Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Cathedral of the Southern Capital

May 3, 2025 - Commemoration Day of the Holy Martyr Child Gabriel of Białystok.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the Paschal rite at the oldest church of the city of Almaty — the Cathedral in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Church of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon of the Mother of God; Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov, Dean of the Ili Church District; Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky), Head of the Personal Secretariat of the Metropolitan; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolis; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, Keymaster of the Kazan Cathedral; Hieromonk Kheruvim (Levin); Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Protocol Service of the Metropolitan; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Konstantin Volnyagin; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov.

The choir of the Kazan Cathedral sang under the direction of M. S. Chistyakova.

During the Liturgy, prayers were offered for the repose of the ever-memorable Patriarch Pimen. It was during his Primacy and with his blessing that, on September 27, 1989 — the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord — the episcopal consecration of the future Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan took place in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral in Yelokhovo, Moscow, with the ordination of Archimandrite Alexander (Mogilev) as Bishop of Kostroma and Galich.

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov.

The Liturgy concluded with the glorification of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, after which the Metropolitan proclaimed the Paschal greeting “CHRIST IS RISEN!” in various ancient and modern languages.

At the end of the service, the Head of the Metropolis addressed those present with words of spiritual exhortation.