The Feast of Feasts and the Triumph of Triumphs – the Radiant Resurrection of Christ. Metropolitan Alexander Celebrates the Paschal Divine Service at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

During the night of April 19–20, 2025, the Orthodox faithful of Kazakhstan celebrated the Feast of Feasts and the Triumph of Triumphs – the Radiant Resurrection of Christ, the Saving Pascha of God.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Head of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, celebrated the festal Paschal services at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: the spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese, Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov); the Head of the District’s Public Relations Department, Protopriest Alexander Suvorov; the heads of the District’s departments and commissions in holy orders; and the cathedral clergy.

Praying at the Paschal service were: staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration, benefactors of the Diocese, and a multitude of the faithful.

The hymns were sung by the choir of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia O. N. Ovchinnikov and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral under the direction of Ye. Boguslavets.

Three hours before the service began, the reading of the Acts of the Apostles took place in the cathedral. “The greatest proof of the truth of Christ’s Resurrection are the miracles worked by the Apostles, and the Book of Acts is nothing other than a narrative of the apostolic miracles,” says Saint John Chrysostom about this ancient tradition.

The Paschal service began with the Midnight Office and the Canon of Great Saturday: “The waves of the sea…” before the Epitaphios of the Savior, placed in the center of the church. During the singing of the final irmos “Do not lament Me, O Mother…”, at the words “for I shall arise and be glorified,” the clergy lifted the Epitaphios from the tomb and carried it into the altar. There it will remain upon the Holy Table until Ascension – in memory of the forty-day presence of the Risen Lord upon the earth.

At the end of the Midnight Office, the Paschal procession was held around the cathedral to the singing of the sticheron “Thy Resurrection, O Christ our Savior…”. The Paschal Matins continued with the chanting of the Paschal Canon, composed in the 8th century by Saint John of Damascus. Following the Canon, the clergy and choir sang the Paschal stichera. Then was read the “Catechetical Homily of Saint John Chrysostom,” calling all the faithful to enter into the joy of the Risen Lord.

During the Paschal Hours, the clergy changed their white vestments for red ones.

According to the Typikon, the Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection of Christ includes special antiphons composed of prophetic psalms: the 65th (“Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth”) with the refrain “Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us”; the 66th (“God be merciful unto us, and bless us”) with the refrain “O Son of God, who art risen from the dead, save us who sing unto Thee: Alleluia”; and the 67th (“Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered”) with the refrain – the festal troparion “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death…” Instead of the Trisagion, the baptismal hymn “As many as have been baptized into Christ…” was sung, in remembrance of the ancient tradition of baptizing catechumens on this day.

The appointed reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1–8) was proclaimed, followed by the Gospel reading from John (1:13–17), which proclaims the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ and reveals His divine authority through His Resurrection from the dead. According to ancient custom, the Paschal Gospel at the night Liturgy was read in multiple languages. Metropolitan Alexander began the reading in Ancient Greek, and the concelebrating clergy continued in Latin, Kazakh, Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, English, Russian, Mordovian, Italian, and Church Slavonic. On this day, the Paschal greeting “CHRIST IS RISEN!” is likewise proclaimed in various languages and dialects, both ancient and modern, as a sign of the universal triumph of the Christian message of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead.

At the Liturgy, the Paschal Message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ was proclaimed.

Following the Ambo Prayer, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander blessed the artos (the traditional Paschal bread). At the conclusion of the service, he addressed the congregation with words of Paschal greeting and blessed the Paschal foods – the kulichi, paskhas, and dyed eggs.

The Paschal service was broadcast on a widescreen display installed in the square in front of the cathedral. Prior to the Matins, the screen displayed documentary films produced by the “Semirechye” television studio (director – Honored Worker of Culture V. L. Posadneva).

The live broadcast of the Paschal service was hosted on the YouTube channels “Semirechye” and “ProtoImage” (Proobraz) with the support of the public foundation “Eleos” (director – V. M. Kapsamun).

Security and order were supported by members of the Union of Cossacks of Semirechye, led by Ataman V. S. Shikhotov, a member of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.

The filming of the hierarchical Paschal service was carried out by the “Semirechye” television studio of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan (camera operator – A. Schmidt); photography was provided by the staff of the Information Department – A. Khalin and A. Shcheglov.