Condolences of the Head of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, on the Repose of Archbishop Anthony (Moskalenko)

CHRIST IS RISEN!

In these days filled with the special grace of God—during the Bright Week, when both the visible and invisible worlds rejoice in Christ’s Resurrection from the dead—the Creator and Sustainer of all has called from this temporal life to eternity His faithful servant, Archbishop Anthony, the eldest hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan.

“Let no one fear death,” exclaims Saint John Chrysostom in his Paschal Homily, “for the death of the Savior has set us free. Christ is risen—and life reigns; Christ is risen—and not one dead remains in the grave.” And so, the funeral hymns are now united with the triumphant Paschal exclamations, and the pain of parting with the departed is consoled by the joyful news of the Lord’s victory over death.

The reposed hierarch lived a long and eventful life. In his youth, having completed his education at Krasnoyarsk State University and later at the Moscow Theological Academy, he responded to the call of Christ the Chief Shepherd and took up the cross of service to the Holy Church. By God’s providence, Archbishop Anthony was entrusted with various ecclesiastical obediences: he served in parishes of the Khmelnytskyi Diocese, became the rector of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv, and was appointed Chancellor of the Ukrainian Exarchate.

By the will of the ecclesiastical authorities, his episcopal consecration took place forty years ago—he became Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, Vicar of the Kyiv Diocese, and later headed the Chernivtsi Diocese.

At the dawn of Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991, Vladyka Anthony was appointed head of the newly-established Uralsk Diocese, which then encompassed parishes across five regions of the Republic. For more than thirty years, he labored with zeal and devotion in preaching the Gospel, always striving to serve “in purity, in understanding, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love” (2 Cor. 6:6).

A great number of Kazakhstanis—regardless of nationality or religious belief—respected and held Vladyka in high esteem. His many years of ministry aimed at affirming the ideals of goodness and mercy, and his work in strengthening friendship among peoples, were recognized with high ecclesiastical and state awards, as well as the title of “Honorary Citizen” of the West Kazakhstan Region and of the cities of Uralsk and Atyrau. His profound life wisdom, openness and accessibility, and tireless care for every aspect of Church life earned him the love of his spiritual children, clergy, and flock.

In these radiant days of Pascha, “opening to us the gates of Paradise,” Archbishop Anthony has been born into eternity. Let us fervently pray to the Risen Savior of the world for the repose of the newly-departed hierarch in the heavenly mansions—where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting. And may he be granted to hear the desired voice of Christ, to Whom he dedicated his entire life: “Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt. 25:21).

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work” (2 Thess. 2:16–17).

Eternal and grateful memory to the newly-reposed Archbishop Anthony!