On October 11, 2025 – the commemoration day of St. Chariton the Confessor, and of the Venerable Schema-Monk Cyril and Schema-Nun Maria, the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh – Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in the city of Rudny.
Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha), Secretary of the Kostanay Diocese; Protopriest Mikhail Pinaev, cleric of the Church of the Theophany in Rudny; Igumen Sevastyan (Ovsiienko), Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in the city of Arkalyk; Protopriest Oleg Kalmykov, Dean of the Lisakovsk Church District and Rector of the Church of St. John of Kronstadt in Lisakovsk; Protopriest Ioann Trymbach, cleric of the Church of the Theophany in Rudny; Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky), Head of the Metropolitan’s Personal Secretariat; Priest Andrey Krutin, Dean of the Kostanay Church District and Rector of the Kazan Icon Church in Tobyl; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Protocol Service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Protodeacon Alexander Mokiy; Clergy of the Almaty and Kostanay Dioceses.
As part of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Kostanay Diocese, a reliquary containing a portion of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon was brought to the cathedral for veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful.
The choir of the Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Kostanay, under the direction of T. Zhebrak, sang the responses.
Following the Eucharistic Canon, Metropolitan Alexander ordained Monk Seraphim (Kanderov) to the diaconate.
After the Communion verse, Priest Andrey Krutin read aloud a message from Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Kostanay Diocese.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, a magnification to the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon was chanted before the reliquary containing the saint’s relics.
Following the service, the archpastor congratulated the clergy and laity on the celebration of this significant date – the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Kostanay and Rudny Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan – and addressed those gathered with a pastoral message.
His Eminence then blessed the faithful by sprinkling them with holy water.
After the Liturgy, veneration of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon continued in the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian.
Later that day, Metropolitan Alexander met with the Akim (Mayor) of Rudny, V.N. Ionenko.
“We know that eternal life is attained through love for God and love for our neighbor. Yet the Lord Himself has revealed another great truth to us: it is the divine food – the holy and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, His most pure Body and Blood – that leads a person to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Participation in the Sacrament of Communion is a source of virtue and an effective remedy for 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 outside, to receive the grace, comfort, and help from the Lord that are given to a believer through proper fasting, frequent attendance at the services, and participation in the Sacraments.
Personal spiritual experience cannot be replaced by any intellectual effort, force of will, or emotional intensity, 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 Corinthians 2:9).
‘Taste and see that the Lord is good!’ (Psalm 34:8) – with these words of the Psalmist David, the Church of Christ invites us to partake of true, genuine spiritual life.”
– From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander
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