The 12th-century church in Polotsk was saved from catastrophic reconstruction
The Saint Savior Transfiguration Church in Polotsk, founded by Saint Euphrosyne, is the only 12th-century structure in Belarus that has survived almost entirely intact. It is therefore understandable that the restoration work, which began here in 2012, is still ongoing. Frescoes have also been undergoing restoration with interruptions since 1992. Haste would only harm the architectural monument, which, according to Belarusian and Russian experts who visited here last week, may be eligible for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
On the eve of the specialists' visit, the desire of some designers to rebuild the ancient building to suit their taste without any serious research hung like a sword of Damocles over the unique church. They even claimed that the church was in a dilapidated state and that it was necessary to focus not on restoration, but on serious reconstruction. One that resembles modern construction: with reinforced concrete, glass, and metal. However, the oak capitals of the columns have been firmly holding the vaults for over 800 years. And the frescoes have been firmly covering the walls for the same amount of time. What suddenly happened that the building was declared almost a ruin? To understand this, members of the Belarusian Republican Scientific and Methodological Council for Historical and Cultural Heritage Issues under the Ministry of Culture, along with a group of experts specially created in April of this year to assess the progress of the reconstruction of the ancient architectural monument, visited the site. The correspondent of "SB", invited by the Ministry of Culture, listened carefully to the participants of the serious forum.
The expert community meeting was chaired by the Minister of Culture, Boris Svetlov. The meeting was attended by Archbishop Feodosiy of Polotsk and Glubokoye, scientists specially arrived from Russia, Belarusian archaeologists, art historians, architects, restorers, and engineers.
First, they visited the church. Everyone entering was blessed by Archbishop Feodosiy. And we stepped under the vaults where the voice of Euphrosyne herself sounded. Yuri Malinovskiy, the scientific supervisor of the restoration work on the frescoes of the Transfiguration Church, showed what had been done: a large part of the frescoes had been uncovered. Now, the space under the floor is being investigated: it is more complex there – layers of different levels from the 12th century to the present day. A trial pit was dug, and they reached the clay and boulders from which the construction of the church began. And here, bones unexpectedly appeared. Human. Obviously, we are looking at the remains of an ancient burial. Possibly one of the priests.
There are still many mysteries that this oldest building in Eastern Europe holds. Not all of them have been revealed. For example, in May, Yevgeny Torshin, a researcher at the Department of Architectural Archaeology of the St. Petersburg State Hermitage Museum, discovered traces of a gallery along the southern and northern facades, which presumably encircled the entire church. Previously, no one had assumed that such an extension existed. Therefore, a fragment of fresco painting recently found on the facade, which could have been considered an external decoration, may have to be perceived as an element of interior decoration.
However, the drawings prepared by Dmitry Bubnovsky, chief architect of the Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Church restoration project, head of the project branch of OJSC "Belrestavratsiya", show that the walls are decorated with frescoes. This means that no one knows if it was actually like that, while for the author of the project solution, it appears as a matter of course. He himself, however, was not present at the council meeting. The controversial project was presented on his behalf by Vladimir Sinyavsky, deputy director of the project branch of OJSC "Belrestavratsiya", who, however, admitted that he had only recently become familiar with the documentation and not completely. Nevertheless, V. Sinyavsky proposed to remove the 18th-century floor to restore the church to its 12th-century appearance. Although, as he himself admitted, after the discovery made in May by E. Torshin, it is completely unclear what the cathedral actually looked like.
Also, V. Sinyavsky, referring to D. Bubnovsky, advised to remove 250 tons of volume added to the top and sides of the temple in the 19th century to reduce the load on the ancient walls. And in conclusion, he summarized: "The building is already cracked, it has come apart at the seams."
Vladimir Rokitsky, who began the restoration of the temple's frescoes in the 1990s, was seriously outraged upon hearing from engineers that there were fist-sized cracks in the building:
— There were cracks when I started working here. Not fist-sized at all. And I sealed them all back then. Since then, according to my observations, the seams have not moved apart.
Yuri Malinovskiy shared his vision of the temple's condition:
— Yes, the cracks have been sealed more than once. But there are some inside where even a hand can fit. True, we don't know if the internal cracks go outside. The exterior of the temple has been almost unexplored so far.
Oksana Smotrenko, deputy head of the department for the protection of historical and cultural heritage of the Ministry of Culture, added specifics:
— The cracks did not reach the plaster. The temple is stable and self-supporting.
Unfortunately, no one showed us those cracks. And the engineers persisted in their self-confidence, acquired after only a week of research: —
The investigations we conducted showed that the building stands on foundations of different levels, some of which turned out to be in an area of weak soils. We cannot do without reinforcing the foundations.
And at the same time, they concluded:
— The older the masonry, the stronger it is. We studied the stress in it, created a three-dimensional model, but our model does not account for the staged construction of the building, and we did not conduct long-term monitoring.
Thus, there are no precise calculations. There are only confusing assessments and proposals that are not based on anything. For example:
— A row of bored piles should be made along the foundation — to wedge the soil between the piles and the foundations.
The consequences of this are clear even to a non-specialist. The church has stood firm to this day — partly thanks to the architect John, to whom Euphrosyne entrusted the construction, who calculated the position of the temple and the probable threats from nature. If anything starts to change today, if there is any interference with the old walls and soil, the centuries-old balance will be disrupted. And no one knows how the earth and masonry will behave.
The engineers assessed the building's condition as 3 out of 5 points: "If there are no external influences, there is no threat of collapse." So why are the proposed interventions necessary?
Gennady Lavretsky, the scientific supervisor of the work at the Transfiguration Church, considers it most important to "ensure the structural stability of the temple." He proposes to remove the plaster to understand where the cracks are. Lavretsky also believes that instead of removing the 18th-century floor inside, "channels" should be made to reveal fragments of paintings remaining under this floor — as the bases of the originally painted columns are hidden below.
Igor Chernyavsky, Head of the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, outlined the priority task:
— First of all, it is necessary to strengthen the walls, find out where there are cracks, study whether they are growing or stable, and understand how the soils behave. And only then plan further actions. It is unacceptable to destroy the external appearance of the temple, which has come down to us from the 19th century — this is also part of its history.
Oleg Ioannissyan, Head of the Architectural Archaeology Sector of the State Hermitage Museum, a permanent member of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage under the Government of St. Petersburg, believes that any changes that occurred to the building in the 18th and 19th centuries were not accidental:
— Currently, the church is in a stable condition. However, the intervention proposed by engineers based on superficial research could lead to a catastrophe. If something needs to be strengthened, it is not necessary to use concrete for this, which is generally contraindicated in such cases. There are other materials, although they are more expensive.
Sergey Lalazarov, a top-category restoration architect at the St. Petersburg Research Institute "Spetsproektrestavratsiya," suggested how to avoid intervention in ancient structures altogether:
— I restored the Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga — approximately from the same period as the one in Polotsk. They suggested using concrete to reinforce the walls. But we took a different approach. Markers were placed on the cracks, and special equipment was used to study the seasonal fluctuations of the structures. It turned out that they began to deform back in the 15th century, but not catastrophically. After drainage work, the architectural monument stabilized.
Just as surgery is not always necessary in treating a person, so in the case of an architectural monument, diagnostics are necessary first, and then, perhaps, no cutting will be needed.
Elena Nikolaeva, a top-category restoration engineer and member of the Federal Scientific and Methodological Council of the Ministry of Culture of Russia, having listened to her colleagues' opinions, concluded:
— It is obvious to me: the building is not in a state of emergency, most of the structures are functional. I recommend performing a three-dimensional scan of the walls to identify problem areas. Simultaneously, this will provide a unified database for the work of all specialists.
The experts agreed that the restoration should not be solely handled by Belarusians. It makes sense to create an international team that will work under the supervision of an expert council. Such a multi-layered system of mutual control will prevent individual designers from succumbing to excessive imagination where reliance solely on comprehensive research materials is required.
In conclusion, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Council, Alexander Yatsko, outlined the main directions for future work:
— The issue of removing later period overlays from the 12th-century temple is no longer relevant. The church will retain its current appearance. It is only necessary to specify what further research is required and within what timeframe it can be conducted.
Armen Sardarov, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of BNTU, who joined the conversation, once again emphasized the significance of the church in the context of national culture:
— This is our shrine, there is nothing like it in Belarus.
— And not only in Belarus, — added Mikhail Milchik, Deputy Chairman of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage under the Government of St. Petersburg, giving it a global emphasis.
The members of the council reached a consensus, formulated by Armen Sardarov: "To save and preserve."
The future of the Transfiguration Church no longer raises concerns. It is under the supervision of reputable specialists and the Ministry of Culture. An international team of specialists will be formed to carry out work at this site of global significance.
BY THE WAY
While examining the window in Euphrosyne of Polotsk's cell, restorers discovered that it was formerly a door. On the second floor! This is another point that will cause scholars to debate in the future. After all, this door led somewhere. Perhaps to a gallery, the traces of which were discovered by Yevgeny Torshin? Does this mean the gallery was two-storied? Torshin himself is not yet ready to assert anything. Like a true scientist, he thinks only of one thing: "We must continue the excavations."
AUTHORITATIVELY
Theodosius, Archbishop of Polotsk and Glubokoye: — The main idea and goal that should guide us is to preserve the monument. We cannot allow steps that would threaten the loss of the church. There is no point in caring for your hair if you have lost your head. Currently, the 18th-century vaults in the basement perform a load-bearing function. If they are dismantled, there will be a threat to the church walls. Similarly, dismantling the 19th-century walls on the facade can create a number of problems. Therefore, they cannot be demolished. As for the proposal for bored piles around the architectural monument, in my opinion, interference with the environment surrounding the foundation also seems unsafe. I support the proposal to include the church in the UNESCO World Heritage List after the completion of restoration work. Boris Svetlov, Minister of Culture: — The Government has a clear understanding: the Transfiguration Church is a monument of global scale. Therefore, anatomical intervention and dissection of it are unacceptable. The church must be under the supervision of specialists at all times. We need to appeal to the world community and the Union State for assistance in continuing the restoration work. Unfortunately, the level of specialists in our country and in Russia does not inspire confidence in all cases, so we should not hesitate to seek highly qualified experts in other countries.
Viktor KORBUT,
"SB Belarus Segodnya". Photo by the author.