This publication presents to the reader previously unpublished text of the unique material composed in 1853 by scholar and specialist in local history celibate priest (ieromonakh) Ioasaf (Gaponov V. S.) in the frames of project of preparation of historical and statistic descriptions of all the dioceses (eparchis) of the Russian Orthodox Church initiated by the Holy Synod in 1850 and left unfinished. The book includes not only the historical description of the Vladimir diocese but also copies of the historical documents from monastiс and church archives (some were lately lost), what gives it outstanding importance for the study of the history of Vladimir region.