RESOLUTION FOR THE CANONIZATION OF THE PIOUS ROYAL MARTYRS KING ALEXANDER AND QUEEN DRAGA OBRENOVIC

The Serbian True Orthodox Church

Holy Hierarchical Council

No. 1/26
Sunday of the Myrrbearers,  3/16 April A.D. 2026
Utesiteljevo Monastery

 

RESOLUTION FOR THE CANONIZATION OF THE PIOUS ROYAL MARTYRS KING ALEXANDER AND QUEEN DRAGA OBRENOVIC

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

            The pious, anointed King Alexander and his wife Queen Draga were devout and righteous royal rulers of Serbia at the turn of the 20th century. This was a time when revolutionary, anti-monarchist, and inherently anti-Christian upheavals were shaking not only the great Orthodox Empire of Russia but also the small, newly-emerging Orthodox Kingdom of Serbia. The Obrenovic dynasty, from the time of its founder Prince Milos the Great, had nurtured the medieval, Nemanjic-Byzantine tradition of Christian anointed rulers. Simply opposing the evil spirit of revolution and fighting to preserve the basic principles of Christian monarchy was, in itself, akin to an act of confession of the faith.

            The Hierarchical Council of the Serbian True Orthodox Church, has, with deep respect, considered the life, work, and martyrdom of the pious royal couple King Alexander and Queen Draga. We have considered their devoted and righteous anointed rule of the Christ-named Serbian people. We have considered their extraordinary care for the Serbian Church and holy places. We have considered their righteous, pious life filled with acts of evangelical love and mercy. We have considered their zeal for preserving St. Sava’s monarchist, autocratic covenant. We have reviewed their role as katechon in the opposition to the mystery of iniquity, the apostasies of liberalism and democracy. This role as “the one who restrains” became clear when they were removed in the revolutionary act of regicide after first enduring many hardships and terrible slanders before their final horrific, quasi-ritualistic martyrdom. 

            Taking all of these factors into consideration, the Holy Hierarchical Council of the Serbian True Orthodox Church, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, resolves to canonize the pious royal martyrs King Alexander and Queen Draga Obrenovic, including them into the Diptych of the Saints of the Serbian Church.

            As we make this decision, we bow before them in prayer, asking for their prayerful aid and intercession for all of us before the throne of God. Those who dedicated their entire rule to caring for the Serbian people entrusted to them, and who ultimately sacrificed their lives for them, shall not forget them in their prayers in the kingdom of heaven.

             The Holy Hierarchical Council furthermore determines

- to honor the earthly remains of the Royal Martyrs as Holy Relics and show them proper respect;

- to venerate the image of the Royal Martyrs as a sacred icon to be venerated, taking care to multiply its copies and ensure they are respected in all monasteries and parishes;

- to multiply copies of the biography of the Royal Martyrs and ensure their distribution among the faithful;

- to celebrate the memory of the Royal Martyrs on the Sunday closest to the day of their martyrdom: May 29th according to the old calendar, i.e., June 11th according to the new calendar, and to perform a service on that day according to a special rite composed in their honor;

- during every service at the dismissal, when the chosen saints, patron saints of churches, and saints of the day are named, and on days permitted by the typicon, to prayerfully invoke the Royal Martyrs: “the holy most faithful royal martyrs Alexander and Draga”;

- to inform the sister Russian Orthodox Church Abroad about this in the usual manner.

 

+Bishop Akakije of Utesiteljevo, Chairman of the Holy Hierarchical Council of the STOC

+Bishop Nektarije of Shumadia