Feast Day of the Prophet of God Elijah. Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Astana

August 2, 2025 – the commemoration of the Holy Prophet of God Elijah.

From the day of his fiery ascent into Heaven, the veneration of the Prophet Elijah by the faithful has never ceased. The Russian Orthodox Church pays special reverence to this “heavenly man.” The first church built in Kyiv under Prince Igor was consecrated in honor of the Prophet Elijah. After receiving Holy Baptism, Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga built a church dedicated to Elijah in her native village of Vybuty.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the oldest church of the city – the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk; Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; the dean of the Astana church district, Archimandrite Sergy (Karamyshev); the rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Protopriest Yevgeny Vorobyov; the rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District, Protopriest Yevgeny Ivanov; the spiritual father of the Astana Convent in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Recovery of the Lost,” Hieromonk Modest (Drozdov); the sacristan of the Dormition Cathedral, Hieromonk Dimitry (Baydek); the sacristan of the Constantine and Helen Cathedral, Protopriest Sergy Kaliyev; cleric of the Church of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov in Astana, Hieromonk Silouan (Sinegubov); the head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; the head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Deacon Ilya Davydov; Deacon Ilya Salyakhov; Deacon Yevgeny Gudz; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

Liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the Constantine and Helen Cathedral under the direction of N. Mazurina.

Orthodox residents of the capital and faithful from nearby localities prayed during the service.

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Hieromonk Silouan (Sinegubov).

The Liturgy concluded with a glorification before the icon of the Prophet Elijah.

According to ancient tradition associated with Elijah’s Day, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the rite of blessing the fruits of the new harvest – he read the prayer “For those who bring the first fruits of vegetables”: “Master, Lord our God, Who commanded each to bring of Thine own unto Thee as an offering…” and sprinkled the vegetables and fruits with holy water.

During the chanting of the troparion and magnification to the Prophet Elijah, the Metropolitan sprinkled the gathered faithful with holy water.

Many years (Polychronion) was proclaimed for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’; the Head and hierarchs of the Kazakh Metropolitan District; the President of the country, K.-Zh.K. Tokayev; the authorities, the armed forces, and all the people of Kazakhstan.

On August 2, the 42nd anniversary of the priestly ordination of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan was also commemorated. In 1983, on the feast day of the Prophet of God Elijah, in the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village of Volkovo, Kirov region, the ever-memorable Archbishop Chrysanf (Chepil; †2011, later Metropolitan of Vyatka and Sloboda) ordained his secretary, Deacon Alexander Mogilev, to the priesthood.

Archimandrite Sergy (Karamyshev) congratulated the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on this memorable date of priestly ordination.

In his response, Metropolitan Alexander warmly thanked the hierarchs, clergy, and all participants of the Liturgy for their kind words and well-wishes, and asked all those present in the church for fervent prayers for the bestowal of strengthening grace from God in his archpastoral ministry.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan warmly congratulated Deacon Ilya Davydov, Deacon Ilya Salyakhov, and his subdeacon Ilya Yatsenko on their name day, presenting them with holy prosphora and an icon of the Prophet of God Elijah, and wishing them God’s mercy, spiritual and physical health, and diligent service to the Church of Christ.

“The prophetic mission of the Holy Prophet Elijah is entirely imbued with extraordinary fiery zeal for God – this is the defining feature of his ministry. In the Holy Scriptures we hear the words of the Psalmist David: ‘The zeal for Thy house has consumed me’ (Ps. 68:10). Elijah was literally consumed by this fire of faith, burning with zeal for the glory of God. When God addressed him with the question: ‘…What are you doing here, Elijah?’ he answered: ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword’ (1 Kings 19:9–10).

Elijah could not look indifferently upon Israel praying not to the true God, but to the lifeless idol Baal. Elijah bitterly lamented that there was no one left among the ignorant people to preach the word of the Lord, for the prophets of the Living God had been slain and in their place the false prophets of Baal taught pagan superstitions.

Elijah suffered mortally in his soul for the profaned glory of the Creator and for the temple that had fallen into neglect. He did not wish to live in a world where the name of the Lord was no longer exalted, where the will of the Creator was no longer fulfilled on earth. With his zeal for the glory of God, the prophet teaches us to always remember our calling – to be true followers of our Lord Jesus Christ and faithful fulfillers of His holy will.

We must accustom ourselves to the consistent and unwavering observance of God’s commandments. We must cultivate within ourselves such a disposition of soul that life – our own and that of our loved ones – would be unimaginable without God.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.