Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Sunday Liturgy at the Church of the Representation of the Metropolis in Moscow

October 5, 2025 — 17th Sunday after Pentecost, the commemoration day of the Prophet Jonah and Hieromartyr Benjamin, Bishop of Uralsk.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church in honor of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia at the Patriarchal Compound in Moscow — the Representation of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Hieromonk Agafangel (Gagua), Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, and Vice-Rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary; Hieromonk Antony (Drobyazko), assistant to the Head of the Metropolis of Kazakhstan; and the clergy of the compound.

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

Praying during the service were: Secretary of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, choir director of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, and member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing O. N. Ovchinnikov; staff of the Representation, benefactors of the Patriarchal Compound, and parishioners of the church.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the hierarch congratulated the participants of the service on the Sunday — the “Little Pascha” — and addressed those present with a sermon.

“We know that eternal life is attained through love for God and love for one’s neighbor, but the Lord Himself revealed to us yet another great truth: divine food — the holy life-giving Mysteries of Christ, the most pure Body and Blood of our Savior — leads a person into the Kingdom of Heaven. Participation in the Sacrament of Communion is a source of virtue and an effective means of deliverance from sin. The Lord Jesus Christ warns us: ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you’ (John 6:53).

It is impossible, merely observing from the side, to feel the gracious gifts, to receive the consolation and help from the Lord that sincere prayer, frequent attendance at the temple of God, and participation in the Sacraments bring to a believer.

Personal spiritual experience cannot be replaced by any efforts of the mind, willpower, or emotional attention, for ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’ (1 Cor. 2:9). ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good!’ (Ps. 33:9) — with the words of the Psalmist David, the Church of Christ calls us to partake of true and authentic spiritual life.”

From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.