“Trinity” Rublev will remain in state ownership after the transfer of the Russian Orthodox Church – Kommersant

The ancient Russian icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev, painted in the 15th century, was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for free use and will remain in state ownership. This was announced by the head of the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate Abbess Xenia (Chernega).

As the abbess said, when transferring the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, an agreement was concluded for the gratuitous use of museum religious objects (approved by order of the Ministry of Culture dated June 10, 2022 No. 964). “State ownership of the icon will remain. A religious organization has the right to receive it only for free use,” she said. “RIA News”.

Answering the question of who will be involved in the restoration of the 15th century icon, the abbess replied that, under a gratuitous use agreement, third parties can finance restoration and conservation under an agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Tretyakov Gallery. According to her, the concluded agreement does not oblige either the museum or the Russian Orthodox Church to insure the Trinity at their own expense.

The abbess also clarified that the contract can be terminated either by agreement of the parties, or unilaterally. Termination of the contract at the request of the museum is possible only in court, however, in case of violation of the storage regime, the museum has the right to withdraw from the contract without going to court. Possible disagreements between the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Orthodox Church will be regulated by the Ministry of Culture.

Since the October Revolution, the icon has been in the museum. In July 2022, at the personal request of Patriarch Kirill, her taken out for a while from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Trinity Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where services were held dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the finding of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Museum staff opposed the transportation of the icon. Two days later her returned to the museum.

May 15, 2023 ROC informedthat Russian President Vladimir Putin “in response to numerous requests from Orthodox believers” handed over the icon to her. According to the Russian Orthodox Church, the icon will be exhibited in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for one year, and after that it will be sent to the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. On May 16, Patriarch Kirill asked the presidential administration to coordinate the transfer of the icon to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for the celebration of the Trinity (June 4).

Director of the Pushkin Museum Elizaveta Likhacheva spokethat due to the transfer of the ROC, the icon “may simply be lost, it may fall apart.” According to art historian Elena Rodnina, to preserve the icon, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of 18–20 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 50–55%. Otherwise, the “Trinity” “may be irreversibly destroyed.”

Documents on the transfer of the icon must be signed by the Ministry of Culture. Tretyakov Gallery still waiting required documents from the ministry.

Read more about the fate of the icon – in the material “Exfoliation of national spirituality”.

Anastasia Larina