Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Blessing of Kollyva in the Main Cathedral of Almaty

March 7, 2025 – Friday of the First Week of Great Lent.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of Saint Gregory Dialogos at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese, Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov); head of the Metropolitan District’s public relations department, sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral, Protopriest Alexander Suvorov; sacristan of the Dormition Cathedral in Astana, Protopriest Dimitry Baydek; deputy sacristan of the main cathedral of the southern capital, Priest Andrey Shklyar; head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Hierodeacon Sofonia (Mazurenko); Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The choir of the Ascension Cathedral, directed by E. Boguslavets, sang at the service.

The hymn “Let My Prayer Be Set Forth” was performed by Deacon Alexander Piven, F. Romanenko, and M. Ababakriev.

The sermon before Holy Communion was delivered by Protopriest Alexander Suvorov.

After the Prayer Behind the Ambo, Metropolitan Alexander and the concelebrating clergy offered a prayer service to the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyron with the rite of blessing kollyva.

At the conclusion of the service, the Metropolitan congratulated all those present in the cathedral on completing the Lenten services of the first week. According to the archpastor, these days give every Orthodox Christian a special opportunity to experience the power of prayer combined with ascetic labor, to reflect on the meaning of life, and to sincerely repent of their sins.

The video recording of the service was conducted by the television studio of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Semirechye (director – Honored Cultural Worker Viktoria Posadneva, operator – A. Schmidt).

The photo documentation was carried out by a staff member of the information department, A. Shcheglov.

Kollyvo in the Orthodox Church tradition refers to a simple Lenten dish consisting of boiled wheat or rice with honey, dried fruits, and nuts. The tradition of blessing kollyvo on the first Friday of Great Lent dates back to the 4th century. Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, seeking to hinder Christians from observing the fast, ordered the governor of Constantinople to sprinkle all food supplies in the markets with blood from pagan sacrifices during the first week of Great Lent. The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyron, appearing in a dream to Archbishop Eudoxius, commanded him to inform all Christians not to buy anything from the markets but to eat boiled wheat with honey—kollyvo (kutia or sochivo). The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyron in a special way protects Christians during the days of fasting, safeguarding the faithful from temptations through his intercessory prayers. In memory of this event, the Orthodox Church annually celebrates his commemoration on the first Saturday of Great Lent. On Friday, at the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, a moleben canon to the Holy Great Martyr Theodore, composed by St. John of Damascus, is read, after which the kollyvo is blessed and distributed to the faithful. The prominent preacher of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Innocent of Kherson, pointed to this miracle performed by the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyron as a vivid testament to the significance and importance of fasting: If fasting could be neglected as something insignificant, then it would not be taken so seriously in heaven, and the Holy Great Martyr would not have left the radiant abodes of the Heavenly Father solely to instruct his earthly brethren on how to avoid breaking the fast. Such manifestations of saints in our world occur only for the most important reasons. How, then, can some dare to think and say that it makes no difference whether one fasts or not?