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Present state

The St Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a communal monastery of the St Petersburg Eparchy. Properly speaking, its revival commenced in 1956 when the St Trinity Cathedral was passed to the Russian Orthodox Church and became a parish church of the city of Leningrad, the beloved place of praying and pilgrimage. In the days of the Metropolitan Nikodym (Rotov, 1978) the senior priest of the Cathedral assumed the title of the Father Superior, and the Archbishop of the St Petersburg Eparchy became the senior priest of the Cathedral. A Christian hope and a wise foreseeing of the Metropolitan Nikodym concerning the future of the Monastery was placed in this seemingly insignificant alteration.

The beneficial sign of the coming changes in the Lavra's fate was the returning of the relics of St Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Patron Saint of the Monastery and the City of St Peter (June 3, 1989). It happened when the Leningrad cathedra was headed by the Metropolitan Alexy (Riddiger), now His Holiness the Patriarch.By His Eminence Alexy, the Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod the translation of the holy relics of Alexander Nevsky from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan was accomplished.

The beneficial revival of the Lavra as a monastery commenced in the summer of 1995 in the time of the Metropolitan Ioann (Snytchov, 1996). The first Father Superior of the Monastery was the eldest clergyman in the St Petersburg Eparchy, the Archimandrite Kirill (Natchis), the eparchial confessor.
The first monastic liturgy was offered on September 14, 1995. The liturgy was headed by the Father Superior of the Lavra, the Archimandrite Kirill. Because of the insufficient number of monks the choir at the service consisted of the students of the Theological Seminary. The services were held every day at the St Nickolas Church situated at the St Nickolas Cemetery, except on Sundays and feasts when the brethren performed the common service with the white clergy at the St Trinity Cathedral.

In April 1996 under His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir (Kotlyarov), a new Father Superior of the Lavra, Hegumen Vikenty (Kuzmin) was appointed. On April 5, 1996, at the presence of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, the clergy of the St Petersburg Eparchy, representatives of the city in the person of the Mayor, Anatoly Sobtchak, and the administration of the scientific research institute "Prometey" that owned at that time the major part of the Lavra's premises, the symbolical assignation of the complex of the Lavra took place. By this time the assignation of the Metropolitan's, Dukhovskoy and Prosphora buildings had commenced, and the final transmission of the architectural complex of the Lavra should be completed by the year of 2000.

In October of 1996 the Archimandrite Nazary (Lavrinenko) was nominated for the Father Superior of the Lavra, being authorized by the Holy Synod in April of 1997.

On November 3, 1997, the parochial assembly of the St Trinity Cathedral was cancelled and the administration of the Cathedral was handed to the Lavra's Ecclesiastical Council. The rules of the monastery were adopted, the main officials were appointed: the Dean, the Housekeeper, the Confessor, the Treasurer, the Sacristan, the Secretary. The Lavra obtained the monastic life in accordance with the requirements.
At present, the number of the brethern is constantly growing owing to the newly- taking the vows worthy persons from the number of lay brothers as well as monks from other monasteries.
Now the fraternity of the Lavra consists of the Archimandrite, hegumens, celibate priests, monks and lay brothers.