The Diocese of Tambov () is an

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. It combines parishes and monasteries in the

Tambov Oblast Tambov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tambov. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, its population was&n ...

. The main church is the Transfiguration Cathedral.

History

The Tambov and Rasskazovskaya Diocese was founded in 1682 by decree of Tsar

Feodor III Feodor or Fyodor III Alekseyevich (; 9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was Tsar of all Russia from 1676 until his death in 1682. Despite poor health from childhood, he managed to pass reforms on improving meritocracy within the civil and military stat ...

and the Patriarch Joachim. Originally, the diocese included the city of Tambov as well as Kozlov and

Borisoglebsk Borisoglebsk () is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969). History Borisoglebsk was founded in 1646 and was named for the Russian s ...

. In 1699, the diocese was closed and placed under the jurisdiction of the Ryazan diocese from 1720 - Voronezh diocese, and since 1723, the Moscow Synodal Office. Managing such a distant diocese through the Moscow Synod office was difficult, so again the question arose of placing a local bishop in charge. The Tambov and Rasskazovo Diocese was closed because the poor people of Tambov destroyed most of the facility. In 1758, by decree of Empress

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, the diocese was restored. In addition to Tambov and Kozlov, the diocese included

Dobry ''Dobry'' is a book by Monica Shannon first published in 1934 that won the Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in 1935. Bulgarian-born sculptor Atanas Katchamakoff illustrated the book. Plot su ...

, Kerensky Narovchatov Upper and Lower Lomov and

Troitsk Troitsk (, ''Tróick'') is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast; *Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Tro ...

. In 1764, the diocese added the city of

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

and

Mokshan Mokshan () is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Mokshansky District of Penza Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of co ...

. In 1779, the city added:

Saransk Saransk (, ); ; is the capital city of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located in the Volga River, Volga drainage basin, basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow. Sar ...

Morshansk Morshansk () is a town in Tambov Oblast, Russia, located on the Tsna River ( Oka's basin) north of Tambov. Population: 44,000 (1970). History The exact origins of Morshansk are unknown; however, documents mention a populated place in this ...

, Kirsanov, Ranenburg,

Serdobsk Serdobsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Serdobsky District in Penza Oblast, Russia. Population: Geography It is located on the Serdoba River (Don River (Russia), Don's drainage basin, bas ...

and

Chembar The Chembar () is a river of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Vorona. It is long, and its drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river ...

. The final borders of the diocese were established in 1803. Since then, it has not come out of the administrative boundaries of the Tambov province, approved in 1796. At the end of 1930, no active parish operated in Tambov. Restoring the diocese began in October 1943, when the first church was re-opened. In 1958, there were 47 churches operating in the Tambov region. In the 1950s, the influence of religion on the lives of Tambov residents, despite the anti-church policies of the Soviet government, was very great. In the Tambov region in 1958, 22.3% of those born were baptized, 8.2% of married couples were married in church, 19.4% of the dead were buried according to church rites. In 1958, 132,825 adults and 11,025 children confessed in the Tambov region. Even Khrushchev’s anti-religious campaign could not significantly weaken the influence of religion on Tambovites, and the number of baptisms even increased in 1957-1964. In 1964, in the Tambov region, 53.6% of those born were baptized, 4.6% of couples were married in church, 24.5% of the dead were buried according to church rites. However, during the Khrushchev period, the number of churches in the region decreased noticeably. If in 1959 there were 47 churches operating in the Tambov region, then in 1964 there were only 40. On December 26, 2012, by decision of the

Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church () serves by Church statute as the supreme administrative governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the periods between Bishops' Councils. Members Chairman * Kirill – Patriarch of ...

, Michurinskaya and Uvarovskaya were separated from the Tambov diocese; all three dioceses are included in the newly formed Tambov Metropolis. In 2024, the diocese included three cathedrals, 73 churches, two chapels, three monasteries and one seminary.

Bishops

*March 26, 1682 - July 1, 1684 - Leonty *February 15, 1685 - July 28, 1698 - Pitirim *November 21, 1698 - August 23, 1700 - Ignatius (Shangin) *May 25, 1758 - November 9, 1766 - Pachomius (Simansky) *November 9, 1766 - December 23, 1786 - Theodosius (Golosnitsky) *May 6, 1788 - February 6, 1794 - Theophilus (Raev) *February 26 - March 11, 1794 - Plato (Lyubarsky) *March 11, 1794 - December 23, 1811 - Theophilus (Raev) *March 29, 1812 - April 26, 1821 - Jonah (Vasilievsky) *July 23, 1821 - May 20, 1824 - Theophylact (Shiryaev) *August 5, 1824 - April 5, 1829 - Afanasy (Telyatev) *June 9, 1829 - February 17, 1832 - Evgeny (Bazhenov) *April 24, 1832 - April 5, 1841 - Arseny (Moskvin) *April 27, 1841 - April 7, 1857 - Nikolai (Dobrokhotov) *May 1, 1857 - April 18, 1859 - Macarius (Bulgakov) *July 1, 1859 - July 22, 1863 - Feofan (Govorov) *September 1, 1863 - June 13, 1873 - Feodosius (Shapovalenko) *June 13, 1873 - September 9, 1876 - Palladium (Raev-Pisarev) *September 9, 1876 - May 4, 1885 - Palladium (Gankevich) *May 11, 1885 - June 3, 1890 - Vitaly (Iosifov) *June 3, 1890 - April 30, 1894 - Jerome (Ekzemplyarsky) *April 30, 1894 - July 12, 1898 - Alexander (Bogdanov) *September 27, 1898 - April 27, 1902 - Georgy (Orlov) *April 27, 1902 - February 8, 1903 - Dimitry (Kovalnitsky) *February 8, 1903 - December 7, 1909 - Innokenty (Belyaev) *December 30, 1909 - March 19, 1918 - Kirill (Smirnov) *May 22, 1918 - 1927 - Zinovy (Drozdov) *September 26, 1923 - 1924 - Dimitry (Dobroserdov) temporary, Bishop of Kozlovsky *1924-1926 - Stefan (Gnedovsky) v/u, Bishop of Kirsanovsky *December 1926 - June 29, 1927 - Alexy (Bui) v/u, Bishop of Kozlovsky *June 29, 1927 - January 28, 1928 - Seraphim (Meshcheryakov) *April 9, 1930 - February 20, 1936 - Vassian (Pyatnitsky) *February 20, 1936 - January 20, 1938 - Venedikt (Alentov) *1938-1941 - the position was vacant *October 14, 1941 - no later than February 1942 - Alexy (Sergeev) *December 8, 1943 - February 7, 1944 - Grigory (Chukov) v/u, Archbishop of Saratov *February 7, 1944 - April 5, 1946 - Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky) *April 9, 1946 - August 8, 1961 - Joasaph (Zhurmanov) *March 29, 1961 - November 16, 1962 - Mikhail (Chub) until August 8, 1961 *November 16, 1962 - March 10, 1968 - Innokenty (Zelnitsky) *March 15 - May 10, 1968 - Pimen (Izvekov) v/u, Metropolitan of Krutitsky *May 10 - November 28, 1968 - Pitirim (Nechaev) v/u, Bishop of Volokolamsk *November 28, 1968 - June 8, 1970 - Anthony (Krotevich) *June 8, 1970 - October 11, 1972 - Jonathan (Kopolovich) *October 18, 1972 - September 3, 1974 - Damascene (Bodry) *September 3, 1974 - April 25, 1985 - Mikhail (Chub) *June 26, 1985 - May 12, 1987 - Valentin (Mishchuk) *May 31, 1987 - October 11, 2002 - Evgeniy (Zhdan) *from December 26, 2002 - Feodosius (Vasnev) Orthodox Research Institute website, ''Current Hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Moscow'', retrieved 2024-01-31
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References

External links

New Martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church

Tambov Metropolis Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Diocese official website

* ttps://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2024/01/10/100147-saint-theophan-the-recluse-bishop-of-tambov Orthodox Church of America website, ''Saint Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov''Overview of 19th century bishop
Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist website, ''Saint Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov''
Overview of 19th century bishop {{Russian Orthodox Church Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church