Lev Lifshits on the state of affairs with the icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev

On July 18, Rublev’s “Trinity” will be transported from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to the All-Russian Artistic Research and Restoration Center named after Academician I. E. Grabar. This fact is important from two sides: firstly, the ancient icon is in the temple for an extra month without proper observance of the climatic regime. Secondly, instead of returning to the restorers of the Tretyakov Gallery (TG), who have been working with the icon for more than a century, the icon moves to another new place for itself. About the Trinity situation Kira Dolinina spoke with the largest specialist in ancient Russian art, doctor of art history, member of the commission of the Ministry of Culture on especially valuable objects of cultural heritage Lev Lifshitz.

– What is happening with the Rublev icon now?

– Most of the information about the current state of affairs is closed. The icon is still in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Employees of the State Tretyakov Gallery do not have direct access to it, because they do not receive permission from the patriarchate to monitor its condition, which is required. Despite the fact that it is spelled out in the existing contract.

– The curators and restorers have not had access to the “Trinity” all this time, since June 4?

– According to my information, yes.

– On July 18, the icon will not be returned to the Tretyakov Gallery, but will be transported to the center of Grabar. Why is this route change dangerous?

There is always danger in any movement. The icon must be in stable conditions recommended by the concilium of restorers. And there are no such conditions either in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, or, as far as I understand, in the center of Grabar. Specialists from there, of course, will try to do everything in their power, but this requires a lot of effort. It’s incredibly difficult.

— It’s not about checking the status of the icon for museum life, but about preparing for transfer to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra?

Yes, for 49 years. According to the existing agreement between the Russian Orthodox Church and the authorities, this is exactly the case. This document exists, it was seen by interested officials, but it is strictly confidential, there is no open access to it. We are talking about a letter from the patriarch to the president with a request to transfer the icon of Rublev to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which bears Putin’s signature on consent.

— Why is the church paying so much attention to the Trinity? This icon is not miraculous, not particularly revered in the church plan.

“These are purely psychological and sociocultural phenomena. If there is a transfer, for example, of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, this will not produce the effect that is needed now, because Rublev’s “Trinity” is an icon that everyone knows, which is very important for the current church authorities. This is the return of the most important symbol, roughly speaking, of a protective nature. The icon was near the tomb of St. Sergius, and he is one of the guardians of the Russian land. The patriarch himself speaks precisely of the protective function of the Trinity.

But it turns out that the general cultural significance in this case has more weight than the church one? After all, the “Trinity” became the most famous Russian icon after secular researchers discovered it at the beginning of the 20th century.

— Yes, it is well known that the “Trinity” has become “the same “Trinity”” in a universal sense, has become a national and global shrine not in a temple, but in a museum. Now it is important for the ROC to change its meaning: the function of general cultural exclusivity must be transferred to the church. But we do not have any clearly formulated doctrines, this is my subjective opinion.

What’s next for Trinity?

— Well, my predictions are quite simple: if the Russian Orthodox Church persists, the monument is doomed to perish.

– No options?

– Yes. Of course, the icon can be repaired, it can be made up, but it will no longer be the Trinity. So far we have a genuine monument. With the exception of losses in several places, there is the original painting. Clean, completely open from later recordings, toning, additions, God forbid. This is a very important circumstance. In Sergiev Posad, in the Trinity Lavra, there are no necessary conditions to maintain its condition. I’m not talking about a general cultural phenomenon, about the loss that will inevitably happen to society, to national culture, because this, of course, is a sign of national Russian culture. It turns out that we kind of narrow the meaning of the monument. Moreover, this is such a purely provincial approach, because in general, according to the Gospel, if you light a lamp, then they don’t put it on the floor, but lift it up so that, as they say, it shines everyone in the upper room. Here we have the opposite effect.

Of course, this is a profound delusion. If they were smart, they would take very different actions. For many decades, the museum of the Moscow Theological Academy has been functioning on the territory of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. People try hard there, but in general it is a rather pathetic sight. If they cared about church antiquities, they would have found millions a long time ago in order to build a worthy museum of the art of the Russian Orthodox Church.

– After the transfer of the Trinity to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, there was no excitement around it. Visitors were not particularly interested in her. This cannot be compared with the pandemonium during the removal of miraculous icons or relics, when believers stood for hours, if not days.

“Perhaps so. People who came to the temple as if they were forbidden to look at the Trinity in the Tretyakov Gallery, kneel, pray, be baptized, are mistaken. She was not fenced off from anyone in the museum. And, in any case, since the beginning of the 60s, when I myself was still working in the Tretyakov Gallery, I could observe daily what was happening in those halls where both the Trinity and the Vladimir Mother of God were located: believers came, were baptized, got up on their knees, none of the caretakers, keepers ever pulled them up, did not interfere. The current story with the “Trinity” is primarily an ideology.