The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan celebrated a New Year prayer service at the Ascension Cathedral in Alma-Ata

31 December 2025. Alma-Ata. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan presided over a prayer service before the beginning of the New Year at the Ascension Cathedral – the spiritual, historical, and cultural jewel of Semirechye.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were the vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Managing Director of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Bishop Klaudian of Taldykorgan, and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; the dean of the parishes of Alma-Ata, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Valery Zakharov; heads of district departments and diocesan commissions in holy orders; the cathedral clergy; rectors and clergy of the Alma-Ata churches.

According to established tradition, parishioners of the churches of the Southern Capital gathered at the Ascension Cathedral to give thanks to God for the departing year and to ask the Lord for gracious help in the coming year.

Before the beginning of the prayer service, the rector of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, read aloud the address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the eve of the New Year 2026.

After the initial exclamation, the parishioners together with the clergy chanted the prayer to the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King.”

The hymns were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia, member of the Patriarchal Church and Public Council for the Development of Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov.

The prayer service was celebrated before a reliquary containing the relics of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan.

At the conclusion of the service, the metropolitan choir performed the ancient and majestic hymn “We Praise Thee, O God,” authored by St. Ambrose of Milan.

Video recording of the service was carried out by the television studio of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan “Semirechye” (director – Honored Cultural Worker Viktoriya Posadneva, cameraman A. Shmidt) and specialists of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim” (president – V.M. Kapsamun).

Metropolitan Alexander addressed the faithful with words of congratulation on the New Year and a sermon, after which he sprinkled those praying with holy water.