In the distant past, when the Crimea joinedRussia, the present Odessa diocese was called Ekaterinoslav and Kherson-Tavricheskoy. In 1837 this vast territory was divided into two regions, one of which included the city of Odessa. The diocese began to be called Kherson-Odessa.
In 1991, when Khersonan independent diocese, the Odessa and Izmail dioceses were formed. One of the historical figures is Metropolitan Gabriel, who was one of the first to sanctify the foundation of Odessa and, taking three stones, laid them in the foundation of the three temples of the city. His efforts created a male monastery in South Palmira, which was discovered after the death of the lord.
In 1838, thanks to the assistance of anotherArchpriest in the city opened a seminary. In all of the Novorossiysk region, she became the leader among such institutions. The Diocese of Odessa is rich not only in temples and monasteries. From the history of the region stands out such a person as St. Innocent (Borisov), who was called the Russian Chrysostom. Saint Innocent had to serve in the most difficult time for Odessa. There was the Crimean War of 1853-1857. The city was twice threatened with total destruction, but the common prayer before the icon of the Mother of God, which was organized by Father Innokenty, saved the city and the inhabitants from imminent death.
A hundred years ago, in 1917, in Russia, in Ukraineand other places came hard times, when the enemy attacked the church, clergy and monasteries. Did not pass this fate and the Diocese of Odessa. In 1919, theological seminary closed, Metropolitan of Odessa and Kherson forcedly left his homeland. The Orthodox Diocese was seized by the revivalists-schismatics.
Only a small church in the port, consecrated inhonor of St. Nicholas, remained faithful to Patriarch Tikhon. It served as a wonderful shepherd, a lamp of faith and piety Jonah Atamansky. Thanks to him, Orthodoxy was preserved in Odessa. Renovators lasted until 1944, and only when the city was liberated from the invaders, the Diocese of Odessa resumed the true service to the Lord.
In the years of Soviet atheism, the Diocese of Odessa wasthe place where the Patriarch of Moscow came to rest. Archbishop Nikon served there, which restored and repaired most of the city's temples and revived the monastery. Thanks to the fact that Odessa served as the summer residence of the Patriarch, the leaders of the ROC constantly came here. The Soviet authorities had to be loyal to the Odessa diocese. It was difficult for her in the years of Khrushchev's persecutions, even in Odessa, churches and monasteries were closed. Metropolitan then was Father Boris (Vic), who miraculously managed to preserve the Holy Dormition Cathedral and the Theological Seminary.
However, attacks on Orthodoxy did not stop, andwith the collapse of the USSR, Metropolitan Filaret began a schismatic movement against the churches. He managed to press the clergy of Ukraine and part of it to divide. With the arrival of Metropolitan Agafangel in Odessa, the church life began to rebuild and revive. To date, the churches of the Odessa diocese are the decoration and spiritual center of the city.
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