Your Grace, dear Bishop Chrysantheus! Your Graces, brother archpastors! Venerable fathers, dear brothers and sisters!
God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints (Psalm 88:8), has granted us the joy and blessed opportunity to take part in a historic event: the consecration of a church dedicated to the Council of the New Martyrs of Shymkent has taken place here, in the land of Southern Kazakhstan. The Gospel words “grace upon grace” (John 1:16) may aptly be applied to this day, for the consecration of the church, which has endowed us with Divine strength and Heavenly light, has coincided with the arrival in Shymkent of a great pan-Orthodox holy relic — the incorrupt right hand of St. Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous and wonderworker, which pours forth healings and spiritually strengthens and comforts all who turn to him.
The new church has been erected at a place of particular significance — at the world-famous Lisya Balka. Here countless believers — archpastors and pastors, monastics and laypeople — suffered for the name of Christ and found their final resting place. History has preserved the names of some of them: prominent hierarchs of the last century, Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) of Kazan, Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh), Archbishop Alexy (Orlov), and Bishop Eugene (Kobranov). This church is unique in that its construction was initiated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’. His Holiness learned of the existence of Lisya Balka and of the tragic events that took place here at a young age from his pious relatives. His Holiness shared the idea of creating a memorial church in Shymkent with the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan and found a positive response in the person of President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev. Thus, this place has been adorned with a memorial church in which we will glorify the New Martyrs and prayerfully commemorate all those who suffered innocently in the hour of fiery trial (1 Peter 4:12). Descendants of those who were repressed and murdered will come here to commemorate their relatives and loved ones, not only from Kazakhstan but also from countries near and far abroad — Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, the United States, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and other countries — who, like us, have eagerly awaited this day.
In Shymkent, churches stand peacefully alongside mosques, bearing witness to the significance in the history and contemporary life of our country of Islam of the Hanafi school and Orthodox Christianity, and affirming the strength of the unity of the multinational and multiconfessional people of Kazakhstan.
The construction and consecration of the new church is a special spiritual gift both to the residents of Shymkent and to all the people of Kazakhstan, because it is not simply an architectural structure, but nothing other than the house of God and the gate of Heaven (Genesis 28:17), a ladder leading to Heaven (Genesis 28:12). The outstanding preacher of the nineteenth century, St. Philaret of Moscow, offers beautiful epithets revealing the significance of the church: “A repository of the Mysteries, a treasury of grace, a palace of the Body of Christ, a house of prayer, a school of the knowledge of God and piety, a source of sanctification, a haven for those tossed by storms, a refuge for those in distress, a healing place for the sick, a consolation for those who grieve, a dwelling place of spiritual joy, and the vestibule of the heavenly abodes.” And St. John of Kronstadt said: “The church is Heaven on earth.”
There is still much work ahead of us in developing here, in this new church, a multifaceted parish life, spiritual education, charitable ministry, and work with children and young people. As we behold the grandeur and beauty of this newly built church, we should remember that we ourselves are “the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). “He builds this temple within himself,” teaches St. Gregory the Theologian, “who renounces the earth and continually journeys toward Heaven. I advise you to guard it so that it may give forth fragrance through all your deeds and words, and so that God may always abide within it.”
I would like to express words of gratitude to the benefactors and those who have adorned the church, and to thank all who have contributed their share to the building of the church dedicated to the New Martyrs of Shymkent. I would also like to recall the profound words of His Holiness: “He who builds churches enters history. Not merely human history. The names of such people are specially recorded in the Book of Life.” It is heartening that the authorities of the city of Shymkent also responded to the requests of the diocese and provided their kind assistance in this noble endeavor. May God grant that cooperation between the Church and society, the state and the traditional religious confessions may never cease and may continue to serve the good of our common home — blessed Kazakhstan.
May our zeal for attending church never grow weak, may our love for the divine services never grow cold, and may the joy of participating in the Divine Liturgy never fade. Through the prayers of the Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan, may “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:13) abide with us all.
HEAD OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF KAZAKHSTAN
METROPOLITAN ALEXANDER OF ASTANA AND KAZAKHSTAN
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