Sakhalin is Orthodox. Sakhalin Oblast

Sakhalin Region  - the subject of the Russian Federation. The region is located in the Asia-Pacific region, it is one of the easternmost territories of Russia and the only region completely located on the islands (Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands). It is part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative center is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Orthodoxy in the Sakhalin Region

Orthodoxy began to spread among the Ainu within the modern Sakhalin diocese in the first half of the 18th century from Kamchatka. The care of this region was carried out by the Irkutsk, and since 1840 - the Kamchatka diocese. When dividing this territory between Russia and Japan, the Kuril Islands that became Japanese came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Japan. The island of Sakhalin in 1899 was reassigned to the Vladivostok diocese. After the surrender of the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan following the results of the Russo-Japanese War, this land also passed to the Japanese mission.

After the establishment of a godless system in the North of Sakhalin in 1925, a widespread struggle between the authorities and the Church in the USSR began here. The last operating temple here was Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, seized from believers in 1930. In the Kuril Islands, under Japanese rule, the Shikotan Orthodox prayer house continued to operate until accession to the USSR in 1945. The revival of church life within the Sakhalin Region began as part of the Khabarovsk diocese, the first newly-opened parish was Yuzhno-Sakhalinsky in the name of Ksenia of Petersburg in 1989. Since 1991, the Sakhalin region belonged to the Magadan diocese.

An independent South Sakhalin diocese was established by decree of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 23, 1993, being separated from Magadan within the Sakhalin Region.

Settlements

Shrines of the Sakhalin Region

• The miraculous list of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is a blessing conveyed by Patriarch Alexy II in 1995 when an earthquake occurred in Neftegorsk.

• Particles of the holy relics of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon, the Holy Right Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Holy Martyr Philip, the Metropolitan of Moscow, the Monk Savva Storozhevsky, the Holy Martyr Anastasia the Decree. An icon case was made especially for the relics, in which they are still stored today.

• Ark with particles of the relics of St. Nicholas of Japan, donated from the Japanese Orthodox Church. It is stored in the altar of the cathedral.

• Icon with the relics of St. Innocent of Moscow

• Icon with a particle of the tomb of the Holy Blessed Matrona of Moscow

• icon of the Holy Elders of Optina with particles of their relics, delivered from the Holy Vvedensky Optina Desert; Memory October 24 (11s.s.)
• icon with a particle of his vestments. Icon painting workshop TSL; Memory January 2 (December 20, S.S.); and June 14 (June 01 S.S.)
• icon of the Holy Mother of Sisters of Diveevsky Alexandra, Martha, Elena with particles of their relics; Memory on the day of the celebration of Diveevsky saints on June 27 (June 14 S.S.)
• icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Kazan", presumably of the 17th-18th centuries
• the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “Kazan” from Mount Athos, the icon-painting workshop of St. Panteleimon’s Russian monastery on Mount Athos, with stamps, the work of Belarusian icon painters in an icon case from oak carved by Belarusian craftsmen, donated with the blessing of Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Memory July 21 (July 8, S.S.) and November 04 (October 22, S.S.)
• icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Kikkskaya" in silver with a gilding frame, delivered from about. Cyprus; In Russia it is known as "Gracious", the memory of November 25 (November 12, S.S.)
• The liturgical altar gospel with a silver salary. Gift of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill in memory of a visit to the monastery in 2010
• st. icon righteous Fyodor Sanaksarsky with a piece of the relics of a saint. The blessing of the Archbishop of South Sakhalin and Kuril Tikhon

Monasteries of the Sakhalin Region

Korsakov Pokrovsky Monastery

There is a cloister on the south side of a steep slope with a view of the sea.

In 1947, the construction of a sailor club on this site began.

The rector of the city Orthodox community in honor of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary was appointed in 1992. In 1995, during the organizational events “Military Town - 13”, at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, it was transferred to its jurisdiction with a complex of buildings, which then depreciated at 75%. Since that time, the life of the Orthodox community continued on the site of the former base sailor club.

On April 1, 1999, by the decision of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the report of the Bishop of South Sakhalin Jonathan, a blessing was given to transform the Pokrovsky parish into a monastery. Despite the unsettled life and lack of communications, since some of the buildings are ruins, the inhabitants of the monastery, the few pilgrims and parishioners of the monastery church gradually equip the monastery. On the territory of the monastery there is a Sunday school for children, a library, various events are held for the Korsakov Children's Rehabilitation Center.

Address:  694020, Sakhalin Region, Korsakov, ul. District, 138

Temples of the Sakhalin Region

Resurrection Cathedral (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

Resurrection Cathedral

The place for the construction of the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ was consecrated by Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and Yuryev (Nechaev), who visited Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in August 1990.

Due to a lack of financial resources, construction began only in 1992. On February 23, 1993, the South Sakhalin and Kuril diocese was created. The temple under construction becomes the main one in the diocese.

The consecration of the built cathedral took place on January 7, 1995 on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. The cathedral was located at the intersection of Komsomolskaya and Communist Avenue.

Address:  St. Innocent Blvd., 3k1, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Region, 693010

Church of St. Innocent of Moscow (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

Church of St. Innocent of Moscow in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Until 1993, it was an ordinary residential building. After the formation of the South Sakhalin and Kuril diocese, in 1993, the administration of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk transferred the building of the Russian Orthodox Church, after which major repairs were made here. At first, the diocesan administration was located in the room. In 1994, the Office moved to another building, and an independent parish was formed on Pogranichnaya Street.

Over the years, the temple has become a spiritual and cultural center for residents of the city. A few years ago, in the parish of St. Innocent, a city Sunday school was formed, for many years a lecture hall for everyone was held. Many thousands of citizens and guests of the regional capital, mainly living in areas of the Sakhalin region, received holy baptism in the temple.

Address:  693000, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, ul. Border 38.

Telephone:  tel. 8 (4242) 43–61–28

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

The first steps for the construction of the temple were taken in 1996. The city hall of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk provided the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kuril diocese with a plot of land for the design of the temple complex. The constructed temple was planned to be named in honor of the Nativity of Christ. A cross was erected and consecrated at the site of the construction of the temple. However, construction could not be started for several more years.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The first stage of preparatory work began in the fall of 2003. Zero-cycle work was carried out: soil planning, excavation and foundation casting. At the same time, work was underway to finalize and coordinate the temple project.

By the fall of 2004, it was decided to build a wooden church on this site in honor of St. Nicholas, Archbishop Mir of the Lycian Wonderworker. On December 19, on the day of memory of St. Nicholas, a prayer service was served, and then the construction was consecrated. This day can be considered the birth of a new parish.

The construction of the temple progressed rapidly. The temple was assembled from a wooden beam, during the construction of the temple an original method of fastening the beam using birch dowels (wedges), which replaced metal nails, was used.

On April 1, 2005, the first Divine Liturgy was served in an unfinished church.

In the second half of April, the bulk of the work was completed and a priest was sent to the temple.

Address:  693000 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, pr. Mira, 379 "a".

Telephone: 8 (4242)75–32–28

This year, missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Priest Alexander DOCOLIN, visited Sakhalin

Closed area

Warm sea air, on two sides - high hills covered with greenery. In the velvet season, the capital of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk resembles Sochi. But the climate is difficult. High humidity is supplemented by sharp pressure drops and a ten percent lack of oxygen in the air, which is why you get tired of a habit quickly. In Soviet times, the island was closed, you could come here only by hiring a miner, an oilman, a fisherman or a lumberjack. A significant part of the population of Sakhalin is Slavs. About 10% are Koreans (they live mainly in the south of the island). A hundred years ago, the Japanese used them as cheap labor, and with the advent of the Red Army they “forgot” to take it with them. More and more Chinese appear, who, like Koreans, are engaged in trade, as well as minor repairs (for example, shoes). The Chinese still do not know Russian well and feel insecure. If you see a mountain of watermelons on the street - do not hesitate, these are Azerbaijanis. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, prices are Moscow (if not higher), you can only cheaply buy red caviar (1 thousand rubles for two kilos) and fish (healthy salmon - 150 rubles). Salary is also approaching the level of Moscow. For example, an average driver receives 15-16 thousand rubles. To rent a one-room apartment costs 8 thousand rubles a month. Hire a nanny for a child - 250 rubles. in a day. To arrange a child in kindergarten, you need to pay 10-15 thousand rubles per place. Payment for utilities - 3 thousand rubles for a two-room apartment. Therefore, the most difficult for the poor and the elderly, especially if they do not have their own household. For those living on the coast, the main product is fish. She is even fed chickens and pigs, which makes meat smell like fish.
Sakhalin is a school for missionaries, because you have to start talking about Christ and the Church here from the very beginning. The last Orthodox church on the island was destroyed in 1930. Until the beginning of the 90s, to confess or take communion, believers went to the mainland. In the last decade of the last century, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were virtually deleted from the Orthodox life of the country for economic reasons. Many residents of the island do not have a correct idea of \u200b\u200bChristianity, which is what sects use.
  On Victory Street in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a church and a Jehovah's Prayer House have already been built. Not spoiled by the attention of Orthodox compatriots from the mainland, the Sakhalin people do not consider them strangers. “Calm, intelligent people,” one city dweller told the NS correspondent about Jehovah’s.

The Catholic Church (left) and the Jehovah's Prayer House (right) - both built on Pobedy St.

Sakhalin residents themselves live mainly in houses such as the one on the right; architectural delights, as in the photo on the left - the privilege of banks and other commercial structures


The poorest and most unfortunate churches on Sakhalin are Orthodox. In the photo - Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

Parishioners - and unchanging grandmothers, ..

... and even Koreans, although in percentage terms they are few

Sect tacticsA group of Orthodox missionaries from Moscow consisted of 12 people: Father Alexander Dokolin, rector of the temples of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and St. Alexia, Met. Moscow, attached to the Central Design Bureau of MP, singers, cook, general practitioner, Sunday school teachers. For 17 days, missionaries visited more than ten settlements in different parts of the island. They visited military units, places of detention, hospitals, orphanages. Sometimes Priest Viktor Gorbach, head of the missionary department of the Sakhalin diocese, joined Muscovites. Priests communed, confessed, baptized. At meeting meetings organized by missionaries, people were of different ages, including youth, but, of course, mostly women. In every city or town, specially invited the official leaders of existing sects to meetings, but they usually did not come. “But it was felt that there were sectarians in the hall,” says Fr. Alexander. “For example, Baptists could be recognized by asking about the human right to baptism at a conscious age.”
The director of a construction school in the city of Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky (originally Alexandrovsk, in honor of Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. The "capital" of the Sakhalin penal servitude) asked for help with anti-sectarian literature. Her school is combined with a chef's school, among the teachers of which there are Jehovah's, and she does not know how to resist them. At the same time, according to the director of the city museum, in many settlements, Jehovah’s people are already rejected by people, they’re simply tired of it.
  However, sectarians are very active. In the same Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky they work intensively with young people from a multidisciplinary school that prepares teachers, doctors, etc. They attract children by free learning English, distributing textbooks. They also help with the housework - though, it is mainly the leading elite of the sect, and not ordinary members. Therefore, among the rank-and-file composition there is a constant turnover. The former Baptist told the missionaries about this.
  It is impressive how quickly sectarians build their houses of worship. In the Sakhalin city of Poronaysk, Korean Presbyterians (according to the Center of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, are ordinary Pentecostals who changed their name to attract the Korean population of the island to the sect) achieved the allocation of land for the temple. The Korean representative arrived, studied the situation - and money was immediately allocated. Piles were driven in, bricks were imported, walls were being erected. For one season, a house with an area of \u200b\u200b200-300 square meters. meters will be ready.
Hieromonk Filaret (Pryashnikov), rector of the Holy Cross Exaltation parish of the city of Tomari, said that the Presbyterians do this: you brought a new person to them - they give you a bottle of oil and a loaf of bread for him (this is very important for older people). A child came to the service - he got a badge. I scored five tokens - get a chocolate bar.
  Educational institutions are now sounding the alarm. The directors of the evening schools, for example, said that "as soon as the sectarians come, we are right over the threshold, and we’re glad for the Orthodox." “If there are Orthodox teachers,” Fr. Alexander, it will be possible to organize courses in spiritual disciplines in schools. But for this you need to educate people and give them materials on which to conduct classes. "
In the city of Smirnykh, named after the Soviet officer Leonid Smirnykh, who died heroically in a military operation to liberate Sakhalin in 1945, Muscovites met Archpriest Vasily Matskovsky. He was the first priest to come to Sakhalin in 1989, when the authorities allowed it. The father feeds the colony and builds a chapel there. In the early years he had to baptize hundreds of people.
  Napimer, in the village of Tymovskoye, where people came to be baptized from nearby settlements (Tymovskoye village is the former Derbenskoye. It is named after the head of the Tymovskaya prison Anton Derbin, who was killed by a prisoner. According to some, Derbin was very cruel, according to others - fair and caring about The heirs of Derbin donated the property left from him to the construction of the church) he baptized 150 people each time. But now the Orthodox education of those already baptized is more relevant. “Some parishioners of local churches do not even know how to properly approach the Holy Chalice. Having communed, for some reason they backed away from her for a drink, ”says Fr. Alexander.

Bay of Patience
The general feeling from Sakhalin is that people are abandoned there, they moan spiritually. So, after serving in the church in honor of St. Boris and Gleb in the village of Vakhrushev, which is located near the bay with the characteristic name Terpeniya Bay (Terpeniya Bay was called the bay by the Russian explorer of the North Pacific Matryn Spanberg, who, together with his team, suffered many deprivations in this bay in 1739), parishioners persistently asked missionaries convey to the lord a request for a permanent shepherd. A priest from Poronaysk regularly comes to them, but local residents want the priest to live with them all the time. In Poronaysk itself (known throughout the country in the 1970s as the record-breaking fishing collective farm “Friendship”) there is a constantly serving priest. But some locals said to the missionaries that they were going to the Presbyterians because they were more interesting. There they will sing psalms, and they will talk about God, and about helping each other. “The spaces on the island are simply huge. In total, we drove one and a half thousand kilometers. - talks about. Alexander. - 43 priests throughout Sakhalin - this is a drop in the ocean. They are simply physically unable to cover such a territory. And a huge plus that we came there and supported them. In some parishes, the local young fathers did not know how to organize the confession and communion of the sick in the hospital. There is no such continuity as in Central Russia: a parishioner, an altar boy, a deacon, then a priest. Father was ordained, he served a little in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and he is sent to the parish, where he has to independently solve numerous problems. Most often he is left to his own devices, but he lacks “professional” knowledge. ” Local hieromonk Filaret says: “They ordained us, but they did not teach us how to be a priest. Sometimes a person addresses a problem, and you don’t know what to answer. ”

The edge of the Russian land
For many people, the word "Sakhalin" is associated with the word "hard labor", but the Russian government closed it back in 1906. In Soviet times, the island was completely included in the country's economy, and its inhabitants were not brought up by Sakhalin. They came from Voronezh, Tambov, Orel, from the Urals, from Siberia, etc. They are the bearers of the Orthodox culture. But many are returning to the mainland. For example, in the city of Mgachi (a very beautiful place on the banks of the Tatar Strait), when two mines were closed, two out of eight thousand people remained. In the city of Chekhov, according to Bishop Daniel, twelve thousand lived, and four remained. Imagine, in the middle of the town there are apartment buildings with broken frames and doors, as if the war had passed.
  On the eastern coast of the island, from the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, the Americans, on the basis of the joint Russian, American, Japanese and Indian projects Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2, extract oil, gas and drive from the north to the south to the city of Korsakov. There they built a gas liquefaction plant and built a terminal. From there, it’s all taken by barges and taken to other countries. Under the agreement, part of the oil workers in the city of Okhe are Russian specialists. They are self-employed - 40 days off the shelf, then five days off, then again 40 days. They have it clearly: the beginning of the working day, lunch, the end of the working day. Do not smoke, do not drink, be sure to work in a helmet. All this is observed, wages are paid on time. But the money is small. During the same time, the mine in Mgachi would receive the same money. But Mgachi purposefully closed the mine. As the locals said, workers left work in the mine in the evening, and in the morning they arrived - the mine was closed. Live as you want.
  Missionaries with Abbot Vitaly, rector of the Pokrovsky Monastery (the only one on the island where eight monks are struggling), climbed Juno’s hill near Korsakov and a prayer service was served at the worship cross standing there.

Electric Priest

Governor of the Sakhalin Region Ivan Malakhov and Bishop Daniel of Sakhalin and Kuril

Prior to the arrival of the missionaries, the local authorities did not everywhere with due attention to the clergy and Orthodoxy. In one of the villages in the temple last year, heating was turned off for non-payment of utilities. In the spring I had to serve in a cold temple. The attention of the governor of the region to this missionary trip allowed solving problems with transport and drawing the attention of local authorities to the needs of Orthodox parishes. “The authorities noticed us,” admitted priest hieromonk Filaret. “In Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, we with the local priest buried at home the mother of the mayor of the city. The joint prayer of the priests, the singing of the choir of missionaries were perceived by the relatives as human participation in their grief, which means that the heart will open at the head of the administration and to the needs of the parish, ”adds Fr. Alexander.
  According to Svetlana from the missionary group, the most vivid impression of Sakhalin was meetings with local priests. They are very pious and zealous, but do not consider their labors a feat. Most Orthodox churches here are located in rebuilt premises - a water pump, a kindergarten, a post office, a savings bank, a store or a residential building. There are only 12 specially built churches. Parishes live extremely poorly, and priests, in addition to serving, are forced to deal with household issues. Often, priests master and specialty workers. For example, hieromonk Filaret even has a certificate that says: "an electrician priest."
  If necessary, for Orthodoxy the fathers stand up as a wall. As it was in Tomari, where the Jehovahists wanted to build their house of worship. Priests managed to organize protests, connected the public, sent appeals to all labor collectives - who are Jehovah's Witnesses, posted posters and announcements throughout the city. Jehovah’s even threatened to sue “for libel.” But, by the grace of God, everything worked out. Jehovah’s got a turn from the gate.
  “The optimism of the Sakhalin priests, their perseverance and courage is an example for us how to serve Christ,” says Fr. Alexander.

September 3, 2005 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk celebrations were held on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War - the surrender of Japan


The consecration of the worship cross and the procession were performed




A festive military parade was also held.


The Japanese also attended events - as guests

Alexey REUTSKIY


Moscow - Sakhalin

Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands - the edge of Russian land, where before the revolution there were very few Orthodox churches, and by 1930 not a single one was preserved. The Orthodox priest reappeared on the island only in 1989. Until now, the “island” diocese is in dire need of the help of the mainland. We asked Bishop DANIIL, the bishop of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kuril, to tell which one.

Vladyka, what is the spiritual situation in the region?
  - If everywhere in Russia people rejoice when Orthodox churches are being built, then here you can come across not only indifference, but also protests. In particular, marine border guards repeatedly asked me to build an Orthodox church on Shikotan (the closest island to Japan). I turned to the authorities for help, the officials expressed bewilderment: Vladyka, you have strange fantasies, you will not find money for this! When preparations for construction began, rumors began to spread among residents that the construction was being financed from the regional budget through social programs. People got worried. We began to meet with the population and explain why the temple was needed, and told that the construction was carried out at the expense of philanthropists. Today the temple on Shikotan is the decoration of the island. Celebrations are held next to him, newlyweds are photographed against his background. But most importantly, during the service he is always full.
  Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of Sakhalin residents is at the level of spiritual childhood. And it takes tremendous effort and just time for a change in consciousness to occur.
  Probably, in this state of affairs there is nothing strange, because until recently, the region was aloof from all all-Russian religious events. Our Sakhalin students ask me: “Vladyka, maybe Orthodoxy is the most backward religion, the lot of clergy and some grandmothers? Very smart, successful people in worldly life come to us with lectures. But they, as a rule, are atheists or other faiths. ”
  Fortunately, the situation is starting to change. Last year, we visited the relics of the holy martyr Elizabeth and the nun Barbara, this year - the relics of St. George the Victorious. Twice a year, deacon Andrei Kuraev and historian Vladimir Makhnach come to us. We have opened a branch of PSTGU, and teachers come to us every month from Moscow. But this is still not enough.
  Today, there are 43 Orthodox parishes in the Sakhalin Region, which is 35 percent of 125 officially registered religious associations.
Sectarians actively use the isolation of the population from their spiritual roots and the difficult socio-economic situation (a constant rise in prices for literally everything). Last year, the island was visited by more than 160 preachers of various sects. Foreign "preachers" have good funding - according to various sources, from 600 to 800 thousand dollars a year are allocated from abroad for each denomination.
  Our forces are not equal. My priests feed not only their own, but also the nearby parishes, work in military units, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the GUIN system. In addition, the diocese is experiencing an acute shortage of active, educated lay people. There are parishioners with higher education, but they still need to learn missionary work.
  Therefore, two missionary groups that visited our region as part of the Orthodox festival, the arrival of a large delegation from Moscow, which included Orthodox politicians, scientists and public figures, Orthodox veterans who liberated Sakhalin from the Japanese, rendered us invaluable assistance. This can be compared with medical intervention, when vessels are cleaned to a diseased organ so that there is an influx of fresh blood. But, I repeat, this is not enough.

- What specific help do you need?
  - The first thing we need is the help of catechists and missionaries. If someone wants to come, we will be very happy. In our diocese there is a Missionary department that coordinates this work.
  The second necessary thing is strengthening the parishes. Assistance in providing high-quality Orthodox literature - primarily for beginners, teaching aids for the library of the Sakhalin branch of PSTU, popular anti-sectarian literature and classics.
  We need audio and video cassettes with films about Orthodoxy, about the Orthodox life of Russia, about monasteries, shrines, the life of Orthodox people. Lectures by Dvorkin, Osipov, Kuraev, Anthony of Sourozhsky and others. The books of Paisius Svyatogorets - our contemporary, Abba Dorotheus and other fathers, who, after many centuries, are perceived as contemporaries. All this will greatly help in strengthening Orthodoxy in our Far Eastern islands.

It was formed on February 23, 1993 by the definition of the ever-memorable His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Diocesan statistics (as of 2009)

Deanery - 8. Parishes - 52. Divine services are performed in 45 churches, 8 prayer houses and 6 chapels, 6 of which are located in hospitals, military units and in places of detention. Temples under construction - 4. Monastery for men - 1.

The diocese has 57 clergymen: priests - 49 (4 of them on a three-year business trip), 8 deacons (1 of them on a three-year business trip).

Monasteries

In the city of Korsakov there is a man’s monastery in honor of the Protection of the Mother of God, a brethren - 3 people.

Religious education

The diocesan department of religious education and catechesis operates. Sunday schools for children and adults are open at 20 parishes, Orthodox libraries at 29 parishes. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a spiritual and educational center began to operate, on the basis of which meetings and discussions with young people are held, various events are organized for children and adults.

The department is cooperating with two higher educational institutions and a training center at the Department of Internal Affairs of the Sakhalin Region.

The department organized the holding of an Orthodox youth camp in Daewoo and a conference of Orthodox teachers in Sakhalin. Representatives of the department took part in the Far Eastern Youth Forum “SeliSakh - 2009” and the regional conference “Tolerance of Youth”.

Youth work

There is a regional public organization "Brotherhood of Alexander Nevsky." Members of the organization regularly travel to the districts of the region, taking part in the actions of the diocesan missionary department. An Orthodox historical club has been opened in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the meetings of the participants of which are held in the form of round tables, lectures, disputes, seminars and conferences. Since 2008, the youth organization "Orthodox Corps on Sakhalin" has been working in the diocese.

Missionary activity

There is a diocesan missionary department under the diocesan administration. With the assistance of the members of the Brotherhood of Alexander Nevsky organization, in July 2009, a missionary trip took place in two remote areas of the region, during which services were held, meetings and concerts with local residents, and government social institutions were visited. The Orthodox Corps on Sakhalin organization regularly holds socially significant events and actions addressed to modern youth.

Representatives of the missionary department took part in all significant educational conferences held in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and traveled to the city of Khabarovsk for the St. Dimitri educational readings.

Work with power structures

There is a diocesan department for interaction with the Armed Forces. The clergy regularly visits the personnel of military units and internal affairs bodies, conducts catechetical lectures, performs divine services and treks, blesses military facilities, and takes part in celebrations and celebrations. During the period of conscription companies, clergymen hold meetings and parting conversations with conscripts, perform prayers.

On the territory of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Region there are three correctional labor institutions, in two of them house churches are opened, in one there is a chapel. Twice a month, clergymen visit prisoners.

Prepared by the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate

Orthodoxy on Sakhalin. 20 years of missionary and pastoral work

On Sakhalin, events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the formation of the South Sakhalin and Kuril diocese continue. From the point of view of the history of the Orthodox Church, this is a very short time, but over the past two decades, a long and difficult path has been traveled from the atheist region, where there was not a single Orthodox church, not a single priest to a vibrant and active diocese with 58 communities and almost 50 new ones temples. And if you consider that life on the islands is significantly different from life on the mainland, then the enormous work, not without the hardships and sorrows, and the ruling bishop, and the clergy, and laity will be a little more understandable.

For the diocese itself, the celebrations held were primarily a debriefing and an attempt to comprehend the path traveled by "island Orthodoxy" in 20 years.

February 15 at the city library named after O.P. Kuznetsov in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk hosted the first event dedicated to the anniversary of the diocese. A wide range of readers are presented with unique diary entries by the missionary priest Alexander Gorodny, who during the years of his service in Sakhalin (1900-1908) described the life of the Sakhalin indigenous ethnic group. Father Alexander’s diary entitled “A Trip to the Baptized Foreigners of Northern Sakhalin in February 1908” - This is a unique report on travel through the camps of local nationalities. The new edition is illustrated with photographs of the indigenous people of the early twentieth century.

The most significant event and people who worked on the church field are dedicated to the video trilogy prepared for the anniversary by the information and analytical department of the diocese. The video edition includes three documentaries telling about the life of the diocese in different years. The first two films - “The Sun of Russia Rises Here” and “My Temple” are already familiar to the Sakhalin audience, and the shooting of the third film “20 Years” ended literally on the eve of the celebration. An original appendix to the trilogy was the graphic presentation “Historical Retrospective“ The Formation of Spiritual Life on the Islands ”, compiled by one of the oldest clergymen of the Sakhalin diocese, rector of the Holy Protection Monastery in Korsakov, Father Superior Seraphim (Skipin).

On February 22, Sakhalin clergy and flocks met the first guests: Archbishop Jonathan of Abakan and Khakass, who was 1997-99. headed the island department, as well as the bishop of Kyzyl and Tyvinsky Feofan and Amur and Chegdomyn Nicholas - both bishops also previously served in the Sakhalin diocese as priests. Literally from the ramp, they visited the exhibition of the regional museum of local lore "The Sakhalin and Kuril diocese is dedicated to ...". In the center of the exposition there is a casket made personally by Saint Innocent of Moscow, an apostle of America and Siberia, who devoted his life to the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Yakutia, Khabarovsk Territory. A valuable item was delivered to Sakhalin from the Khabarovsk Museum named after N. Grodekova. The exposition also presents portraits of the bishops who governed the island diocese, and photographs telling about the activities of its departments, as well as old and modern church utensils, vestments of clergy.

“Each of you has contributed to the development of Orthodoxy in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. This exhibition, which displays your portraits, proves once again that you are remembered and appreciated on our land, ”said Bishop Tikhon of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kuril, welcoming the guests.

The next day, the head of the delegation from His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill arrived on Sakhalin land, Metropolitan Daniil of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsky, who, as bishop, headed the island department for 9 years. Bishops visited the parishes of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and then performed the All-Night Vigil and the next day the Divine Liturgy in the Resurrection Cathedral.

“I am pleased to be here again,” said Metropolitan Daniel. - As if not two years have passed since the day I left the city, but only a few weeks. We gathered under the arches of this wonderful temple, which was built by Bishop Jonathan, in which Bishop Theophanes worked, and here I ordained Bishop Nicholas to the priesthood. We are all accomplices of the revival of Orthodoxy on Sakhalin land, I congratulate you on this touching holiday and wish you to increase faith in this beautiful land, ”said Metropolitan Daniel.

“Today, when we are present at this celebration, it is difficult to imagine that there were no parishes or priests 20 years ago,” continued Bishop Feofan, “during my visit I felt a particular prayer for this temple. When we enter some Sakhalin temple now, we feel that we are staying there with a calm soul and a joyful heart. I think this is your merit, dear archpastors, and all those Sakhalin people who daily come to the temple, blessing it with their prayers. "

“The God-fighting power once set itself the goal of turning this land into a reserve of atheism. But we know that this land was irrigated by the work of great missionaries, priests, preachers. These works did not remain fruitless. Today, despite their feat, we adorn the Sakhalin land with the triumph of Orthodoxy. And therefore I want to wish all of you according to the biblical commandment to keep this blessed land in faith, ”Bishop Nikolai joined in the congratulations.

“The Divine Sakhalin land. For such a period of time she revealed four bishops. It’s probably hard to find somewhere, and it only says that this land is fertile with its people who easily respond to calls to turn to the Lord, ”Bishop Tikhon emphasized in his response.

On February 25, as part of the anniversary celebration, the results of the Orthodox and spiritual-moral journalism contest “In the beginning was the Word ...” were summed up, where the honorary guest of the anniversary events, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, addressed the participants of the creative contest Sergey Chapnin. He congratulated the winners of the contest and wished reporters to cover the church life of the region in all its diversity and peer into this life not only critically, more often write about positive examples, that could inspire and support the reader, give him hope. The diocese presented the winners of the competition with a pilgrimage to the shrines of Moscow and the Moscow region, which will take place after Easter, and holders of diplomas of the second degree will travel to the holy places of the Khabarovsk Territory.

On the evening of the same day, a gala concert in honor of the 20th anniversary of the diocese was held in the cinema and concert hall "October" in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It began with a screening of a documentary specially prepared for the anniversary date. Viewers were told about the history of the development of Orthodoxy in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, the construction of the first chapels and temples here, the activities of bishops and clergy, as well as the implementation of spiritual and educational programs. The archpastors congratulated the audience on the holiday and prayerfully wished to further strengthen the Orthodox faith on Sakhalin land. Bishop Tikhon was greeted by representatives of the regional government, the regional Duma, and other officials, including Sergei Chapnin.

Accepting congratulations, Bishop Tikhon noted that he considers the main achievement over the past years to be a deeper understanding of the flock's role as a temple - not only churches of brick or logs are being built, but also temples of human souls. At the same time, Bishop Tikhon wished the audience to strive to be worthy citizens of the earthly Fatherland, in order to become worthy sons and daughters of the Heavenly Fatherland in the future. The evening was continued by the performances of the choir of the Resurrection Cathedral and the creative teams of the city.

Events in various settlements of the region, dedicated to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Yuzhno-Sakhalin and Kuril diocese, will be held throughout 2013. The scientific-practical conference “Sakhalin Cyril and Methodius Readings” will be dedicated to this date.

Artem Pogosov, Daria Vashchenko,

information Analysis Department

South Sakhalin and Kuril Diocese

Father Victor, among the clergy of the South Sakhalin and Kuril Eparchy you are the only indigenous Sakhalin. Tell us, what was your way to the Church?

-   Not the only, but, indeed, I am a Sakhalin in the second generation, born and raised on the island. Here he graduated from school and institute with a degree in jurisprudence. The revival of Orthodoxy on Sakhalin began in 1989, when the first Orthodox church was opened in the name of blessed Ksenia of Petersburg. A private residential building was adapted for this temple. In 1994, also in a former residential building, the church of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, was opened. A year later, I became his parishioner, then an altar boy, a reader, and in 2002, when Bishop Daniel came to the South Sakhalin department, I was ordained a deacon. On August 1 of that year, on the day of memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov, I became a priest.

You are the head of the Mission Department. Who is your missionary activity directed at first?

The specifics of the missionary activity in our diocese is such that, first of all, it is aimed at the parishioners of the Orthodox churches themselves, as well as at all those inhabitants of the island whom we are trying to interest in our Orthodox tradition. If we talk about concrete steps, then every year on the feast of the Nativity of Christ we hold a concert in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Entrance to this concert is free, and everyone can come. Every year there are about six hundred spectators; As a rule, the room is full. Every year, the Mission Department prepares and conducts the celebration of the day of myrrh-bearing women. As you know, the officially recognized Women's Day in Russia is March 8, but this holiday is fundamentally alien to the Christian worldview and Orthodox tradition. We also have a gala concert on Myrrh-bearing Women Week. Our task is to explain to the Sakhalin people the difference between the eighth of March and the Orthodox women's holiday, to destroy the stereotype of “international women's day” that has developed over the past seven decades .

We are engaged in educational activities. We have one-year spiritual courses that help us train cadres of readers, regents of church choirs, and Sunday school teachers. In addition, we have a spiritual and educational lecture hall for everyone. This year we organized a fraternity at the Missionary Department in the name of the Holy Right Prince Alexander Nevsky, at which a youth sports training club was created. The guys are engaged in Russian martial arts, and after these classes we conduct discussions with them on spiritual topics, talk about Orthodoxy and the history of our Fatherland.

On the basis of this sports club, which mainly consists of parishioners of the church of St. Innocent, in which I serve, we decided to play football on Sundays. Matches occur after the evening service. On the one hand, it unites people, because team play always unites, and on the other, it is an effective form of out-of-service communication. I think such communication is very important for any parish and in the Orthodox community in general. Unfortunately, our Church is very much affected by the fact that people even in the city rarely see each other, and sometimes they don’t even say hello. How can we talk about unity in the Faith, that "we love one another, but are unanimous in confession" of people who do not communicate and do not even say hello to each other? Therefore, it is very important that there are other, out-of-service forms of communication in the ward. One of these forms is sports competitions. Recently, we had two friendly meetings with the Resurrection Cathedral. There is its own team, which includes priests, deacons, altars and ponomari. The cathedral won the first match, and the parish of St. Innocent won the second. Last Sunday we played with a military unit - there is an air regiment across the street from us. The meeting was a draw, but they and we really liked this form of communication.

Separately, I want to mention how this year I took part in the premiere of the film "Passion of Christ" by Mel Gibson. The film is now going on in Russia, and although the attitude towards it is ambiguous, it nevertheless touches on the religious issues that each person faces. It is very important that the Church does not self-alienate from their decision, because some of the people who come to watch the film are our parishioners, these are people who lively touch on issues of religion, Faith. It is very important who will become their interlocutor after watching this film - sectarians or us? We agreed with the Department of Culture, which was involved in the display of "The Passion of Christ", that we would distribute Orthodox brochures, books, icons before each show. Everyone was given a commentary on the film by Oleg Ulyanov, a famous specialist in church archeology, a teacher at the St. Tikhon Theological Institute. In addition, before the session, I spoke a short introduction. During the week, the cinema was visited by about 10 thousand spectators. I think that our presence has greatly benefited the Sakhalin people who came to see the film.

There are many sects in Sakhalin. How do you counteract them?

Our main goal is not the struggle against sects, but the spread of the Orthodox worldview. As in music, a person needs to instill the right taste, and then he will be able to distinguish bad music from good. Sects are, so to speak, always “pop”, always that which is simple, primitive. It is very important to show people the depth and beauty of Orthodoxy. This is our primary concern.

We have registered 43 Orthodox parishes. On the territory of the Sakhalin Region there are 70 faiths, and the total number of religious organizations is 135. The first place among them in terms of the number of parishioners is occupied by Orthodox, the second is occupied by Protestant sects, including those of Korean descent.

We are also committed to simply informing the public of the information that sects are hiding about themselves. For example, we know that such a dangerous totalitarian organization as Jehovah's Witnesses is banned in Moscow, and they built a house of worship in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. We have active Mormons and other religious organizations whose centers are located outside of Russia. A lot of missionaries come. In 2003, according to special services, 250 missionaries from different countries of the world came to us, and from the most exotic places - Africa, Southeast Asia, America. All this, of course, is very well funded. According to various sources, about six hundred thousand dollars are allocated annually for each foreign sect operating in Russia. To master such money, they have to try hard.

Their agitation will remain ineffective if we have a strong Orthodox Church, if we engage in educational work; people will not have a desire to look for some fantastic religious centers. That is why we now regularly conduct various events. This year we held two scientific and practical conferences. In February, a large delegation of the Missionary Department of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Archbishop John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, came to our island. Together we held a conference on the spiritual security of the Far East. The resolution of the conference emphasized that a solution to the problem is possible only if the spiritual authorities, the administration of the region, and the public are united; if we all realize that the religious organizations recently created on our territory mainly contribute to the dismemberment of Russia and the exclusion of the Far East and Sakhalin from the mainland. If the authorities do not understand the danger posed by these organizations, then after some time we can really lose Sakhalin because religious security can be even more important than economic security. Unfortunately, today the Church is almost the only institution in the region that deals with the religious security of Russia.

After this conference, on the initiative of the Sakhalin Oblast Administration, another conference was held on the topic “The role of Orthodoxy in the life of the Sakhalin Oblast and the Far East”. It was attended by representatives of the Vladivostok and Kamchatka dioceses, there were speakers from Khabarovsk and Magadan, and, of course, there were a lot of representatives of our Sakhalin Oblast. The clergy and secular persons spoke. Priest Oleg Stenyaev, the head of the Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Unconventional Religions, deacon Andrei Kuraev, teacher of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute, priest Andrei Bliznyuk also came to visit us. It is gratifying that the conference helped to unite the efforts of the clergy of our diocese and representatives of the scientific intelligentsia of the region. We are far from the center, and in some secular scientific circles it seems that Orthodoxy is foreign to science, and priests are not very educated. Our conference just helped teachers of secular universities see that the Orthodox have a lot of knowledge, that this is a very dynamic spiritual tradition, based on which they could develop their science. The result was very positive, and I hope we will develop it.

As you know, Sakhalin is the eastern outpost of Russia, and religious security is a component of state security. Does the Sakhalin authorities find this understanding?

- Unfortunately, today there is no clear state policy regarding religious organizations. We see that many secular leaders verbally invariably support Orthodoxy, but this is very weakly enshrined in law. In some areas, government officials even refuse to meet with priests. Obtaining permission to build a temple can take a whole year. We believe that the priority of the Orthodox Church should be formalized legally. Of course, not in terms of restricting other faiths, but we must be aware that the contribution of Orthodoxy is significantly different from the contribution of some other religious organizations that arose ten to twenty years ago. Until it is legally formalized, and I really hope that the Law on the Traditional Religions of Russia will be adopted, this inconsistency in the policy of the authorities towards the Church will continue. As an illustration of this, I will cite the following fact: in the late 90s and early 2000s in the center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk several land plots were given for the construction of prayer buildings of heterodox denominations. As I already said, Jehovah's Witnesses erected a house of worship for themselves, in a densely populated part of the city, a huge Catholic church was rebuilt near residential buildings. All this testifies precisely to the absence of a clear state policy regarding religious organizations. Why a temple for one and a half thousand people to a religious community with fifty to sixty adherents? Why is the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses being built in the city center next to an elite school? We even went through a lawsuit on this issue. Residents of nearby houses appealed to the court with a request to ban construction. When the authorities transferred the unfinished building to the new owners, the neighboring residents were not informed that they were sectarians, that there would be a prayer house of Jehovah's Witnesses. As you know, this religious organization is not just engaged in the worship, but aims to attract the maximum number of adherents. People constantly came to residential buildings, phoned apartments, distributed brochures and magazines. These publications were almost forcibly handed over to children and invited to their prayer meetings. Result: we have already received about a dozen appeals of citizens who say that if the activity of the sectarians is not limited, then they themselves will organize house squads, on duty, catch these people and warn them so that they do not appear in the houses. All this may ultimately result in a serious religious conflict. The authorities should decide this question. If they do not deal with the religious security of citizens, this can be very dangerous for our society.

Living on Sakhalin is not easy. The economic situation is very difficult, especially in the Kuril Islands. Remoteness from Moscow, the lack of direct rail links leads to higher prices for goods and products, a good half of which are imported from the mainland. There is talk that we will cancel the northern benefits, and this, of course, will cause a serious blow to the Sakhalin people. The cost of living on the island is not comparable with the mainland, and surcharges for northern benefits partially compensate for this gap. If the state cancels these compensations, then people will leave in large numbers. But, in any case, you can’t sit back and think endlessly, “what next?” We need to build our future ourselves, work daily, doing our job with honor and dignity. We sometimes feel divorced from Russia, but we really hope that Russia remembers us, we hope for support from the state, which should understand that our Fatherland begins with Sakhalin.