Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II

rafaeldaher · Sep 14, 2005

Marjorie · Sep 14, 2005

Rafael, you're the best! This is a great resource.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

rafaeldaher · Sep 14, 2005

Marjorie said:
Rafael, you're the best! This is a great resource.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

Thanks

. Im still searching more material. When i find, i will share with my brothers of TAW!

Holy Royal Martyr
Tsar Nicholas,
Pray Unto God For Us!

Khaleas · Sep 14, 2005

Thank you so much for posting this!

And what's really scary, my priest looks sooo much like him.
Coming from Finland there is a built in hate for the Tsar, even so many years later, but after studying Orthodoxy, I've learned to embrace the religious parts of Tsar Nicholas II, while I still have a hard time with some of his style of rule. I visited Sts Peter and Paul church in St Petersburg this summer and it was very touching. Today we just talked about him in my geography class too.

Kolya · Sep 14, 2005

Thank you for posting those links as he is my Patron Saint.
Holy Martyr Tsar Nikolai II, please pray for us.

Khaleas · Sep 14, 2005

This is my favorite...
and yes, I needed to link to it for my signature... :holy:

but I still like it!

rafaeldaher · Sep 14, 2005

Khaleas said:
This is my favorite...
and yes, I needed to link to it for my signature... but I still like it!

Yes, is my favorite too. I post this picture on my web blog.

Khaleas · Sep 14, 2005

rafaeldaher said:
Yes, is my favorite too. I post this picture on my web blog.

The shine in the vestments is just unbelievable... plus since I'm getting married in just over 3 weeks it just got to me...

Lotar · Sep 14, 2005

Dude, you rawk!

Diane_Windsor · Sep 15, 2005

Wow~I'm glad that this royal watcher stumbled upon this thread!

God Bless,
Diane
:wave:

Tsarina · Sep 16, 2005

Just last month i came across this royal martyr and his family in Russia. I had no idea who they were but suddently began to have this great interest for them. I watched this great A&E Biography on them, awesome stuff! And very interesting lives this Holy Russian family had. Your links have even more facts to comprehend.

Great stuff, thank you!

Godbless.

HandmaidenOfGod · Sep 16, 2005

About a year ago a local museum had an exhibit on the Romanov family and it was absolutely fascinating. They had personal correspondence from the Tsar to Tsarina Alexandra, as well as home videos of the family. It really unwrapped all the layers of Tsar, Commander in Chief, and Saint, and allowed you to see them just as they were.

One fact about the Tsar that I found fascinating is that he refused to have a personal secretary. He insisted on personally receiving and responding to every piece of correspondence that was addressed to him. They had letters on display that were written to him by American children. One asked what religion he was, and if it was similar to the Presbyterian Church. Another asked for stamps, as the child was a stamp collector. It was neat to see the innocence and bravado these children displayed when addressing a monarch.

Another neat thing to see was the love that the Tsar had for his family. Although his marriage to Alexandra was arranged, they had a deep and passionate love for each other, and absolutely lived for their children. All he wanted to do was spend all his time with his family, and to leave the rest of the world behind. (Unfortunately thats impossible to do when you are ruler of one of the worlds largest countries. ^_^

)

Although the exhibit didnt focus too much on his spiritual walk, they did mention that he was devoted to the Church, and they did have the familys icon on display. (They also had the familys icon corner on display absolutely gorgeous!!!)

Overall I walked away with the impression that although he was a horrible ruler, he did seem to be a genuinely good man who just had the wrong career picked out for him. (I think he would have been much happier as an accountant!

)

Thats my two cents on the matter!

God bless,

Maureen

Lotar · Sep 17, 2005

*bump*

Could a mod move this to the library?

Matrona · Sep 21, 2005

Bump.

Tsarina · Sep 21, 2005

Lotar, lols.. facial hair, is that a must?

Servus Iesu · Sep 21, 2005

Okay... here is the ignorant Roman back again to ask another question. I am sure you all know that the Tsar and Tsarist Russia basically get a very bad rap in modern textbooks/pulications/etc. Tsarist Russia is constantly referred to as backward and primitive and the people were miserable. Is this just liberal/modernist propaganda?

As a Western Christian I have done some research into the Middle Ages. When you really start looking into the truth about Mediaeval Europe you find out that much of what is taught now consists in lies and total fabrications. Contrary to the idea that life was nasty, brutish, and short, many mediaeval peasants lived in relative happiness, security and comfort. Obviously they didn't have extravagant luxury but neither did 99% of all people in the world throughout history up until recent times. They lived close to the land and had everything they needed to be content. This seems superior to the life of wage slavery that developed in the industrialized societies of the 19th and early 20th century (and in a different form even now). Is this true of Russia as well?

Lotar · Sep 21, 2005

Tsarina said:
Lotar, lols.. facial hair, is that a must?

Now I just need to get a pipe. ^_^

Lotar · Sep 21, 2005

Servus Iesu said:
Okay... here is the ignorant Roman back again to ask another question. I am sure you all know that the Tsar and Tsarist Russia basically get a very bad rap in modern textbooks/pulications/etc. Tsarist Russia is constantly referred to as backward and primitive and the people were miserable. Is this just liberal/modernist propaganda?

As a Western Christian I have done some research into the Middle Ages. When you really start looking into the truth about Mediaeval Europe you find out that much of what is taught now consists in lies and total fabrications. Contrary to the idea that life was nasty, brutish, and short, many mediaeval peasants lived in relative happiness, security and comfort. Obviously they didn't have extravagant luxury but neither did 99% of all people in the world throughout history up until recent times. They lived close to the land and had everything they needed to be content. This seems superior to the life of wage slavery that developed in the industrialized societies of the 19th and early 20th century (and in a different form even now). Is this true of Russia as well?

Indeed. Much of what is in our history books is a mixture of both communist and anti-communist propaganda. Basically, we accepted all of the Bolshevik propaganda concerning the Tsar (which is a load of bolshevik

), and we propagate the idea of a brutish backwards Russian people. Our culture is anti-monarchist (democracy was recieved from above, doncha know), and is generally ready to accept and propagate any propaganda to prove this point.

Even today, things aren't too much different, we just keep our peasant class in Africa and Southeast Asia, so that we don't have to see them and can feel good about donating a quarter to some fund in the grocery store. Isn't so much of the Modernist idea that we should bash our ancestors, so we can pat ourselves on the back about how much better we are?

Rilian · Sep 21, 2005

Servus Iesu said:
Tsarist Russia is constantly referred to as backward and primitive and the people were miserable. Is this just liberal/modernist propaganda?

I think you simply have to investigate for yourself. Certainly serfdom was a tragic part of Russian history and was the cause of widespread misery. I think you'll find that the Tsars struggled with how to raise the living standard in their country, without unleashing revolution. All European monarchs were absolutely terrified by what happened in France. Two 19th century Tsars that I think are worthwhile looking at are the Alexanders, the I and the II.

Tsar Nicholas II attempted reforms and began paving the way for what might have turned in to a constitutional monarchy. These moves were too late. It is interesting to note that the Communists did not have widespread support among the peasants, i.e. the people who felt the brunt of serfdom. It was the urban working classes that formed the core of their support. The serfs ended up suffering horribly under the Communists as they had not under the Tsars through collectivization and the famines that ensued because of it. That all of course after the importation of western political/economic theory - i.e. Marxism.

I think an important thing to do is try to look past our assumptions about the country and shed some of our ingrained western biases. An honest look at history often finds things we may not have expected. Lenin for instance was sheltered in the west (in Germany), and was sent back in to the country to destabilize it as Russian involvement in WWI came to a close. Britain and France in the 19th century fought a war against Russia (the Crimean) in order to protect and stabilize the Ottoman Empire. That of course after the Ottomans had subjected Orthodox Christians to persecution for hundreds of years, and it came very soon after for instance the horrific slaughter of Greek Christians on the island of Chios.

Anyway, Tsarist Russia had many contrasts. There was the brutality of serfdom, the colonial experience and Russification (what Khaleas mentioned coming from a Finnish perspective) and so on. Yet there were many attempts to bring the country out of its misery and you can see it in the actions of many Tsars. What Russian culture produced during the Tsarist period in terms of art, literature, religion, music and so on I think one would have to say is simply stunning.

Two authors I would recommend if you want to do some reading on Russian history and culture are Richard Pipes and James Billington. Also Robert Massie wrote a famous biography of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra. IIRC, Mr. Massie later converted to Orthodoxy.

Philip · Sep 21, 2005

Servus Iesu said:
Okay... here is the ignorant Roman back again to ask another question. I am sure you all know that the Tsar and Tsarist Russia basically get a very bad rap in modern textbooks/pulications/etc. Tsarist Russia is constantly referred to as backward and primitive and the people were miserable. Is this just liberal/modernist propaganda?

Yes and no.

The Russian Empire was technologically and economically trailing the West, but it is debatable as to whether or not this was bad. What was truly bad and led to the Revolution was how the aristocracy lived. They definitely exploited the poor -- the situation was not that different from the time around the French Revolution. What is often left out is that the royal family was an exception. They were quite religious, especially the Tsarina and the Grand Duchess. Nicholas was a great supporter of the Church -- some 10 000 parishes were established during his reign.

In addition to the exploitation by the aristocracy, several other factors caused suffering. The Crimean War, Russo-Japanese War, and First World War all placed a great strain on the people. This combine this with a wide-spread famine, and living conditions were poor. But, were they truly that much worse that in other places? That is debatable.

Also, we do need to separate Tsar Nicholas II from other tsars. No one is arguing that every tsar should be canonized. Finally, we must also separate the Tsar's Christian life from the success or failure of his political life.

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