Contemporary icons in churches of the middle 19 - beginning 20 centuries: alternative methods of decoration
The revival of the churches interiors of the middle XIX — beginning XX centuries is a complicated process and, generally, there could be two alternatives. The first one supposes strict reconstruction of the church referring to extant photos and achieve facts because of the value of church as a historical and cultural object. Another one presumes the rebirth of the liturgical space and admits stylistic and iconographic differences from the historical interior.Every church is unique and should be examined distinctively. This statement is illustrated with several examples of churches in Saint-Petersburg. Among them are St. John’s church in the Theological Academy, St. Catherine’s church in the Academy of Art, St. Nicolas Cathedral in Kronshtadt and the Cathedral of the Feodorovskaya icon of the Virgin.