In the Sunday of the Holy Fathers, the Head of the Metropolitan District celebrated the Liturgy at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral of the Southern Capital

4 January 2026 – the 30th Sunday after Pentecost, before the Nativity of Christ; the commemoration of the Holy Fathers and the feast day of the Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds.

On the last Sunday before the Nativity, the Orthodox Church commemorates the forefathers according to the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning with the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham and ending with the righteous Joseph the Betrothed; in a special way the Prophet Daniel and the three righteous youths – Ananias, Azariah, and Misael – are remembered.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral dedicated to the Holy Right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky in the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were the vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; the dean of the churches of the Southern Capital and rector of St Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; the rector of the Almaty church dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov; the rector of the Iveron church in the settlement of Boraldai of the Almaty Region, Hegumen Filaret (Petrochenko); the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Archpriest Ioann Lopatin; the key-bearer of the Sts Peter and Paul church, Archpriest Kirill Shklyar; the dean of the Ili Church District, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov; the head of the metropolitan’s personal secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); the key-bearer of the Kazan Cathedral of Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky; the key-bearer of the Adrian and Natalia church, Priest Ioann Konoplev; Protopresbyter Deacon Nikolai Grinkevich; the head of the metropolitan protocol service, Protopresbyter Deacon Roman Golovin; Protopresbyter Deacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko; Deacon Daniil Pasyuk.

The choir of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral sang under the direction of the regent A. Kulmetov.

During the Divine Liturgy the first chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew was read, containing the genealogy of the Saviour and the account of the Nativity of the Lord from the Ever-Virgin Mary.

The sermon after the Communion verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Rublinsky.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander addressed the clergy and parishioners with words of pastoral instruction.

On 4 January 2026, fifteen years had passed since the repose to the Lord of Metropolitan Chrysanth of Vyatka and Slobodskoy – the spiritual father and mentor of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. At the end of the Liturgy, the Head of the Metropolitan District served a memorial litia for the ever-memorable hierarch Chrysanth – the first Metropolitan of the land of Vyatka.

The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan warmly congratulated Bishop Klavdian on the tenth anniversary of his monastic tonsure and wished him God’s help in his archpastoral labours and obediences.

The life and labours of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Chrysanth (Chepil) are presented in the article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan entitled “A Man of Faith and a Man of the Church”.

“Today is a Sunday that draws us closer to the radiant feast of the manifestation of Christ the Life-Giver to the world through the remembrance of the Holy Fathers – the Old Testament righteous ones who were forefathers and kinsmen of the Saviour according to the flesh. At the Liturgy a special Gospel reading was proclaimed, containing the genealogy of the Lord. Through these brief lines, through the list of names, the Evangelist Matthew reminds us of the whole history of the Old Testament, when people, ‘sitting in darkness and the shadow of death’ (Mt. 4:16), awaited the Saviour of the world, and the righteous were saved by faith in the coming Messiah-Christ. Behind every name stands an entire life. Here are the God-loving Abraham – the father of believers, the righteous Ruth who left her native land and accepted faith in the One Creator, the psalmist King David, and the wise Solomon. Here there are sinners and righteous ones, well-known and vivid personalities, and simple people about whom we know almost nothing. The Gospel narrative bears witness that the Son of God truly entered earthly history, answered the painful ожидание of many generations, assumed our human nature in order to heal it from sin and sanctify it by divine grace. ‘When you hear,’ says Saint John Chrysostom concerning this text, ‘that the Son of God is the son of David and Abraham, do not doubt that you too, a son of Adam, will be a son of God.’ After the listing of the Lord’s forefathers according to the flesh, the all-joyful news of the Nativity of the Saviour from the Most Pure Virgin Mary is proclaimed. Listening to the Gospel proclamation and reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation, we discover for ourselves ‘the riches of the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of God’ (Rom. 2:4), and at the same time we learn to be grateful to our Saviour for the fact that ‘we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us’ (1 Jn. 4:16).” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander on the feast of the Holy Fathers.