The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius: the contributions of the Russian Sovereigns

Abstract

This article reveals the contribution of the Kingdom to the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra through the prism of personal relations between the Orthodox Church and the highest state authorities, and thus reveals the role of the Emperors and the Church in the history of Russian art, as well as in the preservation of Russian national culture and identity. Russian monarchs’ pilgrimage and contribution to the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh is considered an important factor in strengthening ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Monarchy, as well as the entire Russian society, supporting its national idea. Russian art was formed in the spiritual paradigm of Christianity, immediately after the adoption of the unified faith (unity of faith) up to the seventeenth century. The analysis of gifts and contributions, as well as their artistic value, allows to conclude that the contributions of the sovereigns constitute the summit of achievements of modern Russian art culture. From this point of view, the Church, in particular the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, against the background of known political upheavals in the country in the twentieth century, became the keeper of an invaluable cultural and artistic treasury and spiritual core of Great Russia, showing not only a model of serving the Orthodoxy, its people and country, but also a saving perspective for the Russian State of historical survival in the new epoch.