December 10, 2024 – The feast of the Icon of the Mother of God, “The Sign”; the commemoration of Priest John Glazkov of Karaganda and Priest Sergius Brednikov of Taldykorgan.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty.
Concelebrating with the Head of the Metropolis were Protopriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of Almaty parishes and Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral; Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyov, Rector of the host church; Protopriest Valery Shavrin, Rector of the Epiphany Church; Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky), Head of the Metropolitan’s Personal Secretariat; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Head of the Administrative Secretariat; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, Sacristan of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty; Priest Vladimir Savvin; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich, Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service; Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Ioann Churkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; and Deacon Ilya Vorobyov.
Before the service, a faithful reproduction of the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, “The Sign,” “measured exactly,” was brought to the main church of the Southern Capital for the prayerful veneration and spiritual fortification of the faithful. The reproduction, blessed during the visit of the great Orthodox relic to Kazakhstan in 2019, was painted by a renowned contemporary iconographer, Sergey Sokolov, Head of the Icon Painting Workshop named after Gury Nikitin and a Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation. The icon is adorned with a cover that replicates in detail the adornments of the wonderworking icon, crafted in the workshop of St. Alexander Nevsky by the talented artisan Alexander Aniskin. This copy of the ancient Kursk Root Icon has been named the Kursk Root–Almaty Icon of the Mother of God, “The Sign.”
The hymns were sung by the church choir, conducted by Olga Solomonova.
After the Communion Verse, Priest Georgy Rublinsky delivered a homily.
The Divine Liturgy concluded with the glorification of the Mother of God, during which the clergy and choir sang the troparion, kontakion, and magnification to the Icon of the Mother of God, “The Sign.”
“In the Church calendar, many feasts glorify the Most Holy Theotokos. The purity, holiness, and spiritual greatness of the Ever-Virgin are revealed to each of us who come to seek help and intercession from the Queen of Heaven and Earth. To her alone, among all humanity, God destined to become the Mother of our Lord, through whom the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The Theotokos united heaven and earth; she was, as St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) put it, ‘that unique vessel in which God Himself dwelled in His very essence.’ It is impossible to list all the mercies the Most Pure Lady has shown to the Christian world. Let us not doubt that a believing heart can implore new mercies and miracles from the Theotokos. The distinguished hierarch of the past century, Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich), wrote: ‘Our spiritual eyes are our faith. The stronger a person’s faith, the more they see the blessings granted to us by the Lord and the Theotokos.’ Today, as many centuries ago, as we venerate and kiss the Icon of the Mother of God, “The Sign,” let us turn to the Queen of Heaven with the words of the Church’s prayers: ‘Most Holy Theotokos, help us! Most Holy Theotokos, save us! We place all our hope on you, O Mother of God; keep us under your protection!’” From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander.
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