St. Isaac's Cathedral is passed. What is known about the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church

The information that Isaac might depart the Russian Orthodox Church appeared in the last days of the outgoing 2016 and excited the city. Although back in the fall of 2015, the head of the city firmly refused Metropolitan Barsanuphius to transfer Isaac, citing the fact that he brings profit to the city.

And on January 10, the words of the governor sound like a bolt from the blue: "The issue of transferring St. Isaac's Cathedral to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church has been resolved, but the building will fully retain its museum functions." Poltavchenko is said to have agreed on the transfer of the cathedral during Patriarch Kirill's visit to St. Petersburg at the end of December.

Residents of the city, in turn, fear that in the event of the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church, a number of educational, cultural and educational programs will be closed.

Accounts - to the city, profit - to the church

P Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Culture Maxim Reznik intends to initiate a city referendum if the decision to transfer is actually made.

“Today there is no reason to transfer St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church,” says Reznik. - Firstly, he never belonged to the church, and the law of the return of church buildings, to which some refer, does not work here. Secondly, from the point of view of holding divine services in the cathedral, the interests of the church are not infringed in any way. Why, then, should the public domain, one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, suddenly come under the wing of one, albeit respected, organization? Moreover, the Russian Orthodox Church offers us an interesting format, in which the city will pay millions for the maintenance of the cathedral, and all the income received from its operation will go into the "pocket" of the church.

Today the cathedral is self-supporting. Photo: AiF / Ksenia Matveeva

What funds will be used for restoration is a big question. Look at the Kazan Cathedral belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church. What was it turned into after the restoration? I would not want such a fate for Isaac! Also, do not forget that in the event of a transfer, 400 employees of the museum complex will simply find themselves on the street. I expect Governor Poltavchenko to answer the question, has his position changed? In 2015, literally with the help of a spy operation, I managed to find out about the church's claims to St. Isaac's Cathedral. Issues like this should not be dealt with silently.”

serious situation

A more specific position of Smolny is waiting director of St. Isaac's Cathedral Nikolai Burov.

“This story is 150 years old, from time to time it pops up and causes a wide public outcry,” he commented on the situation. - However, some turn will be the last, and I have reason to believe that now the situation is quite serious. But I, as the head of the institution, a hired manager, must have a written order. Here it should be taken into account that St. Isaac's Cathedral today is one of the most successful cultural institutions not only in St. Petersburg, but also in the country. In 2016, we reached the mark of 3 million 900 thousand visitors and earned more than 800 million rubles. All of them will go to the maintenance and restoration of the museum-monument. For the past few decades, we have supported ourselves, which is rare for cultural institutions.”

Meanwhile, a petition asking to prevent the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Blood to the ROC has already been signed on the Internet by about 100,000 citizens. Its creators believe that otherwise the educational and educational component of institutions will be completely eliminated, since the ROC is unlikely to conduct excursions, organize various exhibitions and concerts of classical music.

At the same time, he spoke for the transfer of the cathedral State Duma Deputy Vitaly Milonov. He called his opponents "demons" and "liberal cocks."

“We want the inscription on St. Isaac's Cathedral to come true. Temple of Prayer. Go to the Vatican, write a protest, demand state property for St. Peter's Cathedral,” the parliamentarian said.

Recall that last year the Smolny Cathedral officially ceased to be a museum object and became the property of the church.

The night before, it became known that St. Isaac's Cathedral would still be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, despite the active protests of the townspeople and public figures. Rumors about this decision of the governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko went even before the New Year. Previously, the transfer was discussed in the summer of 2015, but for economic reasons, the decision was postponed in Smolny. Now the government claims that the temple will work both as a museum and as a church. "Dialogue" understood the situation and opinions.

The public again reacted violently to the news of Fr. In particular, on Tuesday on the Internet, where you can leave your signature against. The resource was created by activists Fedor Gorozhanko and Polina Kostyleva.

“First, they are outraged by the actions of the authorities. The story of the Kadyrov bridge, in my opinion, did not teach them anything. Decisions regarding the key monument for St. Petersburg and the symbol of the city in general are made behind closed doors in Smolny. Such decisions cannot be made without taking into account the opinion of citizens. In addition, the argument against is that this building of the Church never belonged ( In 1858, the cathedral was consecrated and until 1922 it was the cathedral church of the Russian Orthodox Church, however, it was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Churches of the Court, which was in charge of the temples of the Winter Palace and suburban imperial residences - Dialog News Agency), and it, among other museums, brings profit to the city. This is a point of attraction for tourists, and on the territory of the Admiralteisky district there is no need for another church to hold services. I believe that this is thoughtless, no one has agreed," Gorozhanko told Dialog news agency.

Each signature from the site is automatically redirected to the Internet reception of Smolny. Gorozhanko noted that they also plan to hold street actions, distribute leaflets and, possibly, mass events. In total, the activists intend to collect about 20-30 thousand signatures. Now there are more than a thousand of them on the site.

Also in the morning, the speaker of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, Vyacheslav Makarov, made a statement. According to him, any calls against the law on the transfer of the cathedral to the Church will be regarded as a provocation.

“We are required to comply with this federal law ( No. 327-FZ of November 30, 2010 “On the transfer to religious organizations of property for religious purposes that is in state or municipal ownership” - or the so-called law “On Church Restitution” - Dialog News Agency). This is not only the wish of hundreds of thousands and millions of Orthodox believers, but it is also the fulfillment of federal law. I ask you to pay attention to this, St. Isaac's Cathedral, as it was, and will be open to everyone, regardless of nation, nationality, national, ethnic group, regardless of which confession this or that person who wants to visit St. Isaac's Cathedral belongs to. It is open to absolutely everyone. And most importantly: all kinds of calls not to comply with the federal law, all kinds of speeches are regarded as provocation. This is done only by provocateurs, instigators and warmongers. We are obliged to fulfill the federal law, and it will be executed,” said the chairman of the city parliament.

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly from the Yabloko party, Boris Vishnevsky, in a commentary to the Dialog news agency, stated that it was necessary to leave the cathedral under the jurisdiction of the city due to the fact that if it was transferred, it would still be maintained at the expense of the budget, and the ROC would receive the profit.

“This is one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. St. Isaac's Cathedral was never transferred to the Church, because it was built with state money, both believers and non-believers, and as a taxpayer I am ready to pay for the maintenance of the museum, but I am not ready to pay for the temple, and this is inevitable, because if the cathedral is transferred to the Church , then it turns out that the city must maintain, preserve and restore it, and the Church will simply use and receive income, which she calls donations. They are also not taxed. That won't work. This is wrong,” the parliamentarian explained.

“Nobody violates the rights of believers. If necessary, an appropriate agreement can be concluded between the management of the museum and the diocese so that mutual obligations are legally fixed. I will take all possible actions that the law allows, starting from public actions, deputy requests and appeals, ending with going to court,” Vishnevsky said.

His colleague, deputy of the Legislative Assembly from the Party of Growth, Maxim Reznik, told Dialog that he would discuss how to resist the transfer of the cathedral, but declined to comment further.

State Duma deputy from United Russia, ex-deputy of the city legislature Vitaly Milonov noted that the transfer of St. Isaac to the church will not affect the work of the museum. “It seems to me that hysteria is whipped up for the sake of their own PR. None of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church considers it possible to cancel the function of St. Isaac's Cathedral as a tourist attraction. Please, come, as they come to Nikolsky and Troitsky now, there will be no problems. And if someone sees that the bookkeeping is broken there, unfortunately, this is already beyond my competence, ”Regnum news agency quotes Milonov.

Meanwhile, the activists of the movement "Spring" on Wednesday. The action was called “Glory to God not the Russian Orthodox Church”, but the banner with the inscription “Glory to God” was taken away by the police.

“We consider it wrong to transfer one of the symbols of our city into the hands of a public organization with a rather dubious reputation, to which the cathedral has never belonged before. It seems to us that this initiative is aimed purely at enriching the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, which will receive free of charge the ownership of one of the most important objects of tourist infrastructure, bringing tens of millions of rubles to the city budget, but when it comes to caring for the monument, the townspeople will still be forced to pay, ” the movement said in a statement.

The director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum complex, Nikolai Burov, said that he considers the transfer of the cathedral to the church a murder of the museum. “I don’t like it, but has anyone asked me if I like it or not? If they kill your child in front of your eyes, will you like it? This is the murder of a museum, which quite naturally makes me feel uncomfortable. This is the softest thing I can say. My contract says that I have to fulfill my duties. And I’m not fighting, I’m just fulfilling my duties in the same way as I did them the day before yesterday, a month ago, six months ago, and I will continue to fulfill them as long as possible,” Burov told Dialog.

By Wednesday evening, the discussions had not yet subsided, but news had already arrived that. According to the director general of the institution, Alexander Visly, in this way the ROC will return its property. And Petersburgers have to wait for new programs and returns.

Prepared by Masha Vse-Taki / IA "Dialog"

Why St. Isaac's Cathedral should be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and why this should not be done - in the Fontanka studio, Vladimir Dervenev, head of the pilgrimage department of the St. Petersburg diocese, and Boris Vishnevsky, deputy of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, discussed.

Believers complain that they are not allowed to hold full-fledged services in St. Isaac's Cathedral, but they do not mind if the museum remains attached to the church and earns money to maintain the building. The main argument of the opponents of the transfer is that the museum's income will inevitably fall, and the city's budget (that is, all taxpayers) will have to pay for the maintenance of the temple.

Fontanka wrote that Smolny has long been unofficially saying that the governor has already instructed to prepare a positive response for the St. Petersburg Metropolis, which was reported to the director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum Nikolai Burov. The museum worker himself, however, before the New Year actively refused to comment on the rumors. But most of the interlocutors spoke of the transfer as a settled matter, no longer remembering Georgy Poltavchenko's refusal to do so.

In the summer of 2015, the St. Petersburg diocese turned to the city government with a request to transfer St. Isaac's Cathedral to it, but was refused. The city authorities decided to continue the practice of sharing the temple with the museum and the church, which has existed for more than 20 years. In the summer of 2016, it became known that Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation with a request to transfer the Church and the Savior on Spilled Blood, which is part of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum complex.

Vishnevsky:- Historical fact: St. Isaac's Cathedral was never transferred to the church, it was built at the expense of the treasury of the Russian Empire, was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Imperial Court. And it has always been state-owned. There is no reason to worry about the current situation. Services are held in the cathedral. The management of the museum "St. Isaac's Cathedral" does not create any obstacles for them.

Dervenev:- My opponent winced. The cathedral certainly belonged to the church. It was on the balance of the state - a department for the sovereign's temples was specially created. Because some churches could not be supported by parishes for natural reasons, that is, they were not parish. This administration included St. Isaac's Cathedral and the house churches of the imperial and grand duke's residences. They were supported by the state. Isaac was included in the number of such temples as a symbol of the empire. At the same time, all the priests were civil servants and received a salary.

Vishnevsky:- I would ask you to be more careful about juggling. The church was part of the state during the Russian Empire. And today, the current ROC does not even have the legal right of succession to demand the return of the cathedral. All the talk about restitution is based on the fact that the church was repressed by the Bolsheviks. But you probably know better than me who the current leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate comes from. From Metropolitan Sergius of Starogorodsky, who, by the way, once supported that same godless government and denounced its enemies. If you raise the question of the return of churches, then you may find competitors who took a slightly different position in relation to the Bolshevik government. And you didn't answer my simple question. Services are running. Museum director Nikolai Burov does not interfere with them. What's stopping you? Let's go down the path of agreement. I submitted to the Office of the Legislative Assembly a bill amending federal law No. 327 on the transfer of church property. If we are talking about museums that are state property, then they should not be transferred to anyone, but a burden should be imposed on them: to conclude an agreement so that worship services can be held in them. And that's enough.

Dervenev:- You have said so much, and all this has little to do with St. Isaac's Cathedral. When a lady in the uniform of an attendant of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum passes through the altar during a divine service, this is unacceptable for a believer. There is too little temple in the cathedral today. Too little prayer. St. Isaac's Cathedral is closed on Wednesday, even if a church holiday falls on that day. The services that exist are maintained in a truncated form. And all of them are coordinated with the management of the museum. And if the museum hosts some museum events, evening services are cancelled. The museum should be attached to the temple, and not, as it is now, the temple is attached to the museum. There is a federal law according to which temples must be transferred to believers. And this law must be fulfilled.

Vishnevsky: I am well aware of this law. And it's written wrong. It says that a religious organization has the right to make such a request. And then the authority decides whether to grant this request or not. Draws up a transfer plan, and this issue is considered for six years. The law does not automatically return everything you ask for. In September 2015, the transfer of the church of St. Isaac's Cathedral was already denied, including for economic reasons. And they, in my opinion, are decisive here. Instead of restoring destroyed temples, of which there are thousands across the country, the church wants to get a flourishing museum. And in this case, she cares not about the soul, but about the interests of the corporation.

Reference: St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the most popular museums in St. Petersburg. In 2016 alone, 3.9 million tourists visited it. The museum earned more than 800 million rubles. With these funds, the restoration of the cathedral was fully paid for.

Dervenev:- Who told you that the diocese is against having a museum in this cathedral? If there is a museum there, if it receives tourists, no one is against it. Services that would be conducted there regularly, and not furtively in the left aisle, but as it should be - in the main cathedral of the empire, would help to attract tourists. Restoration, warmth and light - all this should be, as it was a hundred years ago, not only from the treasury of the state, but also from the income of the cathedral. I am sure that from attracting tourists there will be funds for the maintenance of the cathedral and for restoration.

Vishnevsky:- I understood perfectly well that as soon as it comes to the economic component, you will start to “float”. Imagine that the cathedral was transferred to the diocese. Then you, apparently, assume that the city will contain the federal architectural monument. The burden of maintenance will be borne by the taxpayers. As a taxpayer, I am ready to pay money for the maintenance of the museum and the preservation of the monument. But I do not agree to pay for the upkeep of the temple. Let's conduct an experiment: let's offer believers to pay a fee for the upkeep of the temple. And we'll see how many there really are. If the service is being held, as you say, in the corner, let's change the agreement with the museum management so that the services are held in the right amount.

Dervenev:- The greatest cathedrals combine both a temple and a museum. People who come to the temple to pray should not pay money for it. And those who come with guides should. And the guides must be certified, and not by some secular organization. I attended excursions in St. Isaac's Cathedral. There is no mention that this is the temple of God, no. It is only about the building.

Who prevents now to enter the Kazan Cathedral, to look at this magnificence, to bow to the grave of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov? Any competent excursion, not theomachy, as in St. Isaac's Cathedral, has a great missionary effect.

Vishnevsky:- In the event that the transfer of the cathedral takes place, revenues will drop sharply. A huge number of people will come to the temple, enjoying the right of free access, and look at it. They won't even need excursions. Some time will pass, and Governor Georgy Sergeevich Poltavchenko will come to our Legislative Assembly and say: you will not allow St. Isaac's Cathedral to collapse - allocate money for its restoration. And it is sad that I, an unbeliever, have to remind you of the Epistle to the Corinthians: "You are the temple of God, and God is not in the temple, but in the heart of man."

Dervenev:- Save you, Lord, for moralizing. The city will not lose St. Isaac's Cathedral, but will acquire it. The museum will exist as it always has. It is a myth that the church is a rich organization. I saw priests in "wheelbarrows" only when Bishop Mitrofan of Gatchina and Luga, picking up his cassock, rolls the wheelbarrow on subbotniks. And many other temples that have not been transferred so far. For example, the Cathedral of John the Baptist on Lesnoy, which now has a fitness center with a swimming pool. An unbelieving person cannot understand what prayer is in a prayerful place, such as St. Isaac's Cathedral. Why not make an application to the Ministry of Culture, so that it bears part of the costs, because this is a monument not of urban, but of federal significance?

Vishnevsky:- By a special decision of the government of the Russian Federation, it was transferred to the ownership of the government of St. Petersburg. And all decisions about his fate are made by the government of St. Petersburg. These are legal rules.

Dervenev:- Yes, there are norms, but apart from norms, there are agreements.

Vishnevsky:- When it comes to such things, the issue is resolved not by agreement, but by law.

Dervenev:- All churches should be with believers.

While Fontanka was airing an emotional discussion between a deputy of the Legislative Assembly and the head of the pilgrimage department of the diocese, the studio phone was literally torn from calls from believers who wanted to support the idea of ​​transferring St. Isaac's Cathedral to the church. As Alexander from St. Petersburg explained, believers are sure that Isaac attracts tourists primarily as a temple, and not as a museum. The information that the topic of transferring the cathedral was being discussed on the channel [Fontanka.Office] spread like lightning among the faithful. “A knowledgeable person called me and said that there would be such a transfer,” Alexander admitted. The rest of the callers said that they received some kind of SMS mailing.

Recorded by Venera Galeeva,
"FONTANKA.RU", January 10, 2017

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Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / RIA Novosti

Father Leonid, tell me, before the decision of Governor Poltavchenko was made, as far as I understand, divine services were already held in St. Isaac's Cathedral, church services were held there, I myself was in 2006 at the service for the reburial of the ashes of Empress Maria Feodorovna. What changes with the current new status of the cathedral? And why, in fact, does the church need this new status?

Kalinin: You know, firstly, the status has not yet been determined. As we see, even in the statements of the city authorities it is said that the transition period will be long, because you need to really take into account those points that have excited the public. Many believe that for some reason the museum will cease to exist, or there will be some obstacles to its activities on the part of the church. I believe that this is completely unreasonable, because, as a museum, St. Isaac's Cathedral is really a unique object of display not only to believers, but also to people who are completely unbelievers, foreigners, various guests, people belonging to different faiths. Therefore, there is no such speech, and no one requires it. But the temple, which was built as a temple, and in order to be a temple, in principle, it must be one. Just the year of the centenary of the revolution marks the change of consciousness.

So, Konstantin, have you ever had to steal something from someone? Now, if you stole something from someone, and then put it on your shelf, and the former owner then comes to you ten years later and suddenly sees his thing. And you say - but I won’t give it to you, it’s mine. And the former owner says, like mine, you stole this from me ten years ago. And you say - I do not remember about it.

You know, when St. Isaac's Cathedral was stolen from the church in 1917, 1918 and later, for ten, in my opinion, or fifteen years, it was simply robbed. More than three tons of silver, riza, some precious icons were taken out of it. Thank God that it has become a museum, we are very grateful to the museum staff for this. Moreover, the Russian church now has no problems with museum workers.

Here, we just had a story here, on Dozhd, that someone wants to take something from the Andronikov Monastery there. And I, for example, have excellent relations with the director of the museum, as the chairman of the expert council, we have no middle walls in the expert community of church and state, we get along very well.

Well, here you are talking about the seventeenth year, about the theft of church property by the Bolsheviks, yes, it was stolen. On the other hand, it will be objected to you that given the special status, the state status of the church in imperial Russia, it is not entirely clear whether this was church property, in general, it was something state.

Kalinin: Certainly, because the church was part of the state.

The authorities of St. Petersburg twice denied the ROC the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral - first in 2015, then in 2016. But the church continued to insist, and Governor Poltavchenko suddenly gave in. How the decision was made to transfer Isaac, what status the cathedral will have and what problems may arise with its financing, RBC found out

Saint Isaac's Cathedral (Photo: Nikita Popov / RBC)

A few days before the new year 2017, the governor of St. Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko, invited Nikolai Burov, director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, to Smolny. Governor said: one of the most famous cathedrals in the country is transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The decision surprised museum workers: until the last moment, the city authorities stubbornly resisted the attempts of the church to get Isaac. First, the vice-governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Govorunov, spoke out against it, and then, in a rather harsh form, Poltavchenko himself.

The decision to transfer Isaac caused a storm of emotions in the city. Opponents of the initiative began to organize protests, supporters who did not remain in debt - religious processions; and Poltavchenko's own rating dropped sharply, a federal official shared in an interview with RBC the data of closed opinion polls.

“And I even feel sorry for our governor. He could not make this decision on his own. Everything was decided for him, ”the former Smolny official is sure.

Who and how influenced Poltavchenko and what preceded the transfer of Isaac?

Arrival of Barsanuphius

The claims to St. Isaac's Cathedral were first publicly expressed by the Russian Orthodox Church in mid-July 2015. Then the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Varsonofy (Sudakov) wrote a letter to the governor Georgy Poltavchenko, in which he asked to transfer the cathedral to the church. Varsonofy was a new person for the city: the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchy and the head of the Mordovian Metropolis, he was transferred to St. Petersburg by the decision of the Holy Synod in March 2014. By sending the metropolitan to St. Petersburg, the synod temporarily retained for him the prestigious status of manager of affairs.

It is believed that it is very difficult to manage the affairs of the church and such a diocese as St. Petersburg at the same time, therefore the position of manager of the metropolitan was temporarily left, a source in the Russian Orthodox Church tells RBC. But he has been in this status for four years. This is because Varsonofy is one of the closest people to Patriarch Kirill, RBC's interlocutor explains.

Varsonofy, who served in the GDR tank troops, was not sent to St. Petersburg by chance: there was a specific task - to get property that the church considers its own, adds a RBC source close to the city administration.

First try

St. Petersburg Metropolis considers St. Isaac's Cathedral, which is part of the State Museum of the same name, to be its "property". The ROC received the right to claim ownership or free use of federal and municipal property in 2010, when the law of the same name “On the Transfer of State or Municipal Property for Religious Purposes to Religious Organizations” was adopted.

But in the case of Isaac, the authorities of St. Petersburg refused Barsanuphius. The command to prepare a rationale for why the cathedral could not be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church was given to officials after receiving a letter from the metropolitan, two interlocutors close to the city administration told RBC.

In the response (available to RBC, dated September 2, 2015), signed by Vice-Governor Govorunov, who replaced Poltavchenko, who then flew to China, it was said that the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum is one of the most visited in the city and its current maintenance and restoration every up to 200 million rubles are spent annually. It contributes annually up to 70 million rubles to the city budget. If the cathedral is transferred to the use of the diocese, all expenses for its maintenance, restoration and protection will be borne by the owner - the administration of St. Petersburg. An additional item of expenditure, Govorunov explained, would entail a reduction in funding for "other socially significant projects and programs," and this "in a difficult economic situation is unacceptable."

Poltavchenko was not eager to hand over Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church, two interlocutors close to the administration of St. Petersburg and the leadership of the Legislative Assembly confirm. Firstly, visiting the cathedral by tourists gives serious revenues to the budget, and secondly, the city leadership was well aware that the public would be against the transfer.

In addition, the metropolitan's letter fell on the authorities like a bolt from the blue: Varsonofy did not warn of his intention to send a request, and this outraged the governor, two former employees of the St. Petersburg administration say.

The metropolitan simply did not have the opportunity to consult with the authorities, an RBC source close to the diocese objected, and Poltavchenko defiantly ignored the hierarch, although Varsonofy tried several times to meet with him.

Georgy Poltavchenko and Bishop Varsonofy of Ladoga (Photo: Roman Pimenov / Interpress / TASS)

Second try

The refusal of officials outraged the Russian Orthodox Church. “We said that the church cannot agree with such an answer, because the law does not provide such a basis for refusal as economic inexpediency,” says a source in the diocese.

Grounds for Refusal to Transfer a Religious Object*

— The purpose of using the object, declared by the religious organization, does not correspond to its activities or the law

— An application for the transfer of property was submitted by a foreign religious organization

- There is a court decision that has entered into force, which provides for a different procedure for disposing of the object

— The property is in the use of another religious organization

* According to the law "On the transfer to religious organizations of property for religious purposes, which is in state or municipal ownership"

The church threatened the authorities with a lawsuit, but in the end took a different path.

For some time, the diocese concentrated on less status churches, which were part of the same museum as Isaac - Smolny and St. Sampson Cathedrals. There were no serious problems here: at the end of January 2016, the Russian Orthodox Church received the keys to the Smolny Cathedral, and in February 2017, the official ceremony of handing over the St. Sampson Cathedral took place.

The diocese returned to the issue of transferring Isaac in the spring of 2016. At the end of March, Varsonofy decided to appeal to the federal authorities: he sent a letter (RBC has a copy) to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to "assistance" in the transfer of Isaac to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The metropolitan called the cathedral "historically the main temple of the Russian Empire", which has "tremendous spiritual value" and "is considered the spiritual symbol of our city." The church, assured Barsanuphius, had extensive experience in “creating church museums and pilgrimage services at churches with a special historical and cultural status, which are entrusted with excursion and educational functions.” The diocese planned to use the funds from the excursions for the maintenance and restoration of Isaac.

“The church turned to the prime minister to put pressure on Poltavchenko,” a source close to the city administration is sure. “The law [on the transfer of property for religious purposes] is federal, which is why we decided to involve the federal center.”

A little over two weeks after the metropolitan's appeal, on April 10, 2016, Medvedev instructed the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Culture and the government of St. Petersburg to consider the appeal and "report an agreed position" (a copy of the document is at the disposal of RBC).

Poltavchenko did not delay the answer. At the disposal of RBC was his letter addressed to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev dated May 18, 2016, in which the governor took a tough stance. “The transfer of the cathedrals to the free use of the diocese will lead to the virtual liquidation of one of the most popular and visited museums in St. Petersburg,” the governor writes.

Varsonofy's application "caused a wide public discussion", the majority of citizens were categorically against the transfer of the cathedrals to the diocese, Poltavchenko said. If the decision to transfer the cathedrals to the church is taken, it will be "a direct violation of the statutory rights of citizens" and "the primacy of human rights over the rights of a religious organization," he insisted.

The governor called St. Isaac's Cathedral the only museum in the country that exists entirely through its own activities, without subsidies from the state budget. In the case of the transfer of Isaac, the obligation to finance its maintenance, protection and restoration will be entrusted to the government of St. Petersburg, and this “in the conditions of the city budget deficit” is not justified, Poltavchenko emphasized. He proposed to return to the issue of the transfer of Isaac after the permanent sources of funding for the cathedral were determined.

The RBC government office confirmed that the governor then considered the transfer premature. The Ministry of Economic Development, which collected reviews from departments for Medvedev and prepared an “agreed position”, indicated that the issue of transferring the cathedral was under the jurisdiction of the city authorities, because the temples are owned by St. Petersburg.

Requests for Barsanuphius

Together with a letter about Isaac, the metropolitan sent the prime minister and two others (available to RBC): "to assist" in the transfer of the Savior on Blood - the last, fourth temple from the museum and part of the premises of the former Smolny Monastery, where the faculties of political science, sociology and international relations of St. Petersburg University.

The metropolitan justified the need to transfer the Savior on Blood by the fact that due to the work of the museum, the time and days of services are limited, and this hinders the development of the local parish. It was necessary to transfer the premises of the former Smolny Monastery because the diocese "for the organization and development of full-fledged activities" needs "premises for non-liturgical purposes" next to the Smolny Cathedral, previously transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Poltavchenko's position regarding the transfer of the Savior on Blood was the same as for Isaac: it is premature to give the church to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ministry of Economic Development, as in the case of Isaac, advised the city authorities to decide. Thinking about how to dispose of the premises of the former Smolny Monastery, which are in federal ownership, Poltavchenko suggested to Moscow. But no applications from the Russian Orthodox Church were received by the Federal Property Management Agency, the Ministry of Economic Development noted.

The role of the patriarch

The appeal to Medvedev turned out to be pointless. After the conversion of Barsanuphius, the Moscow Patriarchate began to seriously discuss the topic of the transfer of Isaac. In the fall of 2016, Patriarch Kirill joined the process and the issue began to be discussed “at all levels,” emphasizes RBC’s interlocutor in church circles.

Echoes of the discussions reached St. Petersburg: “On the sidelines, there was constant talk that the church had not given up its desire to get a cathedral and that it was looking for transfer options,” one of the legislative assembly deputies tells RBC.

Back in September, Poltavchenko said that Isaac would not be transferred, recalls a source close to the city administration in an interview with RBC. But at the end of December 2016, the governor invited Nikolai Burov, director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, and announced a decision to transfer the cathedral to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church, museum spokeswoman Maria Morozova tells RBC.

The decision to transfer Poltavchenko made after a meeting with the patriarch in December 2016. There were no other significant events that could affect the governor, the source of RBC in the museum circles of St. Petersburg believes.

The Patriarch visited the city from December 17 to 19, according to the website of the St. Petersburg Metropolis. Two receptions were held in his honor - a church reception, in the St. Petersburg diocese, and a secular one, on behalf of Poltavchenko, at the state residence K-2 on the banks of the Malaya Nevka, an interlocutor close to the diocese and an official of the city administration told RBC.

Publicly, not a word was said about the transfer of Isaac at the reception at the residence, an official who attended the social event told RBC, and confirmed another guest. But on the same evening, the patriarch and Poltavchenko met privately, two other interlocutors from the city administration say. Then they agreed: Isaac will be handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Soon the media learned about the decision. Fontanka reported on the upcoming transfer, citing its own sources, on December 30, and after the New Year, Poltavchenko himself confirmed this information to TASS. “The issue has been resolved,” he said. The museum will work, and the church plans to maintain the cathedral, the governor stressed.

The governor began to change his attitude towards the transfer of the cathedral after the patriarchate joined the case: he realized that this was not just the desire of Metropolitan Barsanuphius, a source in church circles tells RBC.

RBC's source in the Russian Orthodox Church and two interlocutors close to the Kremlin say that the patriarch agreed on the transfer of Isaac with the president. High-ranking officials of the presidential administration, in particular, the first deputy head of the administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, did not know about the decision, says one of RBC's interlocutors. According to him, the consent of the head of state was received in December. However, RBC failed to officially confirm this information.

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told RBC that it is "not the president's prerogative" to coordinate the transfer of religious objects. Putin's last official meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2016 was on November 22: the president congratulated him on his 70th birthday. On December 1, the Patriarch listened to Putin's message to the Federal Assembly, and on December 28, he took part in a New Year's reception in the Kremlin, where Putin was also . ,>

Governor's mistake

How the decision to hand over Isaac was reportedPoltavchenko and who did it is unknown. directly with the governor the president did not discuss the transfer of Isaac, RBC was a federal official in February.

Despite the agreement, the public statement of the head of St. Petersburg on the transfer of the cathedral came as a complete surprise to everyone. “Poltavchenko did not coordinate his statement with anyone. It was assumed that the official transfer of Isaac would be announced later, ”says the interlocutor in church circles. When exactly it was planned to announce the transfer, he did not say. But the patriarchate wanted this story “to the last not to go into the public space,” says a source close to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Poltavchenko, agreeing to the transfer of the cathedral, made the decision that he was advised to take, says a source close to the Kremlin. Another thing is that the governor had to correctly present him: to hold public hearings or organize an appeal to him by respected people of the city. “In general, to create at least the appearance of a discussion with people. But he did not do this, ”the interlocutor of RBC states.

The decision to transfer Isaac was opposed by representatives of the opposition and cultural figures. Several protests took place in St. Petersburg, some of which were attended by deputies of the city legislature. The coalition against the transfer included Yabloko, A Just Russia, PARNAS, Open Russia, and the Party of Growth. Mikhail Piotrovsky, President of the Union of Museums of Russia and General Director of the Hermitage Museum, asked the Patriarch to withdraw the transfer request. The rating of Poltavchenko himself collapsed: the fall was 5-7%, depending on the districts of the city, a federal official told RBC.

Patriarchal Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral after the transfer of the Russian Orthodox Church will have the status of a patriarch, the church initially wanted to give it a special status, Abbess Xenia (Chernega), head of the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate, told RBC. “[Therefore] it was no coincidence that the participation of His Holiness [in the process of handing over the cathedral]. It is quite natural that he turned to the governor, supporting the initiative of Bishop Barsanuphius,” she argues.

The fact that Patriarch Kirill turned to the governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko with a request to transfer the cathedral to the church was said at a press conference on January 12 by the city's vice-governor Mikhail Mokretsov and Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov). The patriarch sent a letter to the governor in December 2016, Poltavchenko's press service told RBC.

There are several cathedrals that have the status of patriarchs in Russia, for example, the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, says Chernega. These include the Epiphany (Elokhovsky) Cathedral in Moscow, the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, the Ascension Military Cathedral in Novocherkassk (Rostov Region) and others.

The powers to manage the patriarchal cathedral belong to the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, a source in church circles explained to RBC, although such a cathedral has a dean, or rector, who "carries out the current management of liturgical and other activities." Local bishops also participate in the management of patriarchal cathedrals.

St. Isaac's Cathedral, most likely, will have a dual subordination, Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, rector of the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University, told RBC. “The patriarch is the rector of many stavropegic [independent of the dioceses] monasteries, for example, on Solovki and Valaam. And churches in other regions can be the same, stavropegial,” Vigilyansky emphasized.

The patriarchal church differs from other churches in that it does not have a parish council, Archdeacon Andrey Kuraev explained to RBC. “Take, for example, the temple of the patriarch in Gelendzhik. This temple does not have a parish service load. If the patriarch comes, he serves there,” he said.

In matters of financing patriarchal churches, "the Moscow Patriarchate has no rules." “As the patriarch wishes, so be it. But in general, from the point of view of financing, it does not happen that money comes from the central patriarchal budget for the maintenance of any church. From there, money can only go to the maintenance of the patriarchal residences,” Kuraev said.

Symbolic year

If the matter of transferring the cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church has been decided, then the timing of the transfer is still being discussed.

From the very beginning, the Russian Orthodox Church hoped that St. Isaac's Cathedral would be transferred to it for use in 2017, says a source in church circles.

In 2017, not only the centenary of two revolutions is celebrated, it is also the anniversary of the beginning of the persecution of the church, another source in church circles explains the significance of this year. It was in October 1917 (November according to the new style) that the Bolsheviks killed the first priest, John Kochurov, in Tsarskoye Selo. “2017 is a special year for the church, and His Holiness quite rightly drew attention to this. It would be great if Isaac was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, of course, subject to all conditions, precisely in 2017, ”says the interlocutor of RBC.

The Patriarch mentioned 2017 as a symbolic year for the transfer of Isaac at a meeting of the Supreme Church Council on February 17 this year. "The transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg in the year of the centenary of revolutionary events is intended to become a symbol of the reconciliation of our people," the primate said. Governor Poltavchenko also spoke to Nikolay Burov about the need to transfer the cathedral in 2017, says a RBC source close to the city administration. Burov himself, according to him, suggested the first quarter of 2019: “This is the most realistic timeframe to calmly deal with all museum objects.”

Formally, the wishes of the director of the museum were taken into account. At the end of December last year, the City Committee on Property Relations (KRO), after meeting with him, drew up a schedule for the transfer of the cathedral to the church, hoping that the process would be completed in 2019. This document was not coordinated with the ROC, its representatives learned about the paper from the media, two sources in the ROC said. At the same time, at the end of December, the director signed an agreement to refuse the operational management of the museum, a source close to the city administration told RBC.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, they wanted to see the cathedral already by Easter, which this year fell on April 16, a high-ranking federal official told RBC. The transfer to the celebration of the main Orthodox holiday was agreed at the level of the patriarchate, a source in church circles confirms, this would be symbolic, he adds. The idea, the interlocutor says, was supported by the governor.

After the return of Poltavchenko from vacation, March 5, the administration of Governor Burov to prepare for the transportation of museum objects from the temple until mid-April. It was decided to move the exhibits to the storerooms of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, and to unite the museums. The museum workers were against it, since the deadlines were unrealistic, and reported this in March at a meeting in the city administration, Domin Mansurov, curator of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, told RBC.

After RBC that Isaac could be handed over by Easter, the museum management stopped rushing, three sources in the Legislative Assembly and an interlocutor close to the city administration said. By that time, the latter was already beginning to understand that they would not have time to organize the transfer by this date, the federal official clarifies in an interview with RBC.

The Russian Orthodox Church continues to expect to receive a cathedral this year, says a RBC source in church circles. The authorities of St. Petersburg are discussing the transfer of Isaac by July 12, the Day of Saints Peter and Paul, a source close to the Ministry of Culture told RBC, and confirmed by an interlocutor from the Russian Orthodox Church. On this day, the patriarch always comes to St. Petersburg to lead the service in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The transfer can also be timed to coincide with the church-state holiday Day of Family, Love and Fidelity (Memorial Day of Saints Peter and Fevronia in the Russian Orthodox Church), which is celebrated on July 8, a source close to the Ministry of Culture told RBC. If it is not possible to transfer in the summer, this can happen in the fall, the interlocutor admits. Bureaucracy and presidential elections can slow down the process.

spaces with transmission

After the decision to refuse the transfer by Easter and leaks in the media, officials closed down: museum workers are not invited to meetings about the future of the cathedral, says a source in the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum. Burov confirms that he knows nothing about what is happening around the temple. The church is also not involved in discussions, says a source close to the diocese.

Many different interests are intertwined around Isaac: in the environment of the same Poltavchenko, there are those who are still against the transfer;

Some people in the Kremlin, such as Sergei Kiriyenko, are also against the transfer of the cathedral, especially on the eve of the presidential elections, says a federal official. Protests over Isaac's handover have hit the St. Petersburg governor's ratings, and if tensions continue until the election, it could affect Putin's results, another federal official explains Kiriyenko's displeasure.

“Do you know how it happens? They promised you something upstairs, they said, yes, it’s good [get Isaac for use]. And they didn't go into details. When it comes to practice, various nuances arise and the process stalls, ”a source in church circles described the situation.

Such a nuance can be called the legal registration of the transfer. The church has not yet sent the city authorities the application required by law. Since the cathedral will be patriarchal, it will most likely come from the Moscow Patriarchate, and not from the local diocese, says Abbess Xenia.

The Russian Orthodox Church formalized its claims to the council only in a letter from the patriarch. The fact that it was sent to Poltavchenko was said at a press conference on January 12 by Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Mikhail Mokretsov and Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov). The patriarch sent a letter to the governor in December 2016, Poltavchenko's press service told RBC, but they refused to provide a copy or state its content, citing the private nature of the correspondence. RBC received a similar response from the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for the relationship of the church with society and the media.

In the case of Isaac, the museum objects of the cathedral must first be described, and then an agreement should be signed for the transfer to the use of the church of those that cannot be taken out, Abbess Xenia explains to RBC. There are 62 such objects, she specified and Burov confirmed. The agreement between the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church must be approved by the Ministry of Culture. After it is concluded, the church will apply for the transfer of the cathedral to its use. This procedure - first the museum valuables, and then the building - was proposed by officials: it is set out and follows it in the schedule of the KIO and the ROC, said the abbess of RBC.

Information that the museum funds will be first described and an agreement approved by the Ministry of Culture will be concluded was also cited by Vice-Governor Mokretsov, who oversees the KIO, at a January press conference. “The next step is the execution of a document that will be an agreement for the free use [of the cathedral building],” he concluded.

But in March of this year, the position of officials changed: at a court hearing on the suit of opponents of the transfer of Isaac to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place on March 13, they spoke differently. According to the representative of the KIO, "an application from a religious organization [for the transfer of the temple] was not filed in accordance with the procedure established by federal law" and "the decision cannot be made in his absence."

The approach, when an application for a religious object is submitted last, is beneficial to the ROC, Ilya Elkin, head of the legal support department at PetroJust (serves cultural organizations in St. Petersburg), tells RBC. The transfer of museum valuables on the basis of an agreement with the Ministry of Culture gives the ROC the opportunity to assert that the department has agreed on the entire transfer process, including buildings, since the objects located in it have already been transferred: “Therefore [the church can argue] that the process cannot be stopped at the level of organs the power of the subject, ”the lawyer explains the logic of the ROC. The city authorities, he continues, can use the agreement with the Ministry of Culture as an explanation that everything has already been decided for them and they are only implementing the decision of higher authorities.

From a legal point of view, it would be correct to simultaneously apply for both the building and museum values, but in the case of Isaac, this condition is not met, the lawyer states.

financial question

How Isaac will be financed is also not yet clear. The church promises that it will maintain the cathedral at its own expense. “I assure you that the church will have funds,” the patriarch promised in February. Entrance to the cathedral will be free, but there will be a fee for excursions and sightseeing of the city from the colonnade. These funds will be enough "to ensure the current repair and restoration work" in the volume of the last ten years, the patriarch assured.

However, it is still not clear whether all the expenses for the maintenance and restoration of the cathedral will really fall on the ROC.

Vice-governor Mokretsov admitted in January that part of the funding could be taken over by the city. "St. Isaac's Cathedral," he recalled then, "is an object of federal significance, so the city must be responsible for maintaining it in proper form." For example, the restoration of the Trinity Cathedral and the Buddhist temple on Primorsky Avenue is financed from the city budget, the vice-governor specified.

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) spoke in the same spirit. “As for the global restoration, some part [financial responsibility] will be borne by the state, some by the community. But the current restoration and maintenance will fall on the shoulders of the community,” he promised. The responsibility of the city and the church will be fixed in a special agreement between the Russian Orthodox Church and the city, says a RBC source in the church. The document is intended to regulate the use of the temple - the preservation of the museum, repairs, etc. “There is a legal opportunity for the city to participate in the operation of the cathedral, because the city remains the owner of Isaac. He cannot absolutely distance himself, ”the interlocutor argues.

But even if the church manages to at least partially leave the financing of Isaac outside the city, the question of where to get money for the maintenance of the cathedral still remains.

The fact is that the diocese lives on contributions from its parishes, the rector of one of the churches tells RBC. The amount of contributions depends on the profitability of the temple, explains the interlocutor. There are parishes that pay hundreds of thousands of rubles in contributions a month, and there are those that pay much less: first of all, the profit depends on how much a passageway the temple occupies. The main income, according to the priest, is the sale of candles, fees for prayers, requiems, funerals, commemorations, weddings and baptisms. In the whole country, deductions to dioceses range from 10 to 50% of the income of churches, RBC found out earlier.

Now the expenses of the St. Petersburg diocese go to the maintenance of the city Theological Academy, the diocesan hospital and general diocesan needs. After the transfer of Isaac, a new expense item will appear that will need to be covered somehow, and contributions from parishes are one of the potential sources of funds for the diocese. As a result, the amount of contributions after the transfer of Isaac may be increased, the interlocutor of RBC fears. At the same time, he believes that a full-fledged parish in Isaac is unlikely to develop: the temple is located far from densely populated residential areas.

The community will take shape as soon as an experienced person appears who will create it, another interlocutor of RBC in church circles objects: a Sunday school will open, people will not be lazy to spend half an hour or an hour getting to the cathedral. “A community cannot fail to emerge in a world-class temple,” he believes.

Another option for content is through a special fund. Such a control scheme at the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, explains a source close to the Russian Orthodox Church. The co-chairs of the fund are Patriarch Kirill and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and among the trustees there are many status church figures, federal and metropolitan officials. The Moscow authorities annually allocate funds for the maintenance of the temple: the money goes to maintain engineering systems and care for the territory, the foundation’s website says.

The church will try to negotiate with St. Petersburg patrons so that they financially support the maintenance of Isaac, says an interlocutor of RBC, close to the Russian Orthodox Church. But while there are few who want it, he complains: everyone understands that this is an expensive pleasure. According to the plans of the city authorities, it was planned to spend 3.5 billion rubles on the restoration of the cathedral until 2028.

With the participation of Yulia Sapronova, Maria Istomina, Irina Parfentieva, Polina Khimshiashvili