1,800-mile, 4-month procession in honor of Royal Martyrs begins today

A cross procession in memory of the murder of the Royal Martyrs Tsar Nicholas II and his family began in the northwestern Russian city of Pskov today. The procession will wind its way through various Russian cities and holy sites, arriving in Ekaterinburg to celebrate the centenary of the family’s martyrdom, which took place on July 4/17, 1918, reports the official site of the city of Pskov.

The procession began in the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky and will pass through St. Petersburg, Vologda, Tikhvin, Vyatka, Kungur, and the cities and villages of the Kostroma, Yaroslavl, and Kirov Provinces, and of Perm Krai, and will arrive in Ekaterinburg on July 14, having covered a span of about 1,800 miles over the course of four months.

The event will end on July 17 with a nighttime Liturgy in the Church on the Blood, which was built on the site of the former Ipatiev House, where the Royal Martyrs were slain.

The procession began in Pskov because it was there, on March 2, 1917, that Royal Martyr Tsar Nicholas signed a manifesto of abdication for himself, and then on behalf of his son Royal Martyr Tsarevich Alexei in favor of the tsar’s younger brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.

Pilgrims on the memorial route will be able to see the Ekaterinburg Church-on-the-Blood, built on the spot of the Romanovs’ martyrdom, visit the monastery in honor of the Royal Martyrs in Ganina Yama, where their holy bodies were discarded, visit the house for receiving honored guests in Verkhoturye which was built for the tsar’s planned visit, visit Tobolsk, where the Royal Martyrs spent the last months of their lives, and visit the village of Pokrov.

Source: Orthochristian.com