| Elista Kazan Cathedral |
Elista and Kalmyk diocese
of the Russian Orthodox Church
- Diocesan administration: Russia, 358001, Elista, st. Sergius of Radonezh, 97
- Tel./fax: (84722) 3-06-69
- Official site:
- Canonical territory: rep. Kalmykia
- Cathedral: Kazan and Mother of God of the Nativity (under construction) in Elista
- On the map: Yandex.Map, Google map
The first written sources about the baptism of Kalmyks into Orthodoxy date back to the 17th century.
It is known that in 1724, Emperor Peter I gave the camp church of the Resurrection of Christ to the grandson of Khan Ayuki Baksaday Dorji, who converted to Christianity with the name Peter Taishin. As the Kalmyks adopted Christianity, several ulus Orthodox churches appeared, which existed until most of the Kalmyks left for Dzungaria in 1771. In the same year, it was decided to recreate one ulus camp church for Russian officials living in the Kalmyk steppe and Christian Kalmyks. On December 30, 1846, Emperor Nicholas I issues a decree “On the settlement of roads on the Kalmyk lands in the Astrakhan province,” which provided for the creation of settlements on the territory of the Kalmyk steppe. As a result, the resettlement villages of Plodovitoe, Tundutovo, Obilnoye, Sadovoye, Priyutnoye, Elista and others appeared here. Soon the peasants began to build the first permanent Orthodox churches in them.
By 1940, as a result of the atheistic policies of the Soviet state, all Orthodox churches in Kalmykia were destroyed. In 1942, during the German occupation, Elista, Trinity, Priyutnenskaya and other Orthodox churches were opened. After the liberation of Kalmykia from the Nazis, the churches were mostly closed, except for two Orthodox prayer houses - in Elista and Priyutnoye. This situation continued until the end of the 1980s. The revival of church life at the end of the century began within the Stavropol diocese.
The independent Elista diocese within Kalmykia was formed by a resolution of the Holy Synod of October 6, 1995. The Kazan Cathedral was built in Elista, which was consecrated on June 7, 1997 by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'. Prayer rooms began to open in hospitals and social institutions, a temple was built, and three prayer rooms were opened in correctional institutions. The diocese began to take an active part in the development of educational and cultural programs in Kalmykia. In 2012, preparations began for the construction of a new cathedral in Elista in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Statistics
- 1924-1925 - in the Kalmyk Autonomous Region: 17 Orthodox parishes and churches
- 2004 - 11 parishes, 14 clergy (12 priests, 2 deacons)
- December 2011 - 20 parishes, 21 clergy and religious, 9 Sunday schools [1]
Current state
Total number of parishes, number of churches:
- parishes - 20
- operating churches - 26
- prayer rooms - 14, of which: in social institutions - 10
- in correctional institutions - 3
- in a military unit - 1
Total number of clergy
:
- priests - 13
- deacons - 3
Diocesan departments
- Department of Religious Education and Catechesis
- Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies and Prison Ministry
- Department for interaction with the Cossacks
- Youth Department
- Department of Social Service and Charity
