MOSCOW, June 21 The Trinity icon by Andrey Rublev is in a very difficult condition, the general director of the All-Russian Art Research and Restoration Center named after Academician I. E. Grabar Dmitry Sergeev.
“The icon is in a very difficult condition, and earlier experts noted multiple destructive processes. Our task is to preserve a unique monument of history and culture,” the agency’s interlocutor said.
The Russian Orthodox Church reported that the shrine would stay in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until July 18, the day of the celebration of the memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh. They also noted that now the Ministry of Culture is preparing documents on the transfer of the icon to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church. An interlocutor in the Russian Orthodox Church said that up to 5-6 thousand people approach the icon every day.
The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed the decree on the transfer of the icon in May. On June 3, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said that it would stay in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for a year, then the icon would be returned to its historical place — the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.