The Khabarovsk diocese is a church-administrative structure that administers parishes located in the Khabarovsk Territory of Russia, as well as the Tuguro-Chumikan, Okhotsk, Ayano-May and Nikolaev districts. The diocesan department is located in Khabarovsk, and the main cathedral is the Transfiguration Cathedral located there. The diocese is headed by the ruling bishop Metropolitan Vladimir (Samokhin).
The light of Christianity, sanctified the Far East
The beginning of the Christianization of the territory, which the Khabarovsk diocese includes today, dates back to 1620, when the bishop's chair was first established in the city of Tobolsk. However, further political conflicts, in particular, the signing of the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689, according to which a significant part of the Amur Territory departed to China, suspended this process for almost a century and a half.
Only in 1858, after the conclusion of the Aigun Agreement and the return of the Amur Region to Russia, the life of Orthodox parishes received a new impetus. Then, by the decision of the synodal leadership, the bishop's department was moved to Blagoveshchensk.
Khabarovsk - the center of the newly formed vicariate
The current Khabarovsk diocese was established in 1925, but in those years had the status of vicariousness, that is, it was a church-administrative unit that is part of a larger diocese, in this case the Annunciation. Its head was, as it should be in such cases, the bishop, subordinate to the diocesan ruler.
The center of the new education was the city of Khabarovsk. This state of affairs persisted until 1933, when, as a result of a series of anti-religious campaigns in the Amur region, all churches without exception were closed. Only ten years later, at the height of the war against fascism, when, in order to promote the spiritual unity of the people, the government went on a partial revival of religious life, the first parish in the Far East began to operate in Khabarovsk.
Organization of Diocesan Self-Government
The diocese received independent rule in 1945, when the Holy Synod sent a bishop to the city of Khabarovsk, who received the titles of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. However, four years later the leadership of the diocese was transferred to the Bishop of Irkutsk.
In the late 80s, when new trends emerged in the life of the country, caused by perestroika, and the pressure of the authorities on the church was significantly weakened, the diocese of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok (as it was now called) again gained the possibility of self-government. In addition, its territory was significantly expanded and began to include, in addition to the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, a number of regions: Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Magadan, Amur and Jewish Autonomous Regions.
Church-administrative transformations of recent years
In recent years, the Holy Synod has made a number of changes in the territorial-administrative structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Amur Metropolis, which today includes the Khabarovsk diocese, did not stand aside from these undertakings.
In particular, in 2011, the Amur Diocese, which was formerly part of the Khabarovsk diocese, gained independence, and the Nikolaev vicariate was created within the boundaries of the Tuguro-Chumikansky, Nikolaevsky, Ayano-Maysky and Okhotsk regions. In 2016, the Khabarovsk diocese was slightly reduced, as part of it was transferred to the newly formed Vanino diocese.
Cathedral - a symbol of modern times
The visible embodiment of the gracious changes that have come in the religious life of the Far East was the construction in 2001-2004. Transfiguration Cathedral in Khabarovsk. This monumental five-domed building was built with funds from voluntary donations from future parishioners, as well as a number of enterprises and public organizations. The project was sponsored by a group of Far Eastern architects led by Yuri Zhivetiev. The painting of walls and domes was performed by a team of Moscow painters specially invited by Bishop Vladimir.
It should be noted that the main cathedral of Khabarovsk, whose cross ascended 95 meters above the ground, is the third highest among the temples of Russia. He yields only to St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The size of its interior, which can simultaneously accommodate up to three thousand people, is also impressive.
For eight years now, the Far Eastern Pilgrimage Center of the Khabarovsk Diocese, established with the blessing of Bishop Vladimir, has been operating in the cathedral premises. Its employees organize regular trips with visits to the holy places of our country, as well as those located abroad. Thanks to their work, many residents of Primorye had the opportunity to visit Israel and see places associated with various biblical events, as well as bow to relics stored in monasteries and temples of their Fatherland.