Changes

In 1946, after the conclusion of the war, religious life of the city began to recover beginning with the theological academy and seminary that were allowed to re-open in buildings at 17 Obvodny Canal Embankment. By 1949, the number of churches in the eparchy increased to 57, with 16 within the city of Leningrad. Under the persecutions of Nikita Krushchev the number of churches in the eparchy decreased to 47 by 1965. These [[parish]]es were served by 120 priests. In 1963, Metr. [[Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod|Nikodim (Rotov)]] was named the ruling hierarch of the eparchy of Leningrad, and with the addition of the Eparchy of Novgorod in 1967, he became Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, the position he held until his reposed in 1978.

The eparchy began to revive in 1988 under the leadership of Metropolitan [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei (Ridiger)]] of Leningrad and Novgorod aided by the government policy of ‘’peristroika’’. On [[December 27]], 1995, Metr. Vladimir (Kotlyarov) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga was named to lead the eparchy that had been returned to an area that consisted only of the Leningrad Region. By 2003, the eparchy had grown to 347 churches and 109 chapels, with 179 churches in re-named St Petersburg, supported by 557 priests. Additionally, there were seven male and four female monasteries, and seventeen representations of monasteries. The parish churches are organized into twenty districts that are headed by [[archpriest]]s, under the supervision of the St. Petersburg Eparchy administration that is led by the metropolitan. The metropolitan is advised by an eparchy council of twelve and seven departments. Since 2000, the main cathedral and seat of the metropolitan of the eparchy is Kazan Cathedral in central St. Petersburg.