Old pre-revolutionary photos and panoramas of our city show you many domes topped with crosses. This was not uncommon in Central Russia. Even now, the desire to revive the old and build the new is noticeable! It has been eight centuries since the Tula land learned about Orthodoxy. The rebellious and warlike tribes of our ancestors, the vyatichi, accepted baptism with great difficulty and for a huge number of years. The feats of the monks, the miracles of faith, and the Grace of God helped to do what had been intended. During this process, the territories of the present Tula Region belonged to the Ryazan diocese and then, to the Kolomna diocese. Only in 1799, by decree of Emperor Paul I, a separate Tula diocese emerged. Churches and monasteries had been actively erected to that time either! First, many of them had been wooden, however, stone construction began to come to the religious architecture of our province. Nowadays, you may find the remains of ancient shrines in the most remote corners of the region when hiking through the forests and abandoned villages. The oldest survived church in Tula Region is located in Nikolo-Gastun. It dates back to 1660. The oldest in Tula is the Annunciation Church, which was built in 1692 and sponsored by monk-priest Theodosius. This Church keeps a miracle-working shrine, the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. It was this icon that stopped the fire in the city in 1844. The following monasteries may be distinguished as the most visited places by pilgrims in Tula and the region: - Makaryevsky Saint-Vvedensky Monastery in Zhabyn (founded in 1585); - Shcheglovsky Monastery (shrines: parts of the cross of Christ, parts of the Holy Sepulchre, and parts of the relics of Saint Pantaleon); - Holy Kazan Monastery in Kolyupanovo (shrine with the relics of the blessed Euphrosinia, the holy wonder-working spring); - Свято-Успенский (the Icon of the Mother of God "Seeking Out of the Lost" blessed by Matrona Nikonova, fragments of the relics of Prince Alexander Nevsky, Matrona Nikonova, Peter and Fevronia, and many others); - Venyov-Nikolsky (relics of Saint Pimen). And the following churches as well: - Assumption Cathedral (the tomb of Saint John of Tula); - The Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Sebino (the museum and part of relics of Matrona Nikonova); - The Church of Sergius of Radonezh on the Red Hill of the Kulikov Field (architectural monument by the famous master Shchusev). The page contains cards of holy places recommended for visiting. Photos, addresses, and contacts are attached. The Grace of God awaits your presence on the Tula land! We are waiting for you to visit!
