The Reading of the Second Part of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

March 4, 2025 – Tuesday of the First Week of Great Lent; the commemoration day of St. Leo, Bishop of Catania.

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

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

After the 9th Ode of the Canon, the archpastor bestowed his blessing upon the faithful and addressed the congregation with a sermon.

The hymns of the Compline service were performed by: The Metropolitan District Choir, conducted by Honored Artist of Russia O. N. Ovchinnikov. The Ascension Cathedral Choir, conducted by E. Boguslavets.

Among those praying at the service were heads of the departments of the Metropolitan District, clergy of the Ascension Cathedral, and staff members of the Almaty Diocesan Administration, along with parishioners.

A live broadcast of the reading of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete was streamed on the YouTube channel of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, “Semirechie.”

On Wednesday morning, Metropolitan Alexander will celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (beginning at 8:30 AM), and in the evening, he will continue the reading of the Great Penitential Canon at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty on Wednesday and Thursday of the First Week of the Holy Forty Days, beginning at 6:00 PM.

“Refrain from harmful passions, from envy and hatred, from every vice, O my soul,” the Holy Church exhorts us on Tuesday of the First Week of Great Lent. The liturgical texts sung and read in the days of the Holy Forty Days remind the faithful that an essential part of fasting is the eradication of sinful habits deeply rooted in the soul. But for true spiritual life, it is not enough to cleanse oneself from vices; it is necessary to acquire and cultivate good qualities. As the Psalmist David says: “Turn away from evil and do good.” The main prayer of Great Lent, in which the main passions are designated and important Christian virtues are named, is the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, “O Lord and Master of my life.” In this short prayerful sigh, we ask God to deliver us from such widespread and inconspicuous ailments of the soul as laziness, despondency, the desire for power over others, and idle talk, and at the same time to grant us chastity, humility, patience, and love. At the end of this prayer, we ask the Lord to grant us the ability to see our own sins and not to notice the sins of our neighbor. St. Anthony the Great said: “It is no great thing to perform miracles, it is no great thing to see angels; the great thing is to see one’s own sins.” And St. Isaac the Syrian writes about this human quality, which is a great gift of God: “One who has truly perceived his own sinfulness is greater than the one who, by his prayer, raises the dead.” At the same time, when a believer begins to realize the depth of his moral fall, he should not fall into confusion or despair. St. Philaret of Moscow explains: “The thought of our unworthiness should not lead us to despondency or hopelessness, but rather to humility and humble prayer.” The awareness of one’s sins and the sincere desire to be freed from their burden, as stated in the 50th Psalm, is a true and God-pleasing offering: “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, You will not despise.” — From the teaching of Metropolitan Alexander.