The Head of the Metropolitan District led the patronal celebrations of the Almaty church dedicated to the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos

January 8, 2026 – the afterfeast of the Nativity of Christ, the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos, the commemoration in honor of Christ’s relatives according to the flesh – the holy prophet and king David, the righteous Joseph the Betrothed, and the apostle James, the Brother of the Lord.

On the day following the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church, with hymns of praise and thanksgiving, turns to the Mother of God, who served the mystery of the divine Incarnation.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Almaty church dedicated to the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was observing its patronal feast.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were the vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen and Bishop Klaudian of Taldykorgan; Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Almaty church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Archpriest Evgeny Bobylev, head of the Department of Education and Catechesis of the Metropolitan District, rector of the Intercession Church and of the church dedicated to the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos; Archpriest Ioann Lopatin, rector of the Paraskeva Church and of the Alexander Nevsky Church; Hegumen Filaret (Petrochenko), rector of the Iveron Church in the village of Boraldai; Archpriest Alexander Gaychenya, key-bearer of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ; Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, dean of the Ili Church District; Hieromonk Alexiy (Cherevtsov), rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Akzhar microdistrict; Priest Alexiy Muraev; Priest Ioann Livinsky, Vice-Rector for Pastoral Affairs of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Hieromonk Gennady (Solovyov), cleric of the Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian; Hieromonk Sergius (Vnukovsky); Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin); Priest Daniil Bobylev, head of the extramural department of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Priest Ioann Konoplev, key-bearer of the Adrian and Natalia Church; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, rector of the Kazan Cathedral of Almaty; Priest Bogdan Boyko; Protodacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodacon Roman Golovin, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Rustik Yakupov; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko; Deacon Daniil Pasyuk.

Before the beginning of the divine service, for prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, a reliquary with a copy of the honorable Gifts of the Magi from the Monastery of Saint Paul on Mount Athos was brought into the church.

At the Liturgy prayed teachers and students of the Theological and Missionary Faculty of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, teachers and pupils of the parish Sunday school named after the Apostle John the Theologian, and parishioners of the church.

The hymns were performed by the choir of the Intercession Church under the direction of O. Kartauzova.

After the Communion verse, Priest Ioann Livinsky read aloud the Nativity Message of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

At the conclusion of the divine service, the glorification of the Nativity of Christ took place, after which Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the hierarchs, clergy, and parishioners on the feast of the coming into the world of God the Word and on the celebration in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, and addressed those gathered with a sermon.

After the service, the children’s choir of the Intercession Church under the direction of the regent O. Kartauzova congratulated the ruling hierarch and those present by performing festive Nativity hymns.

“When we hear the sacred words of the Nativity hymns, our souls are filled with a special inner experience, for, according to the testimony of Saint John Chrysostom, ‘from the feast of the Nativity of Christ our feasts began, as from a source various streams.’ Listening attentively to the Gospel proclamation and reflecting on the mystery of the divine Incarnation, we discover for ourselves ‘the riches of the goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering of God’ (Rom. 2:4), and at the same time we learn to be grateful to our Savior for the fact that ‘we have known the love that God has for us, and have believed in it’ (1 Jn. 4:16).

Our sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a virtuous life according to the Gospel commandments are worthy gifts to the newborn Savior instead of the gold, frankincense, and myrrh that the wise Magi brought to Him. An inseparable part of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ is works of mercy. Let us, in these festal days, remember those who need our attention and participation, those whom our love and compassion can warm. The Lord Himself said: ‘inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Mt. 25:40).” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.