Feast of All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land. Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Representation of the Metropolis in Moscow

On June 22, 2025 – the Second Sunday after Pentecost, the commemoration of All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land and the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow marking the 84th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War – Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia at the Patriarchal Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, located in Moscow.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Protopriest Agafangel (Gagua), Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences and Candidate of Theology, Vice-Rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary; Hieromonk Antony (Drobyazko), sacristan of the Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and Sophia; Protopriest Pavel Vishnevsky; Hieromonk Victorin (Aseyev); Hieromonk Daniil (Makagon); and the clergy of the Representation.

The choir of the church sang under the direction of Anna Rozhnova.

Participating in the service were: N.V. Parshikova, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; benefactors of the Representation and parishioners of the church.

During the memorial litany, special prayers were offered for “the leaders and warriors who laid down their lives on the battlefield, those who perished from wounds and hunger, those innocently tortured and slain in captivity and forced labor, and all who labored for the Victory.”

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy, a hymn of praise was chanted in honor of All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land.

The Head of the Metropolis congratulated the participants of the service on the “Little Pascha” – the Sunday feast on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all Russian saints – and addressed those gathered with a sermon.

After the homily, Metropolitan Alexander served a memorial litia for “the leaders and warriors who laid down their lives for the Fatherland during the years of the Great Patriotic War” and for all who perished in that time of sorrow and trial.

“Today, on the second Sunday after Pentecost, we honor all the saints who have shone forth in the Russian Orthodox Church. ‘Today the choir of saints who have pleased God in our land stands in the Church and invisibly prays to God for us,’ we sing in the kontakion to the saints glorified this day. Through their labors and sorrows, through their feats and spiritual greatness, Orthodoxy was established and strengthened in Rus’ and in the lands that now form the canonical territory of the Russian Church. By their intercession, the true faith is still preserved in people’s hearts today; by their protection, we—their kin by spirit and blood—have the opportunity to live with Christ, to walk the path of salvation, and to keep the commandments of the Gospel. Frequent appeal to the saints is a natural need of every Christian. And when we pray to the saints who are our spiritual kin in the Russian Orthodox Church, we do so with even greater boldness, believing that our holy ancestors never forget their descendants who joyfully celebrate their radiant feast with love.”

“On this day, June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began—our country faced the most dreadful invasion in its history. German Nazis and their allies from countries under fascist regimes aimed to destroy our Fatherland and enslave our people. This calamity, which began on the very day when the Russian Orthodox Church prayerfully remembered All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land, inspired millions of citizens—from Brest to Vladivostok, from the Arctic Ocean to the steppes of Central Asia—to rise in defense of their homeland with a united spirit. In the name of the coming Victory, soldiers gave their lives in fierce battles, nurses and doctors selflessly rescued the wounded, workers and peasants tirelessly toiled in the rear, including teenagers and children. In their darkest hours, many turned to the faith of their fathers—Holy Orthodoxy—drawing strength and courage from its spiritual treasury, truly fulfilling the Lord’s commandment: ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (John 15:13). We all must learn devotion and courage from those who endured every hardship and trial of the war and won peace for the whole world. Eternal and grateful memory to all leaders and warriors who laid down their lives on the battlefield, those who perished from wounds and hunger, those innocently tortured and slain in captivity and forced labor, and all who labored for the sake of Victory.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.