In the southeast 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 areas as Biysk, Soloneshevsky, Tselinniy, Troitsky, Yeltsovsky, Smolensky, Soviet, Petropavlovsk, Altai, Solton, Bystroistoksky, Zonal and Krasnogorsk. Its establishment dates back to the period of active missionary activity launched by the Holy Synod in the 19th century in the Urals and Siberia.
Activities of Orthodox missionaries
In 1828, at the initiative of the Tobolsk Archbishop Evgeny (Kazantsev), a spiritual mission was opened in the city of Biysk, located on the territory of Western Siberia, the purpose of which was to convert to Orthodoxy representatives of local nationalities who had not yet broken with paganism.
The activities of the members of the mission, led for many years by archimandrite Makariy (Glukharev), were so effective that in the second half of the century a significant part of the population was baptized and became part of the true faith. In this regard, it became necessary to streamline the life of the newly formed parishes, establishing centralized rule over them.
Establishment of Biysk Vicariate
In March 1879, Tomsk Bishop Peter (Catherine) addressed the Holy Synod with the initiative to unite the parishes located in the Altai Territory into a single diocese. Having considered his proposal, the members of the supreme body of church administration of Russia decided at that time to limit themselves to the inclusion of these regions in the Tomsk diocese, separating them into a separate Vicariate - a church-administrative unit with a center in the city of Biysk. It was it that later was transformed into the Biysk diocese.
An official document on the establishment of a new vicariousness 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 (elevated) to the rank of Bishop of Biysk and immediately took up his duties.
Organization of the spiritual life of the region
Among all subsequent bishops of the Biysk diocese, he was the first to entrust himself with the archpastoral ministry in the region, whose inhabitants only recently entered the fold of the Orthodox Church and, having not outlived the remnants of the past, sometimes turned to shamans. Having extensive experience in communicating with foreigners, he managed to establish a spiritual life in the parishes subordinate to him in a short time and, having then been appointed to the Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas departments, left his successor, Bishop Makarii (Nevsky), a clearly streamlined administrative management mechanism.
An important event in the life of Vicarism, which became the forerunner of the Biysk diocese, was the opening in 1890 of a catechism school, created on the basis of the Altai spiritual mission and intended to propagate the foundations of Christian doctrine among the general population. It was later transformed into a seminary. Then, in Biysk, the first library and missionary archive appeared.
According to the instructions of the Holy Synod, the bishops who headed the Biysk Vicariate were subordinate to three deaneries located on its territory (administrative units that included parishes close to each other), as well as several others that were then part of the Tomsk diocese. In addition, the archpastors were governors of three monasteries founded by mission members and eventually become large spiritual centers in remote and inaccessible areas of Siberia.
Diocese converted to Vicariate
The coming to power of the Bolsheviks, which began the mass persecution of the Church, gave impetus to the implementation of a number of important administrative reforms. These included the transformation in 1919 of the former vicarism into the Biysk diocese, whose bishops have since gained independence in resolving most administrative issues. Bishop Innocent (Sokolov) became the head of the newly formed diocese, but he could not launch any broad and fruitful activity in the new field, as he was soon arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary activity.
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 he was shot under the infamous 58th article of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. Subsequently, the Biysk diocese for a long time remained without its own leadership, and the parishes located on its territory were transferred to 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 warlike 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 essentially ceased to exist as an independent church-administrative unit. It was revived only in 1949, when the Stalinist government allowed some concessions 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 became victims of repressions and there was an acute shortage of qualified personnel among the clergy, Bishop Nikander (Voliannikov), who headed the Biysk Chair, was given the responsibility to render all possible assistance to the leadership of the neighboring Novosibirsk diocese, which then covered the territory of five territories and three areas.
He did a great and fruitful work, interrupted in 1953 by a new round of the struggle against religion. This time, N. S. Khrushchev, who was in power from 1953 to 1964 and managed to inflict a lot of harm on the domestic spiritual heritage, became its initiator. As throughout the country, the churches of the Biysk diocese, opened during the Stalinist concessions, were again closed, and many of the survivors were previously demolished under various pretexts.
The revival of the diocese
The next, this time favorable stage in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church began with the beginning of perestroika. Many illegally seized previously movable and immovable values were returned to her. Temples reopened, into which church utensils and icons began to return 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 direction of the wise archpastor
Since June 2015, it has been led by Bishop Biysk and Belokurikhinsky 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 the life of modern Orthodox society. There is a possibility that, due to the great zeal and successes achieved, Bishop Serapion will eventually be chained to the metropolitans, and then the diocese entrusted to him will receive the status of a metropolis.
On the path of social service
One of the most significant departments of the diocese is the missionary, 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 drowning in the darkness of unbelief or trapped in false teachings. They carry out their activities in close contact with the Department for Work with Youth, since the attitude of the younger generation to the church will determine in the future the level of spirituality of the whole society.
Equally important is the department dealing with issues of charity and social assistance. Under the leadership of its employees, events are regularly organized in the parishes of the Biysk diocese aimed at supporting the poor, sick and single people. They are also raising funds for the organization of free meals for the homeless.
An important social mission is also entrusted to the departments that connect the church with law enforcement agencies, the army and penitentiary institutions (places of deprivation of liberty). Side by side, they are fulfilled by their employees, who are entrusted with the media coverage of church life. An important aspect of their activity is the control over the objectivity of the information provided and the suppression of all kinds of insinuations.
And finally, the care of the proper maintenance of the churches of the Biysk diocese and the timely conduct of all necessary work in them is entrusted to representatives of the restoration and construction department, which operates in close cooperation with scientific and construction organizations.
On 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 restoration, work is carried out. The same department is responsible for the construction of new churches in the diocese.
The main temple of the diocese
Currently, the spiritual center of the diocese is the Assumption Cathedral of Biysk, founded in 1919, abolished during the Stalinist repressions and reopened its doors today.
The main shrines and relics preserved after many years of unbelief and atheism are stored in its walls. This is a miraculous list of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the images of Christ the Almighty and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. In addition, temple visitors have the opportunity to bow to the relics of many Christian saints.