“What kind of proof do you have that they didn’t?”
Is a single actual act of expiation even known about as performed by them? Even one?
“It’s just my personal opinion.”
Then should you have said so?
“Only Heaven knows for certain.”
Yes, but there seems to be little evidence for it. It’s nice to think it, but what evidence is there?
Not under that theological concept or accepting one's sufferings and offering them up to God as Catholics do. They just quietly accepted the fear, anxiety and humility of their last days in captivity together ending in a bloody, brutal martyrdom. That would in my opinion. The only one in all those terrible months and days known to have acted out was the young Alexis who slid down the staircase on a sled, I think at Yaroslavl, where they were confined in rooms of the Governor's mansion. It was almost a suicidal act as it resulted in another bout with his hemophilia. The girls had to endure the guards being able to watch them go to the bathroom with the door open, even when they were on their period. I think I would lose it and rub the filthy rag in his face, but that would have resulted in a reprisal probably on my whole family.
Then should you have said so?
Not if I didn't want to. Actually I didn't think to do that. I made a declarative statement but now the burden of proof is on me. It's still just my opinion. I read tons of books and articles over the years. Now I see in your profile you are Catholic. Maybe you think because they weren't Catholic, they don't deserve to go to Heaven?
but what evidence is there
Some of it is in the Massies' books, their suffering mostly plus the lead article here speaks of all their good works. I know from the Massies and others that is true. So let's look at the evidence against it. Rasputin. The czar's ballerina mistress before he married Alexandra, the working conditions of the people, their aversion to Jews, some pogroms no doubt not necessarily ordered by the czar. The aversion to Jews was not without some provocation. A Jew threw the bomb that killed the czar's grandfather. I think another Jew attempted to kill the czar's father and failed. I know some American Jews had it in for the czar and raised money for that cause. Jacob Schiff. Al Gore's daughter married his grandson. There is an article in the NYT's archives, can't remember the date, about some wealthy American Jews celebrating in the Opera House what they had long worked for and on the eve of the Revolution see brought to fruition.˜
I don't know if the czar was aware of Jacob Schiff's aid in overthrowing him.
Revolution from Above, Kerry Bolton
I don't know anything about Kerry Bolton; it was in the NYT but now I can't find the date and page. So your God isn't merciful enough to forgive all that if they confessed it? We don't know what they confessed, but they did all the right things the Russian Orthodox way in the end.
Maybe you don't see their deaths as a martyrdom? As punishment from a just God? Was Alexis' hemophilia punishment from a just God? How can we know these things?
NRx, an interesting point of history I stumbled across the other day on youtube. The grand nephew of the first Communist Bolshevik president of Russia, Yakov Sverdlov (the grand nephew spells the surname Swerdlow) is one in charge of the controversial CERN program in Switzerland. I know little about CERN; some think it is evil. Have to save further research on that for another day.
Anyway, it was thought Lenin gave the execution order for the family, but now it appears it may have been Sverdlov in Moscow to Yurovsky in Ekatinburg, at least subsequent telegraph evidence points to that, evidence that came to light after some archives were opened in Russia years later. Sorry, I don't have a link at the moment; you might know or want to pursue it.