The original Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev has been returned to Trinity Cathedral after work on its climate-controlled case was completed. A printed copy stood in the iconostasis during the inspection and repairs.
An RBC reporter saw the icon in the iconostasis. Two sources at the Lavra and another person familiar with its movements told the outlet that the original was returned on Monday, October 5. One source linked the return to the completion of work on the climate-controlled case.
The icon was removed from the iconostasis in mid-September and placed in the Lavra’s restoration workshops. A printed copy was put in its place. The Tretyakov Gallery had earlier said the move was connected with adjustments to the protective capsule.
The icon is generally dated to 1422–1427. It had been kept at the Tretyakov Gallery since 1929. In 2023, the Russian Orthodox Church asked for it to be transferred to the Lavra, whose cathedral had originally commissioned it. After President Vladimir Putin approved the transfer, it was brought to Sergiyev Posad in early 2024.
Tretyakov Gallery staff and members of the museum community opposed the transfer, citing the icon’s fragile condition. In June 2026, the gallery told RBC the latest condition check at the time had taken place in summer 2025 and found some changes. RBC said it had requested comment from the gallery and the Moscow Patriarchate.