From the 1917 Diary of a Palace Priest

These words from George Orwell’s classic allegory, Animal Farm, are a yearly staple in my ninth-grade English classes. Reading it in high school, I remember feeling sad that Mr. Jones lost his farm to the pigs who proclaimed him the enemy.  As you know, good literature evokes emotion and this emotion fueled my interest in understanding Tzar Nicolas II, the Romanov family, and their role in the Russian Revolution.  For years, I read that Nicholas was a weak leader and that his monarchy was evil. Pravda, the official newspaper of the Bolshevik party, stated that “Nicholas Romanov was essentially a pitiful figure.”  I read of the shady influence that Rasputin had on the Tzar’s family.  And, I was mesmerized by the mystery surrounding their horrific murder and the Bolshevik’s botched disposal of their bodies. 

Like most people, I believed the general assessment that Tzar Nicholas was an ineffectual leader and had to be removed.  This opinion was grounded in the secular readings I had pursued for many years.

When I became an Orthodox Christian, I discovered that Nicholas II and his family were canonized as passion bearer saints in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.  This fact bothered me.  “Why would a man and his family who were so politically controversial be recognized by the church in such a profound way?” I asked.  I was a skeptic.

My answer came through the book, The Romanovs Under House Arrest.  This is not another biography or historically opinionated piece.  This publication is the journal of Archpriest Afanasy Belyaev who performed all the religious services for the Imperial family while they remained in forced isolation at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.  In these pages, I discovered a devout Nicholas II who was both faithful and forgiving of his captors.  I learned of his children who were pious, humble and dedicated to their parents and the will of God.  I discovered his wife, the Empress Alexandra, a woman of prayer and great faith.  

In the midsection of the book are photographs, icons, prayer cards and letters written by the family.  One prayer card written by the Empress Alexandra was a verse she’d artistically penned from Psalm 103: 8 – 9: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, long suffering and abounding in mercy.  He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.”  There are several images of the cards and letters she wrote, all of which show her deep inner struggle and faith. 

In his journal, Father Afanasy recounts the experience of hearing the former Tzar’s confession and their conversation afterwards.  He tells of the moleben before the miraculous icon of the Anamensky Mother of God which occurred on July 30, 1917 just before the family’s forced departure to Tobolsk. Father Afanasy also relays Nicholas’s final words to him: “I do not feel sorry for myself, but I feel sorry for those people who because of me have suffered and are suffering.”  When the family was no longer able to leave the palace for services, I saw a photo of the temporary iconostasis they created in the ballroom of the governor’s house in Tobolsk.

One of the most profound moments for me was Father Afanasy’s homily on spiritual blindness given at The Divine Liturgy July 9, 1917: 

“Oh, how many people in the awful time we are enduring have blinded their wisdom.  You are involuntarily seized by horror when you see and hear the extent of human blindness.  There is no lie that a man blinded by passions will not present as the truth.  There is no untruth that he will not begin to justify.  There is no crime of which he is incapable. The voice of passion blinds all, not only the voice of reason, but the voice of blood relationship.  Brother rises up against brother, son against father, daughter against mother. But worst of all, man – the created – rises up against God, Creator and Planner of the universe.  By his great mercy, may God preserve us from such blindness.”

After devouring this book, it became apparent that I’d been viewing the Romanov family through worldly eyes.  I was spiritually blind to their suffering, humility, and devotion to God. This family went willingly to their captivity and martyrdom.  They prayed fervently for the restoration of their country.  They prayed for God’s peace and salvation in their lives even as the Bolsheviks were plotting their assassinations. Eventually, as you know, they died a martyr’s death, brutally in the middle of the night, in obscurity and deceit as enemies of the people.  Godless idealists saw the Romanov family as a stumbling block to the new political regime because they stood for all that they hated about Russia:  Its tradition of faith and its monarchy. 

Orwell’s point in Animal Farm, made by the pigs, is that Mr. Jones, with all his faults, was a more fair and generous leader than the charismatic dictators who overthrew him. This message is why Animal Farm continues to resonate with modern readers as a cautionary tale against the horrors of totalitarian governments.  Likewise, The Romanovs Under House Arrest, is a work that shows us the Romanov family through the spiritual eyes of Father Afanasy.  He reveals to us through his first-hand experience their devotion to Christ through prayer, faith and suffering.  Their piety, in the face of persecution and execution, is a stark reminder that people are going to hate us for who we are and what we represent, but our ultimate reward is in heaven. 

To be enlightened and humbled, read this beautiful book from Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville, New York.