Sex, drugs, Russian Orthodox Church: how the Cherepovets bishop escaped from the FSB to England

Cherepovets and Belozersk diocese
of the Vologda Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church

• Diocesan administration: Russia, 162601, Vologda region, Cherepovets, Makarinskaya Grove, 1
• Tel.: (8202) 28-12-04 (accounting)
• Official site:
• Canonical territory: Cherepovets GO; Cherepovets, Babaevsky, Belozersky, Vashkinsky, Vytegorsky, Kaduysky, Ustyuzhensky and Chagodoshchensky districts of the Vologda region.
• Cathedrals: Afanasy-Feodosievsky in Cherepovets, Preobrazhensky in Belozersk [1]
• On the map: Yandex.Map, Google map

Known since 1919 as a vicariate of the Novgorod diocese.
From 1923 to 1937, in parallel, there was a renovationist vicariate of the same name of the Vologda diocese [2].

In August 1928, at a meeting of the initiative group that met in the Presentation Church with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy (Simansky), a district vicariate council was formed. The decision of the initiative group was of considerable importance for the organization of structures and the legalization of the Patriarchal Church. Canonical unity with the Novgorod diocese was demonstrated. The new organization was called “Temporary Cherepovets District Vicariate Council of the Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, with the rights of a semi-independent vicariate.” In September 1931, the district Vicariate Council of the Cherepovets Diocese of the Patriarchal Church was transformed into the Cherepovets Diocesan Council, which was headed by Bishop Valerian (Rudich), vicar of the Novgorod Diocese. In 1935, the Cherepovets vicar diocese included the parishes of the Cherepovets region. After 1937, the department was not replaced.

On October 23, 2014, it was resumed as an independent diocese, having been separated from the Vologda diocese within the urban district of Cherepovets, Cherepovets, Babaevsky, Belozersky, Vashkinsky, Vytegorsky, Kaduysky, Ustyuzhensky and Chagodoshchensky districts in the north-west of the Vologda region. At the same time, it was included in the newly formed Vologda Metropolis.

Statistics

• October 23, 2014 - 23 parishes, 40 clergy [3]
• June 16, 2021 - 88 parishes, 68 clergy, 29 monastics [3]

Bishops

Vicariate of Novgorod

• Nifont (Fomin) (1919 - 1920)
• Tikhon (Tikhomirov) (April 4, 1920 - 1922, 1922 - 1924)
• Macarius (Opotsky) (March 1924 - 1925)
• Theodore (Yakovtsevsky) (March 1928 - 1929) high school bishop. Ustyuzhensky
• Tikhon (Tikhomirov) (1929) v/u, ep. Kirillovsky

• Valerian (Rudich) (1932 - 1934) high school bishop. Kirillovsky

Independent diocese

• Ignatius (Deputies) (October 23 - November 23, 2014), senior, metropolitan. Vologda

Former Bishop of Cherepovets Flavian fled to London after another FSB search

The former Bishop of Cherepovets and Belozersk, Flavian, who was banned from serving, fled to London and gave an interview to Radio Liberty, in which he said that he was a victim of the special services and had nothing to do with drugs.

Earlier, a number of media outlets published information that in February 2021, employees of the department for combating illegal drug trafficking of the FSB of Russia conducted searches in Flavian’s apartment in St. Petersburg, where a 22-year-old young man named Cain Montanelli permanently resides. According to Cherepovetskaya Pravda, security forces discovered not only a narcotic substance, but also an entire laboratory for the production of synthetic drugs, and opened a criminal case for its illegal trafficking.

Flavian tells this story differently in an interview. His friend Montanelli is indeed involved in a drug case. In December 2019, he was detained along with two other young people and accused of drug production. As Flavian later found out through his lawyers, the investigation believes that the young people first grew and sold marijuana, and then met a certain person on the darknet under the nickname President, who offered them a bigger business (according to Flavian, the President was an FSB agent). Cain and his accomplices rented a dacha in the Tosnensky district of the Leningrad region, where they were engaged in drug production.

“The bishop’s apartment was also searched, his passports, credit cards, mobile devices and 570 thousand rubles were confiscated, he was interrogated, swabs were taken from his hair and nails for the presence of drugs, but nothing was found and he was released. The editors have at their disposal a search report, as well as a letter from the St. Petersburg bar association “Yustum” to the Supreme Church Court of the Russian Orthodox Church, which states that no prohibited narcotic or psychotropic substances were found in the biological materials of Maxim Mitrofanov, reports Radio Liberty.

Flavian also said that the security forces offered him cooperation in the case, but he refused.

The bishop’s labors were more than rewarded: official church support alone reached one and a half million a month, and, as Flavian claims, this is the normal income of a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the spring it became known that Flavian had submitted a request to resign, allegedly for health reasons. Metropolitan Ignatius announced this on March 22 during his visit to Cherepovets. On August 25, Flavian was removed from the administration of the Cherepovets diocese, “assigning his place of residence to the Pavlo-Obnorsky monastery of the Vologda diocese,” under the supervision and spiritual care of His Grace of Vologda.

Flavian told Radio Liberty that he went there for a couple of days and returned to St. Petersburg: the monastery had neither running water nor sewerage, “convenience on the street.” For several months no one disturbed the bishop, until on December 2 at five in the morning an FSB task force broke into his home. Flavian and a friend who was visiting him were laid on the floor, bleeding the young man’s face and “bruising” the bishop. The search lasted until one o'clock in the afternoon, Flavian's passports, credit cards and phones were again confiscated, nothing prohibited was found, and at one o'clock they were taken to the Big House on Liteiny - the FSB department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.

— In the Big House, Flavian languished until 9 pm, after which he was taken to a confrontation with one of Cain’s accomplices without interrogation. “I am led into a room where this accomplice of his, whom I have never seen in my life, is sitting. To the question: “Does he know me?” he says: “Yes, this is Mitrofanov Maxim Valerievich.” To the question: “How we met,” he tells some stupid story that has nothing to do with the case, and then says that during our second meeting at the Moscow restaurant, we didn’t order anything, Mitrofanov brought 500 thousand rubles, gave them to me, I counted them under the table, he donated them to the creation of a drug laboratory. None of this was close,” says Flavian.

On December 8, a new message regarding Flavian appeared on the Russian Orthodox Church website.

“A decision was made to ban Bishop Flavian (Mitrofanov) from serving in the priesthood without the right to wear a panagia, bishop’s robes and mantle, as well as the use of any other signs of bishop’s dignity, until the General Church Court makes a ruling on his case,” the message says.

Flavian says that he tried to explain to the church authorities: he is not guilty. However, he was told that he himself was to blame for what was happening, since he was promiscuous. By decision of the synod, he was again sent to the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery. Flavian agreed for the sake of appearance, but a couple of days later he left with spare passports for the UK (the Tserkvach telegram channel writes that Flavian, who in the world is Maxim Mitrovanov, has British citizenship).

Monasteries

• Novoleushinsky Ioanno-Predtechensky (female)
• Filippo-Irapsky (male)

Inactive

• Cherepovets deanery

• Ust-Nozhemskaya Odigitrievskaya hermitage
• Kolpovskaya Assumption Hermitage
• Stanovishchi Nikolsky Monastery
• Tanishchi Trinity Monastery
• Shalochskaya hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Modena Monastery in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
• Filaret's Hermitage
• Ustyuzhensky Mother of God Monastery of the Nativity
• Ustyuzhensky Elias-Resurrection Monastery
• Ustyuzhensky Annunciation Monastery
• Sinozerskaya Trinity Hermitage
• Shukhtovsky Intercession Monastery
• Parfyonovsky Mother of God Monastery
• Leushinsky St. John the Baptist Monastery
• Dosifeeva Trinity Hermitage
• Azariev Vyksinsky Nikolaevsky Monastery
• Voroninskaya Assumption Hermitage
• Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage, in Ezov
• Poshekhonsky Elias Monastery
• Spaso-Lomovsky Monastery (Ignatius Verkholomskaya Hermitage)
• Yugskaya Dmitrievskaya Hermitage
• Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery
• Antonieva on the Black Lakes Bogoroditskaya Hermitage
• Nikolskaya Hermitage in Sudbischi on Sheksna

• Belozersk deanery

• Kurdyuzhskaya Nikolskaya hermitage
• Belozerskaya Preobrazhenskaya hermitage
• Kovzhensky St. Nicholas Monastery
• Andozersky Assumption Monastery
• Shuzhgorsky Transfiguration Monastery
• Ozad St. Nicholas Monastery
• Irodion Iloezerskaya Mother of God-Nativity Hermitage
• Fetininskaya Mariinskaya Hermitage
• Vorbozomskaya Annunciation Hermitage
• Ust-Shekhonsky Trinity Monastery
• Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery
• Spasogorsk Trinity Monastery
• Belozersky Peter and Paul Monastery
• Vazhbakhtskaya Pyatnitskaya hermitage
• Khabarova-on-Nosy Peter and Paul Hermitage
• Luzhandozerskaya Trinity Hermitage
• Andoma Nikolsky Monastery
• Kurzhanskaya Trinity Hermitage
• Spaso-Matkozerskaya Hermitage
• Kazanskaya on the Klimentovsky lakes of the desert
• Rubezhskaya Trinity Hermitage
• Vozheozersky Spassky Monastery
• Ferapontov Mother of God-Nativity Monastery
• Belozersky Nikitsky Monastery
• Nilo-Sora desert
• Vytegorsky Intercession Monastery
• Almozersky Elias Monastery
• Pyatnitskaya Kedrinskaya hermitage
• Makarievskaya Vysokoezerskaya Hermitage

Founding history

The area that the Cherepovets diocese now covers has repeatedly changed its diocesan affiliation. Initially it was led by the Rostov bishops, then these lands were transferred to the department of the Vologda diocese. For a certain historical period, the future diocese was subordinate to Novgorod.

Cathedral of Saints Athanasius and Theodosius of Cherepovets

Such uncertainty lasted until 1918, which was marked by terrible repressions against the clergy. That year, many churches in the province were closed, priests and parishioners were arrested and tortured in camps.

Important! Under these conditions, the institution of bishopric in the Russian Orthodox Church was in danger of disappearing. To prevent this from happening, it was allowed to open vicariates in every county town.

After the arrest of Patriarch Tikhon, the highest church power with the support of the OGPU was seized by the renovationists. The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church did not support the decision of the VCU and did not recognize its jurisdiction.

At this time, the Cherepovets diocese was created for the first time, but this was done not for the convenience of managing church life, but with the aim of causing a split in the ranks of the clergy. After his release, Patriarch Tikhon took up the task of reuniting the Orthodox Church.

On the territory of the Cherepovets province, 4 vicariates were formed, subordinate to the Novgorod diocese. In 1924, Bishop Macarius was appointed head of the Cherepovets diocese, and many clergy consider this date to be the beginning of its history.

Resurrection Cathedral of Cherepovets

The Renewalists tried in every possible way to undermine the authority of the new bishop, doing everything possible to prevent him from finding support among the clergy and parishioners. After the authority of the new archpastor was recognized by almost all people in the province, his enemies decided to take a different path.

Denunciations were actively written against the bishop, and in 1926 he was arrested and exiled to the Solovetsky camp. Several subsequent heads of the vicariate suffered the same fate.

The persecution of the Orthodox Church in the 20-30s of the last century was the most severe. Repression among the clergy led to the termination of services in almost all churches in the region. By 1940, spiritual life in the province had ceased almost completely.

Church of the Nativity in Cherepovets

In 1945, when the revival of church life began, the Cherepovets Vicariate was annexed to the Vologda Diocese. The spiritual life of the Cherepovets region continued in this form until 1991. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, only 6 Orthodox churches operated in the region.

Important! In the 90s, the resumption of church life in the country began. New churches began to be actively built and old parishes were restored.

By 2014, the Cherepovets diocese was restored and separated from the Vologda diocese.

Cherepovets clergy shared army photos

It seems that there is nothing supernatural in this, but you are still surprised when you find out that the priest who now conducts services in the temple once served in the army. And at his home, like many worldly men, he keeps a demobilization album... The heroes of our publication are the clergy of the Cherepovets diocese, who fondly remember the years of their army youth.

Archpriest Vladimir Belyaev is a well-known person in our city. For more than twenty years of his ministry, he managed to build a temple in the village of Myaksa, is now engaged in the construction of a temple complex in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Cherepovets and is the rector of the temple of Elijah the Prophet in the village of Abakanovo.

The current priest was drafted into the army in 1992. By that time, he had graduated from the Moscow circus school, went on tour to Peru and starred in several films, performing various stunt tricks! From his early youth, Vladimir wanted to serve in the army - in the elite troops. To do this, he, of his own free will, together with other enthusiasts, underwent two weeks of training in one of the airborne units, went to Dzerzhinsky’s division and even jumped three times with a parachute.

But it so happened that before the army, Vladimir became interested in the work of Dostoevsky, who in his works thought a lot about the nature of good and evil, about human suffering and preached non-resistance to evil through violence. Impressed, he realized that even if he were to perform military service, he would not be able to take up arms. Even then, the graduate of the circus school did not hide his faith in God from anyone, and was increasingly convinced that the Lord would definitely protect him. And when he was given the right to choose where to serve - in the army or a military hospital, he chose the hospital. Because he saw that it was here, performing various works, that he could somehow ease people’s pain. The staff and colleagues loved Vladimir Belyaev and sometimes asked about Orthodoxy and how to come to faith.

Private Belyaev was very careful in any work he took on. And he quickly learned new things. For example, he learned to cut his colleagues’ hair, so skillfully that even high-ranking officers turned to him. He especially became friends with two officers, with whom he maintained good relations even after the service. They shared his views and sometimes even gave him leave so that he could visit the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, communicate with confessors there, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and confess. These were his first steps in Orthodoxy, which later determined his entire life.

It is curious that the son of Vladimir’s father, Peter, chose the military path - he is a 4th year cadet at the ChVVIURE, studying at the special communications department. Most recently, he became a master of sports of the Russian Federation in judo and defends the honor of his native university.

The rector of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, Father Vitaly Ryabov, joined the army after graduating from ChSU at the age of 23. A group of Vologda conscripts (eleven people) were assigned to the Signal Corps, to a unit that was located not far from Vorkuta, in the village of Tsementnozavodsky. When they, certified specialists who had already held leadership positions, appeared in the unit, the old-timers gave them, to put it mildly, an unwelcoming reception. The spirit of hazing reigned in the barracks, and everything was run by nineteen-year-old hooligans who graduated from vocational school with C grades. But the guys managed to peacefully break this vicious system.

Before the army, after graduating from university, Vitaly worked as a repair engineer at a metallurgical plant, and in his free time he was a sexton in the church. Among the necessary things that he took to the service was the Gospel. Every day he read one of the chapters of the holy book. This helped and strengthened the fighter’s spirit. What duties did he have to perform? Yes, different. He was both an orderly and an assistant on duty at the headquarters, and was on duty in the kitchen. I especially liked being on duty at headquarters because there was time to write home and think. One day he sent a letter to the Mayak radio station, to the evening program for military personnel “Field Mail”.

In the letter he said that he would like to correspond with girls from all over the country. But his message was not voiced for a long time, and when it did happen, there were only a few months left before the end of the service. And suddenly he received a stream of letters from girls, sometimes up to eleven a day. Vitaly answered everyone in good faith and even then, after being demobilized, continued correspondence for two to three years. And now I found someone on social networks. The most important thing that Private Ryabov took from the army is that you need to value time and respect a person’s work. Father Vitaly still adheres to these principles.

The housekeeper of the Cherepovets diocese and the rector of the Resurrection Cathedral, Hieromonk Neil (Khomenets), knew that he would serve in the airborne troops when he was still in school. And while many of his peers, when they entered the army, had a hard time at first, he, a graduate of the Faculty of Physical Training, was no stranger to increased stress. And the authorities, having learned that Private Khomenets was a physical education teacher, entrusted him with conducting morning exercises and being responsible for the sports spirit in the troops.

It seems to us that only the strong and courageous join the Airborne Forces - we also came across rare specimens who had to be shown five times that there are no wimps in the army, especially in the landing force. And after a couple of months, the sports instructor saw that the soldier had become stronger and could do push-ups and somersaults on the bar for at least a day.

Remembering his service, Father Neil always proudly says that he served in the 39th separate air assault brigade. Their unit was located in a former monastery, where you could even see wall paintings, and in secluded places you could find books in Latin. The dining room and kitchen were located where services once took place. But what struck the future priest most was that the dishwasher was built in the altar. It was then that he began to think about the underlying reasons for the desecration of holy places that took place in the twentieth century...

Father Neil also remembers a funny incident. This was his first parachute jump. The height is 1,200 meters, there is a huge field below, where we should have landed. But the parachute of the inexperienced paratrooper led, and he landed on a tall oak tree. He couldn’t free himself from the slings on his own, so he hung there until his superiors realized it. The rescuer sent to help began cutting down the oak tree. The work dragged on, and when Private Khomenets was finally rescued, it became dark. There was nothing left to do but walk to the unit, which was 35 kilometers. The rescuer is with a hatchet, and the poor private is with a machine gun, a parachute and a backpack. Such an unplanned forced march. But now, remembering his army years, Father Neil understands that the army taught him to overcome difficulties and cultivated endurance, the ability to achieve his goal to the end.

Sergey Rychkov, newspaper “Voice of Cherepovets”

Deanery

For the convenience of church administration, dioceses are divided into deaneries. The Cherepovets diocese is divided into 9 deaneries.

Important! A deanery in Orthodoxy is a district consisting of several parishes, which are geographically located close to each other.

At first, the diocese included the Central, Southern, Vashkinsk and Belozersk deaneries. Then Abakanovskoye and Ustyuzhenskoye were added to them. With the growing number of Orthodox churches, the Kaduysky, Babayevsky and Vytegorsky deaneries were allocated within the diocese.