Moscow, December 21, 2016
Photo: vladivostok-eparhia.ru
On December 18, 2016, the eve of the feast of his heavenly patron St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a monument to the holy Royal Martyr Tsar Nicholas II was unveiled and blessed by the Holy Protection Cathedral in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, reports the site of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The bust of the Tsar-Martyr was blessed by Met. Benjamin of Vladivostok in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the visit of then-Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich to the city, which is being widely celebrated throughout the region as part of the annual “Royal Days” festival of Orthodox culture in Ekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region.
Photo: vladivostok-eparhia.ru
A delegation of the Military Orthodox Mission arrived from Moscow for the opening with a wonder-working and myrrh-streaming icon of Tsar Nicholas, as well as a handful of soil from Ganina Yama, where the bodies of the Royal Martyrs and their faithful servants were impiously disposed of. The soil was placed in a special box near the bust after the procession to the monument and the prayers for its installation.
Addressing those gathered, Metropolitan Benjamin stated: “The opening of the monument to St. Nicholas is a great event for both Vladivostok and for all of Russia. Thanks to the visit of the then-tsarevich to our city, the Russian Empire looked to the East… It is important that in Russia people always loved the tsar, because he was chosen by God and dedicated his life to the service of the Fatherland.”
The bronze bust of the last emperor of Russia was created and installed at the initiative of the organizing committee for perpetuating of the memory of Tsarevich Nicholas’ visit to Vladivostok with the assistance of the Orthodox Military Mission.
