During the Week of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Head of the Metropolis Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Sophia Cathedral in Almaty

On May 4, 2025 – the 3rd Sunday after Pascha; the commemoration of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women and of the righteous Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus – secret disciples of Christ.

On this day, the Orthodox Church honors the women who were disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ – Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Salome, Joanna, Martha, Mary, and others, who followed Him during His earthly life and did not leave the place of His burial after His death. They were the first to be vouchsafed the joyful news of Christ’s Resurrection. This feast has long been considered the Orthodox Women’s Day – a celebration of all women.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the Paschal rite at the Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent in the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Almaty Church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov, acting rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and head of the Information Department of the Metropolis; Protopriest Kirill Shklyar, sacristan of the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Almaty; Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov, dean of the Ili Church District; Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Akzhar microdistrict; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Peter Bakhtiyarov, vice-rector for academic affairs of the Almaty Theological Seminary; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolis; Priest Daniil Bobylev, head of the correspondence department of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Bogdan Boyko; Deacon Ilya Vorobyev; and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The hymns of the Liturgy were performed by the choir of the Sophia Cathedral under the direction of O. Usoltseva.

Praying at the service were: Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina), superior of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent of the Southern Capital, along with the sisters of the convent; staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration; parishioners of the churches of the Southern Capital, and numerous pilgrims.

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Sidorov.

The Liturgy concluded with the glorification of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ, after which His Eminence the Metropolitan exclaimed “Christ is Risen!” in various languages – both ancient and modern.

Metropolitan Alexander then addressed the faithful with words of spiritual edification, after which he congratulated all women on the day commemorating the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women and presented them with flowers.