On August 20, 2024, in the Patriarchal quarters of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Stavropegial Monastery under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a working meeting on the preservation and development of the Solovetsky Archipelago was held.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church: the manager of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Gregory of Voskresensk; the chairman of the Financial and Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Nikandr of Naro-Fominsk; Vicar of the Solovetsky Monastery Bishop Porfiry of Ozersk; Personal Secretary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Bishop Alexis of Ramensk; Head of the Legal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Higumen Xenia (Chernega).
Holy Patriarch Kirill's personal secretary Bishop Alexis of Ramensk; Head of the Legal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Higumen Xenia (Chernega).
The session was also attended by: the Governor of the Arkhangelsk region A.V. Tsybulsky; the First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation S.G. Obryvalin; the Director of the Department of Industrial and Civil Construction of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation S.O. Galyamin; Chairman of the Council of the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago A.V. Guts; Chief Advisor of the Department for Work with Religious Associations of the Department of Culture, Sports, Tourism and National Policy of the Government of the Russian Federation V.A. Konstantinov; Managing Director of OOO «PSK Stroymonolit» I.V. Bondarev; Acting Head of the Agency for the Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago of the Arkhangelsk Region D.V. Vlasenkov.
Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow addressed the audience with opening remarks:
Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow addressed the audience with opening remarks
Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow addressed the audience with an opening speech:
«Your Eminences and Eminences! Dear Alexander Vitalievich, Governor of the Arkhangelsk region! Dear Sergey Gennadyevich, Deputy Minister of Culture! Dear participants of the meeting!
May I announce some of my thoughts related to our agenda?
In 2018, on the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago was established. The composition of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation was approved by the President of the Russian Federation. The co-chairmen of this Board are Dmitry Chernyshenko and the Patriarch. The Foundation has an executive body — the Council of the Foundation, which is headed by Andrei Vladimirovich Guts, who was appointed to this position last year by decree President. The Charter of the Foundation was amended to authorize the Board of Trustees of the Foundation to coordinate activities for the preservation and development of the Solovetsky Archipelago.
The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held in October 2023.
In October 2023, the first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held, during which it was decided to develop schedules of restoration and construction works on the territory of the Solovetsky Archipelago, to increase the pace of construction of a new building for the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve and reconstruction of the hotel "Preobrazhenskaya". Representatives of the public company "Unified Customer in the Sphere of Construction" accelerated the pace of reconstruction of the hotel and in general fulfill the schedule. However, the construction of the building to house the museum is still on hold. I would like people with information to explain to us why there is such a slowdown.
The obligations of the Arkhangelsk region to perform the work have not been fulfilled, and there is no approved documentation program, although the Board of Trustees instructed the Ministry of Finance of Russia to provide additional budgetary allocations for the construction of sewage networks and treatment facilities, for the construction and reconstruction of water supply networks. I would like to ask the Governor of the Arkhangelsk region to report on the status of this issue Alexander Vitalievich Tsibulsky.
We have been presented with a project of a complex for production and consumption waste management, as the existing landfill on the outskirts of the village does not meet basic sanitary requirements. I would ask the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation Andrei Vladimirovich Guts to report on this issue as well.
In order to implement the decisions of the Board of Trustees monthly meetings of the staff under the chairmanship of Dmitry Chernyshenko — to address current issues of conservation and development of the archipelago, as well as to monitor the progress of implementation of decisions made.
It is important that the work is carried out in close cooperation with the Solovetsky Monastery, the Financial and Economic Department and the Legal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. Thus, as a result of joint work, schedules for construction and restoration work have been developed and approved. The federal budget for 2025-27 provides for allocations in the amount of 1 billion 172 million 200 thousand rubles for restoration works and 5 billion 171 million 400 thousand rubles for construction works.
In June of this year, a government decree determined a single contractor for the project. to carry out both restoration and construction works on the archipelago. The construction company Stroymonolit became such a contractor in agreement with the Church. However, no contract has yet been concluded between the contractor and the Foundation. Therefore, I ask the representatives of the Foundation and the construction company to give appropriate explanations.
In the framework of the Foundation's activities for the preservation of the Solovetsky Archipelago, restoration works have been resumed at the mill, portomoyna, fraternal bath. Emergency works are also being carried out on the Icon Chamber, in the Sergius' cell block on Muksalm, on the granary with an icehouse on Anzer Island, and work on the sacristy is being completed.
In accordance with the approved plan-schedule, work on the following objects should be started this year: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, the church in the name of St. Herman, tar distillery No. 1, the sanctuary building. To date, work on these objects are not carried out. At the same time, according to the plan, the work on the church in the name of St. Herman and the sanctuary building should be completed this year. In the church in the name of St. Herman, the iconostasis has already been assembled, in which icons have been installed, while the roof is still temporary. The sanctuary building is in a high degree of readiness, but at the same time it is not can be used to accommodate the brethren.
Taking into account the objective reasons for the delay in the production of works related to the preparation of the Government order on the selection of a single supplier, we can not allow a repetition of the situation when the funds allocated for restoration works are returned to the budget due to the failure to perform the planned work. We have already gone through this experience, which is very sad. Lagging behind schedule should be compensated for by increasing the pace of work with the obligatory transfer of the allocated funds to the period when the work is actually completed. I ask the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation Andrei Vladimirovich Guts, the management of the Foundation and Stroymonolit to inform about the progress of design and upcoming works on the archipelago.
I would also like to note that on the basis of the instructions of Dmitry Chernyshenko the plan of events for the preparation and celebration in 2029 of the 600th anniversary of the foundation of the first monastic settlement on the Solovetsky Archipelago is being finalized. In this regard, I ask the representative of the Government Office to report on the progress of these activities. Of course, this is a historically important anniversary date — 600 years of the beginning of monastic life; few monasteries in Russia has such a "track record", hundreds of years of historical existence. Therefore, given the importance of the Solovetsky Archipelago and the Solovetsky Monastery, we need to prepare very well for these celebrations. I hope that they will have a Church-wide and even, in a certain sense, a national character. Thank you once again for your attention.
The meeting discussed current issues of the restoration of the Solovetsky Monastery and the development of the Solovetsky Archipelago.
Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
