Tver is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Its creation dates back to 1135, and by the middle of the XIII century the region had significantly strengthened and was able to dissociate itself into an independent principality. The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior Cathedral, located in Tver, was built at the end of the 13th century. It turned out to be 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, you should start with the history of its occurrence.
Tver and Kashin diocese as part 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 of them in the Russian Orthodox Church. The diocese is headed by a bishop, to which vicar bishops are appointed. It unites monasteries, cloisters and parishes located on this earth. One of the oldest is the Tver and Kashin diocese.
The emergence of the Tver diocese
The diocese is part of the Tver Metropolitanate. It was singled out as an independent diocese from Polotsk during the reign of Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich. This happened no later than 1271. In the surviving sources, this year is marked as the time of the burial of the Grand Duke in Tver by Bishop Simeon. Initially, the territory of the diocese covered the entire Tver principality. In 1589, an archbishopric was established there. In 1681 there was a decision to elevate the pulpit to the status of a metropolitanate, but it was soon abolished.
The 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 XVII century - after the Vologda. From the very beginning of the 19th century it was the eleventh. She followed the Ryazan department. In the winter of 1836, Staritsa Vicariate was approved in it. It is worth noting that from the time the diocese arose, seventy-eight bishops succeeded each other. The Archbishop of Tver and Kashinsky Victor, now heading it, is seventy-ninth on their list.
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. Moreover, in larger numbers there were female monasteries of the Tver diocese - there were 19. There were more than one and a half million Orthodox parishioners in it. The total number of temples was 1204.
The history of the Orthodox Church in Russia in the 20-30s of the last century is marked by continuous persecution of clergy and devout parishioners. This bitter fate did not go around the Tver diocese. For the pre-war twenty years, the number of clergymen in it has decreased from almost four thousand to less than fifty. Then all the holy cloisters of the diocese were closed.
Diocese now
Over the course of a century, the diocese changed its name several times, and for 15 years now it has been called Tverskaya and Kashinsky. In 1940, the Trinity Cathedral of Tver was recognized as the cathedral. The diocese connected all the parishes and monasteries that were located on its territory. Three and a half years ago, the Bezhetskaya and Rzhevskaya dioceses were allocated from the Tver diocese, and a metropolis was formed within the region. Now it is headed by Metropolitan of Tver and Kashinskaya - Victor.
Management is located in the heart of the regional center. It has a complex structure that includes many divisions. Among them are a library, a
public relations service, a department for youth affairs, as well as religious education and others. On the territory of the diocesan administration, in addition, there are a school of choral singing, a sewing workshop, a shop for church dishes and religious literature, and other premises.
Metropolitan of Tver and Kashinsky Victor
It is worth paying attention to the personality of the head of the diocese. So, Metropolitan Victor of Tver and Kashinsky came to the world on September 21 in 1940 in Pochaev of the Kremenets district of the Ternopil region.
He was the son of a worker. He was expelled at school because he attended the temple and forced to abandon religious beliefs.
In 1966, he graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy as a candidate for theology. At the age of 26, he tonsured monks. A new name was given in honor of the martyr Victor. In 1988, he was appointed bishop of Kalininsky, and two years later - Tversky and Kashinsky. At the end of 2011, he was appointed head of the Tver Metropolis. He has several high church awards and orders. He works enthusiastically and selflessly for the benefit of the Metropolitanate
The activities of the diocese today
Currently, the Tver Diocese is engaged in active social and educational work. It contributes to 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 disadvantaged people - distributing food, clothing and other necessary things. Actively counteracts drug addiction and alcoholism, regularly holding meetings and educational conversations with young people.
The church organization provides all kinds of assistance to orphan institutions in the Tver region. She runs a number of charity canteens and orphanages. Under the auspices of the diocese, a large number
of media outlets are published
, and activities are also covered in some secular media.
Helping pensioners and people with disabilities, supporting the poor, educating and religiously educating the younger generation — the Tver Diocese is engaged in all this with zeal and inspiration, whose clergy regularly hold general meetings to determine their future work.
Temples and monasteries of the Tver diocese
There are 15 monasteries on the territory, including 10 women’s. Of these, 12 are operational. The oldest of them - the Staritsky Holy Assumption - has been over 900 years old. On the territory of the diocese is also the monastery of the Vladychnya-Martha-Mariinsky monastery. This is a stavropegial convent with a special order of existence. Now there is an orphanage for girls, as well as a charity dining room.
At the beginning of the last century, about fifty temples were located in Tver. However, most of them were destroyed in the 30s, when there was an active development of the regional center. 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 investments of the monastery itself on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Romanovs.
It is also worth mentioning the Trinity Church in Zatmachye - the oldest and most preserved stone buildings and the oldest operating church in the city of Tver. It contains the ark with the relics of St. Macarius the Wonderworker. Also subordinate to the diocese are numerous monastic and bishops' courtyards.
Ascetics and wonderful places of the diocese
Among the bishops who controlled the Tver department were holy ascetics and preachers of the Christian faith. First of all, this is St. Arseny the Wonderworker, the founder of many mansions and temples of the Tver region. In total, over 150 ascetics from these places were counted as saints. Over the past few years - more than 90 new martyrs of the Tver land. For sixteen years on September 19, festivities have been held to commemorate them.
The Tver diocese steadily and respectfully protects the priceless shrines 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 reverent veneration of the inhabitants of the region.
Among them are the relics of the holy noble princess Anna Kashinsky, the icon of the holy noble prince Michael and many, many others. Now pilgrimages are held on the Tver land. There are many wonderful corners in this blessed land. People with incurable and heavy ailments arrive in the village of Maslovo, Staritsky district, Tver region. There are two miraculous sources. Locals respectfully call them living and dead water and believe that one of them helps to heal from serious illnesses, and the second helps eyesight.
Thus, the Tver diocese of the
Russian Orthodox Church remains a reliable stronghold of Orthodox Christianity.