On the Sunday marked by the feast in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in Almaty’s main cathedral

August 10, 2025 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, celebration in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called Hodegetria.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda, Bishop Benjamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese; Protopriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of the Almaty parishes; Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov), Spiritual Father of the Almaty Diocese; Hieromonk Philip (Moiseev), member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports; Priest Dimitry Sidorov; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), Head of the Metropolitan’s Secretariat; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, Sacristan of the Kazan Cathedral; Priest Dimitry Bovkunovich, Chairman of the Synodal Youth Department of the Belarusian Orthodox Church; Priest Mikhail Strekha, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Youth Department of the Belarusian Orthodox Church (Belarusian Exarchate); Deacon Evgeny Esaulenko, staff member of the Synodal Youth Department; clergy heading the diocesan youth departments of the Kazakh Metropolitan District; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

Praying at the service were: delegates of the 10th Congress of Orthodox Youth of Kazakhstan from all dioceses of the Metropolitan District, leaders and members of diocesan and parish youth organizations, persons responsible for organizing youth and educational work, experts on public, religious, and social issues; staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration, students of the Sunday school, and parishioners of the cathedral.

The hymns were performed by the choir of the Kazakh Metropolitan District (conductor – V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (conductor – E. Boguslavets).

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Protopriest Valery Zakharov.

After the dismissal of the Liturgy, a moleben of glorification was offered to the Most Holy Theotokos, after which the metropolitan addressed those present with a word of edification.

The hierarch warmly congratulated Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), Head of the Personal Secretariat, on his name day. The metropolitan presented Father Prokhor with a holy prosphora and wished him God’s mercy, spiritual and physical health, and zealous service to the Church of Christ.

“Today we celebrate one of the most renowned icons of the Most Holy Theotokos – the Smolensk image of the Queen of Heaven. Its ancient name is Hodegetria, which means ‘She who shows the way.’ ‘The icons of the Mother of God,’ says St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), ‘work miracles throughout the world, proclaim, testify, and seal with signs the truth of Christ’s teaching.’

Veneration of the icons of the Sovereign Lady, the honoring of holy objects connected with the name of the Most Blessed Theotokos, and sincere heartfelt sighs before them open for each of us the gates of divine mercy. In relation to the Mother of God, we are all Her children, adopted on Golgotha during the crucifixion sufferings of the Savior. The words of the Lord, originally addressed to the Apostle John the Theologian, ‘Behold your Mother!’ (John 19:27), are directed to each of us; therefore, all prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos should be made with the awareness of this majestic truth.

The relationship of a Christian with God, the Most Holy Theotokos, the angels, and the saints cannot be limited to requests alone. ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments’ (John 14:15), the Lord addresses each of us. The proper response to the blessings sent to us from Above will be the cultivation of good qualities within ourselves, the keeping of the commandments, and active love for our neighbor. St. Philaret of Moscow teaches: ‘If we wish to worthily magnify the Most Holy Mother of God, then let us love with all our heart Her virtues and perfections.’ And another eminent hierarch, St. Theophan the Recluse, gives this spiritual counsel: ‘Hasten to those in sorrow, and the ray of mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, overshadowing them, will also overshadow you.’

May the mercy of the Most Holy Sovereign Lady, the Mother of God, abide with all of us who honor Her wonderworking image and venerate Her with faith.”(From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander)

Through the labors of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, while he served as Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich, an ancient fresco was rediscovered – the wonderworking Smolensk–Kostroma Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, one of the sacred treasures of the Epiphany–Anastasia Convent in the city of Kostroma. The fresco icon, a copy of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, was created in 1672 on the wall of the south-western corner tower of the Epiphany Monastery by a team of iconographers headed by the renowned icon painters Guriy Nikitin and Sila Savin, who at that time were working on the frescoes of the monastery’s cathedral church.

A hundred years later, in 1779, a devastating fire broke out in Kostroma, destroying half of the city’s buildings. The entire Epiphany Monastery – its churches and fortress walls – was engulfed in flames. Yet, protected by the miraculous power of God, the wall-painting of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos remained completely unharmed.

In 1824–1825, through the efforts of Venerable Macarius (Glukharev) – enlightener of the Altai and one of the outstanding Russian missionaries and scholars of the 19th century, who at that time was abbot of the Epiphany Monastery – the monastery’s south-western tower, bearing the iconographic image of the Mother of God, was rebuilt into a church in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. In 1847, another terrible fire struck Kostroma. The merciless flames destroyed the interior of the Smolensk Church, but, as in the fire of 1779, the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God again remained unharmed. News of this miracle instantly spread throughout Kostroma, and, according to a contemporary, “many crowds of people, standing near the Smolensk Church, with faith and reverence fell down before this image of the Mother of God, asking Her for intercession and the salvation of the burning city.”

Through the pious efforts of the faithful people of Kostroma, the wall-painting of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was adorned with a precious silver-gilt riza. For many years, this riza decorated the ancient shrine, famed not only for having been preserved in the flames of two great fires, but also for the numerous miracles wrought through it by the grace of God.

In 1920, despite the active resistance of the faithful, the Smolensk Church – following the closure of the Epiphany–Anastasia Convent in Kostroma – was shut down. All the church furnishings, together with the precious riza of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, were confiscated by the provincial commission for the requisition of church valuables.

In 1990, the Smolensk Church – which for many years had housed various institutions – was returned to the Church and to the revived Epiphany–Anastasia Convent. The Smolensk–Kostroma Icon of the Mother of God, once preserved in the flames of devastating fires, was found to be severely damaged – little more than the outlines of the image remained. The restorers came to a discouraging conclusion: the image of the Mother of God had been completely lost, and the icon would have to be repainted.

Yet a miracle occurred – one of the members of the expert commission nevertheless took some cotton wool and alcohol and made a test wipe. Suddenly, in the spot wiped, the eye of the Mother of God appeared – then the other eye. A wondrous renewal of the icon had taken place – the image, thought to have been lost forever, was restored. Experienced restorers were astonished by this miracle: in fifty years of their work, they had never seen anything like it.

On November 23, 2004, a new precious riza was consecrated for the Smolensk–Kostroma Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Alexander authored a detailed study of the wonderworking Smolensk–Kostroma Icon of the Mother of God – “The Kostroma Hodegetria”.