It's another war between the state and the church in Mother Russia and everybody is torn on whether the St. Isaac's Cathedral should return to the church. Currently, the Russian State is maintaining the cathedral-turned-museum and has always been hesitant to give it to the Orthodox Church.
St. Isaac's became a museum in 1917 and has been one of the favorite destinations tourists often go to. One of its most prized artifacts is a rare Foucault pendulum among dozens of displays.
Once being transferred to the church, people will be worried that the sect would neglect the exhibits and poorly maintain it than in the hands of the state. The Russian Orthodox Church officials have countered that they will not forget the display, but rather, enhances them even more.
ABC News captured the statement of lawyer Boris Vishnevsky as he told protestors on Jan. 13, "We won't give St. Isaac's to the church. We want to save it as a museum." Irina Azbel is a doctor also protesting at the site which ABC News caught as well, saying, "St. Isaac's Cathedral is part of our cultural heritage. There are so many valuable exhibits that require the work of museum specialists. The Russian Orthodox Church does not have those specialists."
There were people who also supported the idea of having St. Isaac's return to the ROC because it is more culture based. But the backlash from the public is so strong that not only a protest was held, but as well as an online petition with over 200,000 people has signed already.
The cathedral has over 3Million visits a year and might dwindle because of the constrictions the ROC will be imposing. The Church has been asking the administration since 2015 was turned down. St. Isaac's was built during the reign of Alexander I of Russia in the 1800's.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
