Matins with the Service of the Holy Passions of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty

On the evening of April 17, 2025, on the eve of Great and Holy Friday of Passion Week, the Service of the Holy Passions of Our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrated at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty — the Matins with the reading of the Twelve Gospels that recount the sufferings, crucifixion, and burial of the Savior.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan prayed during the service.

By the blessing of the Head of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, the Passion Matins was celebrated by Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov), spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty and head of the Public Relations Department of the District; together with the cathedral clergy.

At the beginning of Matins, during the singing of the troparion “When the glorious disciples were enlightened,” the clergy solemnly brought out the Holy Gospel from the altar and placed it on an analogion in front of the icon of the Crucifixion of the Savior, with the Theotokos and the Apostle John the Theologian standing by, placed in the center of the church.

The Matins with the reading of the Twelve Gospels is celebrated before the Cross and includes Gospel readings and hymns dedicated to the remembrance of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The hymns of the Passion Service were performed by: the choir of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan (conductor – Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; choir master – V. Dudareva), and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (conductor – E. Boguslavets).

After the reading of the Fifth Gospel, during the singing of the antiphon “Today He is hung upon the Tree,” the clergy brought out from the altar reliquaries containing a particle of the Life-Giving Cross of Christ; a piece of the Crown of Thorns of the Lord Jesus Christ; a piece of the Lord’s Robe; stones from the Holy Sepulchre and Golgotha; a particle of the cross of the Good Thief; a piece of the pillar of scourging; a stone from the Stone of Anointing; and an exact copy of a nail with a relic, with which Christ was nailed to the Cross. One hundred such nails, each containing a relic of the true Holy Nail, were made in Rome. One of these was gifted to Metropolitan Alexander. These great evangelical relics were placed beside the Cross for veneration.

After the reading of the Tenth Gospel, which recounts the taking down of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Cross and His burial by the righteous Joseph of Arimathea, the clergy brought out from the altar a relic of the Life-Giving Tomb of the Lord. This relic was gifted to Orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan by Sheikh Wajih Nuseibeh, keeper of the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, at the request of Metropolitan Alexander and with the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.

“Today, as we celebrate the Service of the Holy Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ — Matins with the reading of the Twelve Gospels recounting the sufferings, crucifixion, and burial of the Savior — standing mentally at the Cross of Christ, we remember the great price of our salvation, the sacrifice that opened the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven to each of us. For us, for all our sins and wrongdoings, for the crimes and iniquities of mankind throughout history, the sinless Lord was nailed to the Cross. Listening to the Gospel readings and the texts of the hymns and stichera, we recall the betrayal of Judas and the threefold denial by the Apostle Peter, and his sincere, tearful repentance; we share in the Lord’s sufferings, we contemplate the presence of the Most Pure Virgin Mary at the Cross, we see the courageous acts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and we shudder at the malice of the scribes and Pharisees. We become witnesses of how, from the Cross, the Savior, turning to His beloved disciple John the Theologian, said: ‘Behold your Mother,’ and to the Most Pure Virgin, pointing to the beloved disciple, He said: ‘Behold your son.’ Thus, at the Cross of the Lord, at the altar of divine love, the Mother of Christ became the Mother of all who believe in Her Son. With what thoughts, with what inner disposition must we approach the Cross, venerate the Life-Giving Wood and the Gospel relics? One cannot venerate the Cross with malice, one cannot suffer with Christ while harboring evil thoughts about others, resentment, anger, or hatred. When we venerate the Cross of the Lord and sing of the Savior’s sufferings, we must ask ourselves: ‘Whom am I angry at? With whom have I not reconciled? To whom do I wish harm?’ And if any answers are found, then right there, before the Crucifixion, we must ask the Lord for patience and strength not to commit evil, and to erase resentment from our hearts. It is important that each of us, praying before the Cross of Christ, emulate our Lord Jesus Christ in patience and forgiveness, in love and mercy. We must imitate the Lord, who prayed for His crucifiers, saying: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34), and sincerely forgive all those who have wronged or opposed us.” — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.