The role of Bishop Feofil (Raev) in the church construction of the Tambov diocese in the late 18th – early 19th centuries

Abstract

In the 18th century, local bishops were responsible for the construction of new churches. They were primarily responsible for approving the project on site, permitting construction, and they were also the main initiators of the construction of new churches in cities and monasteries. The article examines the role of Bishop Feofil (Raev) in church construction in the Tambov Diocese in the late 18th — early 19th centuries. The authors conclude that Bishop Feofil opened a new era in the life of the Tambov Diocese and predetermined the model for the construction of city and monastery cathedrals in this region for many years to come. The bishop's personal participation in church construction was enormous and decisive. In conditions when monasteries received insignificant funding from the state, and donations were spent only on essential needs, the bishop was able to organize unprecedented construction in several monasteries at once. Bishop Feofil's construction program was not limited to the arrangement of monasteries. During the management of the Tambov flock, as the clerical records show, more than three hundred churches were built in cities and villages according to plans approved and charters issued by Bishop Theophilus.