On February 20, 2024, teachers and pupils of the Tauride Theological Seminary prayerfully honored the memory of St. Gurius, Archbishop of Tauride, who was born on this day exactly 190 years ago.
Information about the date of birth of the saint was missing until recently. It was known that Grigory Platonovich Karpov (the lay name of Archbishop Guria) came from the clergy. Father ‒ priest Platon Ivanovich Karpov, grandfather ‒ priest Ivan Karpovich, great—grandfather - priest Karp Andreevich. All of them served in the temples of the Saratov province.
The priestly family of the Karpovs has its roots in the XVIII century, where it acquires ancestors who came from the clergy. The genealogy of Saint Gurius and his date of birth were established by the works of researchers from Saratov based on the materials of the State Archive of the Saratov region.
On the occasion of the saint's birthday, a prayer service with the reading of the akathist was held at the shrine with his holy relics in the lower church of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was headed by Archpriest Vladimir Chernetsky, vice-rector for Educational Work at the Tauride Theological Seminary. A common prayer to the founder of the theological school gathered teachers, staff and students.
At the end of the prayer service, Father Vladimir addressed all those present with a brief sermon, after which the teachers and students were anointed with oil from the lamp located at the shrine of St. Gurius.