On January 12, 2025, the 30th Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church commemorates the kinsmen of Christ according to the flesh—Saints David the Prophet and King, Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, and James, the Brother of the Lord.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the main church of the Metropolitan District, the Dormition Cathedral in Astana.
Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Archimandrite Sergy (Karamyshev), dean of the parishes of the capital; Protopriest Eugene Vorobyov, rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty; Protopriest Dimitry Baydek, key-holder of the Cathedral; 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 Grigory Kulikov, head of the Orthodox Youth Movement of the Astana Deanery; Priest Sergy Dianov; Priest Andrey Parfenov; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, key-holder of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty; Protodeacons Nikolai Grinkevich, Roman Golovin, and Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacons Ilya Davydov, Mikhail Chumakov, Alexander Piven, Ioann Yanchuk, and Yaroslav Vokhmentsev.
Praying at the service were: Pavel Vladimirovich Utyupin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus; staff of the Diocesan Administration; pilgrims; and parishioners of the Cathedral.
The choir of the Cathedral, directed by Olga Varentsova, 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, a relic connected to the Gospel events of the Savior’s birth—the reliquary containing an exact replica of the Gifts of the Magi—was brought to the center of the Cathedral. The relic, which contains gold, frankincense, and myrrh presented by the Eastern Wise Men to the newborn Christ Child, was delivered from the Monastery of St. Paul on Mount Athos.
Before the icon of the Feast and the reliquary with the Gifts of the Magi, the clergy, choir, and faithful sang the Troparion, Kontakion, and Magnification of the Nativity of Christ.
Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the dean, clergy, and parishioners on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ and the commemoration of the kinsmen of the Lord according to the flesh. He also delivered a sermon, saying:
“Today, ‘all creation, the choir of angels, and the human race’ are filled with rejoicing over the Divine Infant born in Bethlehem. The cause of this great joy in Heaven and on earth is the Incarnation: ‘Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world’ (1 Timothy 3:16). The Son of God came to earth to reconcile people with the Creator, to revive humanity through His life, crucifixion, and glorious Resurrection, and to open the way to a new sinless life and the eternal blessed Kingdom. Celebrating the coming of the Incarnate God, revealed to us as true Love, we must learn steadfast and genuine love for the Lord and our neighbor. ‘Come, faithful, and behold the Divine descent from on high, revealed to us in Bethlehem. Having purified our minds, let us bring a life of virtue,’ calls the Church of Christ in these great days. According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the love commanded to us by the Savior in the Gospel is not about emotional impulses, vivid feelings, or beautiful words but is the sum of specific good deeds and actions. ‘Let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth!’ (1 John 3:18), teaches us the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.
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