Address of the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, on the Beginning of the 2026/2027 Academic Year at the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary

Your Very Reverend Father Evgeny!

Esteemed faculty members and students of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary!

I congratulate you on Knowledge Day and the beginning of the new academic year. Today marks another highly responsible stage in your lives – some of you are to begin or continue your theological education, while others are to impart knowledge to the younger generation of future clergy and church servants, guiding them with all patience along the good and right way (1 Sam. 12:23). As we sanctify this solemn day through common prayer, we ask the All-Wise God for His assistance in the study and teaching of various disciplines and for His guidance in the work of education and formation.

Education is one of the most important fields of the Church’s ministry. Following the words of the Savior, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19–20), the Church of Christ has carried out its teaching ministry century after century. This demanding mission is entrusted to theological schools. It is within the walls of seminaries and academies that those who have resolved to dedicate their lives to serving God and their neighbors acquire and pass on to succeeding generations theological, philosophical, historical and other knowledge, as well as the rich heritage of liturgical traditions and Christian culture, so that, with God’s help, the work of enlightening the world with the saving light of Gospel truth may continue.

Yet knowledge and skills are not the only things acquired in the Church’s educational institutions. It is evident that what matters first and foremost is not merely, or even primarily, the accumulation of intellectual knowledge, but the acquisition of spiritual experience and the cultivation of prayer and patience, obedience and diligence. What is needed is not only diligence in study, but also a heart capable of seeing God (Mt. 5:8), for true theology is knowledge born of experience, arising from profound personal piety and active participation in the Mysteries of the Church, especially the Holy Eucharist. Only then can external knowledge grow into genuine spiritual wisdom.

Each of us has received from the Lord, the Giver of every good thing, different gifts and abilities, and therefore we should frequently recall the parable of the talents. Caring for their preservation and, above all, their multiplication is the fulfillment of God’s will. Having received gifts from the Creator, we must devote our entire lives to understanding them, treating them with care and creatively bringing them to fruition.

Remember that to be a preacher, mentor or teacher is not a privilege or an honor, but a difficult ministry requiring self-sacrifice, experience, patience, time and strength. There is a short story about this in the Paterikon. A young and zealous novice once came to an experienced elder and asked: “Father, I want to teach other people the truth and the word of God, as you do.” The elder smiled, picked up a small stone from the ground and handed it to the novice: “Go and throw it down from the bell tower.” The disciple quickly and easily fulfilled the request. Then the elder pointed to a large boulder and continued: “Now pick up this stone and carry it all the way to the top of the bell tower.” No matter how hard the young man tried, he could not accomplish the new task, for the stone was exceedingly heavy. The elder then said: “Speaking words to others is like throwing little stones down from a bell tower, but teaching by deeds and preaching through one’s life is like carrying great stones up a bell tower.”

Next year will mark exactly half a century since the Lord granted me the opportunity to become a student at the theological schools of the city on the Neva. I vividly remember those years when, despite the dominance of atheistic ideology in the country and the enormous difficulties the Church faced every day, we – young people who had chosen the path of serving our native Orthodoxy – had the privilege of studying under outstanding professors and gifted, remarkable teachers.

I would like to share with you a short passage from the recollections of our rector at that time – Bishop Kirill of Vyborg, now Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’. Vladyka recalled that when he was ordained in 1969, it was the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. “As I awaited my ordination to the diaconate,” the future Patriarch said, “I listened attentively to the words of the prayers. When the prokeimenon of the Annunciation was proclaimed, ‘Proclaim from day to day the salvation of our God,’ it occurred to me that this was no mere coincidence: these words should become the motto of my life.”

This verse from the Psalter should be engraved upon the minds and hearts of all of you. It is the Lord’s call to every generation of young pastors, to teachers and seminarians, to all who embark upon the path of priestly ministry or spiritual enlightenment. As heralds of the Gospel, you must take care that this truth is received into human hearts, transforms them and, in the words of the Apostle, brings forth the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, mercy, faith, meekness and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23).

By tradition, we sanctify the beginning of the academic year with special prayers, asking the Lord for His blessing upon the study and teaching of various disciplines and for His guidance in the work of education. Do not forget the necessity of constant communion with the Lord amid your daily concerns: edify yourselves through the reading of Holy Scripture, receive strength of soul and body through regular participation in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, cleanse your hearts through Repentance, and do not neglect attendance at divine services or the fulfillment of your prayer rule.

May the mercy of the Lord, the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the prayerful protection of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan abide with us all.

Invoking God’s blessing,

HEAD OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF KAZAKHSTAN

METROPOLITAN OF ASTANA AND KAZAKHSTAN