On the evening of July 16, the Tretyakov Gallery temporarily handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church Andrei Rublev's icon of the Holy Trinity. As two employees of the museum told Mediazona, it has already been brought to Sergiev Posad, where it will be placed in the Trinity Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The icon should hang there for two days, while divine services dedicated to the 600th anniversary of finding the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh will be held in the Lavra.
As Mediazona found out, the transmission of Trinity was preceded by two months of disputes and protests among the staff of the Tretyakov Gallery, restorers and art historians, who are sure that the removal of the icon from museum conditions can have irreversible consequences for its condition.
First a letter from the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the interlocutors of Mediazona, came to the Tretyakov Gallery a year ago, but then the museum refused. The next request came in May 2022: the Russian Orthodox Church asked that the icon be handed over by June 12, on the feast of the Trinity, which this year coincided with Russia Day.
At the restoration council, which took place on May 24, art critics, researchers and restorers of the Tretyakov Gallery came to outputthat it is impossible to transport the Rublev icon: its safety depends on harsh temperature conditions and a certain humidity, which can only be created within the walls of the museum.
In mid-June, the director of the Tretyakov Gallery, Zelfira Tregulova, explained to the Ministry of Culture that the transfer of the icon was impossible. But Sergey Obryvalin, who coordinates the work of the department for the protection of cultural heritage, still allowed the Trinity to be issued to the Russian Orthodox Church «on an exceptional basis.»
A document about this was sent to the Tretyakov Gallery on July 12. A source in the Ministry of Culture told journalist Ksenia Korobeynikova that this decision was not an initiative of the department, but «an order» from above «, from the presidential administration. .jpg» class=»mz-publish-context-cite__image» alt=»1″ />The «Trinity» by Andrei Rublev was taken from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The icon was provided for worship despite the protests of the restorers
As a result, on July 14, the acting director of the Tretyakov Gallery, Rinat Shigapov, signed an order to transport the icon to Sergiev Posad — Tregulova at that time was on a business trip. Gallery employees we are convinced that the agreement between him and the abbot of the monastery, Bishop Thomas, «in fact is a misdemeanor.»
In 2008, they tried to transport the icon of Andrei Rublev «Trinity» to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra for worship. With a request to transfer it to the temporary use of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Tretyakov Gallery was approached by the former Patriarch Alexy II. Museum staff strongly opposed — the indignation was the same as now — moving a work of art is not safe. Then «Trinity» still remained in the gallery.