Amur diocese. Information and educational portal of the Khabarovsk diocese
The Khabarovsk diocese is an ecclesiastical administrative structure that manages parishes located in the Khabarovsk region of Russia, as well as the Tuguro-Chumikansky, Okhotsk, Ayano-Maisky and Nikolaevsky regions. The diocesan see is located in Khabarovsk, and the main cathedral is the Transfiguration Cathedral located there. The diocese is headed by the ruling bishop, Metropolitan Vladimir (Samokhin).
The light of Christianity that sanctified the Far East
The beginning of the Christianization of the territory, which today includes the Khabarovsk diocese, dates back to 1620, when the episcopal department was first established in the city of Tobolsk. However, further political conflicts, in particular the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, according to which a significant part of the Amur Territory went to China, suspended this process for almost a century and a half.
Only in 1858, after the conclusion of the Aigun Agreement and the return of the Amur region to Russia, the life of Orthodox parishes received a new impetus. At the same time, by decision of the synodal leadership, the bishop's see was moved to Blagoveshchensk.
Khabarovsk - the center of the newly formed vicariate
The Khabarovsk diocese that exists today was established in 1925, but in those years it had the status of a vicariate, that is, it was an ecclesiastical administrative unit that was part of a larger diocese, in in this case Blagoveshchenskaya. It was headed, as it should be in such cases, by a bishop subordinate to the diocesan ruler.
The city of Khabarovsk became the center of the new education. This state of affairs continued until 1933, when, as a result of a series of anti-religious campaigns in the Amur region, all churches without exception were closed. Only ten years later, at the height of the war against fascism, when, wanting to promote the spiritual unity of the people, the government agreed to a partial revival of religious life, the first parish in the Far East began to operate in Khabarovsk.
Organization of diocesan self-government
The diocese received independent rule in 1945, when the Holy Synod sent a bishop to the city of Khabarovsk, who received the title of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. However, after four years, the leadership of the diocese was transferred to the Irkutsk Bishop.
At the end of the 80s, when new trends caused by perestroika emerged in the life of the country, and the pressure of the authorities on the church weakened significantly, the diocese of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok (as it was now called) again received the opportunity for self-government. In addition, its territory was significantly expanded and began to include, in addition to the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, a number of regions: Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Magadan, Amur and Jewish Autonomous Regions.
Church and administrative transformations in recent years
Behind last years The Holy Synod made a number of changes in the territorial and administrative structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Amur Metropolis, which it is part of today, did not remain aloof from these undertakings. Khabarovsk diocese.
In particular, in 2011, the Amur diocese, which was previously part of the Khabarovsk diocese, gained independence, and the Nikolaev Vicariate was created within the borders of the Tuguro-Chumikansky, Nikolaevsky, Ayano-Maysky and Okhotsk regions. In 2016, the Khabarovsk diocese was slightly reduced, as part of it was transferred to the newly formed Vanino diocese.
The Cathedral is a symbol of new times
A visible embodiment of the beneficial changes that have come in the religious life of the Far East was the construction in 2001-2004. Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Khabarovsk. This monumental five-domed building was built with funds from voluntary donations from future parishioners, as well as a number of businesses and public organizations. The authors of the project were a group of Far Eastern architects, headed by Yuri Zhivetev. The painting of the walls and dome was carried out by a team of Moscow painters, specially invited by Bishop Vladimir.
It should be noted that the main cathedral of Khabarovsk, the cross of which rose 95 meters above the ground, is the third tallest among Russian churches. It is second only to St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The size of its interior is also impressive, capable of simultaneously accommodating up to three thousand people.
The Far Eastern Pilgrimage Center of the Khabarovsk Diocese, created with the blessing of Bishop Vladimir, has been operating in the premises of the cathedral for eight years. Its employees organize regular trips to visit the holy places of our country, as well as those located beyond its borders. Thanks to their efforts, many residents of Primorye had the opportunity to visit Israel and see places associated with various biblical events, as well as venerate the relics kept in the monasteries and churches of their Fatherland.
The Amur Metropolis was formed by the decision of the Holy Synod on October 5-6, 2011 (magazine No. 132) within the Khabarovsk Territory.
Includes Amur, Khabarovsk and Vanino dioceses.
The beginning of the history of the Orthodox Church in the Amur region can be considered the establishment of the first diocese in Siberia with a see in Tobolsk, which occurred in 1620. As a result of the signing of the Nerchinsk Treaty with the Qing Empire in 1689, the territory of the Albazin Voivodeship was taken away from Russia. After this, the spread of Orthodoxy in the Amur region stopped for more than a century and a half, although Russian villages remained in the lower reaches of the Amur and on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk.
In 1858, after the conclusion of the Aigun Treaty with China, the Amur region was returned to Russia. The newly acquired lands were included in the Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleutian diocese. In 1859, the episcopal department was moved to Blagoveshchensk.
At the end of 1869, an independent Yakut department was separated from the diocese; in 1870 after the sale of Alaska - Aleutian diocese. In 1899, the Kamchatka diocese was divided into the Amur-Blagoveshchensk and Vladivostok-Kamchatka diocese.
In 1925, the Khabarovsk Vicariate was established as part of the Annunciation Diocese, which existed until 1933. In 1943-1946. Far Eastern parishes were controlled by the Novosibirsk and Barnaul bishops. In 1946, an independent Khabarovsk and Vladivostok diocese was established. In 1949, the department was again temporarily abolished; its parishes moved to the Irkutsk and Chita diocese.
The revival of the independent Khabarovsk-Vladivostok diocese occurred in 1988. Since 1990, the diocese was called Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk - in connection with the separation of the Vladivostok and Primorsky diocese. In 1993, after the creation of the independent Blagoveshchensk and Tynda diocese, the Khabarovsk bishops bear the title of Khabarovsk and Amur.
In 2004, the Birobidzhan and Kuldur diocese was separated from Khabarovsk.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of October 5-6, 2011 (magazine No. 107), the Amur diocese was separated from the Khabarovsk diocese, and the Khabarovsk diocese was included (magazine No. 132) in the Amur Metropolis.
The Synod also formed within the administrative boundaries of the Ayano-Maisky, Nikolaevsky, Okhotsky and Tuguro-Chumikansky districts of the Khabarovsk Territory Nikolaev Vicariate of Khabarovsk Diocese. The Synod decided for the vicar bishop of the Khabarovsk diocese, who administers the Nikolaev vicariate, to have the title of Nikolaev and to reside in the city of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of October 21, 2016 (journal No. 81), the Vanino diocese was formed by separating it from the Khabarovsk and Amur dioceses. Included in the Amur Metropolis. The Synod decided to have the title “Vanino and Pereyaslav” for the ruling bishop.
Unites parishes within the administrative boundaries of Bikinsky, Vyazemsky, Lazo, Nanaisky, Sovetsko-Gavansky and Ulchsky districts of the Khabarovsk Territory.
Ruling bishop: Savvaty, Bishop of Vaninsky and Pereyaslavsky (Perepelkin Sergey Alexandrovich).
Ruling and suffragan bishops:
Khabarovsk Vicariate of the Annunciation Diocese
- Trofim (Yakobchuk) (1925)
- Nikifor (Efimov) (April 3, 1926 - April 25, 1928)
- Panteleimon (Maksunov) (1928-1931)
- Herman (Kokkel) (1931-1932)
- Seraphim (Trofimov) (August 24, 1933 - December 5, 1933)
- Venedikt (Plyaskin) (January 30, 1946 - July 10, 1947)
- Bartholomew (Gorodtsov) (July 10, 1947-1948) v/u, archbishop. Novosibirsk
- Gabriel (Ogorodnikov) (August 29, 1948 - August 11, 1949)
- 1949-1988 - widowed, ruled by Irkutsk bishops
- Gabriel (Steblyuchenko) (July 23, 1988 - March 25, 1991)
- Vadim (Lazebny) (January 31 - December 27, 1991) v/u, ep. Irkutsk
- Innokenty (Vasiliev) (January 26, 1992 - July 18, 1995)
- Mark (Tuzhikov) (September 3, 1995 - March 22, 2011)
- Ignatius (Pologrudov) (from March 22, 2011 - June 3, 2016)
- Vladimir (Samokhin) (from June 3, 2016)
- Artemy (Snigur) (from December 28, 2018)
Amur diocese
Unites parishes within the administrative boundaries of Vaninsky, Verkhnebureinsky, Komsomolsky, named after Polina Osipenko, Solnechny and Ulchsky districts of the Khabarovsk Territory.
Cathedral City- Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Deaneries:
- Vanino dean district.
- Verkhnebureinsky dean district.
- Komsomolsky deanery district.
- Sunny deanery district.
- Ulchi deanery district.
Number of parishes in the diocese:
53 registered parishes and unregistered communities (as of January 1, 2015)
Number of clerics:
32 clergy
Ruling Bishop:
Nicholas, Bishop of Amur and Chegdomyn (since January 29, 2012)Diocesan website:
http://eparhia-amur.ru/