Selenga Monastery. Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery
The year the monastery was finally built. In the 1710s, a temple in the name of All Saints was also built. At first, all the buildings of the monastery were wooden, there were powerful protective walls. At first, defensive fortifications played a significant role - in 1690, the monks bought 1 pood 15 pounds of gunpowder from the treasury; There is information that in the 1690s the monastery was under martial law. In the synod of the original missionary inhabitants, Hieromonk Seraphim and Monk Joasaph are listed as killed.
Simultaneously with the construction of the new monastery, its first metochion was founded, which soon grew into the independent Ambassadorial Transfiguration Monastery. It is also possible that in the 17th century a monastic hermitage was built on Lake Kotokel. The abbot of the Selenginsk monastery, being the head of the mission, was the dean (customer) of the entire district - the cities of Irkutsk, Selenginsk (now Novoselenginsk), and Nerchinsk with its districts.
The monastery was immediately well supplied. In addition to the initial government funds, it received contributions of money, utensils, books and vestments from Tsar Feodor Alekseevich, Tsarina Marfa Matveevna, Tobolsk governor and steward F.A. Golovin, who visited the monastery in August of the year. Since then, the Selenga and Posolsky monasteries have owned the mouth of the Selenga with rich fishing grounds; in the year the Temlyui village was granted to the Trinity Monastery; and in the summer of the year the monastery received " mowings beyond the river along the Selenga"In the year the monastery became the owner of the rich Khilotsk estate in the lower reaches of the Khilok River, where the main Buryat nomads were concentrated. In the year the lands at the mouth of Khilka were annexed to the estate, and in the year - the village of Bui. In the year Kotokel Lake with all rivers flowing into it, with hayfields. In one year, the monastery also received extensive hayfields along the Kireti River, between the Chika and Khilok rivers; a year later, more arable land and pastures for livestock along the left bank of the Khilka to Bichura and to Kireti. As a result of these grants, the monastic became the villages and settlements of the Khilotsk estate: Elanskaya, Sukhoy Ruchey, Bichura, Narrow Meadow, Bui, Krasnaya Sloboda and Kunaley... Yards, land plots, industrial establishments belonging to the monastery appeared in Irkutsk, Kyakhta, Selenginsk (now part of Novoselenginsk. The monastery was active trade: at first in Irkutsk, later in Verkhneudinsk (now Ulan-Ude), Kyakhta, at the Preobrazhenskaya fair near the Selenga.
Receiving land from the government, the monastery enjoyed permission to settle “passportless” and fugitive people on its lands and founded new settlements and villages for the new settlers. So, from the end of the 17th - 18th centuries, the small village of Troitsk arose directly near the monastery. The life of peasants in the monastic estates was largely regulated by the monastic charter. On the monastic lands, settlements of baptized Buryats were also formed, striving to organize their life on new grounds. The monastery was one of the leading propagators of the new agricultural economic structure for Transbaikalia. The monastery mills served not only assigned peasants, but also townspeople, as well as farmers throughout Western Transbaikalia. The number of peasants belonging to the monastery reached about 600 people.
Being an outpost of Orthodoxy and Russia beyond Baikal, located at the crossroads, the monastery quickly became the largest monastery of its time east of Baikal. It was visited by many prominent religious, political and government figures. For some time in the 1720s, during the “Selenga Sitting,” Saint Innocent (Kulchitsky) lived in the monastery and on its lands with other members of the Beijing spiritual mission, who preached Orthodoxy from here. On the territory of the monastery there is a spring, consecrated, according to legend, by St. Innocent. Other Irkutsk rulers have been here, starting with Bishop Varlaam (Kossovsky), who consecrated the temple in the name of All Saints. In the same year, the Tobolsk Saint Theodore (Leshchinsky) visited the monastery. At that time, all Russian diplomatic and trade figures who were heading to China or Eastern Transbaikalia also stayed at the monastery: Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin, Eberhard Izbrandt, Lev Vasilyevich Izmailov, Lorenz Lang, Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky, Ivan Dmitrievich Buchholz, Abram Petrovich Hannibal, and others.
The monastery was initially under the jurisdiction of the Tobolsk metropolitans. After the establishment of the Irkutsk diocese, the monastery ended up on its territory, but was subordinate directly to the Holy Synod, like a stauropegy.
The two-story building, rectangular in plan (7.07 x 22.0 m), with a large four-column portico attached to the wall and an arched gate opening along the axis, is interpreted as the foundation for the temple. The temple is arranged as a centric structure with a square plan, cross roofs and four pediments, to which additional volumes of a porch and an altar adjoin on the west and east. Above everything is a massive cylindrical drum under a hemispherical dome with a small dull lantern, a large gilded ball and a cross. The surface of the drum is dissected by an alternating row of arched openings and the same decorative niches. The building was erected from brick on a rubble foundation. The walls are plastered and whitewashed. The iron roofs were painted blue. In the new church, an iconostasis of solid carpentry was installed, where old monastery icons of the 17th - 18th centuries were collected.
During the internal renovation of the year, the iconostasis was “decorated with oil paints, and the walls were decorated with glue - beautifully,” and above the massive wooden gate “the image of the Holy Trinity was painted in the entire arch.” By the time of the revival of the monastery, the temple building had been preserved, but the cylindrical drum had been lost, the roof was covered with asbestos slate, and the filling of the openings had been changed.
Monastery walls
The monastery was immediately at its foundation, from the end of the 17th century, surrounded by a defensive fortress wall, similar to a Siberian “standing” fort. The fence was wooden, with pillars; in the corners there were strong chopped quadrangular towers with a hipped top with loopholes at different levels. The wall was quite high and had a length of 400 fathoms (852 m), covering a larger area than any of the 14 main forts of Siberia in the 17th century. Each of the four towers of the wall had three tiers (“bridges”) in the form of floors with loopholes. Initially, the entrance gate was located on the north side, facing Selenga. Two more battle towers rose on either side of the gate, strengthening the weakest point in the defense system. One of these towers, as a “remnant of ancient architecture of the 17th century,” was preserved for another year.
Bell tower
The bell tower of the monastery was originally a separate building that stood next to the Trinity Church. Its tent-like top carried a bulbous dome, upholstered with a scaly ploughshare, with a large wooden cross. The year's inventory states that:
"circle cobblestone bell tower. And on it are five bells of the Sovereign's salary, the sixth small bell is applied, and on it is an iron combat watch in a machine with an index compass"This first tower clock in Transbaikalia was later moved to the Irkutsk Ascension Monastery. Subsequently, the number of bells in the bell tower increased to 9. At the end
Orthodox Church in Buryatia
The official date of the annexation of Siberia to Russia is Russian historiography
his process dragged on for almost another century. It was during this period that it was
Transbaikalia was annexed to Russia. For the Cossack explorers it
was of interest as a place for fur mining, exploration and development of gold and
silver ores, and most importantly - as a territory for laying trade routes in
China and other eastern countries.
By the time the Russians arrived, Western and Eastern Transbaikalia were inhabited
Buryat tribes consolidating into a single ethnic complex, and
various groups of Tungus (Evenks), among which in the steppes the dominant
the place was occupied by the so-called mounted Evenks, and in the south there was a strong
tribal group of Mongol-speaking tabunuts, which later became part of
composition of the Buryat people. The Khorin Buryats and Tabunuts lived mainly
in Western Transbaikalia, where they were engaged in nomadic grazing cattle breeding. Their
numbers in the 1640s was about 60,000 people1. According to
According to most researchers, the Buryats at the time in question were in
stages of patriarchal-feudal relations2.
The annexation of Transbaikalia to the Russian state began in the second
half of the 40s XVII century IN 1646 g . Cossack ataman Vasily Kolesnikov
placed at the mouth of the lake flowing from the north. Baikal r. Upper Angara fort
and began to explain to the local Tungus population. In a short time it was
4 forty 35 sables were collected. However, due to the “scarcity of grain”, V. Kolesnikov
was forced to release 40 servicemen and walkers (runaways, staggering, homeless
and nameless) people from his prison to the Yenisei prison. In view of this, in
in the same year, the Yenisei governor F. Uvarov sent a boyar’s son to help him
Ivan Pokhabov with servicemen and willing people, and most importantly - with 200 pounds
rye flour. September 29 1647 g . V. Kolesnikov himself arrived in Yenisei
prison and brought with him 11 forty 7 yasak sables, valued at 951 rubles.
The ataman reported to the governor that he had sent three servicemen from the Angarsk fort
people led by Kostka Ivanov Moskvitin with Tungus guides
down the Barguzin and Selenga rivers “to the Mungal land” to search for new
tribute people and information about silver ore. These Cossacks were the first Russians
1647 g . the headquarters of the Mongolian prince Turukhai-tabun, who roamed with 20 thousand
their subjects between the right tributaries of the Selenga - the Chika and Khilok rivers.
The prince kindly accepted the Russians and their gifts: beaver skins, otter skins,
lynx, a couple of sables and “blue top cloth”. Turukhai-tabun conveyed with
serving people presented the Tsar with a golden “cut” and a silver cup, and V.
Kolesnikov - a silver plate. As a sign of his submission to the Russian Tsar
the prince granted the Cossacks the right to collect yasak from 2 thousand of his ulus people,
who contributed 50 sables3.
In the autumn of 1648 . 40 versts from the mouth of the river flowing into Baikal from the east.
Barguzin Yenisei boyar son Ivan Galkin founded the Barguzin prison,
which became one of the main strongholds of the Russian Cossacks. Started from here
send new military expeditions to all ends of Transbaikalia and to the Far
East. In 1652 . Yakov Pokhabov built the Bauntovsky fort, in 1658
Voivode Pashkov founded near the lake. Telemba is a fort of the same name, and several
years later - Yeravninsky fort near the Yeravninsky lakes. IN 1665 on Selenga,
against the mouth of the river Chika, the Selenginsky fort was founded, which
served as the administrative center of Transbaikalia for a century, and in 1666 at the mouth of the river
Uda - Udinsk winter quarters, which soon became a prison, and then the city of Verkhneudinsk
(now Ulan-Ude is the capital of the Republic of Buryatia). IN 1689 were built
Itantsinsky, Ilyinsky and Kabansky forts. Inside them were located
main government buildings: office and customs huts, government barns,
voivode's yard, church4, prison. Selenga Cossacks led by
Pentecostal G. Lovtsov in 1666 g . wrote that they put in 1665
“under the Daurian land on the borders for the expansion of land near the Selenga River there is a fort
yes, four towers, and covered that fort, and the upper and lower battlements
they paved it, and erected pillars near the fort, and a church with three altars
built, and placed 29 huts in the fort and behind the fort”5. Thus, in
churches were erected in forts under construction or newly built ones.
Unfortunately, church archives from the 17th century have not survived. All of them
begin in the 1720s or 1730s. and later. However, according to some
According to sources, the original history of some churches is available. So, from the archives
materials we know the name of the first priest of the Barguzin Church -
Ioanna Voronkina. Still not far from the village. Barguzin area available
"Voronkovo".
At first, Siberian Christians, both Russians and a few baptized foreigners,
with its clergy, with its churches and monasteries, and according to the church
management, depended directly on the Moscow Patriarch: patriarch (and
sometimes the sovereign himself, as can be seen from the letters of that time) now and then
another bishop, for example Rostov, Kazan, and more often Vologda
ordered to send one or more priests for those being built in
Siberian cities and forts, as well as send for the consecration of one or another
built Siberian Church of the Holy Myrrh, give a certificate for consecration, etc.
or made this or that order himself6. But this order is extremely
remote church administration and the influx of people walking into Siberia had
the consequence was terrible unrest in the administration of their Siberian clergy
duties and extreme licentiousness of morals of Siberian Christians7. Having learned about
these sad phenomena in the country conquered and inhabited by Russians and about
that Christianity is almost not spreading among the Siberian peoples
or if it spreads, it is very weak, and after consulting with your son
by his Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and with his Consecrated Council, Patriarch
Filaret in September 1620 g . established a special diocese in Siberia with a see in
Tobolsk. Cyprian became the first Archbishop of Siberia and Tobolsk
(Starorusennikov). Soon after his arrival, he called the survivors to him
Ermak’s comrades in order to collect information from them about the campaign in Siberia, and ordered
write down this information (they formed the basis for subsequent Siberian chronicles,
but they didn’t reach us). Archbishop Cyprian recorded in the synodik of Tobolsk
cathedral the names of Ermak’s companions who fell in battle and ordered them to be commemorated in
churches annually on “Collection Sunday,” or Sunday of the first week
Great Lent, when the memory of the first conquerors of Siberia was proclaimed (before
changes in 1869 . Holy Synod of the Triumph of Orthodoxy). IN
The Cherepanov Chronicle contains the following passage with the names of the conquerors
Siberia: “Remember, Lord, those who suffered in Your holy name and blood
who poured out their piety, who defeated the godless Tsar Kuchum in Siberia,
atamans: Ermolai, John, Nikita, Jacob, Matthew and their squads: Sergius,
John 3, Andrew 3, Timothy 2, Joachim, Gregory, Alexy, Nikon, Michael,
Titus, Theodore 2, John 2, Artemy, Login, Jacob, Savva, Peter 2 and others
their squad, and you, Lord, weigh their names.”
Archbishop Cyprian did not rule the diocese for long: in 1624 g . he was appointed
Metropolitan of Sarsk and Podonsk, and then Metropolitan of Novgorod and
Velikolutsky - with 1626 g . to the day of his death 1634 After him
the archbishops of the Siberian and Tobolsk diocese were Macarius (Kuchin),
Nektary (Telyashin), Gerasim (Kremlev), Simeon, Cornelius, archbishop from 1664
In 1668 . the Siberian and Tobolsk Metropolis and Archbishop were established
Korniliy was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of the reigning city of Tobolsk and all
Siberia. The new metropolis was the fourth - after Novgorod, Kazan and
Astrakhan. The Metropolitan was given a sakkos, a white hood and trikiria for
autumn. On the week of Vai, or Palm Sunday, a holiday reminiscent of
the entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem (in Moscow on this day, according to custom,
the patriarch solemnly sat on the donkey, and the king himself led the donkey by the bridle), he
sat on a donkey, which was led by the first governors of the city of Tobolsk, but the ritual
this one was canceled in 1677 g . Metropolitan Cornelius died in Tobolsk on 23
December 1677, having adopted schema 8.
From 1678 to 1692 . Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk was Pavel,
who showed special concern for the construction of churches of God in Eastern Siberia.
It was under him in 1681 . by order of Tsar Feodor Alekseevich and by
With the blessing of Patriarch Joachim (Savelov), the church council decided: “In
distant cities, to the Lena in Daury, to send spiritual people, archimandrites,
abbots or priests, good and teaching, for the enlightenment of unbelievers
was from Moscow to Tobolsk the first full mission in the history of Siberia
the superiors of the abbot of the Temnikovsky Sretensky Monastery (Tambov
diocese) Feodosia, consisting of 12 brethren, including
Hieromonk Macarius, Hierodeacon Misail, elders Jonah, Tikhon, Theodosius, Philaret
and others. Metropolitan Pavel of Siberia and Tobolsk, having met them, gave them
instructions which they were to adhere to in the holy work of preaching
Gospel: “Having arrived in Daur, in Selenga and other Daur cities and
prisons of all kinds of infidels... to the true Orthodox Christian faith
call, teaching from the Divine Scriptures with all care and diligence,
lazily, and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and lead them to
to the holy and Godly work of the Gentiles, without vanity and pride, with
with a virtuous intention, without any bitterness... so that from what words
You can’t excommunicate obstinate foreigners, and you can’t turn away a holy cause”10, and
“wherever they find it, build a monastery in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity on
Selenga River, and in other Daurian cities and forts, to call and baptize in
the Orthodox faith of foreigners..."11 The abbot and his brethren received money,
church utensils and set off on a long, difficult journey.
The Trinity Selenga Monastery was intended to serve as an official
religious center in the newly annexed Russian state
wooded mountain ridges, on a fairly flat and elevated place, on the shore
the mill river Piyanaya (so named for its winding course) missionaries
found an old monastery building with St. Nicholas Church, built
Nerchinsk service people back in 1675 g . This is where they decided to settle.
With the royal salary taken from Moscow and supplemented in Yeniseisk from
Siberian income, they rebuilt the Selenginsky monastery with the main
temple in the name of the Holy Trinity. In the same, 1681 g . construction began
the first church - Trinity, which laid the foundation for the monastery. "The first cathedral
1684 January 31, second in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker 1685 May 9
the numbers of His Sovereign treasury were built to perfection and many infidels
baptized"12. In description 1732 g . it was said about Trinity Church that it “with
a meal on the western and northern sides, with a porch" has a "top
tetrahedral on cross barrels about one head, the cross is upholstered in white
iron. And the head is upholstered with a scaly ploughshare, and on that church from the north
side image of the Lord of hosts. And to that church there is an altar near the altar
five-walled"13. Trinity Church was remarkable for its time thanks to
the wealth of contributions made for him by Tsar Feodor Alekseevich and
Tobolsk governor and steward Feodor Golovin, who was in it in
August 1687 . during the passage of the Russian embassy Golovin to
Selenginsk14. Thus, one of the vestments, embroidered with gold, brocade and silver, was
presented to the founder of the monastery Theodosius by the wife of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich,
Tsarina Martha Matfeevna, when sending a mission to Siberia. "Royal Doors"
were decorated with elaborate carvings, gilded and silver plated
crowns. In addition to a large number of icons and paintings painted on boards and on
“paintings on canvas”, the church contained many utensils and attributes
worship services. Some of them were examples of minted and
jewelry art, very fine work of the 17th-18th centuries. For example, on
On a special stand lay the Feast Gospel on Alexandrian paper.
The covers and tucks were made of hammered silver with gilding. Several sheets per
The middle of this book with brocade and color engravings were also silver.
The silver weight of this unique edition was one pound 30 spools
(537 grams)"15.
In the same year, 1687 . Abbot Theodosius on Lake Baikal, on those allocated to the monastery
lands, built a shelter and deserts for the monks to live on the Posolsky Cape,
at the place where he was killed on October 7 1650 g . Moscow Ambassador Erofei
Zablotsky with his son and companions. (Later over their graves there was
a stone chapel was erected.) “In 159 October, on the 7th day, the son of a boyar
Yarofey Zablotskaya with his son Kiril, and clerks Vasily Chaplin, yes
Cossacks Vaska Beznoskov, Trenka Sosnin, Ofonka Sergeev, Yakunka
Skorokhodov, and industrial man Sergushka Mikhailov, 8 people in total,
came out of the plank, and walked away about a hundred fathoms, lit a fire, and by the fire
warmed up. And the interpreter Panfilko Semenov and the Mugal ambassador Sedik and industrial
12 people from Yarofey and their companions remained with the sovereign's treasury in the ship.
And the same day, Yarofey and his fellow brothers came upon Yarofey, and Tarukay's herd
yasak people, about a hundred unknown people, and Yarofey Zablotsky, and his son
Kiril, and the clerk Vasily Chaplin, and the Cossacks Vaska Beznoskov with
comrades, and an industrial man was beaten to death and robbed, and a gun that
with them, they caught them, and Panfilk and his companions approached the ship, and from
They shot at them with bows on the plank. And the interpreter Panfilko from those thieves in the plank
served time, and the sovereign's salary that was sent with them to Tsysan-kan and his son-in-law
Turukai-herd was saved”16.
For the monks who lived there, Abbot Theodosius erected a wooden
chapel in the name of St. Nicholas. In the letter of the Metropolitan of Siberia and
Tobolsky Pavel from 1687 g . Abbot Theodosius was entrusted with “being in charge of church
dogmas and spiritual affairs”, among other places, and in the Nikolaev Zaimka. So
Thus, she already had a brotherhood and laity. Then it was attached to the chapel
altar, and in 1700 . the first church on the shores of the lake. Baikal - Posolskaya -
was consecrated by the blessed letter of Metropolitan Ignatius
(Rimsky-Korsakov)17. According to the same charter, a church in Beijing was consecrated
for the Russians, during the ruin of Albazin, captured with a priest
Maxim Leontyev, to whom Metropolitan Ignatius wrote consolation: “Yes, no
is embarrassed, let your soul and all those captive with you be offended because of your
In such a case, who can resist God’s will? But your captivity is not
without benefit to the Chinese people, for Christ’s Orthodox faith is your light
it is revealed, and your spiritual salvation and heavenly rewards are multiplied.”18 This same
Saint Ignatius produced in 1700 g . to the rank of archimandrite rector
Trinity-Selenginsky Monastery Misail19 and blessed him to perform
priestly service with the right to wear a legguard, a club, and then a miter.
The Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Cathedral Church was built later, by the “Kupchina”
Beijing caravan" by Grigory Afanasyevich Oskolkov, who arranged the entire
monastery, and subsequently the Ambassadorial Monastery began to be called after it
Spaso-Preobrazhensky.
The Trinity-Selenginsky and Posolsky monasteries initially used
privileges of the government and the patriarch. Soon after its founding they were given
large estates, settlements and fishing grounds. In addition to government awards
monasteries expanded their possessions at the expense of lands and property of private individuals -
depositors. Letters of admission and withdrawal gave them the opportunity to obtain households,
land plots, mills, estates of some residents of Irkutsk,
Selenginsk, Kyakhta, Verkhneudinsk and other places.
Most of the allocated lands were intended for newly baptized Buryats. So
how the initial development of Transbaikalia was carried out by Russian Cossacks
detachments and “walking” people, then after a while, resigning,
many “serving and leisurely” people “married newly baptized applied and
bought girls and women”, built houses “and settled on those lands in
peasantry"20. There were also cases of Buryat women being kidnapped or fleeing
Buryats to Russian villages. The monastery clergy did not interfere
this, understanding how important the “female element” is in strengthening the settled way of life and
housekeeping, and married women with their kidnappers21. The very fact of baptism
cut off the Buryat woman's way back. December 1757 . Khorinsky Buryat
Khazuy Banbaraev complained to the board of border affairs about his wife Mokui:
“It’s unknown on what occasion... at night she ran away from my yurt and stole one horse,
and she took with her a woman’s sheepskin coat, one new rug coat,
woman’s saddle”, etc. On the fourth day, the old husband found a young fugitive in
the house of the monastic peasant of the Khilotsk estate, Ivan Lazarev. Myself
the victim, apparently knowing the consequences of baptism, wrote in the petition: “And
Khazui asked her to find this wife and her holder Ivan Lazarev, and
if that woman has not been baptized to this day, then it will be done according to the decrees, and if
baptized, then the horse she led away and her scarf should be collected by him, Khazuya,
return." In the end, having learned from the monastery priest that her
baptized, the offended husband was satisfied with the returned “shkarb”22. Shel
mutual process of both Russification of the Buryat population and Buryatization
Russian. According to census books 1710 g ., Russian population in Transbaikalia
was 6964 people23, and the Buryat population at the beginning of the 18th century. - near
40,000 people24.
Missionary work brought significant benefits to the state, since under its
educational influence in the XVII-XVIII centuries. entire villages were formed and
parishes of new Christians in different places of Transbaikalia, mainly in
monastic possessions, for example, the villages of Baikalo-Kudara, Treskovo, Timlyui,
Podlopatki, Elan, Karymsk, Maly Kunaley and many others. And these processes
mixtures of the population, little studied by science, are clearly visible on the faces
many Russians and Buryats beyond Baikal, called here Karyms or
guranami25. Gradual settlement of Transbaikalia by Streltsy, Cossacks and others
groups of Russian people, on the one hand, and on the other - the conversion of part of the Buryats
and the Evenks converted to Orthodoxy and multiplied the number of parishes and churches. To the moment
creation of the Irkutsk and Nerchinsk vicariates under the Siberian and Tobolsk
metropolis (1707 .) on the territory of Buryatia there were 14 churches and 2
monastery These are the churches: Barguzinskaya Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya, Verkhneudinskaya
Bogoroditsa-Vladimirskaya, Verkhneudinskaya Spasskaya, Staro-Selenginskaya
Pokrovskaya and Staro-Selenginskaya Spasskaya, Ilyinskaya Bogoyavlenskaya,
Kabanskaya Nativity, Itantsinskaya Spasskaya, Khilokskaya
Theotokos-Vladimirskaya, Kolesnikovskaya Theotokos-Kazanskaya, Treskovskaya
Mikhailo-Arkhangelskaya, Kudarinskaya Blagoveshchenskaya, Chikoyskaya
Petro-Pavlovskaya, Tunkinskaya Pokrovskaya and two monasteries - Selenginsky
Holy Trinity and Ambassadorial Spaso-Preobrazhensky. All churches and monasteries
were wooden.
By the time of the founding of the Transbaikal monasteries Sibirskaya and Tobolskaya
The metropolis occupied an area from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean. Was it possible
the metropolitan to properly supervise the clergy subordinate to him,
to fill idle vacancies in churches, “is it also an easy matter to survey
him, at least occasionally, such a diocese, especially for the purpose of appealing to
faith among those who do not believe and admonish those who are mistaken about
faith and sometimes become violent as a result of their errors?!”26. Higher
The spiritual authorities understood the need to increase the number of dioceses in Siberia.
In 1682 . Patriarch Joachim intended to give the Tobolsk Metropolitan 4
suffragan bishops - for Tyumen, Verkhoturye, Yeniseisk and Transbaikalia, but not
was able to do this due to lack of funds.
In 1702 . The Tobolsk See was headed by Saint Philotheus (Leshchinsky,
1650-1727). It was Philotheus, according to Bishop Philaret27, who primarily
belongs to the name of the enlightener of Siberia. He baptized up to 40,000 “foreigners” and
built up to 37 churches. Churches in the region were established using government money and
partly donated by Saint Philotheus himself and the then
Governor Prince Gagarin. To establish Christian teaching, Vladyka
took children from the Ostyaks to teach Russian literacy and the Law of God to schools
missionaries, and sent the best of his students to the Tobolsk Slavic-Latin
school. In 1705 . he sent the first spiritual mission to Kamchatka under
the superiors of Archimandrite Martinian, whom he brought with him from Kyiv,
around 1707 . - the first spiritual mission to Mongolia. WITH 1711 at rest, in
schema with the name Theodore.
In 1707 . at the insistence of Saint Philotheus at the Siberian and Tobolsk
The metropolis opened the Irkutsk and Nerchinsk vicariates. Vicar
consecrated the Tikhvin wooden church in Irkutsk, founded a year before his
arrival in 1710 ., before leaving for Moscow, consecrated beyond Baikal in
Selenga Trinity Monastery wooden church in the name of All Saints above
western gate. With his blessing, after his departure, she was consecrated
Irkutsk's first stone church is Spasskaya. His undoubted merit
ministry in Eastern Siberia is that through his ordination he provided her with
priests.
After leaving in 1710 . His Eminence Varlaam from Irkutsk to Moscow
Christians of Eastern Siberia with their clergy, with their churches and
monasteries again became part of the Siberian and Tobolsk Metropolis. After
St. Philotheus, John (Maksimovich) came to the Tobolsk See. Previously, from
1697 to 1711 ., he was the Archbishop of Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk and in
1702 g . founded the first school of higher spiritual sciences in Russia. Managed
the first spiritual mission to China under the leadership of Archimandrite Hilarion
(Lezhaisky). He sent the Irkutsk flock a list with the miraculous Abalatskaya
icon of the Mother of God with the appendix of her syllabic verses:
The Most Pure Virgin is coming from Abalak,
In the miraculous icon she is merciful to everyone,
Brings blessing to the city of Irkutsk.
Health to all citizens, multiplication of blessings
Metropolitan John of Tobolsk wishes,
He never ceases to pray to the Most Pure Virgin:
ABOUT! All-sung Mother, save the city and the people,
Like the apple of the eye of all living dishes,
Grant many years to all citizens,
Preserve and protect from the evil of slander,
Make every wish come true,
May everyone have a safe stay,
Vouchsafe the sinful city to visit them,
This will never happen, please keep them
In safe and good health,
Grant them to live in the Kingdom of Heaven29.
This icon was located in the Irkutsk Cathedral (old) Cathedral, in the chapel
All Saints, on the left side of the Royal Doors.
Transbaikalia in the 18th - mid-19th centuries saw and hospitably welcomed
four saints.
After the death of Metropolitan John, the administration of Siberian and Tobolsk
the metropolis, by decree of Peter I, was again entrusted to St. Theodore
(Philofey), despite his advanced years and schema. In April-May
1719 g . Saint Theodore visited Transbaikalia: Verkhneudinsk, Selenginsk,
Nerchinsk. In Verkhneudinsk, at the request of the parishioners of the Savior Church, he ordained
Archimandrite Hilarion (Lezhaisky) and Metropolitan Theodore died in Beijing
wrote from Transbaikalia on April 4 1719 g . Siberian Governor Prince M.P.
Gagarin, who was then in St. Petersburg: “And henceforth there is hope (for
glorification of the name of God among the Chinese), if Your Excellency accept
Bose jealousy and with the Reverend Stefan (Yavorsky) advised, report
His Royal Majesty and, having chosen a good and wise man, there to
You will send the kingdom (of China) without delay. And even at least with the rank of bishop,
honor as archbishop and send 15 people with him to the clergy; anyway they
The Chinese understand that His Royal Majesty to strengthen eternal peace
will send such people”30. This thought of the saint found the full approval of Peter.
I, because he had long been planning to enlighten China with Orthodoxy. WITH
with the appearance of an Orthodox bishop in Beijing, it was possible to begin
spread and establishment of the Orthodox faith in the heavenly state
through initiation into clergy and worthy persons from among themselves
Chinese, but this began to be implemented only after more than 160 years - from 1882
“To serve this great and difficult task - “preaching the word of God and
propagation of Orthodox Christian Eastern piety of faith" in China
cathedral hieromonk Innokenty (Kulchinsky) was elected (or, as
usually wrote, Kulchitsky). According to the legend of the Irkutsk chronicler
Pezhemsky, he was summoned from the south of Russia among other “benevolent”
monastics to replenish the then newly founded Nevsky Lavra.
Here he was soon appointed naval chief hieromonk. And since
naval regulations, inscribed by the hand of Peter himself, lay on the chief hieromonk
duty to visit each ship within a week, manage the ships
hieromonks and resolve their perplexities, then for this alone Father Innocent
could not but be well known to the transformer of Russia”31.
He was consecrated Bishop of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky by the Holy Synod. 19
April 1721 . Bishop Innocent with his retinue (two hieromonks, two
hierodeacon, five choristers, two ministers and one cook) left
St. Petersburg, more than 11 months later, March 5 1722 g . arrived in Irkutsk and 7
March moved to Baikal, “settled in the Selenga Trinity Monastery,
where he began to await the decision of the Chinese authorities to allow the mission to Beijing. This
the wait dragged on for five years, since the Chinese authorities, under different
they used pretexts to delay the decision to allow the mission to China in every possible way.”32 In these
for years the archpastor lived in the Selenginsky monastery, communicating with
Archimandrite Misail, then in Staro-Selenginsk, where until the middle of the 19th century.
legends persisted about how he skillfully painted icons, then on
monastery castle on the river. Khilok, where he preached Orthodoxy among the Buryats,
studied their life and customs33.
In 1725 . was sent to China for extraordinary and plenipotentiary negotiations
Envoy Minister Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky regarding the permit
several controversial articles of the Nerchinsk Treaty, delimitation of border
points. During his conversation with Chinese ministers, it became clear that
“The Bogdykhan will never order such a great person to be received: because they
the great lord is called their father or kutukhta. And what about it (Sava)
diligence... maybe the archimandrite and priests have been accepted to Beijing again
will be, but the bishop will never be allowed”34. So the bishop
Innocent seemed to be out of work. This circumstance prompted His Holiness
The Synod will once again return to the unrealized idea of forming an independent
dioceses with the center in Irkutsk.
on the formation of the Irkutsk diocese and the appointment of St. Innocent
(Kulchinsky) Bishop of Irkutsk, Nerchinsk and Yakutsk. To Irkutsk on
service he arrived from Transbaikalia on August 26 1727 g . Then in the diocese there was:
Irkutsk - 8 churches and 2 monasteries; in Irkutsk district - 13 churches, 1
monastery and 1 hermitage; in the Selenga district - 13 churches and 2 monasteries;
in the Nerchinsky district - 7 churches and 1 monastery. They served in them
priestly, monastic and clerical ranks 286 people, of whom in
Buryatia - 113. Saint Innocent served at the see for a short time; he died
Holy Synod of December 1 1804 . commemoration was established
St. Innocent November 26. February 9th 1805 . rescheduled
relics of the saint from the cave to the cathedral church. In January 1921 they were opened
militant atheists, put it on public display, and then took it away
from Irkutsk. For a long time the relics were in Yaroslavl
returned to Irkutsk. Currently they rest in Znamensky
Cathedral of the city of Irkutsk.
By the middle of the 18th century, the missionary activity of the Orthodox Church in
Buryatia began to weaken. In our opinion, this was facilitated by a number of reasons.
One of them came from the center, from St. Petersburg. According to Ambrose Yushkevich
and Dimitri Sechenov, “the reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) was the most
a difficult period for preaching. Having taken all power into their hands, the Germans
in the expression of contemporaries, “piety and faith have been attacked.” Insulting
humiliating and blaming the “Orthodox priesthood,” the Germans completely suppressed and
weakened the church sermon and “terrified everyone so much that even the most
the shepherds, the very preachers of the word of God, were silent and could not speak
piety open. In an Orthodox state one speaks about one's faith
it was dangerous to open: immediately expect troubles and persecution.”35 Then it's not true
Christ reigned, but truth sat on guard; and the word of God was knitted,
and the path to the Kingdom of Heaven was; true dogmas leading to life
eternal, did not obey, and temptations and vomiting on the Orthodox Church in
the destruction of many was glorified everywhere; the shepherds were silent; preachers
were afraid"36.
Other reasons for the weakening of Orthodox preaching in Transbaikalia were
local - the death of the 112-year-old missionary elder Archimandrite Misail in 1742
g., one of the 12 members of the first Daurian spiritual mission and an eyewitness
missionary labors of St. Innocent (Kolchitsky), and the death of the first
energetic preachers of Christianity, as well as secularization in 1764
when the monasteries lost their estates and lands. All the efforts of the subsequent
years to strengthen missionary work due to lack of funds and the ability to lead fruitfully
the holy deed remained in vain.
In addition, the mission now has strong opponents: 1756 from Mogilevskaya
and Chernigov provinces in Transbaikalia, Old Believers were exiled, who
settled throughout its territory.
A dangerous opponent and competitor, not without the help of the tsarist government,
became Buddhism, or rather, its variety - Lamaism. Prisoners with China
general treaty signed on the part of Russia by S.L.
Vladislavich-Raguzinsky, allowed the missionary activities of Mongolian
and Tibetan lamas in Transbaikalia. There were 5-6 of them then. In your
turn, the Chinese guaranteed the unhindered action of the Russian
Orthodox mission in Beijing and were allowed to send from Russia for study
local dialects six students. Later, in 1734 g ., Russian government
“prohibited the missionary activity of the Orthodox Church in Transbaikalia,
fearing complications in relations with China”37. "Russian officials informed
government about the arrival here (in the 1730s - A.Zh.) 50 Tibetan and 100
Mongolian lamas. In the 1740s. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna approved the staff
in 150 lamas. They were freed from all taxes and duties... From this
great privileges and benefits. This led to an increase in the number of Huwaraks and
wide dissemination of the Lamaist religion"38.
drawing up a new regulation on the various religions admitted in
Russia. The chief bandida was included in the council as a Buddhist deputy
Hambo Lama Zayagin. After being introduced to Catherine II, he was granted
an annual allowance of 50 rubles and “the permission granted to him to freely
professing one’s religion.”39 At the request of the Buddhist clergy, Russian
the government began to persecute those Buryats who performed shamanic
rituals.
Emperor Alexander Pavlovich on July 22 1822 . (articles concerning
Department of Foreigners of Eastern Siberia) was again confirmed and resolved
free practice and active spread of the Buddhist religion.
During the time of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich “he was specially sent to the Eastern
Siberia for the purpose of drawing up regulations on Buddhists, a valid civil
advisor and holder of various orders, Baron Schilling von Kanstadt. His
Excellency arrived and toured all the local Buddhist datsans and
each locality and carried out an audit. The Buddhist religion was recognized
the right to distribute it. Von Canstadt compiled a new one regarding this
provision of 281 articles, where, in particular, it was noted that the Buddhist
the population of Eastern Siberia is supposed to have a large number of lamas”40. IN
as a result of such support from the tsarist government to 1741 in Eastern
Siberia had 11 datsans and 150 lamas, to 1846 . — 34 datsans, 144 small churches and
4546 lamas, according to other sources, 5545 lamas.
During the decline of the Transbaikal Orthodox Mission in 1818
an English spiritual mission appeared, sent by the London Missionary
society for preaching Christianity among the Buryats. Her appearance was
associated with the establishment in 1804 . in England British and Foreign
Bible Society, whose goal was to reproduce the Bible and books
Holy Scriptures in all languages and spreading their reading throughout the world.
In December 1812 . St. Petersburg arose on the British model
Bible Society (Moscow was then occupied by Napoleon’s troops),
headed by President Prince A.N. Golitsyn, Minister of Spiritual Affairs and
public education. Thanks to the favor of Emperor Alexander I,
who ordered Golitsyn to provide “special protection” to the Irkutsk
civil governor N.I. Treskin to the envoys of the London Missionary
society - pastors Cornelius Ramn and Eduard Stalibras (1795-1884), they
were met upon arrival in Irkutsk (in March 1818 .) benevolently. And in
end of 1819 . the Irkutsk branch of the St. Petersburg
Bible Society. Its directors were Bishop Mikhail (Burdukov) and
Siberian Governor-General M.M. Speransky41. Ramn soon left
Eastern Siberia, and Stalibras in June 1820 . went beyond Baikal to found
mission in Selenginsk. In the end of January 1820 . arrived from London to Irkutsk
two more missionaries - Robert Yuille (1786-1861) and William Swan (1791-1866).
They founded three camps - one on the left bank of the Selenga opposite the city
Staro-Selenginsk and two in the department of the Khorinsk Steppe Duma - on the river. Kodun and
R. She. The English missionaries had solid learning, enormous
material resources that provided them with ample opportunities. Yes, y
they had large houses, schools, and a printing house. They collected a rare composition
library in European and oriental languages and opened a large pharmacy.
We started teaching literacy and some crafts to Buryat children,
healing the local population. We intensively studied Mongolian, Tibetan,
Manchu languages, Buryat dialects. Translated Christian books into
“Mongol-Buryat language” and prepared these translations for publication for
their distribution among the Buryats42. But despite all the education
English missionaries, their successes were insignificant. During the period from 1820 to 1841
they christened no more than three Buryats. The reasons for this phenomenon are seen in the fact that
missionaries tried not to convert the Buryats to Christianity, but to first raise and
expand their mental horizons, but through their activities - teaching and
providing medical care - they taught the Buryats to look at them as
teachers and doctors, and not as preachers. Translated by them into
Mongolian language and distributed in several thousand copies to the Buryats
The Bible served little missionary purpose. Copies of it were diligently taken from
drilled lamas and betrayed them to complete destruction.
From 1753 to 1771 . Bishop of Irkutsk, Nerchinsk and Yarkutsk was Sophrony
(Kristalevsky)43. May 27 1770 g . they consecrated the winter church in honor
Epiphany (on the first floor) of the Verkhneudinsk building
Odigitrievsky Cathedral. This was the first stone temple in Buryatia. His
construction started in 1741 g . and lasted for more than 40 years. Church on
on its second floor, in honor of the Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God, 3
May 1785 . Bishop Mikhail (Mitkevich).
The name of St. Innocent is also associated with the Odigitrievsky Cathedral
(Veniaminova)44.
In the “Irkutsk Diocesan Gazette” we find the following message:
“The Most Reverend Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna,
greeted by citizens with bread and salt. Stopped at A.A. Tretyakov and
together with his retinue, which, however, is very small and all consists only
of two persons, including Annunciation Archpriest Gabriel Veniaminov and
in the same cathedral, the distinguished guest deigned to listen to the Divine Liturgy, which
performed by the distinguished priest A. Argentov, and gave a lesson to the people
to Irkutsk. Priest A. Arg.”45. Waiting for the crossing of Lake Baikal, the saint
Innocent lived for 13 days in the Posolsky Monastery, communicating with the bishop
Veniamin (Blagonravov), head of the Transbaikal spiritual mission.
Still, to talk about the complete inaction of the Orthodox mission in Buryatia would be
wrong. So, in 1821 . His Eminence Archbishop Mikhail (Burdukov)
prescribed to the priest of the Kul Church Alexander Ilyin Bobrovnikov
preach the Gospel among the Khorin Buryats; to help him
sent the baptized Buryat Mikhail Speransky, to whom for his labors
Subsequently, His Eminence Michael blessed to wear
priestly robe.
In total, in Buryatia at that time there were three Orthodox missionaries who performed
besides, there are parish responsibilities, so talking about big
the effectiveness of their activities is not possible. Moreover, as has already happened
It is said that the number of Buddhist lamas by that time was about 5,000.
He did a lot to prepare the opening of the second Transbaikal spiritual mission
His Eminence Neil (Isakovich)46. He was convinced that the preaching of Christianity
among the Buryats and Evenks can be successful only when the missionary
will become spiritually close to them, will understand their language and will speak heartily himself
in this language, preaching the word of God, and most importantly, he will not pursue
the number of converts, but the quality of the soul of the converted Christian. He
put a lot of effort into preparing a new regulation on Eastern Buddhists
Siberia, published on May 13 1853 ., in which the government determined
285 full-time lamas, and together with student huvaraks - 320 lamas. The rest of the llamas
was ordered to be transferred to a secular state. Reverend Neil also
sought to destroy the oath upon taking office as a Hambo Lama,
by which he obliged the Russian government to support and distribute
lama faith in Russia (the oath was canceled only in 1862 .). However, these measures
in our opinion, they turned out to be late. By that time the Buryat population
believed that the Buddhist religion is primordial and traditional for the Buryats, and
Orthodox is traditional for Russians, the Buryats actively believe in this belief
supported by lamas.
Appointment in 1862 . head of the Transbaikal spiritual mission of the bishop
Veniamin (Blagonravova) marked the beginning of a new stage in her activities.
Energetic Bishop Benjamin, later Archbishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk
and Yakutsky, revived and restored the spirit of missionary work, expanding the circle of influence
missions. He tried to ensure that this circle embraced everything in the main points.
Buryat and Evenki departments and places inhabited by them. Invited
experienced workers in the field of apostolic ministry, who went with love to
the work of preaching Christian teaching. The mission included 11 missionaries:
8 novices and 3 clerics. In addition, they carried out missionary missions
duties of 4 parish priests. 12 missionary missions were established
Stans: Baikal-Kudarinsky in 1862 .; Aginsky at the Agin Steppe Duma in
1862 .; Selenginsky at the Selenginsk Steppe Duma, near
Gusino-Ozersky datsan, in 1864 .; Tsagan-Usunsky on the border of Mongolia;
Ust-Kiransky; Aninsky at the Khorin Steppe Duma in 1864; Bauntovsky
in the center of the Evenki nomads in 1864 .; Ononsky and Goloustensky in the western
coast of Baikal; Ulyunsky at the Barguzin Steppe Duma; Irgensky on
Lake Irgen; Guzhirsky Troitsky at the Tunkin Steppe Duma after 1864
At the residence of the Right Reverend Veniamin, in the Posolsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky
monastery, a missionary school was opened to train capable
Buryat boys for missionary service; the same preparation was carried out in
missionary camps. In total, in 12 countries students studied in 1868 23 boys, in
Embassy School - 20, from which they later left
clergy and teachers. At the Posolsky Monastery there was
missionary almshouse for 20 people. It housed the sick,
the elderly and poor of the newly baptized with full maintenance.
By the end of 1868 . the mission's activities were under threat of closure: ceased
funding from the Russian Council of the Missionary Society.
However, at the request of the Archbishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk, His Eminence
Parthenia (Popov) and Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Mikhail Semenovich
Karsakov, the Minister of State Property allocated 500 tithes to the mission
land and seven government-issued fisheries. Therefore the activity
the mission did not stop, but at the same time it could not expand and must
was limited to the number of missionaries that remained at the end of 1868
The companions of the Right Reverend Benjamin, small in number but strong in spirit, did not
became discouraged and worked in a difficult missionary field. Among them was
Kudarino missionary Hieromonk Platon (in the world Danilov Peter). Knowing
Buryat language, he managed to acquire such a disposition towards himself that he did not
only baptized Buryats, but also Lamaists turned to him for advice, and
often for benefits while in distress. stood out with his
labors and concerns for the spread of Christianity, Tungui missionary
Hieromonk Meletius (in the world Yakimov Mikhail), candidate of theology, later
Bishop of Selenga, head of the Transbaikal spiritual mission; Later
Bishop of Ryazan and Zaraisk. He believed that the main focus should be
addressed to the allocation of land to the newly baptized and the introduction of Orthodox-Russian
life in the Buryat environment. And he achieved the allocation of lands around his camp and
began to settle baptized Buryats on them. Currently this is a Russian village
Novospasovka in Mukhorshibirsky district.
Other associates of Bishop Benjamin contributed greatly to the work of the mission
(Dobronravova) - fathers Nikolai Blagoobrazov, Feodor Albitsky, Peter
Mitropolsky, Alexey Malkov, Innokenty Shastin, Paisy and Nektary.
In those years, the Right Reverend Benjamin wrote: “Many who have not experienced feats
missionary service, imagine that it is not worth the trouble to expose the absurdity
Lamaism, to convince the Lamaites to accept the true faith of Christ, but the nearest
acquaintance with the direction and superstitions of the pagans living within
Transbaikal region, convinced enough that Christianity is not easy
gets grafted onto them. The words of Christ: “No one can come to Me unless
the Father who sent Me will draw him” (John 6:44) - at almost every step
convince preachers of the faith of Christ how weak our strength is in the matter of conversion
Lamaites, unless the Lord Himself leads them to the right path and enlightens them
the light of His Divine teaching. Not everyone notices the phenomena of light
Christ's; He who only sees the light of this world, for him the vision of destinies is dark
God, manifesting itself in the spiritual world. Two hundred years before this distant
the Siberian Daurs were a land of paganism, but God commanded there to be light among
darkness of ignorance, and the light of the Holy Trinity became - the Christian faith became
ruling, cities and towns were adorned with holy temples of God, and in our
the days of the very desert of Transbaikalia are resounding with the teachings of Christ and even
they rejoice at the visit of grace and bloom like crênes.”47
In 1868 . Eminence Veniamin, at the request of the Eminence
Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, was transferred as bishop
Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleutian. His successors were the Eminences:
Martinian (in the world Mikhail Semenovich Muratovsky), Meletiy (Mikhail Kosmich
Yakimov) (with him in 1880 . the control center of the Transbaikal mission was
transferred to Chita), Macarius (Mikhail Fedorovich Darsky), Georgy (George
Polikarpovich Orlov), Methodius (Mavriky Lvovich Gerasimov), Efrem
(Kuznetsov). Between 1904-1909 head of the Transbaikal spiritual
The mission was a candidate of theology priest Epifaniy Kuznetsov. Through the efforts of everyone
mentioned, an increase in the number of missionary camps was achieved (at the beginning
XX century there were 41 of them), schools and missionaries (especially from among the Buryats). Trained
future missionaries at the school at the Posolsky Monastery, transferred
later in Chita, at the Irkutsk Theological Seminary and the Nerchinsk Theological
school. Senior personnel were trained at the Kazan Theological Academy, where
there was a special Mongol-Buryat department. In addition, there were
women's religious institutions where Buryat women studied: Irkutsk School for Girls
spiritual department, school at the Irkutsk Znamensky Monastery, Chitinskaya
The Mother of God women's community and the Transbaikal Diocesan Women's School.
Translation into Buryat language and publication of theological literature were carried out
for the purpose of conducting services in the Buryat language and distributing them in the uluses. TO
Buryats were widely involved in translation and publishing work (not only
clergy), who were fluent in Russian, Buryat and Mongolian
languages that have mastered the Christian faith. First service on
Buryat language took place in August 1852 . at the consecration of Guzhirskaya
1854 . in the Irkutsk Cathedral a divine service was held for three
languages: priest G. Shastin read in Buryat, priest N. Kopylov - in
Yakut, and Bishop of Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleutian Saint Innocent
- in Aleutian.
Almost two hundred years of persistent work of the Transbaikal spiritual mission,
who received some support from the authorities and the Holy Synod, brought
fruit. The Buryat Orthodox Church was opened, under whose influence
beginning of the twentieth century It turned out that there were 12-15 thousand Buryats. Total number of baptized Buryats
was about 85 thousand out of 300 thousand people living in Irkutsk
dioceses48.
Unfortunately, the exact number and names of all Buryat missionaries of the second half
XIX and early XX centuries. failed to install. So, for example, in 1886 V
The Transbaikal mission included 4 Buryat priests, 2 deacons, 5
psalm-readers, 1 teacher and 4 translators, not counting churchwardens and
trustees. According to our data, there were about 85 people. Among them
were: Father Alexey Norboev - dean of the III department and rector of Aginskaya
missionary church; Father Nikolai Nilov Dorzhiev - archpriest and translator,
subsequently a teacher of the Mongolian language at St. Petersburg
university; Father Afanasy Aleksandrovich Vinogradov - cathedral
archpriest, editor of the Irkutsk Diocesan Gazette, one of the biographers
Saint Innocent (Veniaminov), researcher of Aleut ethnography,
Chukchi, Kolosh and Yakuts; father Roman Tsyrenpilov - head of the Verkhneamursky
Manchu camp; Father Konstantin Stukov - archpriest, historian and
local historian; father Adrian Klyukin (his wife is “the first Transbaikal Buryat,
educated at a theological school, she was also the first teacher and
teacher of her fellow tribesmen"49), father Spiridon Nosyrev, fathers
Vasily and Innokenty Tarbaevs, father Nikolai Garmaev and others.
With the increase in the population of the region (in 1851 . there were already 183.1 Russians
50 thousand people and the number of churches grew. TO 1863 . on the territory of Buryatia
there were 42 churches and 3 monasteries - Posolsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky,
Selenginsky Holy Trinity and hermitages of St. Nile of Stolobensky.
The population growth was due to an increase in the number of people living there
peoples, and due to the migration of settlers, although not as large as
at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
separated from the Irkutsk and Nerchinsk diocese (soon
renamed Irkutsk and Verkholenskaya), and became the tenth in a row in
Siberia.
If in 1894 . on the territory of this new diocese there were 200 churches, then in 1909
city - 376, of which 186 parish, 143 ascribed, 3 brownie, 3 prison,
8 cemetery, 2 railway, 2 church-schools, 5 monastery schools.
Most of the churches (about 300) were wooden. They served in 23
archpriest, 207 priests, 61 deacons, 244 psalmists51. By 1920
there were 490 churches and houses of worship (in Buryatia - 194, in Chita
region - 296), 4 monasteries (2 men's and 2 women's), 3 men's monasteries, 2
women's courtyards. In the villages, villages and missionary camps there was
302 chapels were erected.
The Transbaikal diocese played a major role in the establishment of national
education in the region. Thus, out of 370 educational institutions in the Transbaikal region (in
it included Buryatia and the Chita region) The Church cared for 3 diocesan
schools, 122 parochial schools and 199 church literacy schools (87%
all educational institutions of the region).
In fact, the existence of the Transbaikal and Nerchinsk diocese ceased in
1921 ., after the departure of the ruling bishop Meletius (Zaborowski) to
Harbin52. Formally, the Transbaikal and Nerchinsk diocese was abolished in
1930
The Russian Orthodox Church, which at one time made the greatest contribution to
the formation of Russian culture and statehood, to the greatest extent
suffered from repressions of the Bolshevik regime, since it was the only
major denomination, main centers and material and financial resources
which were located on Russian territory.
In Buryatia, as throughout Russia, churches were desecrated and desecrated, many
The clergy were repressed, some of them were shot. One of the first
martyrs of the Orthodox Church of Buryatia was the Bishop of Selenga, vicar
Transbaikal diocese Ephraim (Kuznetsov), participant of the Russian Council
the same year53.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War it was again allowed
activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, but in a limited number of parishes
Ulan-Ude Orthodox parish of the Holy Ascension Church, and a little later in
The city of Kyakhte is the parish of the Assumption Church, which is in 1962 . closed. They were
the only ones in the entire republic. At the end of the 1980s. was created in Ulan-Ude
Orthodox society "Salvation", which together with the Buryat branch
The All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments took up
restoration of the Holy Trinity Church and sale of church literature,
advocated the adoption of new legislation on freedom of conscience,
revival of the Orthodox Church.
In 1990 . The law “On Freedom of Religion” was adopted, and in March 1994
by decree of His Grace Vadim (Lazebny), Bishop of Irkutsk and
Chitinsky, the Buryat deanery was formed within the administrative framework
Republic of Buryatia, and in April 1994 . decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian
The Chita and Transbaikal diocese was created by the Orthodox Church, allocated
from the Irkutsk and Chita regions. The first bishop of Chita and
g., - Innokenty (Vasiliev), with residence in Chita.
There are 42 Orthodox parishes on the territory of the republic, in which
26 priests serve. The dean is Priest Oleg Matveev.
Recently, icons began to stream myrrh in the churches of Buryatia:
room of the Odigitrievsky parish in Ulan-Ude - temple icon of God
Mother "Hodegetria".
Hegumen Theodosius was the founder of the Trinity-Selenginsky Monastery; in 1692
g. went through Tobolsk to Moscow, but on the way in 1693 he died in
Arkhangelsk Monastery in Veliky Ustyug. Misail (born 1630),
being a hierodeacon, he arrived with Father Theodosius; from 1693 became
viceroy, and then abbot of the monastery. He was still in the rank of hierodeacon
ordering officer (dean) of the Daurian (Trans-Baikal) tithe, then in charge
and the Irkutsk tithe. In 1714, Metropolitan of Siberia Tobolsk John
(Maksimovich) appointed him as rector of the Irkutsk Voznesensky
monastery Died in 1742
20 NARB, f. 262, op. 1, d. 2, l. 111, 115.
21 See: Gurulev M. From the past of Transbaikalia // Russian antiquity. 1901. T. 106.
P. 215.
22 See: NARB, f. 262, op. 1, d. 92, l. 73-75.
23 See: Shmulevich. MM. Essays on the history of Western Transbaikalia. XVIII -
mid-19th century Novosibirsk, 1985. P. 43.
24 See: Khankharayev V.S. Changes in the number and settlement of the Buryats... P. 22.
25 See: Matsokin P.G. Metis of Transbaikalia. St. Petersburg, 1904. P. 5.
26 JEW. 1868. No. 46. P. 518.
27 See: Filaret, Archbishop. Chernigovsky. History of the Russian Church. Chernigov,
1862. Issue. 3, 4, 5.
28 Previously, he was a monk of the Mezhigorsk monastery in Kyiv, then until 1702 -
abbot of the Pustynno-Nikolaevsky Monastery. Brought to Tobolsk
Metropolitan Philotheus and ordained archimandrite. Ordained bishop in
1707 in Moscow. But his management was short due to the hardships of life.
He lived in Irkutsk for only 2.5 years and left for Moscow without a decree. From 1714 to the end
1720 he was Bishop of Tver, from June 1720 to May 4, 1721 - Metropolitan
Smolensky. Died on May 4, 1721, his body rested in Smolensk Trinity
monastery, from the entrance on the right side of the main temple.
29 JEW. 1863. No. 9.
30 Ibid. No. 11.
31 IRDM. 1997. P. 86.
32 Naumova O.E. Irkutsk diocese. XVIII - first half of the XIX century. Irkutsk,
1996. P. 33.
33 In 1915, Archimandrite Ephraim, head of the Transbaikal spiritual mission,
visited the village of Poselye in the present Bichur district, where I found an ancient
the house in which the saint lived.
34 IRDM. 1997. P. 102.
36 Vertograd is intelligent. Handwritten book of the Irkutsk Theological Seminary //
IEV. 1871. No. 13. P. 171.
37 Naumova O.E. Irkutsk diocese... P. 45.
38 Lombotserenov D.-Zh. History of the Selenga Mongol-Buryats // Buryat
Chronicle / Comp. Sh.B. Chimitdorzhiev, Ts.P. Vanchikova (Purbueva). Ulan-Ude,
1995. P. 112.
39 Yumsunov V. History of the origin of eleven Khorin clans //
Buryat Chronicles / Comp. Sh.B. Chimitdorzhiev, Ts.P. Vanchikova (Purbueva).
Ulan-Ude, 1995. P. 44.
40 Ibid. P. 50.
41 Pezhemsky P.I., Krotov V.A. Irkutsk Chronicle // Proceedings of VSORGO /
Preface, ext. and note. I.I. Serebrennikova. Irkutsk, 1911. No. 5. P. 223.
42 “Somewhat earlier, even before the opening of the Irkutsk branch, in 1817.
The Bible Society made an attempt to translate the Bible into
Mongol-Buryat language. Then... the Khorin Buryats Badma were called to St. Petersburg
Morshunaev and Nomtu Ungaev, accompanied by an Irkutsk translator
provincial secretary V.M. Tataurova (Morshunaev and Ungaev did not know Russian
language, Tataurov translated for them). They worked on the translation until May 1826.
... They managed to translate the entire New Testament into the Mongol-Buryat language,
which was then printed in the printing house of the Bible Society with a circulation of 2000
copy Of these, 600 copies. The Synod sent to the Khorin Buryats, 150 to the Selenga and
150 copies - Transbaikal Buryats. At the same time in August 1827 to Irkutsk
5 copies were sent to Bishop Mikhail (Burdukov). to compare translations
with the Slavic text of the New Testament. The Archbishop involved in this work
Alexander Bobrovnikov, who came from a mixed Russian-Buryat family,
teacher of the Mongolian language at the seminary and archpriest of Irkutsk
Prokopievskaya Church; Xenophon Shangin, a graduate of the local seminary,
priest of the Irkutsk Spassky Church; hieromonk of Israel and hierodeacon
Dositheus from the Selenga Trinity Monastery, as well as the provincial
translator A.V. Igumnova. In 1829, the comparison of texts and their correction was
completed and corrected copies sent to St. Petersburg. Especially
A. Bobrovnikov worked successfully, correcting three books of the Gospel (from
Mark, Matthew and John)." (Naumova O.E. Irkutsk diocese... S.
166-167).
43 Sophrony - the son of a cleric, born on December 25, 1703 in the town of Berezan
Pereyaslavsky district, Poltava province. Studied at the Pereyaslavl spiritual
seminary in Latin. On April 23, 1730 he was tonsured a monk in
Krasnogorsk monastery, Poltava province and was named Sophrony, was there
13 years as rector. In 1745, by decree of the Holy Synod, he was in demand in
Moscow, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, and for his piety and hard work
elected governor of this monastery. By decision of Empress Elizabeth
Petrovna Archimandrite Sophrony was in St. Petersburg on April 18, 1753
consecrated Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk. Arrived in Irkutsk on March 20
1754 Died on March 30, 1771, buried on October 9 in the left aisle
old cathedral. A resolution was adopted on the glorification of Saint Sophronius
His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod (April 10(23), 1918).
44 Saint Innocent was born on August 26, 1797 in Anginskaya Sloboda
Verkholensky district of Irkutsk province in the family of Evsevy Popov - a sexton
Church in the name of the holy prophet Elijah. At baptism he was named John. IN
1808, March 8, entered the Irkutsk Theological Seminary and became
be called Ivan Popov-Anginsky to distinguish him from the other Popovs. Was
renamed by the rector Ivan Veniaminov in memory of the deceased on July 8, 1814.
His Grace Veniamin, Bishop of Irkutsk, Nerchinsk and Yakutsk. IN
He graduated from the seminary in 1818 and was ordained a priest on May 18, 1821. May 7
1823 left for a new destination - to Russian America, to the island
Unalaska, Aleutian archipelago. In 1839 he was promoted to the rank of archpriest. 29
November 1840 he was tonsured a monk. John changed his name to his own
wish in the name of Innocent in honor of St. Innocent, the first bishop
Irkutsk. On November 30, 1840 he was awarded the rank of archimandrite. December 13, 1840
Saint Innocent was named Bishop of Kamchatka, Kuril and
Aleutsky. On January 5, 1868 he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow and
Kolomensky. Died on March 31, 1879, on April 5 the body of St. Innocent
rested in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in the Church of St. Philaret
Merciful. In 1938-1940 an act of vandalism was committed: the church was demolished,
in the basement of which the remains of Metropolitans Philaret and Innocent rested. 6
October 1977 by determination of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church
Saint Innocent canonized: “Metropolitan of Ever Memorable
Innocent, Saint of Moscow, Apostle of America and Siberia, to recognize in
face of the saints, glorified by the grace of God" (St. Innocent,
Metropolitan of Moscow. Irkutsk pages // Taltsy. Irkutsk, 1999. No. 1. S.
5).
45 JEV. 1868. No. 11. P. 145-146.
46 Neil (Isakovic) was born in 1793; his father came from Cossacks
Chernigov province, mother was a baptized Buryat. Studied in Irkutsk
theological seminary. In March 1817 he married a baptized Buryat woman. IN
He was fluent in Mongolian and Buryat languages. Made a lot of translations
Christian books into Mongolian. Subsequently he was a teacher
Mongolian language at the Irkutsk Theological Seminary. Died in 1832 in
the rank of archpriest. Compiler of the first Mongolian grammar in Russian
Nerchinsky from April 23, 1838, archbishop from 1840 to December 24, 1853
One of the most educated Siberian hierarchs, he wrote the essay
“Buddhism, considered in relation to its followers living in
Siberia" and other materials relating to Siberia, published in "Diocesan
Vedomosti" and other various publications. Repeatedly visited Transbaikalia,
founded the Nilovskaya Hermitage in the Tunkinskaya Valley in the name of St. Nile
Stolobensky. He was the godfather of the former lama of the Kyrensky datsan, and
later a missionary, Archpriest Nikolai Nilov Dorzhiev. Having studied
Buryat language, Lord Nile with the help of N.N. Dorzhiev translated into Buryat
language liturgy, Vespers, Matins, all the hymns of everyday life, Book of Hours,
Sunday service, and later, already in Yaroslavl, 145 Sunday Gospels, 97
apostolic readings (Dobronravin K. Essays on the history of the Russian Church from the beginning
Christianity in Russia to the present day. St. Petersburg, 1863. P. 230).
He died as Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov in 1874.
The first Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery in Transbaikalia, according to archival information, arose no later than 1675. It is called the Holy Trinity Selenga Old. In its place, the now existing Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery was founded in 1681 by decree of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov by members of the Daurian spiritual mission. The spiritual mission included Abbot Theodosius, his assistant, Hieromonk Macarius, and with them 10 monks.
The main task of the newly formed monastery was to preach Christianity among local peoples, as well as the spiritual nourishment of immigrants from Russia. At first it was made of wood, had strong protective walls and was a powerful fortification. Later, wooden buildings were replaced by stone ones. In 1684, a monastery church was erected in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity. Later, as the monastery developed, churches of St. Archangel Michael, All Saints, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker were erected in it.
From the very time of its creation, the administrative, cultural, spiritual and moral significance of the monastery for the development of the region was largely decisive. Being an outpost of Russia beyond Lake Baikal, located at the crossroads of all roads going from East to West, and from North to South, the monastery quickly flourished and was the largest monastery of that time east of Lake Baikal. It was visited by many prominent religious, political and government figures. For example: great-grandfather A.S. Pushkin - A.P. Hannibal, godson of Peter I; future Emperor of Russia Tsarevich Nicholas II Alexandrovich; In the monastery, the Monk Barlaam of Chikoy, the Transbaikal miracle worker, took monastic vows. For a long time, the greatest spiritual luminary of Siberia, Bishop Innokenty of Irkutsk (Kulchitsky), lived in the Trinity Monastery, who was awaiting departure to China and had Archimandrite Misail, one of the members of the Daurian spiritual mission, as his confessor here. On the territory of the monastery there is a spring, consecrated, according to legend, by St. Innocent.
In 1920 the monastery was closed. In Soviet times, there was first a colony for criminals here, and then a psychiatric hospital for 70 years.
Since 2005, together with the hospital, monks and novices began to live in a separate room on the territory of the monastery. On December 4, 2006, the last patients were transferred from here to a specially prepared institution.
On December 26, 2006, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to revive the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery. Currently, the brethren of the monastery consists of four monks (two hieromonks, two hierodeacons) and five novices. According to the rules of the monastery, from 15 to 20 workers permanently live here. Monastic life is getting better. The full circle of daily worship, church sacraments, and religious processions are performed. Newly acquired bells are ringing, temples and monastery buildings are being restored. Economic activity is developing: there is a cattle yard, a household plot, and a technical park. The monastery is becoming a favorite place to visit for more and more pilgrims and guests.
Three times a year (June 7, July 7, September 11) a numerous religious procession is organized from the monastery to the village of Ilyinka (12 km) to Mount Ioannov to the place of the miraculous appearance of the icon of John the Baptist. In addition, the brethren of the monastery spiritually care for the Orthodox communities of the villages of Tataurovo, Ilyinka, Talovka and others.
Several thousand people visit the ancient monastery throughout the year in search of grace and spiritual help. Unfortunately, at present, the monastery does not have the facilities to accommodate pilgrims and provide them with decent living conditions. Men are accommodated in guest cells, and women, due to the ban on women living on the territory of the monastery, are located in a private house outside the boundaries of the monastery.
We see the best option for accommodating guests as the construction of an Inn, where visitors could stay for several days free of charge, have the opportunity to take a shower and relax in cozy rooms. The monastery already owns a plot of land, conveniently located directly opposite the main monastery gates, where the building of the Inn will be erected and the design of the future building was drawn up.
But for construction it is necessary to purchase building materials worth one and a half million rubles. For this purpose, a fundraising project was launched. We ask you to support this good initiative.
Everyone who supported the project will definitely be included in the list of benefactors of the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery.
Brothers of the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery
In 1681, with the blessing of Patriarch Joachim and the entire Consecrated Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and by the decision of Tsar Feodor Alekseevich, the first Orthodox mission was sent to Transbaikalia, usually called the Daurian mission in modern literature. The goal of the missionaries, “spiritual... kind and teaching people,” was defined by the Council as follows: “Having arrived in Daury (that is, Transbaikalia. – Approx. auto), in Selenginsky and in other Daurian cities and prisons, to call non-believers of all faiths to the true Orthodox Christian faith, teaching from the Divine Scriptures with all care and diligence, without laziness, and to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to bring non-believers to this, without vanity and pride, with a virtuous intention, without any bitterness... so as not to wean foreigners away from any words... or turn them away from a holy deed.” The Tsar especially stipulated the need to develop anti-schismatic activities. At that time, the Old Believers, fleeing from the regions of central Russia “into the deserts,” sometimes outpaced the Orthodox clergy and laity.
It is noteworthy that the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, and with it Sovereign Feodor Alekseevich, ordered to treat the people living in the lands recently included in Russia as their brothers, rejecting any attempt at violence in the cause of evangelical preaching. The Daurian mission, which consisted of twelve people, was headed by Abbot Theodosius, one of the founders of the Sanaksarsky Mother of God Monastery of the Nativity, a man of highly spiritual life. In addition to him, hieromonk (later abbot) Macarius, hierodeacon (later archimandrite) Misail, hieromonk Seraphim, two hieromonks Joseph, hierodeacon Triphylliy, monastics Zosima, Jonah, Tikhon, Philaret, Joasaph went to Transbaikalia. The first missionaries, called to preach the true Orthodox faith to the inhabitants of Transbaikalia, received rich gifts from the sovereign and queen, among which, probably, the most valuable was the holy cross “silver-gilded” with particles of the Life-giving tree of the Cross of the Lord and the relics of many saints. Also, precious vestments, a richly decorated Gospel and much more were presented to the Daurian mission. The missionaries were ordered to found a monastery in Selenga, in a place that they themselves considered convenient, in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity.
On May 11, 1681, the Trinity Selenga Monastery was founded on the left bank of the Selenga near the Pyanaya River (so nicknamed for its winding course). The location was not chosen by chance: an Orthodox monastic monastery already existed here previously. According to available information, the so-called old Holy Trinity Monastery was founded in the first half of the 17th century by former servicemen seeking monastic achievement. Whether this monastery existed at the time of the mission’s arrival or fell into disrepair, as some researchers believe, is unclear; nevertheless, it can be confidently stated that the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery is the oldest Orthodox monastic monastery east of Lake Baikal.
Founded with the blessing of the Patriarch himself and being the residence of the head of the Daurian spiritual mission, the Holy Trinity Monastery for a long time was directly subordinate to the Metropolitan of Tobolsk. Subsequently, according to a number of historians, it was not under the jurisdiction of the Irkutsk diocese and remained in a special position, reminiscent of stauropegy (until the end of the 18th century). This privileged position of the monastery was largely explained by its close connection with the Spiritual Mission in China, which at the same time also performed diplomatic functions.
The service of the first Orthodox missionaries on the Transbaikal land was by no means easy. In the monastic synodikon, on the basis of which the names of the members of the Daurian mission were restored, Hieromonk Seraphim and Monk Joasaph are listed as murdered. We cannot, of course, say exactly where and under what circumstances they died, but it is quite possible that Father Seraphim and Father Joasaph were martyrs who suffered for Christ at the hands of the pagans. Nowadays only God knows!
The basis of the monastery economy, which the brethren were faced with the need to establish immediately upon arrival in Transbaikalia, was rich natural resources, and above all Baikal fish. The fishing grounds on Baikal were already known to the Russian people, but before the arrival of members of the Daurian mission here, no one claimed their rights to them, and therefore, from the founding of the monastery until its defeat, which began after the October revolution, Baikal fish was one of the main sources of material funds for the monastic brethren. In addition, the lands around the monastery were free, which created the opportunity for the development of agriculture, which was so necessary in Transbaikalia at that time.
Hegumen Theodosius stayed in Transbaikalia for about ten years, but his service, although not too long in comparison with the works of other missionaries, brought abundant fruit. In the Trinity Monastery on Selenga there was a fairly strong monastic brethren, and its missionary activities, carried out under his leadership, were quite successful. The period from the last quarter of the 17th century, or the arrival of the Daurian mission in Transbaikalia, and until about 1730 is considered the most successful for Orthodox missionaries in Transbaikalia. The state was still trying to promote the development of the Orthodox mission, and many Mongols (or, to be more precise, Buryat-Mongols), who at that time professed almost exclusively shamanism, converted to Orthodoxy. The activities of the Daur mission were very extensive. At that time, in the presence of very weak ties with all state and church centers, as well as in the absence of institutions of church and state government in the newly annexed Transbaikal lands, the mission became the only body of church authority in Transbaikalia. In addition to missionary activity itself, it was necessary to supervise open and emerging parishes, to look for persons suitable for ordination as priests, since the shortage of clergy was very great, and also to counteract the growing influence of the Old Believers. It was also necessary to minister to the newly created monasteries. In addition to the Holy Trinity Selenginsky, at that time there was already a monastery in Nerchinsk - in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Finally, the St. Nicholas Embassy Convent also developed - a metochion of the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery, founded on the site of the death of the Russian embassy sent to the Mongols and subjected to a treacherous attack on their part in 1651. The territory in which Abbot Theodosius was blessed to “be in charge of church affairs and dogmas” was very large.
After Abbot Theodosius, Father Misail (Trusov), one of the most unique church figures in Transbaikalia, became the rector of the Holy Trinity Selenginsky Monastery. Being the “orderer” of the Daurian tithe (that is, the dean of the Transbaikal deanery, in current terminology), he oversaw church affairs over a vast territory, equal in area to several European states (approximately the territory of three Germanys). The range of his responsibilities was the widest: missionary work, monitoring order in churches, selecting proteges for priests, etc. His service almost constantly took place on the road.
The height of the spiritual life of Father Misail (who was later elevated to the rank of archimandrite) is indicated by the fact that he, according to available information, was the confessor of St. Innocent (Kulchitsky, + 1731), later Bishop of Irkutsk. Having been appointed bishop for the Spiritual mission in China, Saint Innocent was not allowed into Chinese territory by the Manchu authorities. He spent about five years of forced waiting in the Holy Trinity Selenginsky Monastery, after which he was appointed to the newly established Irkutsk department.
Archimandrite Misail, one of the “brothers” who arrived for missionary purposes in Transbaikalia, for a long time could not achieve his release to retire. And only when he turned 106 years old, his request was granted. He probably spent the rest of his days in the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery.
The 18th century was the heyday of the monastery. It was then that the first stone temples were erected in it, some of which, although only partially, have survived to this day. In 1785, a new Holy Trinity Cathedral was built, and already in the 19th century, a gradual large-scale reconstruction of the monastery began: stone buildings were built, a new stone fence was erected. The state paid great attention to the monastery as a kind of “supply base” for the Spiritual mission in China. That is why the possessions of the Holy Trinity Monastery (as well as the Posolsky Monastery located nearby) were largely spared from secular plunder both under Peter I and Catherine II. At the same time, however, it should be noted that missionary activity in the “enlightened age” almost completely ceased with a direct ban from St. Petersburg. The motivation was political: so as not to irritate China.
In the 19th century, Orthodox missionary work in Transbaikalia revived again, but now the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Ambassadorial Monastery became the center of the new mission, now called Transbaikal. The former metochion of the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery - the Ambassadorial Monastery had by this time already become one of the most developed Transbaikal monasteries (which, among other things, was caused by its special position at the intersection of transport routes from the Baikal region to Transbaikalia and beyond). Nevertheless, the suffragan bishops who headed the mission had the title of Selenga. The monastery continued to operate until 1920. The history of its closure is not entirely clear; it is only known that after the liquidation of the monastery, for some time the Holy Trinity Church continued to function as a parish church (closed, judging by the available data, in the late 20s). After the monastery was destroyed, a correctional colony was located there, located in the monastery walls until 1926, after which it was replaced by a psychiatric hospital, which remained there de facto until 2005.
In 1961, the monastery complex received the status of a historical and architectural monument. This helped preserve what had not yet been destroyed at that time. It was only in the mid-1990s that a parish was registered in the village of Trinity, and part of the gateway Church of St. Michael the Archangel was given to believers. Divine services were performed by periodically visiting priests.
On December 25, 2000, the President of the Republic of Buryatia signed an order to transfer the psychiatric hospital outside the monastery complex. This decision was carried out for five years; Gradually, one after another, the monastery buildings were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Transbaikal diocese. They were guarded and maintained in order by novices sent for this purpose from the Ambassadorial Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, revived in April 2000.
In the fall of 2005, Hieromonk Nikolai (Krivenko), who had previously been the abbot of the Ambassadorial Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, arrived at the Holy Trinity Monastery. He took over the remaining buildings of the monastery complex until July 2006, when, by decree of the ruling bishop of the Chita and Transbaikal diocese, Bishop Eustathius, Hieromonk Alexy (Ermolaev) was appointed acting vicar. This event became a significant milestone in the history of the monastery: for the first time after the destruction of the monastery in the 20s. last century, it acquired its own brethren and its own governor (before that, the novices who temporarily lived there were assigned to the Ambassadorial Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior).
The fall of 2005 was also marked by a very important event: Saint Innocent of Irkutsk again visited the monastery in which he had once spent several years of his earthly life. His holy relics were brought to the reviving monastery, which became a great consolation for the brethren and pilgrims of the monastery.
On December 26, 2006, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to revive the oldest monastery on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal - the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery.
At the moment, with the help of the brethren, still relatively small (one hieromonk-vicar Father Alexy (Ermolaev), one hierodeacon and a dozen novices), monastic life is being revived in the monastery. Since August 1, 2006, a full circle of services has been held, religious processions around the monastery are held daily. And on August 27, for the first time in more than eighty years, seven people were baptized by complete immersion within the walls of the monastery.
The main church of the monastery is the Holy Trinity, which was in extreme desolation, by the grace of God and thanks to the selfless labors of the brethren and the help of well-wishers of the monastery, it was possible to repair it for the feast of the beheading of St. John the Baptist (September 11), as planned. On the same day, a religious procession took place from the monastery to a nearby mountain (seven kilometers from the monastery), where the miraculous image of St. John the Baptist was once revealed. The tradition of this religious procession has a two-hundred-year history, and its revival has also become a visible symbol of the resurrection of the oldest Transbaikal monastery.
However, many problems still remain unresolved. Most of the monastery buildings were badly damaged during Soviet management. The gateway monastery church of St. Michael the Archangel is in urgent need of restoration. It is necessary to continue restoration work in the Holy Trinity Church. And if they are not carried out in the near future, then we risk forever losing both the temples of the monastery and those architectural monuments that exist within its boundaries.
In addition, those new buildings that were used by the psychiatric hospital also fell into disrepair. The entire territory of the monastery is pitted with garbage and cesspools; In addition, there is a need for disinfection work, since the patients of the hospital were tuberculosis patients. There are also many unresolved economic and administrative issues.
We can only hope that, by the grace of God, the public of Transbaikalia and all of Russia will pay attention to the needs of one of the oldest monasteries in the east of our fatherland.
The first Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery in Transbaikalia, according to archival information, arose no later than 1675. It is called the Holy Trinity Selenga Old. In its place, the now existing Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery was founded in 1681 by decree of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov by members of the Daurian spiritual mission. The spiritual mission included Abbot Theodosius, his assistant, Hieromonk Macarius, and with them 10 monks.
The main task of the newly formed monastery was to preach Christianity among local peoples, as well as the spiritual nourishment of immigrants from Russia. At first it was made of wood, had strong protective walls and was a powerful fortification. Later, wooden buildings were replaced by stone ones. In 1684, a monastery church was erected in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity. Later, as the monastery developed, churches of St. Archangel Michael, All Saints, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker were erected in it.
From the very time of its creation, the administrative, cultural, spiritual and moral significance of the monastery for the development of the region was largely decisive. Being an outpost of Russia beyond Lake Baikal, located at the crossroads of all roads going from East to West, and from North to South, the monastery quickly flourished and was the largest monastery of that time east of Lake Baikal. It was visited by many prominent religious, political and government figures. For example: A.S. Pushkin’s great-grandfather - A.P. Hannibal, godson of Peter I; future Emperor of Russia Tsarevich Nicholas II Alexandrovich; In the monastery, the Monk Barlaam of Chikoy, the Transbaikal miracle worker, took monastic vows. For a long time, the greatest spiritual luminary of Siberia, Bishop Innokenty of Irkutsk (Kulchitsky), lived in the Trinity Monastery, who was awaiting departure to China and had Archimandrite Misail, one of the members of the Daurian spiritual mission, as his confessor here. On the territory of the monastery there is a spring, consecrated, according to legend, by St. Innocent.
In 1920 the monastery was closed. In Soviet times, there was first a colony for criminals here, and then a psychiatric hospital for 70 years.
Since 2005, together with the hospital, monks and novices began to live in a separate room on the territory of the monastery. On December 4, 2006, the last patients were transferred from here to a specially prepared institution.
On December 26, 2006, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to revive the Holy Trinity Selenga Monastery. Currently, the brethren of the monastery consists of four monks (two hieromonks, two hierodeacons) and five novices. According to the rules of the monastery, from 15 to 20 workers permanently live here. Monastic life is getting better. The full circle of daily worship, church sacraments, and religious processions are performed. Newly acquired bells are ringing, temples and monastery buildings are being restored. Economic activity is developing: there is a cattle yard, a household plot, and a technical park. The monastery is becoming a favorite place to visit for more and more pilgrims and guests, and a hotel has been built for them.
Service Schedule
1) On weekdays:
6.00 - 7.00 - morning prayers, midnight office.
9.00 - 11.00 - Divine Liturgy (at the end of the liturgy - custom prayer services and memorial services).
16.00 - 19.00 - Vespers and Matins.
19.00 - 20.00 - Compline.
21.00 - 22.00 - evening prayers and religious procession around the monastery.
2) On holidays and Sundays:
6.30 - morning prayers.
The rest of the services are the same as on weekdays.
3) Epiphany - every Sunday from 1400.
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