Poltava Diocese: History and Modernity

Due to political reasons and a number of events of the XX-XXI centuries, several Orthodox jurisdictions operate on the territory of modern Ukraine. Therefore, describing the church life in a particular diocese, it is necessary to clarify, from the position of which church party it appears. In this article we will discuss one of the oldest departments of Orthodox Russia, which undoubtedly is the Poltava diocese. It will be presented mainly in the person of the Moscow Patriarchate, both because of the predominant canonical position of this organization in the Orthodox world, and because of its leading positions in the region.

Ancient history of Orthodoxy in Poltava region

The notorious 1054, in addition to marking the great split of the Christian church, is also interesting in that it is the starting point for the life of the Poltava diocese. It was called, however, at that time Pereyaslavskaya, and its first ruling bishop was Bishop Nikolai. A little more than two hundred years after the founding, independent church rule in Poltava was abolished, and church structures passed directly under the omophorion of the Metropolitan of Kiev. It happened in 1279.

Restoration of the department

The decision to reinstate the activity of the Pereyaslav Diocese was made only in 1700. But even then her status was limited to the rights of vicariate within the framework of the Kyiv Metropolis. Then its position changed many times, then moving to independent management, then dividing itself territorially between the surrounding church centers. In the end, in 1799, under the decree of Emperor Paul, the vicarage received the status of an independent government with the name "Little Russian and Pereyaslavl". However, already in 1802, in connection with the liquidation of the Little Russian gubernia, the system of church government in Poltava changed: Poltava became the main cathedral center (initially only nominally due to the lack of the necessary material base for the administration of the administrative apparatus), and Pereyaslavl became the second diocesan center. The official name "Poltava and Pereyaslavl" for the diocese was fixed in 1847. In this form, it existed until 1937.

During its history the Poltava diocese had two vicarities in its composition. The first of these - Prilukskoe - was established in 1884 and existed until the very dissolution of the diocese in the 30s of the XX century. The second, called Lubensky, functioned only for eight years from 1920 to 1928.

Orthodox Church in Poltava in the Soviet era

When Soviet power was established on the territory of the Poltava region , the life of the diocese began to gradually fade. The churches were closed and the monasteries were liquidated. In 1937, the ruling bishop, together with his subordinate vicar and all the clergy of the diocese, subjected to repression. After this, the temporary management of the department was undertaken by Bishop Mitrofan (Rusinov), who, however, soon died. In fact, in 1939 the Poltava diocese was completely destroyed.

The revival of church life fell on the period of the Great Patriotic War, when a number of churches were opened in the conditions of the German occupation and a certain management structure was established . In 1944 the department became known as Poltava and Kremenchug. In this form it exists to this day within the framework of the Kyiv Patriarchate. As for the Moscow church structures, in 2007 the diocese was renamed Poltava and Mirgorodskaya in connection with the allocation to an independent center of the Kremenchug department.

Poltava Eparchy of the UOC-MP

Within the jurisdiction of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Poltava Chair occupies an important strategic and political position, which is due to its historical significance, scale and geographical location within the state.

In her charge is a theological seminary with a missionary bias, and the primate bears the title of Metropolitan. To date, they are the highly Reverend Philip (Osadchenko). The Poltava diocese in its jurisdiction owns two cathedrals (St. Macarius and the Resurrection of Christ) in the patronal city and one (the Assumption of Our Lady) in Mirgorod. On the territory of the region there are three monasteries - one male and two female. Seven diocesan departments and several auxiliary institutions, such as the youth club at the Cathedral of St. Makary's Cathedral, are engaged in providing fruitful interaction between society and the church.

Other Orthodox jurisdictions in Poltava

As already mentioned, besides the UOC, the Poltava Diocese belongs to a number of independent church structures. There are a lot of such independent jurisdictions in Ukraine. The smallest of them number only a few units of parishes, while the largest ones, such as the Kyiv Patriarchate, represent a serious political force that successfully competes with the UOC-MP and even disputes its rights.

The Poltava diocese of the UOC-KP today is a vast territory, headed by Archbishop Theodore (Bubnyuk). In particular, it, as already noted above, preserves Kremenchug as the second cathedral city. In addition to the UOC-KP, there are parishes and communities of various branches of the UAOC, the CPI and other independent jurisdictions of Ukrainian Orthodoxy in Poltava.