On June 6, 1995, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the Orthodox Inter-Diocesan Commission of Ruling Bishops Obeying the Mother Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan was formed, chaired by Archbishop Alexy (Kutepov) of Almaty and Semipalatinsk. The draft of the commission, presented by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, was approved on October 7 of the same year.

On May 7, 2003, by decision of the Holy Synod of the ROC, in order to coordinate religious, educational, publishing, social and other socially significant activities of the dioceses of the ROC in the Republic of Kazakhstan, a metropolitan district was formed consisting of the Astana, Uralsk and Chimkent dioceses. The center of the district was the city of Astana. The head of the district was determined to be the Metropolitan of Astana and Alma-Ata. The bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Methodius (Nemtsov), was appointed to this position.

In the same year, Patriarch Alexy II said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper: “There is a pressing need to change the church structure in Kazakhstan. There is a multi-million Orthodox population living there, which needs support to ensure the proper role of the Orthodox Church in society and the state. It was necessary to coordinate the activities of three dioceses located on the territory of one country. For this purpose, it was decided to create a metropolitan district in Kazakhstan.”

On March 5, 2010, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church appointed Archbishop Alexander (Mogilev) as the head of the Metropolitan District, conferring on him the title of “Archbishop of Astana and Alma-Ata.”

On July 26, 2010, by decision of the Holy Synod, the district was renamed the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The "Internal Regulations on the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan" and the Charter of the Republican Religious Association "Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan" were also approved. The Alma-Ata Theological Seminary was established. The documents are subject to subsequent approval by the Bishops' Council. A new title for the head of the Metropolitan District was established - "Astana and Kazakhstan".

On July 28, 2010, during a service in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Patriarch Kirill elevated Alexander (Mogilev) to the rank of metropolitan.

On October 6, 2010, by decision of the Holy Synod, three more dioceses were formed on the territory of Kazakhstan: Karaganda, Kostanay and Pavlodar.

On December 18, 2010, the first meeting of the Synod of the Metropolitan District was held.

On October 5, 2011, three more dioceses were separated from the previous six: Kokshetau, Petropavlovsk and Ust-Kamenogorsk. At the same time, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to include the Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan, the head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, among the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On March 14, 2012, by order of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', a representative office of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened at the Church of the Holy Martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia at the Miusskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

On May 29, 2012, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' consecrated the administrative and spiritual-cultural center of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, built next to the Assumption Cathedral in Astana.

On October 17, 2012, the Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Religious Affairs Kairat Kaiyrbekuly Lama Sharif presented Metropolitan Alexander with a certificate of state registration of the Metropolitan District in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

There are several hundred churches of the Russian Orthodox Church operating in the district. At the same time, a significant number of churches, including those in the West Kazakhstan Region, have not yet been returned to believers.