Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) dismissed the head of the expert council on church art, priest Leonid Kalinin, and banned him from serving for "obstructing" the transfer of Rublev's "Trinity" to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This is stated in the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“By the Decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' … Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, in connection with the obstruction of the bringing to the Cathedral Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, the icon of the Holy Trinity of St. and banned from the priesthood,” the message says.
Earlier, Kalinin told RBC that a special protective frame (kiot) was not prepared for the icon in the Trinity Cathedral, and the air conditioners installed in the temple could interfere with its safety.
The decision to transfer the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church was announced on May 15 by Vladimir Putin. He said that this would be done "in response to the numerous requests of Orthodox believers." On May 26, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the Trinity would be moved to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior by June 4. The Ministry of Culture, in turn, assured that "the safety of the icon during transportation and exhibition will be ensured by the most modern means."
The expert council of the Tretyakov Gallery came to the conclusion that in its current state the icon cannot be removed from the museum and needs to be restored. Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts (RAKh) Alexey Lidov told The Insider that even the transportation of the Trinity threatens with irreparable consequences for her condition.
