Lipetsk Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The Lipetsk Metropolis has a long and dramatic history. It is known that on the territory now belonging to it, the population adopted Christianity back in the pre-Mongol period, but, due to the frequent raids of nomads at the end of the 14th century, they were forced to leave it. For almost two centuries, the Upper Don region remained a "wild field", and only at the end of the 16th century did the inhabitants return here. During this period, Orthodox churches and monasteries begin to be actively built.

History of the Lipetsk Diocese

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Lipetsk region was part of the Ryazan and partially Voronezh diocese. During the entire pre-revolutionary period, religious life here developed in its entirety. To be convinced of this, it is enough to refer to the statistics of the nineties of the XIX century.

They show that the territory where the current Lipetsk Metropolis is located included more than five hundred operating churches and about a dozen monasteries, which annually attracted hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over Russia. In addition, these regions showed the world an innumerable host of God's saints, and in the 20th century, when the persecution of the church began, andNew Martyrs.

Post-revolutionary and pre-war years

The natural course of church history was interrupted by the Bolshevik coup in 1917, which sentenced many Orthodox shrines, clergy and ordinary believers to death. However, religious life in this region did not die, but only entered its new phase. Before the Lipetsk Metropolis was created, that is, a territorial unit subordinate to the metropolitan, a somewhat smaller structure was formed in its place - the diocese.

She was subordinate to Bishop Uara (Shmarin), who headed it until he was arrested in 1935 and then shot. Two years later, his fate was shared by the newly appointed Bishop Alexander (Toropov), like his predecessor, who received the crown of martyrdom. From that time on, Lipetsk, having lost its significance as a diocesan center, became part of the Voronezh cathedra.

Partial revival of the diocese during the war years

After a terrible period of persecution of the church, which marked the thirties, by the beginning of the war there was not a single functioning church left on the territory of the Lipetsk region, and representatives of the clergy were either shot or exiled to camps. Only when the difficult situation on the fronts forced the authorities to look for ways to strengthen national unity, they decided to return some churches to believers.

The first of them was the Christ-Nativity Church in the village of Studenki, which opened its doors in 1943. In the postwar years, it was joined by the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord inthe city of Lipetsk itself, but during the period of Khrushchev’s persecution of the church, many churches that had been opened earlier were closed again.

Establishment of a metropolis in Lipetsk

As in the whole country, the attitude of local authorities towards the church changed only with the onset of perestroika, which caused the process of democratization in society. During these years, many churches were reopened, previously taken from the church, and used for household needs. At the same time, extensive construction of new ones began.

By 2003, religious life in the city and the region reached such a wide scale that by the decision of the Holy Synod, an independent diocese was re-established, on the basis of which the Lipetsk Metropolis was created ten years later. It was headed by Archbishop Nikon, who was soon elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.

Today the Lipetsk Metropolis is one of the largest in the country. More than two hundred parishes operate on its territory, as well as the construction of several dozen new churches in the cities and villages of the region. The monastic service, which originated in the 16th century, also received a powerful impetus. Today, there are four male monasteries and six female monasteries on the territory of the Lipetsk Metropolis.

Church life in the Vologda region

The process of broad administrative changes aimed at improving the pastoral ministry and the care of parishioners has unfolded in recent years throughout Russia. In 2014, the Holy Synod, by its decree of October 23, brought to life a new large church structure, which becameVologda Metropolis. Metropolitan Ignatius (Deputatov) of Vologda and Kirillovsky was entrusted to lead it.

The new administrative formation included three dioceses: Vologda and Kirillov, Veliky Ustyug and Totem, as well as Cherepovets and Belozersk. The Vologda Metropolis is one of the largest in its area, as it includes the entire territory of the Vologda Oblast, which is almost one hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers.

Creation of the Metropolis on the banks of the Volga

The Metropolis of Nizhny Novgorod, established in 2012, also became part of the process of administrative and church transformations. The history of Orthodoxy on the banks of the Volga dates back to ancient times, but the diocese here was established only in 1672. The population in these parts, connected with the most important navigable river in Russia, has been steadily growing over the centuries and by 1912 reached more than one and a half million people.

In the pre-revolutionary years there were about a thousand one hundred churches and twenty-eight monasteries. For more than three hundred years of history, the diocese has been headed by forty-eight bishops. Having survived in the Soviet years all the same ordeals that befell the entire Russian Orthodox Church, the diocese was revived during the years of perestroika. Over the period of its existence, it has accumulated significant experience in the spiritual care of parishioners, which is now being implemented within the framework of a new administrative entity known as the Metropolis of Nizhny Novgorod.

Strengthening centralized governancechurch

The process of transforming the largest dioceses into metropolises continues, and its positive results leave no doubt about the correctness of the chosen path. An example of this is the Metropolis of St. Petersburg, which has become one of the main pillars of modern Russian Orthodoxy under the control of Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.

This is a completely natural process. Each newly formed metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church, including several dioceses, summarizes their experience and, thanks to centralized leadership, allows it to get the maximum implementation.