On Cheesefare Sunday, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the main cathedral of the Southern Capital

March 2, 2025 – Cheesefare Sunday, Commemoration of Adam’s Expulsion from Paradise; Forgiveness Sunday.

The synaxarion (liturgical homily) for this Sunday states:

“On this day, we commemorate the expulsion of the first-created Adam from the paradise of delight, which our divine fathers have appointed to be observed before the beginning of the Holy Forty Days, thereby showing how beneficial the medicine of fasting is for human nature and how, conversely, gluttony and disobedience bring about destruction.”

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral in the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Kazakhstani Metropolitan District were Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov), spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, sacristan of the cathedral and head of the Metropolitan District’s Public Relations Department; Hegumen Philip (Moiseev), member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports; Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov, acting rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and head of the Metropolitan District’s Information and Publishing Department; Protopriest Alexander Ievlev; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the personal secretariat of the metropolitan; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Hieromonk Cheruvim (Levin); Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The Liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District, conducted by Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral, directed by E. Boguslavets.

The sermon after the communion hymn was delivered by Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov.

At the conclusion of the Divine Service, the Head of the Metropolitan District addressed the congregation with an archpastoral exhortation.

«By God’s mercy, we embark upon the salvific journey of Great Lent. For every Orthodox Christian, a special period begins—a time set by Sacred Tradition for preparing to meet the “feast of feasts and the festival of festivals”—the radiant Resurrection of Christ. In the daily course of life, we often forget that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Each year, the arrival of the salvific days of Great Lent grants us the opportunity to return to the “path of life” (Ps. 15:11), to awaken from slumber, and to cast off the works of darkness (cf. Rom. 13:11-12). This is facilitated not only by the calendar time of the Holy Forty Days—this “spiritual spring” coinciding with the awakening of nature—but also by the deeply penitential spirit of all the divine services.

During the days of Great Lent, even the very atmosphere in churches calls us to grieve over our sinful deeds and thoughts and to reflect on amending our lives according to the Gospel commandments: the chants take on a slow and compunctious melody, the lighting is subdued, the clergy are vested in dark-colored vestments, frequent prostrations are made, penitential prayers are repeated many times, and the admonishing words of the Old Testament books are read.

Of great significance in this spiritual influence upon the soul are the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, which opens the evening services of the first four days of Lent, and the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “O Lord and Master of my life.” The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, celebrated on Wednesdays and Fridays of the Holy Forty Days, is filled with exceptional inner beauty.

Therefore, in order for Great Lent to bring tangible spiritual benefit to the soul, it is necessary to attend church as often as possible and to participate in communal prayer, and most importantly—to approach the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion with heartfelt contrition and humility (Ps. 50:19). This is especially important today when the rapid pace of life and the ever-increasing worldly distractions cloud the human mind, hinder reflection on the meaning of life, and obstruct spiritual growth.

St. John Chrysostom teaches: “Above all, the most important thing in us is the soul.” Overcoming various temptations, both real and imagined, we must find time for the renewal of the inner person (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16), set aside minutes and hours for prayer at home and in church, for reading the Holy Gospel, for contemplating the words of the Holy Fathers, and for performing acts of charity for our neighbors.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26), warns the Savior. The seven weeks of Great Lent are a time when we are called to correct our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others—to restore everything according to the divinely established order. Through the observance of the fast, with its rules and discipline, we learn to render “unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21) and “to please our neighbor for his good, leading to edification” (Rom. 15:2).»

From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.