Exhibition project "Imperishable Heritage" in MVK RAKh

The Russian Academy of Arts and the Moscow Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church present the Imperishable Heritage exhibition, which is part of an artistic educational project dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum. As conceived by the curator, this landmark project will acquaint viewers with the artistic heritage of the Old Believers, primarily with icon painting and casting, and will show the real significance of the Old Believers in Russian history and culture.

Avvakum Petrov (1620-1682), the son of a priest from the village of Grigorovo near Nizhny Novgorod, was distinguished by his uncompromising convictions and rigor of spiritual life. In another historical situation, he would most likely have enjoyed general veneration as an ascetic and ascetic. However, in the middle of the 17th century, the need arose to edit the texts of the liturgical books, since they sometimes did not coincide either with each other or with the Greek originals. Archpriest Avvakum and his supporters called for editing books according to ancient Russian manuscripts, and Patriarch Nikon - according to Greek editions printed in Italy. This contradiction marked the beginning of the schism in the Russian Church. Having endured repeated exile and imprisonment in Pustozersk on Pechora, Avvakum did not renounce his beliefs and was burned.

Protopope Avvakum is credited with 43 compositions in which he preached his views. He and his associates, despite the brutal repression, laid the foundations of a powerful spiritual movement that successfully opposed the official Church. The exhibition, which is primarily of an educational nature, will acquaint viewers with the history of the Old Believers, with its main directions in their historical formation (Old Believers who accept the priesthood: the Beglopopovtsy and the Belikrinitskaya hierarchy; Old Believers who do not accept the priesthood - the Pomors, Fedoseevtsy, Filippovtsy, chapels, Netovtsy etc.).

The structure of the exposition makes it possible to cover this complex and vast phenomenon. The Old Believers actively developed the book and musical culture, printing (engravings), casting and icon painting. The emphasis in the presentation of the material is made precisely on the icon painting of various Old Believer centers. Each center is represented by several illustrative works, with characteristics of stylistic features and with detailed explications. The main exhibits that make the most powerful artistic impression will be three large-format icons: the Lord Almighty (Savior in Strength), created before the beginning of the schism or in its early years (collection of V. A. Bondarenko); St. John the Forerunner Angel of the Desert and St. Metropolitan Alexy, in his life, from the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the Rogozhskoye cemetery, are standard examples of Old Believer art, which were imitated in other centers.Also, the exhibits of this unique project will be genuine books from the collection of the Moscow Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Believers Church and private collections, documents and photographs (copies), as well as individual authentic items characterizing the history and life of Russian Old Believers.

Within the framework of the project, it is planned: a scientific meeting, a virtual tour and a curator’s story about some of the significant exhibits of the exhibition, which will clearly demonstrate to the modern viewer the stages of development of the ideology and culture of the Old Believers.

The material was prepared on the basis of an article by the curator of the project - Doctor of Arts, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Irina Leonidovna Buseva-Davydova.