MOSCOW, May 15. The Ministry of Culture commented on the return of the reliquary of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky to the walls of the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg from the Hermitage. press service of the Ministry of Culture.
The return of the shrine to the Lavra will be carried out in two stages. The first one includes the transfer of wooden elements of the monument to the Trinity Cathedral. It is scheduled to be completed on September 12, 2023.
At the second stage, the silver shrine itself will be transported, into which the relics of the holy noble prince will be returned. According to plans, the transfer of the raki will be completed by the end of 2023. The memorial complex will be installed in the Church of the Annunciation.
These stages «will be preceded by ensuring the temperature and humidity regime in the Trinity Cathedral and other issues of preserving the monument, including from excessive anthropogenic load. Modes for visiting the cathedral and special technical conditions for the preservation of the shrine will be agreed with experts,» the press service says.
In addition, it is indicated that there is no question of «alienating the shrine from the museum fund of Russia.» The object is transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church for temporary use for 49 years. Experts will conduct regular inspections of the monument to monitor its safety.
A silver shrine for the relics of Alexander Nevsky was made at the direction of the daughter of Peter I, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and installed in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in 1750. The design of the entire ensemble was completed in 1752.
The relics were removed from the shrine in 1922. The monument was transferred to the State Hermitage. Employees of the institution several times saved him from destruction. In 2011-2019, a large-scale restoration was carried out.
On the transfer of the shrine of Alexander Nevsky to the Russian Orthodox Church it became known yesterday, May 14th.