Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary

The " Spiritual Rules of 1721 " of Peter I established compulsory spiritual education for the children of clergy. The first of the diocesan bishops to respond to the decree of the emperor was the bishop of Nizhny Novgorod and Alatyr Pitirim . At the bishop’s house in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin on March 29, 1721 (Wednesday, the sixth week of Great Lent ), two grammar (Hellenic-Greek and Slavic-Russian) schools and one preparatory alphabet school were opened. In the first two schools, children who already had some training and showed good results in the selection were selected, and still needing preparation was sent to the primer (the majority came in the first set). From that moment, the countdown began in the history of the first seminary in Russia, which gave the country outstanding church shepherds, scholars, theologians and enlighteners.

In 1743, Bishop Dmitry (Sechenov) bought a “stone structure” from the merchant widow Pushnikova at his own expense and the seminary was transferred to Blagoveshchensk Square , which later became known as Seminarskaya. The seminary was a complex of several buildings:

in the following form: a stone building <...>, which housed four "schools" or classes; the top floor of this building was plastered inside and covered with tesa; in this building the seminary office was also located. The second stone building <...> consisted of a bakery and a bathhouse on the lower floor, and two large rooms were arranged on the upper floor to accommodate bureaucratic students of the Seminary and two cold rooms for the library; this building was also covered with tesa. Finally, the last stone building at the Seminary was an octagonal cookery <...>. In addition to the stone, there were several more wooden buildings: one of them served as a room for teachers, the rest of the buildings were services: a cookhouse, two cellars, a barn for bread supplies, etc.

- Dobrovolsky M. On the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary // Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan Vedomosti. - 1895. - No. 24: article quotation: Rectors of the Nizhny Novgorod Ascension Pechersky and Resurrection New Jerusalem Monasteries, Archimandrite Jerome (Ponyatsky) and Gideon (Ilyin) // Nizhny Novgorod Antiquity. - 2005. - No. 10 .

In 1823, the old seminary building burned down and in its place in 1826-1829, "at the public expense" (122 thousand rubles), a new one was built; to this day, on the Minin and Pozharsky Square, is this eight-column building. The lower floor of the building housed the Nizhny Novgorod Theological College, as well as the lower (literature) and middle (philosophical) classes of the seminary; on average, seminary upper class rooms, a meeting room, a board and the apartments of its rector and inspector. The seminary was here until 1918, when the building was nationalized by the Soviet government. However, as early as 1880, the issue of repairing seminar rooms, or of moving the seminary to another place was discussed.

In 1886, a special Church Treehouse (a warehouse of ancient church utensils , vestments and books) was organized at the seminary, which gave rise to the formation of the first church museum. There were ancient manuscripts, old printed books and documents, monuments of painting, iconography , banknotes and various church utensils.

The seminary program was very eventful. In addition to general educational specialized subjects, various languages ​​were taught: Greek, Latin, Jewish, French and German, as well as the exact sciences: physics, mathematics. In addition, the program included: painting, icon painting and even gymnastics .

The harmonious traditions, the grateful memory of the first-time teachers, patrons and tutors, the constant desire to improve the educational system and life - all this allowed the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary to become one of the best educational institutions in Russia. Within its walls, many outstanding hierarchs of the Church, pious pastors, active missionaries, famous scientists and preachers grew:

• The Nizhny Novgorod seminary became the first step in the spiritual education of the future Bishop Sergius (Stragorodsky) , the master of the St. Petersburg Academy, its rector, the largest scholar-theologian, and the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
• In the field of church history, a graduate of the Nizhny Novgorod seminary Peter Vasilievich Znamensky found his calling. Students of theological educational institutions still use his works.
• Another graduate of the seminary, Alexander L. Katansky , became famous for his scientific research, whose works are still considered one of the most authoritative in the field of liturgical practice.

See also: Graduates of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary

The revolutionary events of 1917 for many decades interrupted the activities of the Nizhny Novgorod seminary. Seminar facilities, all values, a rich library and a wonderful archaeological museum were selected by the Soviet government. Much has been plundered and perished. Seminar temple in honor of St. John of Damascus was destroyed to the ground.

For 75 years, there were no religious schools in the diocese. In 1993, a religious school was opened at the revived Blagoveshchensky Monastery , which worked from the first days under the seminary program. Classes, living quarters and a refectory library were located in the fraternal building of the monastery. The first rector of the revived seminary was the abbot of the Annunciation monastery (then still hieromonk , now bishop of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssky ) Kirill (Pokrovsky) .

In 1995, the school was transformed into a seminary, having received the status of a higher educational institution . In 1997, the seminary occupied the building of a training and production plant located outside the monastery wall. In 2006, the reconstruction of the seminary building at the Pohvalinsky Congress was completed; the third floor was designated as a seminar dormitory. In December 2007, after completion of repair work on the territory of the Annunciation Monastery, the Church of St. Alexis of Moscow was opened, which became a seminary; Divine services are held by priests - teachers, leaders and graduates of the seminary, with the direct participation of seminarians who daily carry clerical , Ponomarian and other obediences . Since 2007, on the basis of the seminary, continuing education courses have been opened for clergy of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese .

In addition to the traditional publication of the Damascene seminary magazine, the Proceedings of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary are also published, which publish scientific articles by teachers, student work, and new curricula. The seminary released several collections with verses from the seminary confessor, Father Superior Andrei (Yarunin). After the transfer to the library of the Nizhny Novgorod Seminary of the book fund of the late Metropolitan Nikolai (Kutepov) (1977-2001), a catalog was published in 2007, where all the books of the fund are systematically placed.

In May 2019, a monument to the ever-memorable Metropolitan Nikolai (Kutepov) of Nizhniy Novgorod and Arzamassky was unveiled near the building of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary. The installation of a bronze sculpture of Vladyka, a participant in the Great Patriotic War , is timed to the 95th anniversary of his birth and to Victory Day ^[1] .

After rebirth:

• Cyril (Pokrovsky) (June 6, 1995 - August 17, 2004)
• George (Danilov) (since 2004)

• Tikhov. A. I. Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary in 1818-40. - Nizhny Novgorod: type. Lip. corrected., 1905. - 186 p.
• Tikhov A.I. Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary in 1842-51 - Nizhny Novgorod: type. Lip. corrected., 1905. - 268 p.
• Tikhov A. I. Brief memorable historical note of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary. - Nizhny Novgorod: type. Lip. corrected., 1905. - 83 p.
• Proceedings of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary: a collection of works by teachers and students of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary. - 2003-2014.

• Seminary Nizhny Novgorod theological site "Russian Orthodoxy"
• Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary