On January 14, 2025, the Orthodox Church celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ and the commemoration of the great hierarch and ecumenical teacher, St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Akzhar district of Almaty.
Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Protopriest Valery Zakharov, dean of the parishes of Almaty and 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”; Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha), secretary of the Kostanay Diocese; Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in Akzhar; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Protodeacons Nikolai Grinkevich and Vladimir Syrovatsky; and Deacon Vladimir Alferov.
For the prayerful consolation of the faithful, a reliquary containing a copy of the Gifts of the Magi, brought to Almaty from St. Paul’s Monastery on Mount Athos, was present at the service.
The hymns were sung by a mixed choir under the direction of O. Kuznetsova.
Following the communion verse, Priest Georgy Sidorov read the Nativity Epistle of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, glorification hymns were sung for the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and St. Basil, followed by prayers for the New Year and to the Cappadocian hierarch. After the Many Years (Mnogaya Leta), Metropolitan Alexander addressed the faithful with an archpastoral sermon, in which he spoke about the life and works of St. Basil the Great and explained the spiritual significance of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord.
As a gift for reverent preservation and prayerful veneration, the Head of the Metropolitan District presented the Nativity of the Theotokos Church with an icon of the Mother of God “The Healer.” The image of the Queen of Heaven was received from Metropolitan Alexander by Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov).
“On the eighth day after the Nativity of Christ, we celebrate the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ and prayerfully glorify the great hierarch and ecumenical teacher, St. Basil the Great. Every event in the Gospel is called sacred because it was accomplished for the sanctification and salvation of humanity. The Church commemorates these events to nurture in us a striving toward God and truth and to inspire righteous living. According to the Old Testament Law, our Savior underwent circumcision, a rite established for all male infants as a sign of God’s covenant with the patriarch Abraham and his descendants. During this rite, the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, revealed by the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation to the Most Holy Virgin Mary. The name Jesus means Savior. According to the interpretation of the Church Fathers, the Lord—the Creator of the Law—underwent circumcision to show people an example of how to obey Divine commandments. Another important meaning of the Circumcision of the Lord is that it affirms the true human nature of Christ. His flesh was real, not illusory, as some heretics taught. In the New Testament, the rite of circumcision was replaced by the Sacrament of Baptism, which it prefigured. St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, lived in the 4th century and was a great Father and Teacher of the Church. Fulfilling his ministry, he zealously preached and tirelessly cared for the needs of his flock, earning great respect and love from the people. In 370, St. Basil was elected to the episcopal see of Caesarea by a council of bishops. During a difficult time for the Church, he became a fervent defender of Orthodox faith, safeguarding it from heresies through his words and writings. St. Basil was an ascetic and a man of prayer, the author of many theological works, and the compiler of the order of the Divine Liturgy, which the Orthodox Church continues to celebrate to this day.
For his services to the Orthodox Church, St. Basil is called the Great and is glorified as ‘the glory and beauty of the Church,’ ‘the light and eye of the universe,’ ‘the teacher of dogmas,’ and ‘a treasury of wisdom.’ He is the heavenly patron of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Enlightener of Rus’, who was given the name Basil at Baptism.
In one of his teachings, St. Basil gave us an important rule for interacting with others: ‘A wise man, when eating grapes, eats the sweet berries and leaves the unripe ones. Similarly, a virtuous person, when looking at another person, notices their virtues, while a foolish and senseless person notices only their sins.’ As we prayerfully commemorate St. Basil the Great, let us imitate his holy life, his steadfast faith, and his love for God, as well as his complete dedication to Holy Orthodoxy. Following his example, let us strive to be true confessors of Christ’s faith—true Christians not only in name or words but in life itself.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.
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