On the Feast of the Holy Trinity, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy and Great Vespers in the Main Cathedral of Alma‑Ata

June 8, 2025 – Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, Pentecost, Commemoration of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of the city of Alma‑Ata.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Mitrophore Protopriest Valeriy Zakharov, Rector of the Nikolsky Cathedral; Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyov, Rector of the Alma‑Ata church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral and head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan District; Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov, rector of the Orthodox Theological Seminary of Alma‑Ata and head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District; Igumen Philip (Moiseev), member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sport; Priest Andrey Shklyar, deputy sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District; Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

Praying during the service were: M.S. Simakova, Head of the Russian House in Almaty; T.V. Zubkova, head of international humanitarian projects of the Russian House in Alma‑Ata; staff of the Alma‑Ata Diocesan Administration; numerous parishioners.

In accordance with the liturgical Typikon, special Pentecost antiphons were sung during the Liturgy, consisting of prophetic psalms: the 18th – “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork,” with the refrain: “By the intercessions of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us”; the 19th – “The Lord will hear you in the day of trouble,” with the refrain: “Save us, O Good Comforter, they who chant to You: alleluia”; and the 20th – “O Lord, in Your power shall the king be glad,” with refrain – the troparion of the feast: “Blessed are You, O Christ our God, Who through the fishermen of wisdom has shown Your Resurrection to the world.” Instead of the Trisagion, the Baptismal Hymn was sung: “As many as have been baptized into Christ…,” in remembrance of the ancient tradition of baptism of catechumens on this day. The Apostolic reading was the account of the actual event of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts of the Holy Apostles, chapter 2, verses 1–11). The Gospel reading (from John 7:37–52; 8:12) contains the promise of the Savior of the outpouring upon all “who thirst spiritually” of the quenching grace of the Holy Spirit, which is to flow through believers in the Lord Jesus Christ into the whole world.

The homily after the Communion verse was delivered by Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov.

Many communicants partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

After the post-Communion prayer, reliquaries containing the relics of the Holy Apostles and a fragment of the Mamre Oak were carried in procession from the altar to the center of the church.

Upon the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander led the Great Vespers of the Feast, with the reading of the kneeling prayers of Saint Basil the Great.

At the beginning of Vespers, the prayer to the Holy Spirit – “O Heavenly King” – was sung by all. According to the liturgical Typikon, the usual petitions of the Great Ektenia were joined by special supplications for “those who are about to receive and are awaiting the grace of the Holy Spirit,” “those bowing their hearts before the Lord and their knees,” etc., and the great prokeimenon “Who is great, like our God? You are God, working wonders.”

The main feature of the Great Vespers of the Feast of Pentecost is the reading of the kneeling prayers composed in the 4th century by St. Basil the Great. In the first prayer, addressed to God the Father, the faithful confess their sins, ask for forgiveness, and beg for heavenly grace to resist the wiles of the enemy. In the second, the faithful ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides and strengthens them in keeping the commandments of God for the attainment of blessed life. In the third, addressed to the Son of God, Who fulfilled the oversight (dispensation) of the salvation of the human race, the Church prays for the repose of our departed fathers and brothers. This prayer includes a petition “for those held in Hades” and for the Lord to “place them in a place of light, a place of verdure, a place of coolness.”

The festive Vespers concludes with a special dismissal: “He who from the Father’s and Divine bosom, emptied Himself and came from heaven to earth…”. Its introductory phrase, being quite expansive, glorifies all the saving actions of the Lord, from the Incarnation to the Cross, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.

After the chanting of the “Many Years” to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, to the His Grace archpastors of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, to the President, authorities, military, and all the people of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander addressed those gathered with a sermon.

According to ancient custom, dating back to Old Testament times, on the Feast of Pentecost the church was adorned with tree branches, plants, and flowers. Throughout the service, clergy and parishioners held flowers and branches, symbolizing the mysterious renewal of human souls by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The hierarch sprinkled the faithful with holy water and delivered a word of exhortation.

After the conclusion of the service, the Head of the Metropolitan District warmly congratulated the Dean of Alma‑Ata’s parishes, Mitrophore Protopriest Valeriy Zakharov, on his birthday. His Eminence wished Father Valeriy health, longevity, and God’s help in his further pastoral labors for the benefit of the Holy Church in the land of Semirechye, presenting him with holy prosphora and a bouquet of flowers.

Representatives of the Union of Semirechye Cossacks, led by Ataman V.S. Shikhotov – a member of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan – took active part in maintaining order and security.

The Metropolitan District’s TV studio “Semirechye” of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District recorded the service on video (director – Honored Cultural Worker V.L. Posadneva, camera operator A. Schmidt); photo coverage – A. Shcheglov from the Information Department.

The service was broadcast live on the YouTube channel “Proobraz,” at the initiative and support of the charitable public foundation “ELEOS‑MEIRIM” (director – V.M. Kapsamun).

“The Day of the Holy Trinity, the Feast of Pentecost, fills the hearts of believers with special joy. We celebrate the realization that in response to the Church’s prayers, Christ sends us the Holy Spirit from the Father. The Comforter, the Heavenly King, Whom we invoke, brings about our divine adoption, brings us to union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit establishes the unity of Orthodox Christians, who become one Body, one Church, the Kingdom of God in this world. With the manifestation of the Holy Spirit to the world, humanity glimpsed the mystery of the Life-Giving Trinity. Humanity learned that Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is One in His Essence, yet Three in Persons. We believe in One God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we worship the consubstantial and indivisible Trinity. Yet our mind cannot comprehend this holy and great mystery.

The Teacher of the Church, Blessed Augustine, in his outstanding spiritual work Confessions, recounts how he pondered much upon the Holy Trinity, how he yearned but could not understand this mystery. Once he went for a walk to the seashore. There he saw a small boy who had dug a hole in the sand and was carrying handfuls of sea water into it. Blessed Augustine watched the boy and finally asked what he was doing. The boy replied that he had made a hole and was trying to pour the sea into it. Blessed Augustine exclaimed, ‘Do you not understand that you cannot pour the sea into a hole? It cannot hold the sea!’ Then the boy, who was actually an angel sent to instruct Augustine, replied: ‘And how do you think you can enclose the ocean of the Holy Trinity within your mind?’” — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.