St. Sergius of Radonezh’s leather sandals have been returned to the Museum of the Moscow Theological Academy

Today, staff of the Museum "Church-Archaeological Cabinet" got leather sandals of St. Sergius of Radonezh, which have been restore at the Scientific and Restoration Center named after Academician I.E. Grabar since April 2021.

It is said that the sandals were sewn by St. Sergius himself and were found on his relics in 1392. 30 years after his death they were not by the decay. 

The excellent state of the sandals surprised the restorers. Experts compared an exhibit from the MThA collection with items from the burials of the time at the Moscow Kremlin and the Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod. At the restoration, it was confirmed that sandals were made specifically for burial as their cut was not intended for a long walking.

Anton Sergeevich Novikov, Director of the Moscow Theological Academy Museum, spoke about the restoration work:

The restoration task was not easy, because the exhibit is over 600 years old. Specialists tested the state of leather; strengthen the cracked and torn parts. It was highly important to preserve the historical shape of the sandals, which we can see on ancient images and engravings. Finally, we got the exhibit back and made sure that the restoration was carried out at the highest level.

The museum staff expresses their deep gratitude to the restorers Natalya Pavlovna Sinitsina and Anastasia Yuryevna Utekhina, who have worked with the item for more than a year.  

Now the relic is placed in a special display case with a fixed level of humidity and temperature.

The event coincided with the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius and on display for the visitors of the Moscow Theological Academy Museum "Church-Archaeological Cabinet".

MThA Press Office