1613-2013
The Resurrection of Orthodox Russia began 21 years ago, in 1991. That Resurrection has been dramatic, with the restoration and building of over 25,000 churches and the reunion of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Church Inside Russia and the Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). Although this Resurrection still has very far to go, the prophecies of the holy all agree that, if there is due repentance on the part of the whole people and not just a small part of it, this Resurrection will result in the restoration of the House of Romanov.
It is precisely next year, 2013, that will see the four hundredth anniversary of the House of Romanov, to which in 1613 the Russian people vowed solemn faithfulness ‘until the Second Coming’. During a meeting with His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill on 6 November 2012, the Head of the Russian Imperial Family, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, formerly a parishioner of the ROCOR parish in Meudon outside Paris, asked about the views of the Russian Orthodox Church on evidence in Brussels about the remains of the Royal Martyrs.
This evidence, in the ROCOR Memorial Church in Brussels, was found in 1918 by the investigator Nikolai Soloviev at Ganina Pit near Ekaterinburg, the site connected to the tragedy of the Royal Family. In the opinion of several scholars and public figures, the physical materials discovered in Brussels require further research in order to establish the truth in identifying the so-called ‘Ekaterinburg remains’. At the present time the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church is not prepared to accept the findings of the DNA tests on the Ekaterinburg remains, since their representatives were not granted access to the information on exactly which genetic materials were used to compare data.
During the meeting, His Holiness declared that the Church is ready to participate in further research into identifying the remains of the Royal Family. This research must take into account the Brussels materials, with transparent expertise and access to all genetic materials connected with the Romanov Dynasty. His Holiness expressed the hope that such research would help to establish the truth which many Orthodox faithful are hoping for.
