Meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Held in Almaty

October 25, 2025. Almaty. In the synodal hall of the spiritual, cultural, and administrative center of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), a regular meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was held under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

The Synod of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan includes Archbishop Barnabas of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz, Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk, Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk, Archbishop Varsonofy of Kokshetau and Akmola, Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulaevo, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Bishop Ignaty of Aktobe and Kyzylorda, Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan, Vicar of the Astana Diocese, Bishop Khrisanf of Shymkent and Turkestan, Bishop Veniamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese, and Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau.

After the common prayer, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan addressed the hierarchs with an opening word and announced the agenda of the meeting.

The work of the Synod opened with a report by Metropolitan Alexander on the Primatial visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan on September 16–18, 2025, during which His Holiness participated in the Eighth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, consecrated the newly built Church of Saint Sergius, blessed the continuation of the creation of the capital’s spiritual and educational center dedicated to All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Land of Kazakhstan, and celebrated a service in memory of the new martyrs and confessors of the Church of Christ in the Dormition Cathedral of Astana in the presence of a great multitude of believers.

As the Head of the Metropolitan District noted, an important public event was the meeting between the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich Tokayev, and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, during which, in recognition of his contribution to the strengthening of spiritual ties between peoples and as a sign of special respect, the head of state presented His Holiness with the country’s highest award – the Order of Altyn Qyran (“Golden Eagle”). The Metropolitan emphasized that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church became the first religious leader to be awarded this order since its establishment.

The members of the Synod warmly congratulated the Head of the Metropolitan District on being awarded, “in recognition of his diligent archpastoral labors,” the high patriarchal decoration – the Order of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, First Class.

Metropolitan Alexander informed the hierarchs about his meetings with religious and state figures: His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. S. Ashimbayev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D. N. Chernyshenko, Akim of the city of Astana Zh. M. Kassymbek, Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan Archbishop George Panamthundil, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation D. A. Abaev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Kazakhstan A. N. Borodavkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Laliashvili, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Kazakhstan S. Guilloche.

The Metropolitan spoke to the Synod participants about the opening in Astana of the international exhibition “The Shroud of Turin,” organized by the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, the Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church of the capital, together with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the international charitable foundation Kirche in Not (“Church in Need”); about the Fourth International Theological and Scholarly Conference “Timonov Readings” held in the city of Kostanay; and about the Tenth Congress of Orthodox Youth of Kazakhstan held in the Almaty region, which gathered 200 participants – delegates from all dioceses of Kazakhstan, leaders and members of diocesan and parish youth groups, coordinators of educational and social initiatives, and guests from Russia and Belarus.

Metropolitan Alexander reported on his participation in the joint session of the chambers of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, during which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his annual address to the nation.

The Synod heard reports from Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. His Grace spoke about his participation in several events: the Twenty-Third Meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, the General Assembly of the members of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, the anniversary meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, and the joint session of the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission and the Commission for Theology and Theological Education of the Inter-Council Presence.

Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk reported to the Synod on the visit of official parliamentary delegations from the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and the Czech Republic to the Cathedral of Saint Andrew and to the administrative and spiritual center of the Diocese of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk.

Archbishop Varsonofy of Kokshetau and Akmola reported on the opening in Kokshetau of a training center for sisters of mercy, which will operate with the support of the Church Hospital of Saint Alexis in Moscow.

Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulaevo spoke to the hierarchs about his participation in the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan in the North Kazakhstan region. Bishop Ignaty of Aktobe and Kyzylorda informed the Synod about his participation in a meeting of the Club of Leaders of Religious Associations of the Aktobe Region. Bishop Khrisanf of Shymkent and Turkestan reported on his participation in a round-table discussion on the topic “The Constitution – a Guarantee of Religious Stability” held in Shymkent.

Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen also reported on the participation of a delegation from the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan in the International Forum “Faith and Sport” and in the Saint Alexander Nevsky Games in Saint Petersburg, as well as on the presence of a representative of the Metropolitan District at a meeting of the Commission for Human Rights under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan presented a report on the educational conference for monastics of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan and on the participation of representatives of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan in the Assembly of Abbots and Abbesses of the Monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow.

Metropolitan Alexander presented high awards to hierarchs celebrating significant anniversaries. In recognition of his zealous archpastoral labors for the benefit of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and in connection with the fifteenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration, Archbishop Barnabas of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz was awarded the Order of the Venerable Confessor Sebastian of Karaganda. Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Metropolitan District, received the Order of Saint Sophronius, Archbishop of Turkestan and Tashkent, Enlightener of Semirechye. For his devoted archpastoral service and on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of his priesthood, Archbishop Varsonofy of Kokshetau and Akmola was awarded the Order of the Holy Martyrs Seraphim and Theognostus.

The minutes of the meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan are approved by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (cf. Article 9, Chapter XIII of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church: “The minutes of the Synod of a Metropolitan District are submitted to the Holy Synod and approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia”).