Interfax: According to the House of Romanoff, it is much too early to raise the question of the reburial of the remains of Tsesarevich Aleksei and Grand Duchess Maria

Moscow. October 13. INTERFAX. The House of Romanoff, which is headed by Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, who lives in Madrid, believes it is too early to raise the question of forming a government commission to organize and carry out the reburial of the remains of Tsesarevich Aleksei and Grand Duchess Maria, the children of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II.

On Thursday, several relatives of the Romanoff family circulated a statement at a press conference held in the “northern capital” stating their opinion that the remains should be buried in the St. Catherine’s chapel of the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg.

Commenting on this statement, the Director of the Chancellery of the House of Romanoff, Alexander Zakatov, emphasized to Interfax on Thursday that the “Russian Imperial House believes that everyone has a right to their own opinion, including, of course, the relatives of the dynasty. However, in this case, we are most likely dealing with a statement that has not been thoroughly thought through. Forming a commission and conducting a funeral can hardly take place until the Russian Orthodox Church has expresses its opinion on the matter.”

“When the Church comes out with its position on the matter—a well-founded and authoritative position—then perhaps a decision about the reburial of these Ekaterinburg remains can be made. If these are the remains of the members of the Imperial Family, then of course they should be interred in the Mausoleum of the Imperial Family in St. Petersburg,” Zakatov said.

The House of Romanoff had previously stated that the authenticity of the remains were still in doubt. On this question, the House of Romanoff was following the lead of the Church.

“If it turns out that these remains belong to some other, as-yet unknown victims, they nonetheless deserve a proper burial. But we should not repeat the unfortunate sequence of events in 1998 and again put on a kind of show, ignoring the opinion of the Church and the opinion of the Imperial House,” Zakatov said, referring to the remains found at the first burial site outside Ekaterinburg.

Alexander Zakatov stated that the relatives of the Romanoff family, who are now pushing for a ceremonial reburial of the remains of the two bodies found in 2007 some 70 kilometers to the south of the first burial site, “have the right to pose this question as private persons.”

“Their opinions have no relation to the views of the Imperial House, though they have the right to their own private opinions. It is regrettable that some relatives of the Dynasty are so intent on ignoring the position of the Church and instead want to appeal to the government before even receiving an official statement on the matter from the Church’s hierarchy,” Zakatov added.

The original story can be found at http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=42623