The Kozelsky diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is part of the Kaluga Metropolitanate, was formed in accordance with the decision of the Holy Synod, adopted by it at a meeting held in early October 2013. She replaced the former Kazel Vicarate, established in 1924, but after the death of her head, Bishop Mikhey (Alekseev), which followed in 1931, for a long time without direct leadership.
Appointment of a New Vicar
It should be clarified that in the traditions of the Russian Church, vicariousness is understood to mean a part of the territory that is part of a larger administrative-church unit - the diocese. Its head - the vicar - is a bishop who does not have the authority of the ruling bishop, but is in the jurisdiction of the diocesan ruler. The leadership of the newly formed administrative-territorial unit was entrusted to Bishop Nikita Lyudinovsky (Ananyev) with the vesting of the vicar.
The structure of the Kazan diocese and its main temple
According to the administrative division, the Kozelsky and Lyudinovskaya diocese includes seven deaneries - territorial units, uniting groups of parishes located at a short distance from each other and subordinate to the deans - the leaders appointed by the head of the diocese. Among them are Kozelskoye, Zhizdrinskoye, Sukhinichskoye, Ulyanovsk, Duminichnoe, Lyudinovskoye and Khvastovskoy deaneries. Currently, they unite fifty-two parishes.
The center of the new diocese was the city of Kozelsk, and the main temple - the Assumption Cathedral located in it, partially destroyed by the Communists and is currently under reconstruction. The exact date of its construction is unknown, but according to legend, this ancient shrine was erected on the spot where in 1238, during the siege of the city by the Tatars, the defenders of the fortress locked themselves in the wooden church located on its territory and chose to die in the fire, but not surrender to the enemy. Today, a stone cross reminds of their feat, once erected on the site of the tragedy, and now adorns the entrance to the city museum of local lore.
The cloister that shone with the light of old age
The Kozelsky diocese has long been famous for the holy monasteries located on its territory, the most famous of which is the famous Holy Vvedensky Monastery, often referred to as Optina Desert. Founded six centuries ago, it became one of the most significant spiritual centers of Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries thanks to the fourteen holy elders who tied themselves up in its walls and succeeded each other for decades.
Hardly among modern church people or even those who have limited themselves to a superficial interest in religion, there is a person who is not familiar with the names of the Optina elders and who has not heard about their influence on the spiritual climate of pre-revolutionary Russia. Rev. Leo (Nagolkin), Macarius (Ivanov), Moses (Putilov) and their followers became the true pillars of Russian Orthodoxy, shining with their righteousness and godliness.
The monastery, which became the center of public education
Another holy monastery, which the Kozelsk diocese is rightly proud of, is the Ambrosievsky female desert, located near the village of Shamordino, Kaluga Region. In the people it is often called the Shamordinsky monastery. The monastery was founded in 1884, and its first abbot was Sofya Mikhailovna Bolotova (schema nun Sofia), who came from an old noble family, repeatedly noted in the annals in connection with the most important historical events of the past centuries.
In the years preceding the October Revolution, the monastery became one of the main centers of public education. Through the labor of his sisters, a school was opened where children from the poorest families could not only learn to read and write, but also acquire certain skills in various crafts. Like Optina Pustyn, the Kazan Amvrosievsky monastery has the status of a stauropegial, that is, a subordinate directly to the patriarch and the Holy Synod, a monastery.
In addition to these two monasteries, the Kozelsk diocese is also famous for the male desert of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located in the village of Klykovo. The exact date of the foundation of the monastery is unknown, but in the archival documents its first mention dates back to 1829. In the Soviet period, the monastery was closed and revived only in 2001.
The first of the newly built temples
Among the ancient temples with which the Kozelsky diocese is so rich, many new ones erected in recent decades are gaining fame. Their appearance was the result of the gracious changes that have come in the life of the Russian church thanks to the democratic trends of recent years.
The address of one of these newly built shrines: Kozelsk diocese, p. Boyanovichi, the temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It was built in 1990-1995, that is, it became one of the first to appear during the perestroika period. Following him, many other churches built on the territory of the diocese opened their doors to the parishioners.