Russian Orthodox Church proposed to establish in Sergiev Posad near the world famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra scale center of Orthodox culture, which will include a Museum, a library, a representation of the local Orthodox Churches and other buildings. The details of the project, which is being developed, told TASS the Chairman of the expert Council of the Russian Church on Church art, architecture and restoration Archpriest Leonid Kalinin.
Earlier, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill, speaking at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, offered to carry out reconstruction Sergiev Posad. It should emphasize the special status of the city as spiritual center and to create a more favorable environment for people’s lives. As an example, he cited the Vatican, which is the spiritual center for the Catholic community and the Canterbury centre of the Anglican Church.
“The project passes a coordination stage. His fate will be decided at the highest level: the President, the bodies of cultural heritage protection, Patriarch society. It will be a competent, modern and very technological project aimed at the disclosure of the spiritual and historical sense of the city that emerged around the Trinity-Sergius Lavra,” said father Leonid.
“The monastery does not affect, and, conversely, will retain their inviolability, as part of the Museum exhibition can be deduced in a more convenient modern building. Here young people and tourists will be able with the most modern tools to study the history of the monastery, the traditions of Orthodox culture, to open such significant pages of Russian history as the development of the Russian North by the disciples of St. Sergius of Radonezh, or the defense of the monastery in 1612 year,” he added.
The priest said that the reconstruction may affect buildings in the city centre, which were built in Soviet time and do not represent artistic value, as well as those that according to its technical condition is now destined for demolition. “For example, there is a detention facility, it can be displayed in a more appropriate place than the city center and the building to be rebuilt into a Museum,” said father Leonid. He explained that the establishment of a centre of Orthodox culture will help to redirect the flows of tourists and allow them to get acquainted with Russian culture and history. Hotel solutions, according to father Leonid, “will be in this draft spot, as hotels are already there”.
What will be placed in the Orthodox center?
In the new Orthodox centre, in addition to the Museum will be able to accommodate the Patriarchal library with valuable old manuscripts, available to a wide range of visitors, youth centre, meeting space and a representation of the 15 local Orthodox churches in the world, helping to make more vibrant, international cultural exchange and develop the pilgrimage.
“By the way, any new temple will not be built in the city. But the field on the West side of the monastery, with a magnificent view of the monastery will be used for crowded worship under the open sky – for the holidays, dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh in the Laura of the traditionally flock to worship tens of thousands of pilgrims,” concluded FR.