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Russian Orthodox clergy to discuss authenticity of last Tsar’s family remains in July

A source specified that the final decision is not within the jurisdiction of the meeting, though

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. The Bishops Meeting of Russian Orthodox Church hierarchs scheduled for July 19 will discuss whether the so-called "Yekaterinburg Remains" indeed belong to the murdered family of Russia’s last Tsar and the attitude of the Church towards them, Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vikentiy (Morar) told TASS on Thursday.

"There will be a discussion. We will talk this over, we will consult with each other," the Metropolitan vowed, answering a question on whether the Bishops Meeting will focus on the authenticity of the "Yekaterinburg Remains."

The source specified that the final decision is not within the jurisdiction of the meeting, as the matter will be brought to a conclusion by the Bishops Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said earlier that the Committee had conducted 40 new expert investigations into the criminal case of the Tsar family murder, which was reopened in 2015, in order to close possible gaps and dispel any doubts over the identity of remains found in the outskirts of Yekaterinburg. The investigation for the first time examined materials located in the restricted archive funds. Expert DNA analysis and other tests ascertained that the remains belong to the Romanov family, Bastrykin stated.

On August 20, 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church recognized Tsar Nicholas II, his spouse Alexandra and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey as Saint Passion-bearers.

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Russian Orthodox Church Religion

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