Memory of Russia: State Museum of the History of Religion in Saint-Petersburg launched "The Church Defending Motherland" exhibition

The State Museum of the History of Religion (Saint-Petersburg) opened "The Church Defending Motherland" exhibition. It is the result of a large project, implemented with the support of the Saint-Petersburg Theological Academy, the Council for Culture of the Saint-Petersburg Eparchy and Honored Artist of Russia Y. K. Lyukshin.

The exhibition highlights the contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Victory over Nazi Germany. Its exhibits reveal the priesthood activities during the Great Patriotic War, the communication between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state; charitable campaigns aimed at helping the front and rear.

The exhibition showcases archival photographs, paintings, icons, books, documents, medals, sculptures. The exposition sections about the religious life in besieged Leningrad and images of saints are of particular interest. The Russian Orthodox Church raised money to form the tank column named after Dmitri Donskoy and the flight squadron, which received the name of Alexander Nevsky. A separate exhibition section is devoted to the patriotic activities of Metropolitans Sergius (Stragorodsky), Alexy (Simansky), Nikolai (Yarushevich) and Archbishop Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky).

During the war the Museum of the History of Religion was in the Kazan Cathedral. Despite the difficulties, it continued active exhibition activities, aimed at supporting the combat fervour of the city residents and their defenders. Photographs of exhibitions and guestbook excerpts reveal the feat of the museum specialists who lived and worked in besieged Leningrad.

A significant part of the project was the creation of easel paintings and a unique handwritten book "The Church Calls for the Defence of Motherland". The book covers calligraphic texts of patriotic messages and sermons of the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchs composed during the war. The text was written by young calligraphers led by N. A. Lotareva. Its illustrations are interpretations of archival photographs made by students of city children's art schools and studios under the guidance of Honored Artist of Russia, Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Yu. K. Lyukshin.

The exhibition will run until October 28, 2020.