Silver plaque on the icon of Bishop Dionysius, 1881

Silver, engraving. The original and extremely rare plate is in good condition, slight deformation. Found in the ground. The text on the tablet reads: "To His Grace the Right Reverend Dionysius, Bishop of Ufa and Menzelinsky on the day of the 50th anniversary of the priesthood on April 6, 1881 from the Ufa Merchant Society." Guarantee of authenticity.

Bishop Dionysius (in the world Dmitry Vasilyevich Khitrov; October 22, 1818, Khitrovo, Dankovsky district, Ryazan Province — September 8 [20], 1896, Moscow) was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop of Ufa and Menzelinsky. A missionary, one of the translators of the Holy Scriptures and liturgical texts into the Yakut language. Personally developed the grammar of the Yakut language and the first primer, carried out the proofreading of all publications and their preparation for printing.

He was born on October 22, 1818 in a poor and large family of the sexton of the village of Khitrovo of the Dankovsky district of the Ryazan province, Vasily Ivanovich Khitrov and Maria Ignatievna Khitrova. At an early age, he was orphaned and left without any means of livelihood. From the age of 6, he studied literacy in the house of the priest Timofey Ventsev, then with the yard people. In September 1828, he entered the Dankovo Theological College, where he received the surname Khitrov from the name of his native village. In 1832, the elder brother, the sexton of the Ascension Church of the village of Khitrovo Vasily Vasilyevich Khitrov, with whom Dmitry Khitrov lived during his studies, was orphaned and died. In August 1834, having passed the exam "with praise", he was transferred to the Ryazan Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1840 in the first class. In the same year, by the decree of the Holy Synod, among the 10 best students of the seminary, he was sent to the Irkutsk diocese for missionary service.

He married and on January 22, 1841, together with his wife, Alexandra Ivanovna, went to Siberia. On March 16, 1841, Dmitry Vasilyevich Khitrov was ordained a deacon, and on April 6 of the same year — a priest of the Transfiguration Church of the city of Yakutsk [2], after which he was a missionary for fifteen years (1841-1858), preaching among foreigners. In 1841, after the birth of the firstborn, Mikhail, Alexadra lost her mind, this disease did not leave her until her death on November 8, 1863. Elevated to the rank of archpriest, from 1856 he held the positions of caretaker of the Yakut Theological School and rector of the Yakut Seminary, while continuing his former missionary activity until 1867.

Archbishop Innokenty (Veniaminov) wrote in a letter to Count A. N. Muravyov dated January 31, 1857 that "there is nothing better for the Yakut diocese." On July 3, 1867, by decree of the Holy Synod, he was appointed vicar of the Kamchatka diocese. After that, he was tonsured a monk with the name Dionysius (the exact date is not set). On February 9, 1868, in Blagoveshchensk-on-Amur, he was consecrated Bishop of Yakutsk, vicar of the Kamchatka diocese. The ordination was led by St. Innocent (Veniaminov). Since January 12, 1870, after the formation of a separate Yakut department, he was an independent bishop. He repeatedly undertook long and dangerous missionary journeys through his vast diocese, preaching the gospel to the world, affirming converts in the truths of faith, improving his flock spiritually and morally. He converted tens of thousands of people to Orthodoxy, built churches, schools, and organized church life.

The most important monument of Bishop Dionysius' missionary activity is the compilation of the Yakut alphabet and grammar, as well as the translation into the Yakut language and the publication of the New Testament, the Book of Genesis, the Psalter, the Service Book, the Breviary, the Canon, the Chronology and a number of works of religious literature.

For his many years of work, in 1881 he was elected an honorary member of the Kazan Theological Academy.

On December 12, 1883, he was transferred to the Ufa Episcopal see, where he remained almost until his death.He died on September 8, 1896 in Moscow, where he arrived for treatment. He was buried under the cathedral church of the Moscow Pokrovsky Missionary Monastery.