The ceremony in Russia's old imperial capital, was intended to be a gesture of national reconciliation and atonement for the country's violent past. Instead, the event caused sharp divisions. But the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Russia, Alexei II, has disputed the authenticity of the findings and refused to officiate at the burial. As a result, bishops were banned from taking part in the funeral ceremony and only junior clerics were allowed to participate. Patriarch Alexei conducted an alternative memorial service outside Moscow after a rival branch of the Romanov family complained that the official burial was not grand enough.
Today is an historic day for Russia.
Eighty years have passed since the day of the murder of the last Russian emperor and members of his family. For many years we kept quiet about this monstrous crime, but the truth has to be spoken. The execution in Yekaterinburg became one of the most shameful pages in our history. By committing to the ground the remains of the innocent victims, we want to atone for the sins of our fathers. It is those who committed this evil and those who justified it for decades who are guilty.