The icon «Trinity» by Andrey Rublev will be in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until June 19. This was reported in the telegram channel of the Tretyakov Gallery.
«In accordance with the agreement on the placement of the icon in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, no later than June 19, 2023, the icon» Holy Trinity » Andrei Rublev (Inv. 13012) should be returned to the depository of the Department of Scientific Restoration of Old Russian Paintings of the State Tretyakov Gallery,” the message says.
A day earlier, Patriarch Kirill announced that the «Trinity» would be in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for a year, after which it would be placed in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Vladimir Putin decided to transfer the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church in mid-May.
On the evening of June 3, it became known that the icon was transferred to the temple. To do this, the «Trinity» was placed in a special capsule, which must maintain a humidity of about 55% inside for the preservation of the icon. On June 4, believers began to gather at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior — a liturgy is planned there, after which prayer worship of the Trinity will begin.
Previously, the work was stored in the Tretyakov Gallery at the required humidity and temperature. Last summer, gallery employees temporarily handed over the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, and it was brought to Sergiev Posad. The restorers 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. The restorers then reported that there were no «visible signs of deterioration.» Nevertheless, in September, the restoration council 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.»
Not only restorers, but also some clergy opposed the transfer of the icon — for example, Patriarch Kirill removed the archpriest from his post in the Russian Orthodox Church Leonid Kalinin in connection with his «obstruction» of the transfer of the icon to the church. Earlier, 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.
Putin gives Rublev's Trinity to the Russian Orthodox Church. What is known about this and why restorers and art historians oppose