The problem of the relationship between the church and the state is considered, which at the current historical stage acquire new features. In a concrete study the goal is to determine the degree of influence of the church state policy on the position of the Orthodox monasteries of the Tambov Region in the 18th century. In addition, one of the main tasks is to disclose the causes and stages of the emergence and spread of monasteries in the region, both in the northern and southern parts of the region in the process of Christianization of the region. In connection with the geographical conditions that directly influenced the location and peculiarities of the monastic activities in the region, an objective assessment and classification of the monasteries was given. The general and, in particular, the material condition of some monasteries at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries are analyzed, an attempt is made to disclose the reasons for the abolition of many of them in the process of secularization. The issues of monastic construction, the development of culture and crafts, the state and dynamics of the book collections of the libraries of the Kozlovskiy Troitskiy Monastery and the Sarov Hermitage are considered. The multi-faceted educational and administrative activities of Bishop Theophilus Raev in the late 18th century are described. Thus, an overall assessment and consequences of the impact of state reforms on the state of monasteries in the region are presented. The outlined prospects and vectors for further development of monastic activities in the Tambov Region are shown, the positive and negative consequences of which will be realized in the next century.