A conflict over the remains of the last tsar and his family has split the Russian Orthodox Church as it commemorates the 100th anniversary of their murder by the Bolsheviks.

While the bones of the Romanov royal family, who were sainted in 2000, have been discovered and identified, hardliners including a bishop close to Vladimir Putin and radical believers known as the Tsar-Worshippers have refused to recognise them due to an anti-semitic conspiracy theory.

Patriarch Kirill, who held a mass on Friday at the place of execution in Yekaterinburg, has not commented on the issue. In the early hours of Tuesday morning he will lead thousands of believers on a 13-mile procession to the site where the…