Martyrs and Saints
The Canonisation of Nikolai II – A Didactic Play
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In Muscovy and the Russian Empire, the relationship between State and Church was determined by the Byzantine model of Symphonia, according to which emperor and patriarch were coequals and both spheres of life were tightly interwoven. Among the Orthodox saints are many rulers, such as St. Prince Aleksandr Nevskii, who were canonised for political reasons. In 2000, the Moscow Patriarchate canonised the last tsar, Nikolai II, and hundreds of martyrs of the Soviet regime. This decision was also not free of political motives.
(Osteuropa 6/2009, pp. 217–234)