One of the most interesting regions in Russia in terms of culture and religion is Tatarstan. The republic has a very interesting geographical position, because there you can meet both an Orthodox person and a Muslim and even a Buddhist. Two religions are officially recognized in the region - Christianity and Islam, among which it is the first that is characterized by the greatest prevalence. Therefore, the subject of our careful consideration now will be the Tatarstan Metropolis, its origin, history, composition and features.
Region Briefs
To begin with, let's look at what features that can affect the religious situation, Tatarstan is characterized. The republic is secular in its typology, here religious associations and communities are separated from the general state apparatus. Religion is free, there are no restrictions and mandatory installations. More than a thousand religious communities are officially registered on the territory of this region, the largest of which areare Orthodox and Islamic.
Islam in Tatarstan
Discussion of sacred societies, which make up a very small part of the population of this region, we will omit and go straight to two main categories - Orthodox and Muslims. The second largest and most important religion in Tatarstan is Islam. Since 922, Sunni Islam was adopted on the territory of the republic and adjacent lands. When Khan Uzbek ruled in Volga Bulgaria in 1313, he officially assigned this religion to his possessions. To this day, all Tatars are Muslims, and the religion is still official in this region.
Key facts about Christianity
Unlike Islam, Orthodoxy appeared in Tatarstan only in the 16th century, after the Kazan Khanate officially joined the Russian state. Since then and until today, Christianity has been professed here by Russians, Maris, Udmurts, Chuvashs and Kryashens. Among the communities of this religion, the main one here is Orthodox. Much less extensive are the Catholic, the Church of Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Protestant. Evangelical Christians, Old Believers, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists and others also live on the territory of the republic.
The history of the appearance of the metropolis in Tatarstan
In 1555, Tsar Ivan the Terrible held another council, during which it was decided to organize a new Kazan diocese under the Moscow Metropolitan Macarius. In the same year on earthAbbot Gury in the rank of Kazan and Sviyazhsk archbishop went to modern Tatarstan. With him he had a "mandate memory", compiled by the king himself. It contained the following lines: “I do not want to convert non-believers to baptism, treat them with tenderness and give all sorts of privileges. Do not punish severely and exempt from judgment those who do not deserve it. A few years later, the so-called sacred hierarchy was formed in the state. The first place in it was occupied by the Moscow Metropolis, the second - by the Novgorod Archdiocese, and the third, respectively, by the Tatarstan Metropolis.
Ancient geography of the diocese
Since 1589, the newly formed Kazan diocese was divided into several parts. The southwest, up to the Sura River, was the Nagornaya side, which included Vasilsursk, Tsivilsk, Cheboksary, Tetyushi, Sviyazhsk and Kozmodemyansk, as well as the Lugovaya side, which consisted of Tsarevokokshaisk and Sanchursk. The north-west of the region, up to the Vetluga River, was also part of the metropolis. Along the course of the Vyatka River, all the lands that were not part of the Vyatka diocese joined the Kazan diocese. Three main kingdoms of this region also remained baptized - Kazan Astrakhan and partly Siberian. Soon, the towns that were located along the Terek River also became Orthodox. Approximately such geography was characterized by the Tatarstan Metropolis until 1917. Since then, it has narrowed a little, and the sacred power of the local metropolitans began to cover only the borders of the Kazan province.
Geography of our days
BIn 2012, the leadership of the Russian Federation made a new decision. On June 6, the Chistopol and Almetyevsk dioceses became independent. As a result, the Tatarstan metropolis began to occupy only the north-east of the republic of the same name. It mainly includes such cities as Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny. The following districts can also be included here: Rybno-Slobodsky, Mendeleevsky, Laishevsky, Pestrichinsky, Kukmorsky, Mamadyshsky and many others.
Interesting fact
Now on the territory occupied by the Tatarstan Metropolis, in particular in Kazan, there is the Ecumenical Church. Its construction fell on the nineties of the last century, and today this building represents the three main religions of the world plus one: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. Here you can see a synagogue, an Orthodox church, a mosque and a pagoda. Rites are not held in the temple, it serves only as a sacred architectural monument and proves the unity and equality of all peoples.
