Metropolitan Alexander Performs the First Reading of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the Great Lent of This Year

March 3, 2025 – Monday of the First Week of Great Lent; Commemoration of St. Leo, Pope of Rome.

In the morning, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan prayed during the appointed liturgical service in the Iveron-Seraphim house church of the metropolitan residence.

In the evening, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan officiated at Great Compline with the reading of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty.

At the conclusion of the 9th Ode of the Canon, the archpastor imparted his blessing upon the faithful and addressed the congregation with a homily.

The hymns of Compline were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District under the direction of the Honored Artist of Russia, O. N. Ovchinnikov, and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral under the direction of E. Boguslavets.

Praying at the service together with the parishioners were the heads of the departments of the Metropolitan District, the clergy of the main church of the Southern Capital, and staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration.

A live broadcast of the reading of St. Andrew’s Canon was conducted on the YouTube channel of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, “Semirechie.”

Metropolitan Alexander will continue the reading of the Great Penitential Canon in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the First Week of the Holy Forty Days. The service begins at 6:00 PM.

“O my soul, O my soul, arise! Why do you sleep? The end is drawing near…” – these poignant words from the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete echo in the first days of Lent. The reading of this deeply meaningful and spiritually powerful hymn begins with a heartfelt cry: “With what shall I begin to lament the wretched deeds of my life? What foundation shall I lay, O Christ, for this my present mourning?” Throughout the entirety of the canon, the refrain taken from the psalms resounds after each troparion: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on me.” St. Andrew narrates key moments of biblical history in a spirit of deep repentance, masterfully applying each to the state of a sinful soul. From the sacred treasury of Scripture, he draws the most powerful means for awakening the heart to repentance and moral renewal.

The troparia of the canon present us with examples of righteous lives to emulate and sinful lives to beware of, revealing the saving lessons of repentance and the active ascent toward God. It embodies the invaluable spiritual experience of many generations, aimed at awakening the soul from the slumber of sin and inclining it toward self-examination, self-condemnation, and repentance. Alongside examples from sacred history, the canon’s author also points to a living model of the most extreme moral fall and the most profound spiritual restoration in the person of St. Mary of Egypt, who attained the highest degree of holiness. From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander.