Bender, 17 July. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The tragic events which occurred 100 days ago were remembered today in Bendery. On the night of 16-17 July 1918, the royal family of Romanovs were killed in Yekaterinburg. In memory of the holy royal martyrs, on the president's initiative, a chapel was erected on the territory of the Bendery Fortress.
This night, in the presence of the country's leadership, the clergy, parishioners, the chapel was consecrated, the presidential press service reports. The divine liturgy was served by Archbishop of Tiraspol and Dubossary Savva. In the night prayer, all members of the august family were recalled by name: the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife and children, as well as the medic and three servants.
Addressing the participants of the ceremony, President Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about the power of memory, thanks to which not only temples rise up from the ruins of oblivion but also faith, truth, justice. He called the execution of the royal family the first link in the historical chain of tragic events that the great country had to endure. The head of state recalled thousands of desecrated and destroyed churches, a huge number of killed clergymen and Orthodox Christians who suffered for their faith.
"They tried to exterminate our faith in God for three generations, to make us forget our history, our ancestors, our roots. They have failed. It is the memory that gives everyone a chance for salvation," underscored Vadim Krasnoselsky. In his opinion, a huge unifying force is inherent in the nationwide repentance for the inhumane atrocity which was once committed.
The president also noted the fact that the killed royal family was related to our region. Vadim Krasnoselsky recalled that the Romanovs had visited the left bank of the Dniester over a century ago. Nicholas II was here four times. On 8 May 1916, the emperor, his wife and children prayed in Bendery's St Alexander Nevsky's Church.
"Today, at this very place, we are offering up a prayer for them," said the president. He stressed that the vaults of the church were levelled to the ground during the atheistic epoch, but faith and memory have raised again its restored domes to the skies.
