“Iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg" Lecture by Elena Poghosyan

On November 18, 2019, as part of the seminar "West and East: Universalism of Culture" of the IL for the study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue, a lecture was given by Elena A. Pogosyan, professor at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada)

Elena Anatolyevna spoke about the iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which was built in 1722-1729. It reflected the events of 1721, which were a kind of outcome of the reign of Peter I: the establishment of the Holy Synod, the conclusion of peace with Sweden and the proclamation of Peter I as emperor, and Russia as an empire.
One of the most striking features of the iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg is the double arch of the royal gates symmetrically turned up and down. On the upper arch in three lines is an inscription - a quote from the 60th chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah. In the context of the iconostasis as a whole, this inscription becomes a prophecy about the future of the new capital. The report considered a range of topics related to the inscription on the arch in the iconostasis, and, first of all, the theme of the gates open to all “the foreign”.
The iconostasis became the main imperial and synodal iconostasis of the new capital: it was an open iconostasis built for an open city.

The moderator of the event was Marina S. Kiseleva, professor, chief research fellow at the IL for the study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue.