The complex of belongings of Bishop Ambrose Ornatsky of Penza and Saratov (in the world of Andrei Antipovich Ornatsky) – mitre, charge and panagia – was restored in the Kirillo-Belozersk Museum-Reserve.
"The historian of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Ambrose, was born in 1778 on the territory of the present Cherepovets district. The rector of a number of monasteries and the Penza diocese is known as the compiler of the multi–volume "History of the Russian Hierarchy" - the first Russian Orthodox encyclopedia. From the age of ten, Andrey Antipovich studied at the Kirillov Theological Seminary. Life in the ancient Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, stories about the lives of the saints who labored here, and a strict monastic life left an indelible mark on his mind and, apparently, determined his further monastic path. At the end of his life, Ambrose Ornatsky chose the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery for his prayer exploits. In January 1825, at the age of 46, the bishop submitted his resignation with permission to stay at the Cyril monastery, where he died three years later. Ornatsky was buried in the first stone building of the monastery – the Assumption Cathedral. To the right of the entrance to the cathedral, you can now see a slab with an inscription about his burial," Mikhail Sharomazov, General Director of the Kirillo–Belozersky Museum-Reserve, told Vologda Region news agency.
The bishop's belongings were found as a result of archaeological excavations in the temple complex back in 2012. Then, by the staff of the NPC "Antiquities of the North" under the guidance of archaeologist Ilya Papin, the Assumption Cathedral and its adjacent temples were investigated. A burial in church vestments, leather shoes, the remains of a rosary, a leather pillow under the head, a thimble cross (in honor of 1812) on a ribbon, a panagia were found in the coffin.
The state of preservation of the items was emergency, the fabrics were destroyed under the influence of mold. Lyudmila Gromyko, a restorer of works made of fabric of the highest category of the Suzdal Restoration School, literally saved them.
Thanks to the well-coordinated work of the museum staff, the complex of Ornatsky's belongings has survived to the present day and will be kept for many years in a restored, almost pristine form, the press service of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve reports.