The Head of the Metropolitan District Led the Patronal Feast Celebrations of the Almaty Church Dedicated to the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos

On January 8, 2025, the Afterfeast of the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos and celebrates the relatives of Christ according to the flesh—Saints David the Prophet and King, Joseph the Betrothed, and James, the Brother of the Lord.

The day following the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church offers hymns of praise and thanksgiving to the Mother of God, who served the mystery of the Incarnation.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Almaty church dedicated to the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos, marking its patronal feast day.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were the vicars of the Astana Diocese—Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; the dean of Almaty churches, Protopriest Valery Zakharov, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral; Protopriest Eugene Vorobyov, rector of the Almaty Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Protopriest Eugene Bobylev, head of the Department of Education and Catechesis of the Metropolitan District and rector of the churches of the Intercession of the Theotokos and the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos; Protopriest Ioann Lopatin, rector of the churches of St. Paraskeva and St. Alexander Nevsky; Hegumen Filaret (Petrochenko), rector of the Iveron Church in Boroldai; Protopriest Valery Shavrin, rector of the Church of the Theophany; Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov, dean of the Ili Church District; Protopriest Kirill Shklyar, key-holder of St. Peter and Paul Church in Almaty; Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the Akzhar district; Priest Roman Burdukov; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District; Hieromonk Gennady (Solovyov), a cleric of St. John the Theologian Church; Hieromonk Sergy (Vnukovsky); Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); Priest Vladimir Shishlov, rector of St. Demetrius Church in Baiserke; Priest Daniil Bobylev, head of the correspondence department of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Priest Ioann Konoplev, key-holder of the Adriano-Natalievsky Church; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, key-holder of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty; Protodeacons Nikolai Grinkevich, Roman Golovin, Vladimir Syrovatsky, Ioann Churkin, Bogdan Boyko, Rustik Yakupov, and Georgy Tkachenko.

Before the beginning of the service, a great relic of Orthodoxy—the reliquary containing a piece of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos—was brought to the church for veneration and spiritual encouragement of the faithful.

During the Liturgy, prayers were offered by teachers and students of the theological-missionary faculty of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, educators and students of the parish Sunday school named after the Apostle John the Theologian, and parishioners of the church.

The hymns were sung by the male choir of the Almaty Diocese under the direction of Deacon Alexander Piven and the church choir directed by O. Kartauzov.

Following the communion verse, Protopriest Kirill Shklyar read the Nativity Epistle of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

At the conclusion of the service, glorification hymns were sung in honor of the Nativity of Christ, after which Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the clergy and parishioners on the Feast of the Incarnation of the Word of God and the celebration dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. He also delivered a sermon.

In recognition of their work in spiritual and moral upbringing and religious education of the younger generation, the following individuals received church honors: V.V. Antonov and V.N. Kravtsova were awarded the Order of Archbishop Sophonius (Sokolsky), the first hierarch of the Turkestan Diocese and Apostle of Semirechye; T.V. Vorobyova received the Medal of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their Mother Sophia; and N.G. Martynova was awarded the Medal of Archbishop Sophonius (Sokolsky).

The video recording of the service was carried out by the television studio of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, “Semirechye” (director: Victoria Posadneva, a merited cultural worker; cameraman: A. Schmidt), and photography was conducted by A. Shcheglov, a staff member of the Information Department.