St. Savvaty and Zosima, of Solovki

Three Russian icons have been returned to a remote monastery in the White Sea after spending more than 80 years in Britain in the care of two Anglican vicars.

Amid the chaos that followed the Russian revolution, the icons were thrust into the hands of a Royal Navy chaplain in the port of Archangel in 1918 by a monk from the historic monastery on the island of Solovki.

They were handed back to the monastery last weekend by the Rev. Roy Lambert, 76, a retired priest, and his wife, Elizabeth, the chaplain's granddaughter. The icons were immediately paraded around the fortress walls in triumphant procession.

Between the time of the icons' departure from Russia and their return to Solovki 83 years later, they moved with their Church of England guardians from parish to parish in Yorkshire, Humberside and Dorset before ending up in Cirencester, Glos.

In the meantime the monks were scattered or killed and the monastery turned into one of the first and most notorious Gulag prison camps, before being restored to the Orthodox Church in 1992. The three works, which date from the 19th century and bear the images of Christ the Saviour, St Panteleimon and Solovki's founders, Savvaty and Zosima, are now the oldest original icons belonging to the monastery in the far north.

Mr Lambert said in St Petersburg yesterday: "I told the monks that the icons left Russia in fear but they returned in love."

His wife, the naval chaplain's granddaughter, said: "There will be an empty space in our sitting room now. But I am sure we will make do with the colour photo reproductions."

"It was a great blessing to be among the people of Solovki. It was very impressive to see the revival of faith up there and the number of people packed into the church on Sunday."

The icons have been in their possession since 1962 when Mrs Lambert's grandfather, Arthur Twidle, presented them to the couple. Until then she knew nothing of them.

Two inscriptions - in English and Russian - on the back of the 5in by 7in wooden panels describe how an unnamed archimandrite, a senior monk, gave them to Mr Twidle for safekeeping when he was serving with British forces in Archangel.

The archimandrite's fate is unknown but he is likely to have been among thousands of priests imprisoned, tortured and executed under Soviet rule. Many have since been canonised.

The British expeditionary force that landed in Archangel in August 1918 to reopen the Eastern Front against Germany and crush the Bolsheviks soon withdrew.

Mr Lambert, now retired and living in Cirencester, decided to return the icons to Solovki after the collapse of communism. He said: "We felt they didn't belong to us. They belonged to Russia."

Father Josif, the monastery's abbot, said yesterday: "This is a miracle of sorts. God touched the Lamberts' souls to ensure that they gave the icons back."