Kirovohrad Diocese: History and Current Status

The Kirovograd diocese has a long and interesting history. Today it includes several deaneries and more than one hundred and fifty parishes. Since 2007 its full name is the Kirovograd and Novomyrgorod diocese. It is headed by Archbishop Joasaph (Guben). In Kirovograd there are the main objects of the diocese: the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the monastery, which bears the name of the holy orthodox Elizabeth.

History of the diocese in the pre-Soviet period

Kirovograd was originally called Elisavetgrad. It was built by the decree of Empress Catherine II in 1754, the neighboring territory was then inhabited by immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula, partly by Russian Old Believers, Ukrainians and Greeks. In 1756, all the parishes of Elisavetgrad became part of the Pereyaslav Diocese, and approximately twenty years later in the newly formed Slovenian and Kherson diocese.

The history of a separate diocese originates in the distant 1880, when the Elisavetgrad Vicariate was opened, its first bishop was the Neophyte (Nevodchikov).

The fate of the vicariate in the years of the First World War is not fully known. However, it can be safely assumed that some of the temples operated.

Activities in the Soviet period

Unlike many other regional centers of the Ukrainian SSR, for example, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkassy, Kherson, and after 1917 the activity of the church in Kirovograd never stopped. The city was always served by a bishop, people visited churches, despite any prohibitions. Although it should be noted that many Elisavetgrad priests were killed, some of them later canonized.

Elisavetgrad in the first decades of Bolshevism was renamed several times, then to Zinovievsk, then to Kirov, and finally to Kirovograd. Accordingly, the vicariate was called at different times in different ways: then Zinovievsky, then Kirovograd.

In September 1944, after the liberation of the city, in the Cathedral there were already conducted services by the priests of the Moscow Patriarchate. And in 1947 the Kirovohrad diocese was created, headed by its bishop Michael (Melnik). From the very beginning, it included deaneries and parishes of nearby towns and cities, for example, Nikolayev and Chigirin. A fairly significant page in the life of the diocese is associated with Bishop Sevastian (Pilipchuk), who headed the department for more than ten years, from 1977 to 1989.

Current state

After 1992, the autonomous Mykolaiv and Alexandria dioceses were separated from the diocese. Today, the Kirovohrad diocese of the UOC-MP unites many Orthodox believers in Kropiwnicki, new churches are being built in the region, and worship services are regularly held. Since 2011, it is headed by Archbishop Joasaph (Guben).

It can also be noted that several Orthodox festivals are being held by the diocese. Kirovograd youth actively participate in these festivities, and this can not but rejoice. Priests of deanery do not forget about urban and rural events, for example, in 2017 they, together with villagers and village residents, congratulated veterans of the Great Patriotic War on Victory Day.

The main temples

The main church of the diocese has been for many years, since 1944, considered the Cathedral in the name of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. It was built in 1812 on the site of a small wooden church. His story is connected with many interesting and outstanding people. For example, the great military leader Mikhail Kutuzov baptized his children in the cathedral, and his son Nikolai, who died at an early age from smallpox, was buried in the churchyard. The abbot of the cathedral is Archbishop Joasaph. During the big holidays, many locals come there.

It should be noted with attention one more large church on the territory of the diocese - Holy Transfiguration. Also in Kirovograd are the Holy Protection, Holy Assumption and other churches.

Church life does not stop in the territory of deaneries, in Novomirgorod, Blagoveshchensk, Gayvoron, Novoarkhangelsk, Olshanka, Novoukrainka and elsewhere.

Monastery

The Holy Elizabethan Monastery is quite young. It was founded ten years ago in 2007. The first building of the monastery was a former food store, but already in 2010, in the neighborhood, on a designated site, the construction of a monastery church began. Prior to its commissioning, worship services were held and held in the old premises daily.

It is noteworthy that the monastery has a shelter for former prisoners. There are three Sunday schools in which children from an early age get acquainted with the basics of Orthodoxy, learn what the diocese lives. Kirovograd school bears the name of St. Luke the Crimean, in the village of Sozonovka - the name of Mary Magdalene, in the village of Oboznovka - Nicholas the Wonderworker.

The abbot of the monastery is Archimandrite Manuil (Zadnepryany).

Kirovohrad Diocese of the UOC-KP: History and Relations with the UOC-MP (MP)

The Diocese of the Kyiv Patriarchate was founded in 1992. Today it counts 10 deaneries and about seventy parishes and is called in a new way (after the renaming of the city) - the Kropiwnicka diocese. It is headed by Bishop Mark (Levkov).

It should be noted that on the territory of the region, both dioceses often argue with each other. Representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate have repeatedly accused the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate of allegedly carrying out the Kremlin's policy, cooperation with "Kremlin agents". In turn, the clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate try not to participate in conflicts, but to engage in exclusively selfless activity.