At the Sunday Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty, hymns were sung to the music of the great Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky

16 November 2025 – the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost; the commemoration of the dedication (consecration) of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious in Lydda.

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

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan: dean of the parishes of Almaty and rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Valery Zakharov; rector of the Almaty church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District, candidate of theology Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral and head of the Metropolitan District’s Department for Public Relations Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports Igumen Philip (Moiseev), rector of the Nativity-of-the-Theotokos Church in the Akzhar district Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the correspondence division of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary Priest Daniil Bobylev, sacristan of the Adriano–Natalievsky Church Priest Ioann Konoplev; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich; head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The hymns were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District (choirmaster – Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, assistant choirmaster – V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (choirmaster – E. Boguslavets).

On this Sunday, the hymns of the Divine Liturgy sung by the choir of the Metropolitan District were performed to the music of the great Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky. On 6 November 2025, 132 years had passed since his repose. The tradition of performing the choral music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky under the vaults of Almaty’s main cathedrals, on one of the Sundays closest to the anniversary of this great Russian composer, has become a cherished custom of the Metropolitan District.

During the memorial litany, the name of the ever-memorable servant of God Pyotr Tchaikovsky – the outstanding composer whose work made a significant contribution to world musical culture – was commemorated, as well as the names of his parents, Ilya and Alexandra.

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander warmly thanked the clergy, monastics, and laity for the shared joy of prayer and delivered words of edification.

Following the service, the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District presented Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich with the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 3rd class. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ awarded this high honor to Father Protodeacon in recognition of his labors for the good of the Holy Church and in connection with his 60th birthday. The Metropolitan congratulated Father Nikolay on receiving the order and wished him health, long life, and God’s help in his ministry to the Church of Christ.

“Every time Sunday comes – the little Pascha – the Holy Church reminds us of the mystery of our salvation through the Resurrection of Christ. ‘God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, and even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:4–6),” we heard today in the words of the Apostle Paul at the Divine Liturgy.

“Through the Resurrection of the Savior, every believer has been given the opportunity to partake of the grace sent from above, in order to live according to the Gospel truth and the commandments of God – to be kind and merciful, honest and benevolent in relations with all kinds of people, able to share both joy and sorrow with those near and far. One cannot confess the Orthodox faith without diligent and constant spiritual work on oneself, on one’s inner life. And at the same time, we must transform the reality around us through wise words and noble deeds, by inviting into our existence and into the lives of those near us the saving and sanctifying grace of God.

“The Lord does not require impossible feats from us. In following the Gospel commandments, only the first steps are difficult. At first it is necessary to stop oneself in time and wisely refrain from responding to rudeness with rudeness, to evil with evil, to falsehood with falsehood, to judgment with judgment. The next step is attentive concern for the needs of our neighbors, for their sorrows and their successes. It is important to understand that righteous and honest deeds performed within the family, at work, or simply in interaction with neighbors and acquaintances bring true joy to the heart and grant peace to the soul.

“Appealing to every person, the Savior again and again calls out: ‘Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is good, and My burden is light’ (Matt. 11:28–30). To feel and understand how good and light the burden placed upon us by the Lord truly is, we must hasten to do good.”

From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander.