Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The Head of the Metropolitan District Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral of the Southern Capital

On March 9, 2025 — the First Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

The establishment of this feast is associated with the events of the Council of Constantinople in 843, convened by Empress Theodora to restore the veneration of icons in the Byzantine Empire, and symbolizes the triumph of the Church over all heresies and schisms that have ever existed.

The Head of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: the Dean of the Churches of Almaty and Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Protopriest Valery Zakharov; the Rector of the Church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyov; the Spiritual Father of the Almaty Diocese, Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov); a member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, Hegumen Philipp (Moiseev); the Sacristan of the Dormition Cathedral in Astana, Hieromonk Dimitry (Baydek); Acting Rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and Head of the Information Department of the Metropolitan District, Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov; the Sacristan of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Protopriest Kirill Shklyar; the Vice-Rector for Educational Work of the Almaty Theological Seminary, Priest Ioann Livinsky; the Head of the Metropolitan’s Secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); the Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin, Deacon Alexander Piven, Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov, and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The hymns during the service were performed by the Choir of the Metropolitan District under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov and the Choir of the Ascension Cathedral under the direction of E. Boguslavets.

Praying during the Liturgy were: staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration, students of the Almaty Theological Seminary, members of the Cossack community, students of the Sunday school, and parishioners of the cathedral.

The sermon after the Communion Hymn was delivered by Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, His Eminence the Metropolitan led the “Service of the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy” — a special prayer service for the triumph of the Orthodox faith and for the guidance of all who have fallen away from the Church of Christ onto the path of truth.

In accordance with the rite, during the festal prayer service, anathema was proclaimed against “those who reject the grace of redemption preached by the Gospel as our only means of justification before God; those who deny the Councils of the Holy Fathers and their traditions, which are consistent with Divine Revelation and are piously preserved by the Orthodox-Catholic Church; those who repudiate the immortality of the soul, the end of the world, the future judgment, and the eternal reward in Heaven for virtue, and condemnation for sin.”

“Eternal Memory” was proclaimed in honor of the preachers and defenders of the Orthodox faith, as well as to the hierarchs, clergy, and laity who labored for Orthodoxy in the land of Kazakhstan.

Solemn “Many Years” were intoned for the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’; the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches; the Head and episcopate of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan; the Right Reverend hierarchs, clergy, and all faithful children of the Church of Christ; the President, authorities, armed forces, and people of Kazakhstan.

The rite of the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” concluded with the singing of the hymn “We Praise Thee, O God” — authored by St. Ambrose of Milan.

At the conclusion of the service, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan congratulated the clergy and parishioners on the feast and addressed all those present with words of spiritual guidance.

The video recording of the divine service was carried out by the television studio of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan “Semirechie” (director — Honored Cultural Worker Viktoria Posadneva, cameraman — A. Schmidt); photo documentation was provided by the Information Department employee A. Shcheglov.

A live broadcast of the entire festal service was conducted on the YouTube channel “Proobraz” with the support of the public foundation “Eleos” (director — V.M. Kapsamun).

“The first Sunday of Great Lent is named by the Church as the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. On this day, all of us who confess the holy Orthodox faith pay tribute and respect to all those who, throughout two thousand years of history, have upheld and strengthened it. By the ascetic feats of hierarchs, the prayers of the venerable, the labors of the equal-to-the-apostles, the blood of the martyrs, and the witness of the confessors, the saving faith of Christ has been preserved throughout the ages. And now, having received this treasure from our pious ancestors, we have the opportunity to partake in the saving Mysteries of the Church, through which Divine grace is bestowed upon us, strengthening us on the path of salvation. Today, as we perform the Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, we gratefully remember all those who labored to spread the Christian faith throughout the world and in our land. We fervently prayed that the Lord would strengthen all of us in the firm confession of Orthodoxy, and also that those deprived of the joy of being within the walls of the Holy Church would come to the knowledge of the Truth, understand the necessity of relying on God, so that together, with one mouth and one heart, we may glorify our Lord and Savior.” — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.