Holy places
The Trinity-Sergius Lavra
The spiritual centre of Russia founded by St Sergius.
History
Founded c. 1337; in 1422 the stone Trinity Cathedral was built, for whose iconostasis Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chorny painted icons. The monastery withstood a sixteen-month siege in 1608–1610. It received the status of lavra in 1744. Closed in 1920, it was returned to the Church in 1946.
Today
A working monastery, the Moscow Theological Academy and a Patriarchal residence. The relics of St Sergius rest in the Trinity Cathedral, where Rublev's “Trinity” has also been kept since 2024.