In the south-east of Western Siberia, among the expanses of the Altai Territory, is the Biysk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. Being one of the largest in Russia, it covers such administrative districts as Biysk, Soloneshevsky, Tselinny, Troitsky, Eltsovsky, Smolensky, Sovetsky, Petropavlovsky, Altai, Soltonsky, Bystroistoksky, Zonal and Krasnogorsky. Its establishment dates back to the period of active missionary activity launched by the Holy Synod in the 19th century on the territory of the Urals and Siberia.
Activity of Orthodox missionaries
In 1828, on the initiative of Archbishop Evgeny (Kazantsev) of Tobolsk, a spiritual mission was opened in the city of Biysk, located on the territory of Western Siberia, the purpose of which was the conversion to Orthodoxy of representatives of local peoples who had not yet broken with paganism.
The activity of the members of the mission, headed by Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharev) for many years, was so effective that in the second half of the century a significant part of the population was baptized and joined the true faith. In connection withthis made it necessary to streamline the life of the newly formed parishes, establishing a centralized government over them.
Establishment of Biysk Vicariate
In March 1879, Bishop Peter of Tomsk (Ekaterinovsky) addressed the Holy Synod with the initiative to unite the parishes located on the territory of the Altai Territory into a single diocese. Having considered his proposal, the members of the highest body of church administration in Russia decided at that time to limit themselves to including the listed areas in the Tomsk diocese, separating them into a separate vicariate - a church-administrative unit with the center in the city of Biysk. It was it that was subsequently transformed into the Biysk diocese.
The official document on the establishment of a new vicariate was published on January 3, 1880, and a month later, the head of the Altai Spiritual Mission, Archimandrite Vladimir (Petrov), was approved as its head. On the occasion of such a high appointment, he was consecrated (erected) to the rank of Bishop of Biysk and immediately took up his duties.
Organization of the spiritual life of the region
Among all the subsequent bishops of the Biysk diocese, he was the first to take on the archpastoral service in the region, whose inhabitants only recently entered the bosom of the Orthodox Church and, not having outlived the remnants of the past, sometimes turned to shamans. Having rich experience in communicating with foreigners, he managed to establish spiritual life in the parishes under his jurisdiction in a short time and, having then received an appointment toNizhny Novgorod and Arzamas see, left to his successor - Bishop Macarius (Nevsky) - a well-functioning mechanism of administrative leadership.
An important event in the life of the vicariate, which became the predecessor of the Biysk diocese, was the opening in 1890 of a catechetical school, created on the basis of the Altai spiritual mission and intended to promote the fundamentals of the Christian faith among the general population. Later it was transformed into a seminary. At the same time, the first library and missionary archive appeared in Biysk.
Tomsk diocese. In addition, the archpastors were governors of three monasteries founded by members of the mission and eventually becoming major spiritual centers in remote and hard-to-reach regions of Siberia.
Vicariate converted to diocese
The coming to power of the Bolsheviks, which became the beginning of mass persecution of the Church, gave impetus to a number of important administrative reforms in it. Among them is the transformation in 1919 of the former vicariate into the Biysk diocese, the bishops of which have since gained independence in resolving most administrative issues. Bishop Innokenty (Sokolov) became the head of the newly formed diocese, but how manyhe could not have any wide and fruitful activity, because he was soon arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary activities.
New Martyrs of the 20th century
No less tragic was the fate of his successor, Bishop Nikita (Pribytkov), who headed the diocese from 1924 to 1931. He was also arrested and, after a long stay in places of detention, was shot under the infamous Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. In the future, the Biysk diocese for a long time remained without its own leadership, and the parishes located on its territory were placed under the jurisdiction of the Barnaul bishops.
As you know, the 20th century brought a lot of suffering to the Russian clergy and their flock. For several decades, waves of anti-religious campaigns have rolled over the country, which have become a manifestation of militant atheism, elevated to the rank of state ideology. Many ministers of the church and the most active parishioners paid for their beliefs with freedom and even life itself.
During this period, most of the parishes of the Biysk diocese were abolished, which, in essence, ceased to exist as an independent church-administrative unit. It was revived only in 1949, when the Stalinist government allowed some indulgence in relation to religious issues.
A new round of persecution of the church
In view of the fact that over the past decades, many ministers of the church have become victims of repression and there was an acute shortage of qualified personnel among the clergy, Bishop Nikandr(Volyannikov), who headed the Biysk department, was entrusted with the duty to provide all possible assistance to the leadership of the neighboring Novosibirsk diocese, which then covered the territory of five territories and three regions.
He did a great and fruitful work, interrupted in 1953 by a new round of the fight against religion. This time it was initiated by N. S. Khrushchev, who was in power from 1953 to 1964 and managed to cause a lot of harm to the national spiritual heritage during this period. As well as throughout the country, the churches of the Biysk diocese, open during the period of Stalin's indulgences, were closed again, and many of the surviving ones were previously demolished under various pretexts.
Revival of the diocese
The next, this time favorable, stage in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church came with the beginning of perestroika. Many movable and immovable valuables that had been illegally taken before were returned to her. Temples were reopened, and church utensils and icons began to return to them from museums. The Biysk diocese, abolished during the Khrushchev persecution, was again restored as an independent church-administrative unit, which included 13 districts listed at the beginning of the article.
Under the supervision of a wise archpastor
Since June 2015, it has been headed by Biysk and Belokurihinsky Serapion (Danube), elevated to this rank by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill immediately after taking office. Over the past years, a number of departmental departments have been created in the diocese entrusted to him, covering with their activities all aspects of modern life. Orthodox society. There is a possibility that for the great zeal and success achieved, Bishop Serapion will eventually be ordained to the metropolitanate, and then the diocese entrusted to him will receive the status of a metropolia.
Towards Social Service
One of the most significant departments of the diocese is the missionary department, whose employees conduct extensive religious and educational work among the population. Like the ancient apostles, they carry the word of Christ's truth to people who are drowning in the darkness of unbelief or who find themselves in captivity of false teachings. They carry out their activities in close contact with the Youth Department, since the attitude of the younger generation towards the church will determine the level of spirituality of the whole society in the future.
Equally important is the department dealing with issues of charity and social assistance. Under the guidance of its employees, events are regularly held in the parishes of the Biysk diocese aimed at providing support to the poor, sick and lonely people. They are also raising funds to organize free meals for the homeless.
An important social mission is assigned to the departments that link the church with law enforcement agencies, the army and penitentiary institutions (places of deprivation of liberty). Side by side with them, employees who are entrusted with the coverage of church life in the media carry out their duties. An important aspect of their activity is control over the objectivity of the information provided and the suppression of various kinds ofinsinuations.
And finally, the care of the proper maintenance of the churches of the Biysk diocese and the timely implementation of all the necessary work in them is entrusted to representatives of the restoration and construction department, which operates in close cooperation with scientific and construction organizations.
At their initiative, expert commissions are regularly convened to determine the state of a particular architectural and historical monument and give an opinion, on the basis of which a complex of preventive and sometimes even restoration work is carried out. The same department is in charge of issues related to the construction of new churches on the territory of the diocese.
The main temple of the diocese
Currently, the spiritual center of the diocese is the Assumption Cathedral in Biysk, founded in 1919, abolished during the Stalinist repressions and reopened its doors today.
The main shrines and relics preserved after long years of unbelief and atheism are kept within its walls. This is a miraculous copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, images of Christ the Almighty and St. Seraphim of Sarov. In addition, visitors to the temple have the opportunity to venerate the relics of many Christian saints.
