Art and religion have a long history together. Russia’s Church of the Intercession is “the only intact example of 17th-century Moscow Baroque to have survived the ransacking of Napoleonic invaders and the desecrations of Stalin. It is a jewel of the Baroque, lovingly preserved by curators from the Rublev Museum. But President Vladimir Putin plans to restore the building to the Russian Orthodox Church, which is likely to return it to its original function as a parish church open to the public 12 hours a day. Art experts aghast at the prospect of a pious crush of stout, wet-coated babushki imperiling the fragile interior. So what to do? Defend and preserve it or use and lose it? – The Times (UK)