Many of our compatriots know that on the territory of Russia there is the Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk diocese. She formed in 2011. Previously, there was the Stavropol and Vladikavkaz diocese. And when, with the blessing of the Holy Synod, part of the territory was separated from it, this religious association arose.
The first Christians in the Stavropol land
Christianity came to the North Caucasus very early - in the first century after Christ. Apostles Andrew, Bartholomew, Simon Canait preached here. The diocese of Stavropol keeps one pearl. Believers from all over the world come here to look at the face of Jesus Christ depicted on one of the rocks of Arkhyz in Karachay-Cherkessia. The timing of the creation of the image of the Savior remains a mystery.
The face is drawn according to the Orthodox canon, facing strictly to the east. It was created in a laconic color scheme, typical for Byzantium of the 9th-11th centuries. Perhaps this is the very first image of the Lord in Russia. Arkhyz face wasdiscovered recently, on the eve of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ.
The weakening of Byzantium, the spread of Islam, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar yoke led to the fall of the Christian religion in the North Caucasus. The revival began under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. After Astrakhan was captured, the Russian Cossacks, striving for new outskirts, set up their first villages there.
Temples of the diocese
Temples of the Stavropol diocese are diverse. So, in Cherkessk there is the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, which is more than 350 years old. They say that when the Cossacks moved, they dismantled and took with them the shrine, which was originally installed in the Stavropol fortress. And when the place of deployment moved even closer to the foothills, the Cossacks again dismantled the church and took it with them. They put it in the village, which was later renamed the city of Cherkessk. Then the church was moved twice.
One hundred years ago there were 250 churches and three monasteries, more than two hundred parochial schools on the territory of the Stavropol Territory. In addition, there was a theological seminary, and the public organization Andreevo-Vladimir Brotherhood consisted of about five hundred people. Then, during the years of repression, only three churches remained in operation on the territory of Stavropol.
Stavropol deanery
The Metropolis of Stavropol includes several deaneries: the first, second Stavropol district and the third Stavropol district, as well as Mikhailovskoye, Grachevskoe,Novoaleksandrovskoe, Medvezhenskoe, Izobilnenskoe, Donskoy and Svetlogradskoe deaneries. Diocese of Stavropol today has 142 functioning churches. The number of clergy has reached 137 clerics.
Diocese of Stavropol has been developing rapidly lately. A 20 by 20 plan is being implemented here, that is, by 2020 they want to build 20 churches in Stavropol. Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk spoke about this and other pressing issues in his speech at a parliamentary meeting as part of the sixth Diocesan Christmas Readings.
By the way, his worldly name is Leonid Nikolaevich Pokrovsky. He was born in 1963 in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region. Father, grandfather and great-grandfather were priests. In 1884, the future metropolitan entered the Moscow Theological Seminary and graduated brilliantly. He also studied at the theological seminary in Sofia. In 1989, at the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, he was tonsured a monk. In the same year, he was ordained a hieromonk. July 18, 2012 Father Kirill is elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.
Women's Convent
The Stavropol Metropolis, in addition to temples, also includes a convent. This is the St. John-Mariinsky Monastery, located in the city of Stavropol, and on the territory of a mental hospital. The shrine is a small two-story house with twelve nuns. The nuns maintain a garden, raise poultry, collect medicinal plants, meet and accommodate pilgrims. They spend many hours in prayer.
The Mother Superior is Mother Joan (Anna in the world). She received this sacred dignity with the blessing of the archpastor. She grew up in a believing family. The father served as a sacristan, and the mother, shortly before her death, became a monk. Anna got married. Her husband was a priest. But after Anna's daughter got married and her mother died, she decided to become a monk. The marriage was annulled. The husband also became a monk, then he was appointed bishop in Rybinsk.
The Diocese of Stavropol received mother and her sisters. At first it was very difficult, but soon with God's help everything worked out. Other nuns followed her. Elderly women have found their shelter here, and the abbess has long conversations with young women and does not bless everyone to become nuns.
