On January 11, 2025, the Saturday after the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church commemorates the 14,000 Holy Innocents martyred by Herod in Bethlehem.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the oldest church in Astana, the Constantine and Helen Cathedral.
Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Archimandrite Sergy (Karamyshev), dean of the parishes in the capital; Protopriest Eugene Vorobyov, rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty; Hieromonk Modest (Drozdov), spiritual father of the Astana Convent of the Icon of the Mother of God “Search of the Lost”; Protopriest Sergy Kaliyev, key-holder of the Constantine and Helen Cathedral; Hieromonk Siluan (Sinegubov), cleric of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Astana; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Nikolai Koval; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, key-holder of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty; Protodeacons Nikolai Grinkevich, Roman Golovin, and Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacons Alexander Piven and Ioann Yanchuk.
Praying at the service were: Abbess Sevastyana (Plotnikova), head of the Convent of the Icon of the Mother of God “Search of the Lost” in Astana, with the sisters of the monastery; staff of the diocesan administration; pilgrims; and parishioners of the cathedral.
The choir of the Constantine and Helen Cathedral, directed by N.V. Mazurina, sang during the service.
Following the communion verse, Priest Georgy Rublinsky read the Nativity Epistle of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, glorification hymns were sung in honor of the Nativity of Christ. Metropolitan Alexander then congratulated the clergy and parishioners on the Feast of the Incarnation of the Word of God and delivered a sermon.
“Today every Christian and every Orthodox family rejoices. The souls of all believers are filled with radiant joy. Once again, we relive the greatest and most salvific event in world history—the incomprehensible and mysterious Incarnation of God on earth. ‘The Incorporeal becomes incarnate, the Word takes on substance, the Invisible becomes visible, the Untouchable becomes touchable, the Eternal begins. The Son of God becomes the Son of Man,’ exclaims Saint Gregory the Theologian. The loving and all-good Creator did not wish to remain distant from the world He created. Without ceasing to be God in Heaven, He became truly Man, taking on our flesh and blood, the natural weaknesses and illnesses of human nature, our capacity to suffer and rejoice, to endure and grieve. Yet Christ elevated and sanctified all these inherent qualities of the human soul with His Divine Spirit. By accomplishing the work of our salvation, He opened the way for humanity to the closest possible union with God. The Lord desires that we, too, be filled with and nourished by these Divine feelings. The Savior is ready to grant them to anyone who seeks the Truth. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:20). Thus, the Feast of the Nativity is a call addressed to our conscience, urging us to embark on the path of spiritual struggle and service to the Lord.” — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.
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