As Easter celebrations approach, Patriarch Kirill is expected, according to Russian media reports, to receive two more especially revered relics from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery: the 12th-century Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the 14th-century Don Icon. According to those reports, the first is to be placed in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour before Easter, while the second would later be moved to the Donskoy Monastery.
For a long time, neither the Culture Ministry nor the Russian Orthodox Church commented officially on the transfer. Only on the morning of April 3 did the Tretyakov Gallery confirm that the icons had been handed over for free use. Earlier, art critic Sofia Bagdasarova had written about the planned move, noting that the condition of the artifacts and their ability to withstand the loss of a museum climate were unknown.
At the same time, information about the state of the Vladimir icon had previously been published by the Orthodox magazine Neskuchny Sad, which described a large number of old forged nails inside the wooden panels. Because of the icon's fragility, it had been kept in a special capsule in St. Nicholas Church in Tolmachi on the Tretyakov grounds, where the required temperature and humidity were maintained, and it was periodically taken to nearby restoration workshops for preventive work.
According to museum staff speaking anonymously, the Culture Ministry may sign an agreement with the Moscow Patriarchate allowing the relics to be exhibited for 49 years, while formally keeping them in the state museum fund. The concern is that in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour the icon will be exposed to visitor traffic, candle smoke, and other harmful factors.
Art historians have also noted that leadership changes at the gallery have coincided with the transfer of major Old Russian artworks to the Church. In January, the museum was headed by Olga Galaktionova, formerly the director of ROSIZO and a member of a Rossotrudnichestvo commission on promoting Russian culture and traditional values.