race to Save the Romanovs" and the telegrams going out about the royal family's living conditions painted a very different picture than we're shown here. The family was relying on money from the underground monarchists and the soldiers at Ekatrinburg were cruel, particularly to the four GDs. In this movie, there are a few rude soldiers, but until they all get killed at the end, everything seems quite pleasant. They're just such saintly people that they can't help but win everyone except the really bad guys over to their side!

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Alexandra Feodorovna / Re: The Untold Story of the Last Empress of Russia and the First World War

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on December 28, 2024, 05:35:03 PM »

Any word on Grif?s book?

I was just wondering that myself.

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Anastasia Anecdotes

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on December 28, 2024, 02:18:44 PM »

Great little story and thanks for sharing!

She can enliven any place she sets foot in by her uncontrollable, cheerful laughter.

How I would have loved to hear that laugh!

Me too, although Anastasia would've been someone I would've loved to meet and loathed to meet at the same time. While it sounds like she could make everyone laugh, I wouldn't want to be on her bad side. It sounds like she could be a downright terror! I know that as a GD she could get away with a lot, but I think if I had done half the things she did, I never would've seen the light of day again.

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Anastasia and Loneliness - excerpt from "La fausse Anastasia"

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on November 28, 2024, 09:16:01 PM »

Who knew that if you disappeared for a while, the entire forum would basically be abandoned by the time you returned? Finally got around to reading The Race to Save the Romanovs and decided to hit up the site I was addicted to only to discover it's very empty around here.

Anyway, I don't know if you still post here, but this is an interesting concept. I knew that Anastasia was a bit different from her sisters in that she likely would've thrived very well had she been exiled from Russia following the Revolution. Doing 'normal' work probably wouldn't have bothered her, and she certainly would've done better for herself than the modern-day Prince Harry.

That being said, I never considered that she would be lonely. There are a lot of things I imagine she would've felt about her place in the family (I mean, her name is basically a sexist apology, 'Yes, it's another girl, but don't worry, the boy is coming!' type of a name), but I never thought of her as lonely in a world where she would've been surrounded by people. It makes sense, though.

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Forum Announcements / Re: Forum Members Not Heard From in a Long While

« Last post by nena on November 27, 2024, 09:22:58 AM »

Just dropped in here to say "hi" - it is been awhile since I last posted -- I really enjoyed it back in my teenage years.

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Having Fun! / Re: Rare Pictures XIV

« Last post by nena on November 27, 2024, 09:21:02 AM »

Hi, KarlandZita, many thanks for sharing the links!

(This is my first post here after the years!)

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Maria Nicholaievna / Re: Maria's Tonsil Operation

« Last post by Akira Takahashi on November 25, 2024, 10:37:36 AM »

Tonsil operations were quite frequently done without anaesthetic as late as the 1920s - see Roald Dahl's book Boy.

As far as keeping the patient's mouth open when using ether or chloroform, I would imagine that technique was to give the patient enough to knock them out and then work fast!

Ann

I imagine they'd have to do something to keep it open, as the pain would instinctively make you want to close it! I imagine the Tsar's family would have access to it, though. I jumped down the rabbit hole and found this: https://www.speareducation.com/spear-review/2013/08/a-brief-history-of-dental-anesthesia

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The Final Chapter / Re: Why does the Russian Orthodox Church chooses not to believe....

« Last post by missmoldavite365 on October 15, 2024, 09:07:22 AM »

...continued....

It should be mentioned that my uncle discovered there not only the remnants of death, but also of life. He found the heirs beloved dog named Joy. It was running around next to that area where the human bodies were burned, or at least attempted to be burned. However, nothing else was found there.

 Basil (Rodzianko), the Bishop. My Fate. Memoirs / Comp. D.V. Glivinsky.  M: Sretensky monastery, 2015, 416 pp.   
 
Everything that was found there was moved away, yet another interesting connection with my family?with the help of the grandmother and grandfather of Peter Sarandinaki, a Russified Greek and my niece's husband. Peter Sarandinaki knew everything in great detail about his grandparents life. His grandfather was a general in the Kolchaks army. He was assigned to bring this makeshift shrine in a suitcase to Europe. They took it to Western Europe in a roundabout way, via China and other countries. Afterwards, this suitcase was hidden in the wall of a memorial chapel to Emperor Nicholas II in Brussels, on the commemoration day of Righteous Job the Long-suffering. The Emperor was born on that feast day, so he often spoke and wrote about it in his diary that, since this holy sufferer has been his patron saint, he will also bear a lot of sufferings.

Joy was taken to Buckingham Palace. My uncle arrived there upon the invitation of King George V who, as is well known, was the Emperors cousin and looked like him so much that people always confused him with his cousin, especially in youth. King George V and my uncle Pavel met privately; not even a valet was present. Thats where my uncle shared everything he knew about the death of the Imperial family and the dreadful discovery. Joy, handed over to the king, somehow assuaged his sorrow. This little dog brought joy to the Windsor Castle and was buried, when his time has come, in Windsor Park. Even in our days, one can find its soul-stirring gravesite, a symbol that all nature, including all creatures great and small, is united in the Kingdom of Heaven. The king did have the slightest chance to provide help to his close relatives. We should also keep in mind that Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a favourite granddaughter of Queen Victoria; she loved this country (England) dearly and was loved in return.

The question arises: why didn't the Royal Family assist in taking the Imperial family to safety? They say that it was impossible for political reasons, the liberal Prime Minister Lloyd George was against it. They feared that it might negatively affect international relations between the two countries. It is possible, we don't know. But my uncle used to say that the king took the death of the Imperial family as a personal tragedy. Besides, even to this day, the Royal family still remembers it with overwhelming sadness, and we are aware of it.

Fr. Nicholas shared a lot of stories about the remarkable Imperial family he loved so dearly. He has provided insight into their life, the mutual love and deep faith that ruled this family, and how they were treated by their British relatives. Therefore, I do not judge anyone.