The icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II was painted by order of the ataman of the Nadym district of the Siberian Cossack troops, the Cossack Colonel Sergei Crystal in 2003, in the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, to be carried in the cross procession from the Russian Golgotha to the Golgotha of the Lord in Jerusalem. It measures 5.75 ft. x 6.9 ft. The icon was blessed on the feast of the Romanovs that year, on the 85th anniversary of their martyrdom, and began streaming myrrh from the moment of its consecration. To date, the icon has already visited many cities of Russia and abroad. 

 

The video presented here was taken in 2014, in the village of Cacak in Serbia, while the icon was being transferred to Mount Athos, in Greece, for veneration. At a stop in the city of Cacak, while a priest was reading prayers in front of the icon for the faithful who had gathered at the house were the procession stopped, the icon started once again to stream myrrh.

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On April 15, 2016, the Russian newspaper "Сергиевские ведомости", №15 (483), published the following article. The translation is by George Hawkins:

 

Thirteen years ago, on the day of the memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh, His Holiness the ever-memorable Patriarch Alexei II gave his blessing for a procession with the image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas across Russia, the countries of the Near and Far Abroad. On July 27, 2003, on the 100th anniversary of the glorification of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, this icon participated in the procession for the first time.

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The image of the Passionbearing-Tsar was also in the Penitential procession across Russia "For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland" in honour of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ and the 420th anniversary of the Siberian Cossack Troops - from the Russian Calvary to the Calvary of the Lord in Jerusalem. The icon also visited Ukraine, Belarus, the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone, Romania and Serbia. The image of Tsar Nicholas visited many monasteries and churches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the dioceses of Archangelsk, Don, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Priamursky, Primorsky, Tula, and the Yaroslavl Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

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This icon is the largest of those dedicated to the holy Martyr Tsar: 1.75 m in width and 2.10 m in height. The martyred saint is depicted on the icon in the imperial crown and mantle with the sceptre and orb on a gold background, in the frame along the perimeter of the icon are the images of the Holy Trinity, the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, universal and Russian Saints. On the back of the icon are written the words: "With the Tsar and the great power, the holiness of the regiment will be raised, the crucified Russia will pass from the cross and the Cossacks will be removed. Holy martyr Tsar Nikolai, forgive us sinners, and accept our repentance for violating the oath of the Great Moscow Council of 1613 and pray for us sinners, that the Lord forgive us and pardon us with grace and philanthropy. Faithful Orthodox Christians of Holy Russia. Amen". Below are placed the prayers for the restoration of the Orthodox autocratic kingdom of Russia and for the salvation of the Fatherland.

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The icon painter Alexander Ivanovich Rodikov says:

- Work on the icon of the holy Martyr Tsar was started in September 2002 with the blessing of Archimandrite German (Chesnokov), rector of the Peter and Paul Compound. Ataman of the Nadym Cossack Army, Sergey Krishtal provided the icon boards. Preliminary sketches were prepared and coordinated with the hierarchy of priests. The work was extremely laborious. Only thanks to the support of prayer was it completed in 11 months. The elders of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra prayed, Father German prayed. Monks from the lavra came to us, Father Archimandrite Naum also blessed us. It is interesting to think that the icon was finished on July 17, 2003 - at 3 am, on the day of the 85th anniversary of the murder of the royal family. Although it was not planned to finish it on this day...

... The face of Tsar Nicholas was written in one breath, literally in one day. This is a miracle that occurred according to the prayers of the saints. It turned out exactly as it was intended. I wanted to portray the Holy Passion-Bearer as the earthly king and as a holy martyr, and also to convey the portrait resemblance. 

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This icon is our joy and consolation. It is truly Royal, even in its size. Miracles from the icon occurred at all stages: the blessings (to paint it), writing, consecration, church services and processions.

Unfortunately, during the twelve years of being moved around, the icon suffered greatly. Restorers rated her condition as critical. Natalia Yakovlevna Semenova undertook the restoration of the front side. The cracks were large, and it took a long time to eliminate them. I decided to leave the icon in the church and not take it anywhere else.

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In 2007, I made a copy of this miraculous icon, four times smaller than the original. It was decorated with precious stones and will now participate in the processions. From the copy of the icon, through the prayers of the Tsar-martyr there are also numerous healings.

 

We all need to sincerely repent and pray for our ancestors, and properly honour the Tsar-martyr.

 

Written by Lyudmila Kovrigina

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Photos from the archive of iconographer A. I. Rodikov

and from the article on Orthodox Christianity website at: http://orthochristian.com/106631.html