SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) – Hundreds of believers gathered Thursday at an Orthodox fair in the former imperial capital of Saint Petersburg to worship a "miracle-working" icon of Russia's last monarch.
Tsar Nicholas II was shot by the Bolsheviks after the 1917 revolution together with his family, and canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
"I am a Russian and an Orthodox, and for me the martyr saint Nicholas II is the symbol of Russia," 65 year-old Anatoly Kruglov said while standing in a long line to kiss the icon, which was brought to an expo centre south of the city.
The icon, which shows Nicholas II in full regal attire, is a replica of one painted in the United States in 1997. It was brought to Russia in 1998, where it was considered miraculous by believers for secreting myrrh.
Since coming to Russia, it has been travelling across the country by plane on orders of the former Orthodox patriarch Alexy II.
Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children, along with their servants, were shot in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg in July 1918.
Even in Soviet times, the tsar and his family were secretly worshipped by Orthodox believers, while the place of their murder attracted a massive yearly pilgrimage.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The wonderworking St. Nicholas the Passion-Bearer icon
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"Even in Soviet times, the tsar and his family were secretly worshiped by Orthodox believers, while the place of their murder attracted a massive yearly pilgrimage."
ReplyDeleteReally? Last time I checked, we didn't worship saints, we venerate them. Oh and I loved the "miracle-working" reference. It either is or it isn't miracle-working.
Otherwise, the article was charming. I love St. Nicholas. It's good to see Russians venerating him as well, what with all the politics surrounding him and all.
GetReligion will love this article. :)
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