Tver Diocese. Tver and Kashin Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

Tver is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Its creation date back to 1135, and by the middle of the 13th century the region had considerably increased and was able to dissociate itself into an independent principality. The Cathedral Transfiguration Cathedral, located in Tver, was erected by the end of the 13th century. It was the earliest monumental building built in the Suzdal region after the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. And how did the Tver diocese develop - one of the oldest in Orthodoxy? To answer this question, it is necessary to begin with the history of its occurrence.

The Tver and Kashin Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

The history of the Orthodox Church in Russia has more than a thousand years. Created in the tenth century, and now has about 150 million believers. It is considered the largest autocephalous local Orthodox church in the world. Its main territorial unit is the diocese. It is noteworthy that at the beginning of this century there were 132 members of the Russian Orthodox Church. The diocese is headed by a bishop, to which the vicar bishops are appointed. It unites monasteries, monasteries and parishes on this land. One of the oldest is the Tver and Kashin diocese.

The emergence of the Tver diocese

The diocese is part of the Tver metropolia. It was separated into an independent diocese of Polotsk during the reign of the Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich. This happened no later than 1271. In surviving sources this year is celebrated as the time of burial of the Grand Duke in Tver by Bishop Simeon. Initially, the territory of the diocese covered all the Tver principality. In 1589 they established an archbishopric there. In 1681, it was decided to elevate the pulpit to the status of a metropolia, but it was soon abolished.

History of the Diocese in the XVII-XIX centuries

In the existing hierarchy, the Tver diocese was next to Ryazan, and from the middle of the 17th century - after the Vologda one. From the very beginning of the XIX century was the eleventh. She followed Ryazan chair. In the winter of 1836, the Staritsky Vicariate was approved in it. It should be noted that since the inception of the diocese, seventy-eight bishops have replaced each other. Its head, Archbishop Tverskoi and Kashinsky, is now seventy-ninth on their list.

The Tver and Kashin diocese in the twentieth century

A century ago the Tver diocese was considered one of the most significant in the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1917, it included 36 monastic organizations. And in a larger number were women's monasteries of the Tver diocese - there were 19. At that time, there were more than 1.5 million Orthodox parishioners. The total number of temples was 1204.

The history of the Orthodox Church in Russia in the 1920s and 1930s was marked by constant persecution of clergymen and devout parishioners. This bitter fate did not bypass the Tver Diocese. During the pre-war twentieth anniversary, the number of clergymen in it declined from almost four thousand to less than fifty. Then all the holy monasteries of the diocese were closed.

Diocese now

During the century, the diocese changed its name several times, and for 15 years it has been called Tver and Kashin. In 1940 the cathedral was recognized as the Trinity Cathedral of Tver. The diocese connected all the parishes and monasteries that were located on its territory. Three and a half years ago, from the Tver diocese, Bezhetskaya and Rzhevskaya were singled out, and the metropolia was formed within the boundaries of the region. Now it is headed by the Metropolitan of Tver and Kashin - Victor.

Management is located in the heart of the regional center. It has a complex structure, which includes many units. Among them are a library, a public relations office , a department for youth affairs, as well as religious education and others. On the territory of the diocesan administration there are also a school of choral singing, a sewing workshop, a shop for church dishes and religious literature, and other premises.

Metropolitan Tverskoi and Victor Kashinsky

It is worth paying attention to the personality of the head of the diocese. So, the metropolitan of Tver and Kashinsky Victor came to the world on September 21 in 1940 in Pochaev Kremenets district of Ternopil region.

He was the son of a worker. At school, he was expelled for visiting the temple, and forced to leave religious beliefs.

In 1966 he became a graduate of the Leningrad Theological Academy as a candidate of theology. At the age of 26 he took monastic vows. A new name was given to him in honor of the martyr Victor. In 1988 he was appointed bishop of Kalinin, and two years later - Tver and Kashin. At the end of 2011, he was appointed head of the Tver Metropolitanate. Has several high church decorations and orders. He is inspired and selflessly working for the benefit of the metropolitanate

The activities of the diocese today

At present, the Tver Diocese is engaged in active social and educational work. It promotes the spread of Orthodoxy among young people, actively interacting with the educational institutions of the region. Special departments of the diocese are engaged in helping socially unsecured people - distribution of food, clothing and other necessary things. Actively counteracts drug addiction and alcoholism, regularly holding meetings and educational talks with young people.

The church organization provides every assistance to the orphanage institutions of the Tver region. She is in charge of a number of charitable canteens and children's shelters. Under the auspices of the diocese, a large number of mass media are leaving , and activity is covered in some secular media.

Assistance to pensioners and invalids, support for the poor, education and religious education of the younger generation - all this is assiduously and enthusiastically engaged in the Tver Diocese, whose clergy regularly conducts general meetings to determine the future work.

Temples and monasteries of the Tver diocese

There are 15 monasteries in the territory, including 10 women's monasteries. Of these, 12 are active. The oldest of them - Staritsky Svyato-Uspensky - is more than 900 years old. On the territory of the diocese, there is also the Sket Vladychnya-Martha and Mary Convent. This is a stauropegial nunnery with a special order of existence. Now there is an orphanage for girls-orphans, as well as a charitable canteen.

At the beginning of the last century, about fifty temples were located in Tver. However, most of them were destroyed in the 1930s, when the regional center was actively built up. Temples of the Tver diocese are located throughout the region. The main one is the Resurrection Cathedral, built in 1913 with the money of the royal family and the enclosure of the monastery itself for the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Romanovs' house.

It is worth mentioning also the Trinity Church in Zatmachye - the oldest and the surviving stone buildings and the oldest active temple of the city of Tver. It holds the ark with the relics of the Monk Makarii the Wonderworker. Also in the subordination of the diocese are numerous monastery and bishop's courtyard.

The ascetics and wonderful places of the diocese

Among the bishops who ruled the Tver cathedral were the holy ascetics and preachers of the Christian faith. First of all, it is St. Arseny the Wonderworker, the founder of many monasteries and temples of the Tver region. In total, more than 150 devotees from these places were listed as saints. Over the past few years - more than 90 New Martyrs of Tver land. For sixteen years on September 19, festivities dedicated to their memory are held.

The Tver diocese steadfastly and respectfully protects the priceless relics of the Orthodox Christian faith. They are kept for centuries in its temples, monasteries and cathedrals. And now they attract believers from different cities and are the subject of reverence for the inhabitants of the region.

Among them are the relics of the holy pious princess Anna Kashinskaya, the icon of the holy prince Michael and many others. Now, pilgrimages are being held along the Tver land. In this blessed land there are many wonderful places. People with incurable and heavy wits come to the village of Maslovo in the Staritsky district of the Tver region. There are two miraculous sources. Local people honor them with living and dead water and believe that one of them contributes to healing from serious illnesses, and the second helps the eyesight.

Thus, the Tver Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church remains a reliable stronghold of Orthodox Christianity.