MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. The duration of the period during which the 15th century Trinity icon remains on display in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral will have no effect on its condition provided that the required parameters of temperature and humidity are observed, Director-General of the Grabar All-Russian Art Conservation Center Dmitry Sergeyev said.

It was originally planned that the icon will be on display at the cathedral until June 18, and after that it would be taken for restoration. However, later the ministry of culture extended the icon’s display period at the Christ the Savior Cathedral until July 19, 2023 at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, to give believers an opportunity to worship the icon on St. Sergius of Radonezh Day celebrated on July 18. According to the ministry, the icon is in a stable condition and the there is no sharp fluctuation in temperature and humidity at the cathedral.

"The duration of the icon’s stay in the Christ the Savior Cathedral will have no direct negative effect, provided that the conditions in which the icon is stored do not sustain any rapid changes and that these conditions do not worsen in general," the expert said.

"The most dangerous period will be during the icon’s transportation," he continued. "As long as the temperature and humidity of the environment do not go beyond the critical point - and, as I understand, they do not - the duration of the icon’s stay will not be able to inflict any critical harm."

The Trinity is an icon created by famous Russian painter Andrey Rublev in the first half of the 15th century. A masterpiece of Russian art, it is believed to have been painted by Rublev for the Trinity Monastery (now the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius) at the request of Reverend Nikon of Radonezh (1350-1426), a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the second abbot of the monastery after him. The icon was moved to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 1929 and has been kept there ever since.

On May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to transfer the icon from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Russian Orthodox Church. Then, the Russian Orthodox Church said that the icon will be accessible to the faithful at the Christ the Savior Cathedral from June 4 to June 18. The patriarch, however, said that he expects that the icon will remain in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral for a year, and then it will be returned to its historical place in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra (Monastery) of St. Sergius, located outside Moscow. Meanwhile, the State Tretyakov Gallery then said that the icon must be returned to the museum’s depository no later than June 19, 2023. On June 18, the Russian Orthodox Church said on its website that the Trinity will stay at the Christ the Savior Cathedral until July 18.