Russia's most famous icon handed over from museum to church despite protests
Russian Orthodox believers are celebrating Trinity Sunday with Russia’s most famous icon transferred from a museum to Moscow’s main cathedral despite the keepers’ vociferous protests
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Orthodox believers celebrated Trinity Sunday with Russia's most famous icon transferred from a museum to Moscow's main cathedral despite the keepers' vociferous protests.
The Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev, which was kept in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery since the 1920s, was moved to Christ the Savior Cathedral before the holiday on President Vladimir Putin's personal order.
Putin's abrupt decision to hand over the 15th-century icon to the church came despite a strong opposition from the Tretyakov keepers, who warned that the icon was too fragile to move and requires constant care to avoid a drastic deterioraton in its condition.
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill responded by dismissing a senior priest who sided with the museum keepers in advising to keep the icon at the Tretyakov Gallery.
