ROMANOV FAMILY: TOMB OF TSAR ALEXANDER III OPENED PREVIOUSLY?

Update on the saga of the Romanov family remains. I am not sure what is implied here, could they possibly be questioning whether Alexander III’s remains are really in his tomb?

Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II
Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II

 ROMANOV FAMILY: TOMB OF TSAR ALEXANDER III OPENED PREVIOUSLY?

Bishop Tikhon Egoryevsky (Shevkunov) stated that the tomb of Tsar Alexander III, whose remains were exhumed recently, may have been opened earlier.  “We do not claim anything, we are not saying that the tomb of Alexander III was opened, although we do admit that it is more than a possibility. Right now we only admit this: the tombstone over the grave of Alexander III was previously disassembled and reassembled again,” he said.

Tikhon also stated that during the investigation, it was discovered that the corners of the tomb were chipped and the plates of tombstone had shifted. According to the Bishop, this was recorded by the staff of the Investigative Committee. 

Previously, information appeared that the tomb could have been disturbed in the 1920’s. “There is evidence about the 1920’s, including in publications of Polish newspapers, that during that time the tombs of Peter I and Alexander III were opened, but there are no official documents confirming this fact,”  said Marina Logunov, Chief Researcher of the State Museum of History in St. Petersburg.

The tomb of Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II, at the St Peter & Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg.
Tomb of Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II, at the St Peter & Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg.

Patriarch Kirill asked the government in October 2015 to conduct additional comparative genetic studies of the remains of Tsar Nicholas II and his father Tsar Alexander III. According to Russian Orthodox Church, the positive results of such examination will be the indisputable proof of the authenticity of the Romanov family remains.

There is some information that the burial ceremony of the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria will take place in February 2016 . The Patriarch plans to convene an extraordinary Bishops’ Council at the same time.

In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the entire Romanov family: Tsar Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana, Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duchess Anastasia,  as martyred passion bearers. 

Currently, ROC continues to call into question the scientific conclusions about the authenticity of the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria, which were found in 2007.

 

RUSSIAN SOURCE

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