Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill led some 100,000 people in a nigh time procession on July17 to mark 100 years since the Bolsheviks murdered tsar Nicholas II and his family, amid a simmering conflict between the state and the Church over their remains.

The procession began in the early hours of July 17 from the murder site in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg to a monastery commemorating the slaintsar, his German-born wife and five children, regional authorities said. Many of the fervent believers came from across Russia and abroad to take part in the colourful ceremony during which many carried icons.

Another 20,000 people joined the commemorations when the procession arrived at the monastery in Ganina Yama after covering the distance of 21 kilo-metres (13 miles), regional authorities said.

The monastery was built at one of the sites where the burnt bodies of the last Russian tsar and his family were taken after their execution in the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, although they were later moved.