One of the countries outside the borders of Russia, which in church terms is the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, is the Republic of Kazakhstan. On its territory there are several episcopal centers, one of which - the Ural diocese - is the direct theme of this article.
The specifics of church governance in Kazakhstan
In terms of the administrative management of Orthodox believers, Kazakhstan is a metropolitan district. In other words, he is headed by a bishop with the rank of metropolitan, and several other bishopric departments are in the zone of responsibility. The Ural diocese is just one of these. Its second main city is Aktyubinsk. Thus, the full title of the ruling bishop sounds like the Ural and Aktobe. Currently, this ministry is carried by an archbishop named Anthony.
Diocese History
The diocese was originally opened on this territory as far back as 1908 as a Vicariate. But after eight years, she became independent. After the revolution, the bishopric formally functioned until 1933, and then was closed. The department was again formed by the decision of the Holy Synod in 1991. The direct jurisdiction of this diocese includes parishes and monasteries located in addition to Uralsk and Aktyubinsk in the West Kazakhstan region. Orthodox associations in Kustanai and Mangystau also belong to this diocese. It should be clarified that due to the similarity of the names, it is sometimes confused with another, belonging to the Yekaterinburg metropolis in the Sverdlovsk region. Her department is located in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky, and therefore sometimes these two bishops are mistakenly identified. But it should be remembered that the Kamensk-Ural diocese is officially called simply Kamenskaya and Alapaevskaya. Accordingly, it has nothing to do with the one located in Kazakhstan.
Current state
The Ural diocese is divided into two deaneries, which include about fifty parishes. The same is the number of clergy who serve in it. One nunnery is functioning, in which today about six nuns are struggling. As far as education is concerned, neither the seminary nor theological courses have the Ural diocese. All educational functions are carried out by Sunday schools, which number about ten. The diocese also publishes its newspaper Blagovest and is engaged in charity ministry.