On March 8, 2025, the Church commemorated the Holy Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit (a movable feast celebrated on the first Saturday of Great Lent) and the Feast of the Finding of the Relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty.
Serving with the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District were: the dean of the churches of Almaty, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; the sacristan of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Igor Svetlichny; Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidik); Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); the head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); the vice-rector for educational work of Almaty Seminary, Priest Ioann Livinsky; the head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; the head of the correspondence department of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, Priest Daniil Bobylev; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Deacon Alexander Voronin; Deacon Ioann Churkin; and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.
The liturgical hymns were sung by the choir of St. Nicholas Cathedral under the direction of O. Solomonova.
The sermon after the Communion Hymn was delivered by Priest Ioann Livinsky.
Following pious tradition, the majority of the faithful partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ on this day.
After the dismissal of the Liturgy, for the prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, reliquaries containing the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow were brought to the center of the church. The clergy and choir then performed a hymn of praise to the Moscow saint.
The Head of the Metropolitan District congratulated those who had partaken of the Holy Chalice on receiving the Heavenly Mysteries of Christ and addressed the gathered faithful with an archpastoral message, after which the prayers of thanksgiving following Holy Communion were read.
“During the days of Great Lent, the Church calls us to active participation in the sacraments of Confession and Communion, so that our union with Christ may become a constant and integral part of our lives. ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5), the Lord tells us. We cannot free ourselves from the darkness of sin and become virtuous Christians unless we maintain the closest communion with our Savior. Christ Himself revealed to us the way to mystical union with Him—through participation in the Divine Eucharist. Just as a person cannot live physically without food and drink, he likewise cannot exist without the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord Himself spoke of the importance of Communion for the believer: ‘My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink’ (John 6:55). Therefore, let us always strive, having purified ourselves through repentance, to approach the Holy Chalice, so that we may partake of the divine, immortal, and life-giving Mysteries of Christ.” — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.
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