December 13, 2024. Almaty. On the day of remembrance of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, in accordance with the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the diocesan meeting of the clergy of the Astana and Almaty diocese of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District was held in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent.
The meeting was preceded by the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral, which was celebrated by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, co-served by the clergy of the diocese.
The annual diocesan assembly chaired by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, was attended by: vicars of the Astana diocese - Administrator of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; members of the diocesan council, deans, chairmen and secretaries of diocesan departments, secretaries of diocesan commissions, abbots of monasteries and parishes, assistants to abbots, sacristans; Secretary of the Metropolitan District O.N. Ovchinnikov, members of parish councils and employees of the diocesan administration.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan delivered a report on the results of the outgoing year to the clergy and laity.
The Metropolitan presented statistical data on the number of clergy and parishes; the number of divine services, ordinations and monastic tonsures performed; the construction of new churches.
The archpastor reminded those present of the main events in the life of the diocese in 2024: “The outgoing year was marked by several significant historical dates in the life of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. The main one is the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese. During the celebration, solemn divine services and events were held in Astana and Alma-Ata, attended by visiting archpastors from Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Singapore. The significant anniversary, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', was consecrated by the bringing to Kazakhstan of the miraculous icon of the Holy Mother of God “Healer” and the ark with part of the relics and robe of the blessed elder Matrona of Moscow. Every day from early morning until late evening and at night, pilgrims in an endless stream went with prayers to the shrines, wishing to receive spiritual consolation and strengthening." According to the Head of the Metropolitan District, among the significant events dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata Diocese, a special place is occupied by the II Congress of choirmasters and singers - workers in the field of church musical art. "As part of the work of the international forum, a scientific and practical conference and a master class were held by the Honored Artist of Russia, choirmaster of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Church Singing Oleg Nikolaevich Ovchinnikov and famous church choirmasters, dedicated to various aspects of working with singing groups. Holding such events contributes to the development of musical art in Kazakhstan, popularization of the cultural and historical heritage of our people and the revival of unfairly forgotten traditions of singing art,” the bishop noted.
Metropolitan Alexander told those present about the premiere of the documentary film “Service”, which tells about the life of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. “The film provides information about spiritual and educational, social, charitable and peacekeeping activities, interfaith dialogue and the relationship of the Church with the state and society in our country. The film also touches on the topic of political repressions of the 20th century and tells about the help of the Kazakh people to innocent people who found themselves in exile and camps on the territory of the Republic. The film “Dedication”, which became a laureate of the International Festival “Radonezh”, was shown in almost all cities of Kazakhstan on the initiative and with the support of the Apostol Foundation.”
A special topic of the report was the announcement of the establishment of theological training courses for monastics and a regional branch of the "Union of Orthodox Women" in the Almaty Diocese.
The hierarch shared his impressions of participating in the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Maulen Sagatkhanovich Ashimbayev, which took place at the Patriarchal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.
In his speech, Metropolitan Alexander informed those gathered about the significant memorable dates that mark the coming year 2025 - the 15th anniversary of the approval of the canonical status of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; the 50th anniversary of the death of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan; the 225th anniversary of the birth of the first archpastor of the Turkestan diocese, the apostle of the Great Steppe - Archbishop Sophonia (Sokolsky); the 70th anniversary of the death of the holy confessor Nikolai, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, and the 25th anniversary of the discovery of his holy relics; the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The Head of the Metropolitan District thanked the vicar bishops, members of the diocesan council, deans and heads of diocesan departments and commissions for the work done during the outgoing year and the parish clergy for their pastoral work.
At the end of the meeting, Metropolitan Alexander blessed all those present and congratulated them on the upcoming Christmas and New Year.
On behalf of those gathered, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen thanked the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District for his archpastoral work.
At the end of the meeting, a presentation of the book "Christianity in Central Asia" prepared by the publishing department of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District took place.
All those present were presented with: the Orthodox church calendar of the Metropolitan District for 2025, the Christmas message of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and the new book "Christianity in Central Asia".
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