Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan consecrated the arrival of 2025 with a night Divine Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

January 1, 2025 – The feast day of the Holy Martyr Boniface of Tarsus and Ilya of Murom; the beginning of the civil New Year.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the Divine Liturgy on the night of December 31, 2024, to January 1, 2025, at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

The Head of the Kazakh Metropolitan District was concelebrated by the auxiliary bishops of the Astana Diocese—Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Chancellor of the Kazakh Metropolitan District; Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan; and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar. Also serving were the Dean of the parishes in Almaty and Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; Rector of the Church of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon of the Theotokos in Almaty, Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov; Sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral and Head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; Acting Rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary and Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; Rector of the Epiphany Church, Archpriest Valery Shavrin; Dean of the Ili Church District, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov; Rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the Akzhar district, Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov); cleric of the Ascension Cathedral, Hieromonk Roman (Chistyakov); Head of the Metropolitan’s Personal Secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky); Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); cleric of the Church of St. John the Theologian in Almaty, Hieromonk Gennady (Solovyov); Sacristan of the Church of St. Vladimir, Hieromonk Sergy (Vnukovsky); Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Sacristan of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich; Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Ioann Churkin; Hierodeacon Sofony (Mazurenko); Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

In the main church of the Southern Capital, the icon with a relic of the Holy Martyr Boniface was present for veneration and spiritual consolation.

Liturgical hymns were performed by the men’s choir of the Almaty Diocese under the direction of Deacon Alexander Piven.

Special petitions were included in the fervent litany, asking for blessings at the beginning of the New Year, the multiplication of love and the eradication of hatred and all malice, and for the unity of Holy Orthodoxy.

After the communion hymn, Priest Georgy Sidorov read the address of the Head of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan on the eve of the New Year.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander, standing before the icon with the relic of the Holy Martyr Boniface, read a prayer for the New Year: “Master, Lord our God, the Source of life and immortality, the Creator of all visible and invisible, You Who have appointed times and years within Your power…”

The choir concluded the service with the ancient majestic hymn “We Praise You, O God,” attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan congratulated the Hierarchs, clergy, and faithful on the beginning of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year, and delivered a sermon.

“Sending off the passing year, we thank the Creator for ‘all the blessings known and unknown, manifest and hidden, bestowed upon us.’ Our gratitude to God should extend even to the sorrowful circumstances of our lives, hardships, and tribulations. As Apostle Paul teaches us, ‘No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it’ (Hebrews 12:11). The loving Lord, desiring our salvation, sometimes reminds us of our Christian vows through sickness and sorrows, warns us against falling, and awakens us from sinful sleep. ‘For just as it would be unseemly not to thank doctors for healing the body, even when they prescribe bitter and unpleasant medicine, so it is inappropriate to remain ungrateful to God for what seems joyless to us, not understanding that all things happen according to His providence and for our benefit,’ teaches St. Anthony the Great. For a Christian, each new phase of time is a gift from God, a new mercy and kindness from the Creator, Who loves the world and cares for it. The coming year is a new opportunity sent from Above to increase our knowledge and experience, to discover and multiply the talents and gifts given to us by God. Most importantly, it is a new chance to comprehend the love of the Lord, to serve God and people, and to embody the commandments of Christ in our lives. Entering the New Year, we hold onto the Christian hope that it will bring new divine mercies. This hope we express in good wishes and mutual greetings: Happy New Year, Happy New Happiness!For the believer, true happiness is to be like God, whose image and likeness we bear. The Lord Himself granted us this opportunity through His coming, His Nativity from the Ever-Virgin Mary—the celebration of peace and divine love, which we are preparing to commemorate in these days. ‘The Son of God became the Son of Man so that man might become a son of God,’ says St. Irenaeus of Lyons. By participating in the Church’s sacraments, praying sincerely, studying Holy Scripture, and selflessly performing acts of love and mercy, we unite with God here on earth and attain true happiness, the genuine joy of communion with God, which, as the Savior said, ‘no one will take from you’ (John 16:22). I call on all of you, dear brothers and sisters, to bid farewell to the departing year and welcome the New Year ‘with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:16). Lord, bless the crown of the year with Your goodness!” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.