Patriarch Kirill dismissed Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, head of the Russian Orthodox Church's expert council on art, architecture and restoration, in connection with his «obstruction» of the transfer of Andrei Rublev's «Holy Trinity» icon to the Russian Orthodox Church. This was reported on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Kalinin was also deprived of the post of rector of the Moscow church of the Holy Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome.
Andrey Rublev's «Trinity» was taken from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The icon was provided for worship, despite the protests of the restorers
In mid-May, President Vladimir Putin decided to give the «Holy Trinity» to the Russian Orthodox Church. The work is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery at the required humidity and temperature. Kalinin, in a conversation with RBC, said that in the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, where they plan to exhibit a monument of the 15th century, there are no conditions for its preservation.
Last summer, the Tretyakov Gallery temporarily handed over the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, it was brought to Sergiev Posad. The gallery staff opposed the transfer of the exhibit, as its removal from museum conditions could have irreversible consequences for the safety of Rublev's work.
A few days later, the icon was returned to the Tretyakov Gallery. Restorers then reported no «visible signs of deterioration». However, in September, the restoration board identified 61 «significant changes» after being removed from the museum. As a result, they decided to leave the «Trinity» in the depository of the gallery, excluding it from the exhibition «for an indefinite period».