Oh my..... the Russian Orthodox Church as an odd definition of who they Canonize (or choose as “Saints”).
They say the Tsar and his family and loyal servants died as martyrs. I assume that means they died for a cause. There is no evidence that the “cause” they died for was Jesus Christ. Their cause was “the Tsar and his rule”. Did he lead a Christ-like life? Wikipedia says, “he was called Nicholas the Bloody because of the Khodynka Tragedy, anti-Semitic pogroms, Bloody Sunday, his violent suppression of the 1905 Revolution, his execution of political opponents and his perceived responsibility for the Russo-Japanese War.”
So if this is their definition of “Saint” and thus someone who they pray to hoping for intervention with the Savior, just what does that say for the practice of Canonization?
There’s no doubt of the heroism of Nicholas II’s servants who followed the family into exile and death. And what a terrible death. One was the little prince’s tutor, I believe. Thank you for posting. I’ve been fascinated with this story since the publication of the book “Nicholas and Alexandra.”