28 February — 15 May 2022

Museum and Heritage Site 'Kolomenskoye'

Organized by:

The Moscow State United Museum and Heritage Site 'Kolomenskoye-Izmaylovo-Lublino'

Participants:

The Museum and Heritage Site 'Kolomenskoye', State Tretyakov Gallery, State Historical Museum, State Museum of the History of Religion, State Russian Museum, Russian Expatriate House named by A. Solzhenitsyn,  Yegoryevsk Historical and Art Museum, The Moscow Kremlin Museums, Russian State Library, Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, Samara Regional Art Museum, Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum, Central Museum of Old Russian Culture and Art named by Andrey Rublev, Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, private collections

Icon of Christ in Majesty

The Moscow Kremlin Museums participate in the exhibition organized by the Moscow State United Museum and Heritage Site 'Kolomenskoye-Izmalaylovo-Lublino' dedicated to the 400th Anniversary of archpriest Avvakum, Russian writer and religious figure, one of the brightest persons of the 17th century.

The Old Believers are of great importance to the national history and culture, but the general public knows little about it. The exhibition project aims to introduce visitors both to the main milestones in the history of this religious movement and primarily to the personalities of the 'ancient piety' adherents, for whom the preservation of faith was the basic principle of life. The idea of personified presentation of the Old Believers' history is reflected in the title and revealed in the exhibits. Visitors have an opportunity to examine various icons, handwritten and printed books, church utensils, documents, as well as portraits of the key Old Believer leaders of the 18th-20th centuries. Such an approach gives the exhibition the individuality among the 2020-2021 commemorative events dedicated to archpriest Avvakum.

The Moscow Kremlin Museums gave on loan the icon of Christ in Majesty of 1627-1628. It comes from the Cathedral of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae – the main temple of the Kremlin's Chudov Monastery; the icon was placed in the Deesis tier of the central iconostasis. The authors of the exhibition idea link this majestic image with an episode in Ivan Neronov's life – he was one of the leaders of the God-loving Circle, the mentor and friend of archpriest Avvakum. On the eve of Great Lent in 1653, after the official announcement of church reform, Ivan Neronov retired to the Chudov Monastery where 'a voice was heard from the image during a prayer: The time for suffering has come; ought you to suffer unceasingly!'.

 
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