The Academy and the Russian State Humanitarian University held a regular conference on issues of preserving church art

On 18 to 19 May 2021, within the framework of the XXIX International Educational Readings "Alexander of Neva: West and East, Historical Memory", the Department of History and Theory of Church Art at the Moscow Theological Academy and the Department of the History of Russian Art at the Russian State Humanitarian University held the V International Scientific Conference “Problems of Preserving Church Art”.

The conference on “Historical memory and problems of preserving church art” took place via Zoom.

The event was attended by art historians, restorers, artists, representatives of secular and theological educational institutions, employees of church archeological offices.

V.A. Kolotaev and N.V. Kvlividze, Head of the Department of History and Theory of Church Art at the Moscow Theological Academy, said their welcoming words.

Vladimir Kolotaev, Dean of the Art History Faculty at the Russian State Humanitarian University, thanked the participants and emphasized on the importance of church art in history of a country.

“I am grateful to all participants for their concern and attempt to preserve church art. We are waiting for interesting speeches, and I hope the results of the conference will see a world as a published collective monograph”.

In his report "Historical Memory, Alexander Nevsky and Cultural Identity" Vladimir Kolotaev spoke about the significance of a symbolic image in church art.

Most of reports presented on the first day of the conference were dedicated to the problems of restoration monuments and features of Old Russian iconography.

On May 19, there were reports on teaching experience and significance of Master’s courses of "Restoration and preservation of architectural monuments" as well as on some questions of storage and restoration of museum exhibits.

The following speakers gave their reports on behalf of the Department of History and Theory of Church Art at the Moscow Theological Academy:

• Professor N.V. Kvlividze - "Painting of the renewed cathedral of St. Alexander of Neva ath Novotikhvinsky monastery in Yekaterinburg"; 
• Professor V.V. Igoshev - “Restoration of the 6th century mosaic of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the Sinai Monastery basilica by a Russian monk and an icon painter in 1847”;
• Associate Professor I.N. Slyunkova - “Scientific restoration or author's painting. Questions to some works of the beginning of the XXI century at the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Livadia ";
• V.B. Dorokhov, Senior Lecturer - “Teaching Experience and the Importance of the Master's Course “Restoration and Preservation of Architectural Monuments” at the Moscow Theological Academy”;
• O.S. Voskresenskaya, Senior Lecturer, - “Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve, MThA. Features of storage and restoration of exhibits from the collection of the MThA Museum "Church-Archaeological Cabinet" ";
• I.M. Zubrenko, Senior Lecturer - "The Life Cycle of St. Alexander of Neva in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior";
• E.Yu. Suvorova, Senior Lecturer, - “Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve, MThA. On the Use of Chinese Decorative Fabrics in Russian Liturgical Objects of the 17th-18th Centuries ";
• B.B. Goncharuk, a postgraduate student - "The prophetic rank of the iconostasis of the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius’s Lavra: composition and artistic features";
• E.V. Polishchuk, a postgraduate student, - "Renewal of the mural painting of the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius’s Lavra in 1847-1849 and 1854-1855 (based on archival materials)"; 
• N.I. Grigorieva, a postgraduate student, - "The activities of Archpriest Alexy Ostapov on the reconstruction of the Church-archaeological museum of the Moscow Theological Academy in 1955-1975 (to his 90th anniversary)."

The MThA Press Office/RSHU website