a Russia’s most famous icon, widely considered a national masterpiece of the 15th century, has been on display for nearly a century in Russian museums.
In response to numerous requests from Orthodox believers, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a decision to return the miraculous icon “Trinity” painted by St. Brice (AFP) to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The work will be shown “for public respect” in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow before being placed in the Trinity Cathedral in Sergiev Posad, the Russian Orthodox “Vatican” near the capital.
The icon, depicting three angels sitting at a table, painted by the monk and painter Andrei Rublev, who was canonized in the 1980s, was donated to the famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow by the Soviet authorities in 1929.
The Russian Church has demanded its return on several occasions since the demise of the Soviet Union.
According to Russian media, The Trinity has only left the museum three times, including in 2022, when it was loaned to a church for a mass in Sergiev Posad, and had to be removed from exhibition for restoration.
In addition to this artwork, the church will receive the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, medieval prince and Russian national hero, according to an agreement signed May 10 with St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum and announced Sunday.
The Hermitage Museum said in a statement that the largest museum in Russia will display the cemetery for 49 years, with the possibility of extending the agreement, adding that the move was approved by the Ministry of Culture.
According to the Hermitage, the conditions for the church exhibition will be subject to censorship.
These actions illustrate the growing influence of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church in the country, in the context of the offensive in Ukraine that began more than a year ago.
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill supported the Russian offensive in his sermons.
For his part, Vladimir Putin in April praised the “strengthening” role of the church in Russian society and youth, at a time when the country was facing “serious challenges”.
Also read: Russia accuses the United States of bribing the International Criminal Court to order Putin’s arrest
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