On the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Vicars of the Astana Diocese Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos in Almaty

May 9, 2025 – On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Church of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos in Almaty.

The service was led by Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar.

Concelebrants included: Protopriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of the churches of the Southern Capital and rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral; Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Protopriest Evgeny Bobylev, head of the Metropolis’s Department of Religious Education and Catechism and rector of the Protection Church and the Church of the Synaxis of the Mother of God; as well as clergy of the Almaty Diocese.

Praying at the service were: faculty and students of the theological and missionary department of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; teachers and children of the parish Sunday school named after the Apostle John the Theologian; and parishioners of the church.

In accordance with the 1994 resolution of the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, a special commemoration was held for those who died in the war. The bishops and clergy offered prayers for “the leaders and warriors who gave their lives on the battlefield, who died from wounds and hunger, who were innocently tortured and slain in captivity and forced labor, and all who labored for the sake of Victory.”

At the end of the service, glorification was offered to the Risen Christ, and a thanksgiving moleben was offered to the Lord for the gift of Victory.

Bishop Klavdian sprinkled the faithful with holy water and addressed them with a pastoral word.