Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, fired his art and restoration expert on Saturday for allegedly obstructing the transfer of a historic 15th-century icon of the Holy Trinity to the church from a Moscow museum, Reuters reported.

This week, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to donate the icon to the church in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery because of its importance to believers.

Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s expert council on art, architecture and temple restoration, told the Interfax news agency this week that dialogue between the museum and the church was being conducted “in good faith” after experts determined the icon was needed. restoration works.

On Saturday, Patriarch Kirill dismissed Leonid Kalinin from his post “in connection with obstructing the introduction of an icon” to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Kalinin was banned from performing religious services, according to a message published on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“It seems we made a mistake,” Kalinin was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Saturday.