In 1884, the rector of the Svyato-Troitskaya Church (literally: Holy Trinity Church) in Chelyabinsk, Archpriest John Dneprovsky, brought the remains of Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the martyr Saint Pantaleon to the city. Monks from the Skete of Saint Andrew on Mount Athos in Greece donated the relics to the Svyato-Troitskaya Church for possession in perpetuity.
The official opening of the Russian Skete of Saint Andrew took place on October 22, 1849. It consisted of 14 temples, including the ancient Church of Apostle Andrew the First-Called and Anthony the Great. A reliquary was purpose-made for the relics. The stamp suggests that it was manufactured in the last quarter of the 19th century in St. Petersburg. The reliquary was displayed on the altar of the Svyato-Troitskaya Church, as evidenced by the inventory of the temple’s property in 1891.
The reliquary has a rectangular shape and is made of yellow metal and 84 zolotnIk (an old Russian unit of weight roughly equal to four grams) silver using such techniques as forging, minting, and carving. It is covered by a removable lid and sits on four animal paw-shaped legs. Its sides and corners are decorated with raised floral ornaments. The lid is decorated with a sculpture head of Apostle Andrew the First-Called in a rIza (a frame). The saint’s remains were stored in the frontal part.
The rIza consists of two removable parts: a crown and a cover decorated with carved floral ornaments. There is a hole above the saint’s head with a small box containing the relics of the martyr Saint Pantaleon. The reliquary for the remains of Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the martyr Saint Pantaleon is a true work of Russian art of the late 19th century.
In 1929, the Svyato-Stoitskaya Church was closed and its property was confiscated. In 1929, an anti-religious exhibition was held in the museum building. It displayed, among other objects of worship, the disassembled reliquary. Since the 1930s, the Orthodox relic had been stored in the museum’s depositories. In 2006–2007, the reliquary decorated with the silver head of Apostle Andrew the First-Called joined the exhibition section dedicated to the history of Orthodoxy in the Southern Urals.
The official opening of the Russian Skete of Saint Andrew took place on October 22, 1849. It consisted of 14 temples, including the ancient Church of Apostle Andrew the First-Called and Anthony the Great. A reliquary was purpose-made for the relics. The stamp suggests that it was manufactured in the last quarter of the 19th century in St. Petersburg. The reliquary was displayed on the altar of the Svyato-Troitskaya Church, as evidenced by the inventory of the temple’s property in 1891.
The reliquary has a rectangular shape and is made of yellow metal and 84 zolotnIk (an old Russian unit of weight roughly equal to four grams) silver using such techniques as forging, minting, and carving. It is covered by a removable lid and sits on four animal paw-shaped legs. Its sides and corners are decorated with raised floral ornaments. The lid is decorated with a sculpture head of Apostle Andrew the First-Called in a rIza (a frame). The saint’s remains were stored in the frontal part.
The rIza consists of two removable parts: a crown and a cover decorated with carved floral ornaments. There is a hole above the saint’s head with a small box containing the relics of the martyr Saint Pantaleon. The reliquary for the remains of Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the martyr Saint Pantaleon is a true work of Russian art of the late 19th century.
In 1929, the Svyato-Stoitskaya Church was closed and its property was confiscated. In 1929, an anti-religious exhibition was held in the museum building. It displayed, among other objects of worship, the disassembled reliquary. Since the 1930s, the Orthodox relic had been stored in the museum’s depositories. In 2006–2007, the reliquary decorated with the silver head of Apostle Andrew the First-Called joined the exhibition section dedicated to the history of Orthodoxy in the Southern Urals.
