Irkutsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

Nowadays the Irkutsk and Angarsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church includes monasteries and parishes on the territory of the Irkutsk region. Together with the Fraternal and Sayan dioceses, also located on the territory of this district, it is part of the Irkutsk metropolis.

The penetration of Orthodoxy into Siberia

The history of the creation of this diocese is very interesting - like no other subdivision of the ROC, it has changed its borders. The first in Siberia, after its annexation to Russia, was the Tobolsk Diocese. It was in 1620. The Irkutsk region was a part of it, but due to its vastness in 1706, it is allocated to the conventional ecclesiastical administrative unit of the diocese under the name "vicariate", and already in 1721 an independent Irkutsk diocese appears. And this was a positive development, both for the region and for Russia as a whole.

The planting of religion in new places has always played a very important role for missionaries. The first prelate was Innokenty Kulchitsky, who was a true ascetic - he brought with him the first private library, actively conducted educational work. In addition, he ordered the church-administrative structure. His beginnings adequately continued St Saphronius, who also led an active missionary work. In addition, the diocese was rich in representatives of the clergy, who conducted scientific activities and engaged in translations, as well as research in the field of ethnography and linguistics.

Formation of the Diocese

Siberia is huge, the Irkutsk diocese constantly grew in territories, in which it was necessary to carry "the word of God." So, in 1731 it includes Yakutia, and soon the entire territory of Siberia and vast expanses of the Far East, belonging to Russia.

Further more. Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in 1796 are part of the Irkutsk diocese. Naturally, to keep these endless territories under one single head is difficult, because in these times the area of the diocese was equal to half of the vast Russia.

In 1840, the reverse process began. The Kuriles, Kamchatka and Aleut Dioceses were the first to separate. To the last in 1856 Yakutia left. Then in 1894 the Chita Vicariate was formed, which in the same year becomes an independent church-administrative territorial unit. Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century the Irkutsk diocese had borders similar to the present ones.

Years of disbelief

But then the era of atheism began, the huge administrative units of the Orthodox Church were simply abolished, and temples and monasteries - to be looted and destroyed. On the Siberian land and the space of the Far East, there was not a single spiritual institution left. From 1917 to 1930 the Irkutsk diocese, which was not closed, absorbs the lands of the abolished structures, and its size again reaches the Far Eastern coasts. However, under the pressure of the God-fearing mood, the authorities also close this diocese, however, not for long - in 1943 it is being restored. Until the last years of Soviet power, the Irkutsk Orthodox Diocese extended to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

New Times

There is Perestroika, the Orthodox Church begins its epoch-making revival. There is a process of resurrection of all that is abolished and destroyed. In 1988 the Khabarovsk department was restored and restored, in 1993 the Yakut diocese became independent, in 1994 - the Chita. Again the moment came when the borders of the Irkutsk region and, in fact, the diocese coincided. However, already on 05.10.2011 they leave its structure and gain the independence of the Diocese Sayanskaya and Bratskaya. And on October 6, within the borders of the Irkutsk region, a metropolis is formed, the head of which is the Irkutsk bishop.

Glorious names

During its history, the Irkutsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has given three bishops who are famous for their righteous lives and pastoral activities, that is, the saints. They were:

• The first bishop Innokenty Kulchitsky (1727-1731);
• Safronii Kristalevsky (1754-1771);
• Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Innokenty Veniaminov (1868-1879).

Until 1917, the number of bishops administering the Irkutsk diocese amounted to 17. Their ascetic activities transformed the region. Through the efforts of the church, a network of educational institutions was organized and included in the active educational process. By the middle of the XIX century in the diocese, there were more than 35 schools of the parish type and five schools of spiritual education, directly in Irkutsk province - 14.

Missionary Activities

By the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 seminaries and a women's school, and the number of schools reached 229. The requirements for priests were constantly increasing, the level of their preparation was growing, and by the beginning of the 20th century many of them had higher education. Of course, for the Christianization of the indigenous population, the carrot and the whip were also used, but the missionary activity produced positive results. The first book was published under the title "Abbreviated Catechism", its main key was the publication in the Yakut language (1819), a little later for the population of Russian Alaska and "newly baptized Buryats" were issued in their languages the main liturgical texts.

Even after a significant reduction in the territories of the diocese, Irkutsk remained the largest religious center. There were many temples and monasteries in the diocese. In this regard, one can not help mentioning one of the oldest monasteries of Siberia, founded in the late 17th century on the right side of the Angara. It became a monastery dedicated to the Sign of the Mother of God, especially since now the administration of the diocese of the Irkutsk metropolia is located on its territory.

Znamensky Monastery

In the necropolis of the monastery famous people are buried, for example, Princess Ekaterina Trubetskaya and her children - Sophia, Vladimir and Nikita. Near the abode Kolchak was shot. In 2004, a monument was erected here for the glory of this great ruler and admiral. At the foot of the wall facing the south, in 2015 the writer Valentin Rasputin was buried. Throughout all the years of the monastery's life, fame was brought to the nuns-seamstresses and seamstresses, their skills were known and appreciated even in both Russian capitals.

Features of modernity

The church is not frozen in its development and even uses all the achievements of science and technology. All the church-administrative territorial units have their own sites, including the Irkutsk diocese. The regional Orthodox portal, containing many uni-directional target sites united by a common great spiritual thought, word and domain name, carries in itself comprehensive information about the Irkutsk diocese, its history and today's day. Absolutely all the news is widely available.