On 30 May 2016, as part of the Agreement on Collaboration, a delegation from the State Hermitage made a visit to the St Petersburg Theological Academy in the course of which the guests, accompanied by the Rector, Archbishop Amvrosy, viewed one of the oldest theological institutions in St Petersburg, visited the Academy Church of St John the Divine, the library, the ecclesiastical-archaeological museum and classrooms of the icon-painting department of the Academy.
The central event of the meeting was a round table devoted to questions of the interaction between secular and ecclesiastical museums. The participants were Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, Archbishop Amvrosy, members of the Hermitage staff and lecturers and students from the Academy.
As Archbishop Amvrosy pointed out, the St Petersburg Theological Academy, founded in the new capital in 1721, is one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s oldest educational establishments and plays a substantial role in the formation of a high intellectual ecclesiastical environment in Russia. He stressed that collaboration under the Agreement has the aim of involving to the maximum the potential of the museum and the religious Academy in a humanistic discussion on culture, art and spirituality and that this collaboration is a great honour for the Academy.
Mikhail Piotrovsky proposed discussing theoretical and practical questions. He spoke about how ecclesiastical heritage is presented in the Hermitage, what the museum is doing and should be doing in this sphere. As an example, the Director cited the Great Church of the Winter Palace. After restoration, on days of particular commemoration, chief among which is the anniversary of the expulsion of the enemy from Russia on 25 December 1812, a service is held. while the permanent display is devoted to the memory of the Romanovs, whose destinies were closely connected with the palace church. He also noted that a “display of a special genre”, has been created at the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre, presenting icons and frescoes from Smolensk and Pskov.
Georgy Vilinbakhov, Deputy General Director of the State Hermitage, speaking about the future permanent display on Early Rus’, singled out Early Russian icon-painting, which will form a special section. The theme of the permanent displays was taken up by Yury Piatnitsky, who pointed out that in no other museum in Europe is there a comparable integrated display of both applied art and icons as in the Hermitage’s permanent display devoted to Byzantium. Svetlana Adaksina, Deputy General Director for Storage, touched on the issue of the strong confrontation between the Church and the museum-preserve at Chersonesus.
The round table examined various possibilities for interaction between the Hermitage and the Theological Academy, they included closer contacts between the ecclesiastical museums and the Hermitage and the possibility of the Academy’s choirs participating in various Hermitage events.
At the end of the round table, there was a briefing for journalists given by Mikhail Piotrovsky and Archbishop Amvrosy. In response to one question, about the participants’ assessment of the significance of the day’s event, the Rector said that such meetings are important for the Academy above all as an educational establishment, since “they allow students to broaden their mental horizons and to form a proper and healthy attitude to those phenomena of the contemporary world and culture that they might perceive oversensitively.” Archbishop Amvrosy expressed confidence that such meetings further the establishment of productive and professional collaboration and “the invented conflict between the Church and the museum should be consigned to oblivion.” Mikhail Borisovich in his turn also stressed the importance of such events in establishing a constant dialogue between representatives of spiritual and secular culture and expressed the hope that such meetings and collaboration between the State Hermitage and the St Petersburg Theological Academy will become a sort of model for constructive interaction.
An official delegation from the State Hermitage headed by Director Mikhail Piotrovsky visited the St Petersburg Theological Academy for the first time
The official visit of the Director of the State Hermitage and leading members of staff to the Northern Capital’s oldest theological teaching establishment took place on 30 May under the collaboration agreement signed in September 2015.
The Rector of the Academy, Archbishop Amvrosy of Peterhof, gave the guests a short excursion around the Academy’s ecclesiastical-archaeological museum, one of the largest libraries in the Orthodox world and the lecture rooms, and spoke about the life of St Petersburg’s theological schools.
In the Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist St John the Divine of the St Petersburg Theological Academy, Archbishop Amvrosy spoke in detail about the Orthodox holy objects, unique icons and relics kept there. Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky and his staff visited the icon-painting department of the Academy, where the head, Archimandrite Alexander (Feodorov), showed pupils’ current works and spoke about the icons they created that are now adorning churches in different parts of Russia. Hegumen Stefan (Sado), head of the Academy’s library, spoke about the formation of the library stocks and unique specimens in the halls of the book repository.
Before the start of the round table, Mikhail Piotrovsky and Archbishop Amvrosy of Peterhof exchanged commemorative gifts. Mikhail Borisovich presented the Hermitage’s latest publications to the Academy, while Archbishop Amvrosy for his part presented the guest with a souvenir Easter egg in commemoration of the paschal season of the meeting, some of the Academy’s publications and a copy of the icon of canonized graduates of the Theological Academy, the original of which is in the Academy’s Church of St John the Divine.
Mikhail Borisovich and the museum staff spoke about the work of particular Hermitage projects that overlap with ecclesiastical history and the history of Russia. The Hermitage Director spoke about the Great Church of the Winter Palace (Church of the Vernicle) that was restored and opened to visitors in 2014. The Hermitage administration took the decision to dedicate the church to the memory of the Romanov dynasty since the destiny of the imperial family is closely bound up with the history of the Winter Palace. In that church they married, baptised their children and celebrated notable dates; the personal Gospels, crosses, family icons and other relics of the House of Romanov are kept in it. One of the traditions associated with the church is being revived: before the 1917 revolution on 25 December (Old Style) each year the anniversary of Russia’s deliverance from Napoleon’s invasion was celebrated in the Hermitage church. On that day many churches in St Petersburg, including those in the Winter Palace, held a special service of thanksgiving and a parade took place. “Thus we perform our mission – to unite historical memory of Russian statehood, culture and spiritual traditions,” Mikhail Piotrovsky observed.
Viacheslav Feodorov, head of the Department of the History of Russian Culture, announced the forthcoming opening of a refurbished display devoted to the culture and art of Early Rus’ that will for the first time include a separate section on icon-painting, which was previously combined with the display of applied art. Many unique icons known only to specialists will be put on public show for the first time.
Georgy Vilinbakhov, Deputy Director for Research, spoke about the distinctively St Petersburg traditions of regimental churches and military relics. Regimental banners and captured standards were kept in the Winter Palace after having been consecrated in the regimental churches and cathedrals of the city. After the 1917 revolution many standards and banners were saved and preserved thanks to the museum staff. Georgy Vilinbakhov suggested celebrating jointly with the Theological Academy in the Hermitage military historical dates, such as the feast day of the Great Martyr St George the Bringer of Victory, the Day of the Russian Guards and the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland.
Yury Piatnitsky, curator of the Hermitage’s stocks of Byzantine art, pointed out that in no other museum in Europe is there a comparable integrated display of both applied art and icons as in the Hermitage’s permanent display devoted to Byzantium. He noted that the Hermitage collection contains very early works of icon-painting, going back as far as the 11th century. No other country in the world has such an extensive and unique display. Acquaintance with it will undoubtedly expand the knowledge of students of the Theological Academy. In the opinion of Archimandrite Alexander (Feodorov), one of the successful forms of interaction between Academy and museum could be the work of its copyists.
After the round table, a briefing was held at which Mikhail Piotrovsky and Archbishop Amvrosy answered questions from journalists about the results of the meeting. “The collaboration that we talked about with the representatives of the Hermitage today,” Archbishop Amvrosy said, “forms a priest as a person with broad mental horizons. It enables him to form a proper and healthy attitude to those phenomena of the contemporary world and culture that people might perceive oversensitively. The invented conflict between the Church and the museum should be consigned to oblivion. We should only look for points of contact. And the disputes that may arise should be resolved through calm discussion between professionals behind closed doors. In collaboration it is important to use each other’s potential for mutual benefit.”
Mikhail Borisovich stresses that interaction between representatives of spiritual and secular culture in St Petersburg is founded on mutual respect and partnership. He also expressed the hope that such meetings and collaboration between the State Hermitage and the St Petersburg Theological Academy will become a sort of model for constructive interaction.
The St Petersburg Theological Academy and the State Hermitage signed a collaboration agreement on 10 September 2015. Through it, one of the oldest educational establishments of the Russian Orthodox Church and one of the world’s foremost artistic, historical and cultural museums formalized a partnership. The agreement envisages the organization of joint round tables, lectures, press conferences and interviews devoted to interaction between museums and the Church, and also the realization in future of joint publishing projects and activities aimed at attracting public interest in culture, art, religious values and traditions, the exchange of expert opinions and the discussion of current issues of the interaction of art and religion in contemporary society, the importance of constructive dialogue and partnership in the preservation of national culture and education.
