Address by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan, Alexander, on the Occasion of the Beginning of the Great Lent, 2024

Address by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan, Alexander, on the Occasion of the Beginning of the Great Lent, 2024

Esteemed fathers, dear brothers and sisters, residents of the land of Kazakhstan!

"Your grace has shone forth, O Lord, the enlightenment of our souls has shone forth. Behold, the time of favor, behold, the time for repentance," - these words from hymns now resound in the churches, heralding the commencement of Great Lent. Every Orthodox Christian rejoices at the approach of the Lenten season, anticipates the holy Forty Days - the "spiritual spring," days of salvation that renew the heart and mind with the grace of Christ, rebirthing us to a new existence, to life according to the Gospel commandments.

"The earth is full of vanity, troubles, and sorrows," - thus spoke Saint Anthony the Great, who lived in the Egyptian desert in the 4th century, about his era. What then to say of the dire state of contemporary humanity, crushed by the whirlwind of rapidly changing events, suffering from constant anxieties and ceaseless informational noise? In the stormy sea filled with temptations and seductions, Great Lent becomes for us a harbor of salvation. At the call of Christ’s Church, with all our heart, soul, and mind (Luke 10:27), in these sacred days, we turn to the Creator and Savior, receiving from Him deliverance from spiritual doom and finding consolation in our sorrows. "Only in God shall my soul be at peace," – proclaims the Psalmist David (Psalm 61:2).

Holy Lent affords us a wonderful opportunity to offer God sincere repentance, the essence of which lies not only in regretting past errors or condemning our own evil deeds and thoughts but in a complete renunciation of the sinful path, in renewing all aspects of life according to the Gospel, in returning to our Heavenly Father. "Glory to God that Heaven is opened for us, if only we do not lazily neglect to enter it," – states Bishop Dmitri of Rostov in his Lenten sermon. Each of us can and should admit, with bitterness, that we have not yet learned to truly repent, have not mastered this salvific science of freeing the soul from the bondage of passions. That is why, three weeks before the start of Great Lent, the Holy Church places in our mouths the prayer: "Open unto me the doors of repentance, O Life-Giver." We begin by asking God Himself to be our teacher in this challenging endeavor. For the same purpose, during the Lenten services, the words of a prayer by Saint Ephrem the Syrian are repeatedly heard, ending with the plea: "O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins."

Recognizing our own wrongdoing before the Creator, honestly acknowledging the violation of God's commandments begins the path of repentance. Apostle John the Theologian writes: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). On the path of repentance, one is tempted to soften one's own guilt, to shift it onto someone else, to find mitigating circumstances. In such cases, the Church of Christ, during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, carefully offers us to pray for deliverance from self-justification with the words of the psalm: "Let not my heart incline to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity" (Psalm 140:4). It also happens that a person, looking at the evil deeds he has committed, begins to doubt the mercy of God and falls into despair. It is important to remember that the Lord is a strict Judge and, at the same time, our merciful Father. "There is no sin, however great, that overcomes God's love for humanity, if we bring repentance in due time and ask for forgiveness," – comforts us Saint John Chrysostom.

Our daily repentance offered to God for misdeeds, a feeling of regret for the evil done, and a refusal of sin, are the threshold of the Sacrament of Confession, necessary conditions for its performance. Each of us, driven by the desire for the salvation of the soul, should strive for this Divine gift. The Fathers of the Church, speaking of the significance of this Sacrament, call Confession "a renewal of Baptism." Before the cross and the Gospel, in the presence of a priest, a person confesses his sins, and a great miracle occurs – in response to sincere repentance, Christ Himself, invisibly present, through His servant, the pastor, grants the penitent forgiveness, freeing him from the burden of committed sins, healing the soul's wounds, and opening the possibility for the believer to "start life with a clean slate." Another important fact is that in the Sacrament of Confession, God shows special mercy to the penitent by sending grace that strengthens the person, helping to combat sin and to overcome it. If a person frequently participates in the Sacrament of Confession sincerely and without deceit or false embarrassment, confessing the ailments of his soul to the confessing priest, his entire spiritual life is transformed. "If you have acquired a habit of sinning, increase your confession of them, and soon you will be freed from the bondage of sin and will follow the Lord Jesus Christ easily and joyfully," advises Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov).

"The completion of every sacred rite and the seal of every Divine Sacrament is Holy Communion," teaches us Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki. Confession, which grants us a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 50:19), ideally prepares us for partaking of the Life-giving Mysteries of Christ. A sense of reverence and awe before the Creator, an awareness of one's own spiritual weakness, faith in God's love and mercy strengthens within us a firm hope that communion with the Pure Body and Blood of Christ will serve for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, for sanctification and enlightenment, and for strength, healing, and health of both soul and body (see the prayer of St. John Chrysostom before Holy Communion). By confessing and approaching the Holy Chalice, we, in the words of the Scriptures, receive grace upon grace (John 1:16), finding the strength to be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11).

"During the days of Great Lent, everything is open: Heaven for mercy, the sinner for confession, and the tongue for prayer," says Saint Innocent of Kherson, so let us cast aside all laziness and hasten during this time of salvation into the temples of God to partake in the beautiful, soul-stirring strict services, to fill our hearts and minds with the words of the Holy Scriptures, to be cleansed from sin by the Sacrament of Repentance, and to taste the Life-giving Mysteries of Christ. Let the upcoming Great Lent help us worthily prepare to meet the feast of feasts – the bright Resurrection of Christ. Let us always keep in mind and heart the thought, " Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God (1 John 3:1).

Invoking God's blessing, HEAD OF THE ORTHO(DOX CHURCH OF KAZAKHSTAN METROPOLITAN OF ASTANA AND KAZAKHSTAN