On the Feast Day of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Savior in the City of Almaty

January 9, 2026 – the afterfeast of the Nativity of Christ and the commemoration of the holy Apostle, Protomartyr, and Archdeacon Stephen.

Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan Alexander celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Savior in the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: vicar bishops of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Klaudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; rector of the Almaty church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyev; key-bearer of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ Archpriest Alexander Gaychenya; rector of the Epiphany Church Archpriest Valery Shavrin; rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the Akzhar microdistrict Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov); head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); head of the administrative secretariat of the Primate of the Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov; key-bearer of the Vladimir Church Hieromonk Sergius (Vnukovsky); key-bearer of the Adrian and Natalia Church Priest Ioann Konoplev; key-bearer of the Kazan Cathedral of Almaty Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Protodacon Nikolai Grinkevich; head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service Protodacon Roman Golovin; and clergy of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ and city churches.

Before the beginning of the divine service, for prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, a great Orthodox shrine was brought into the church – a reliquary containing a portion of the relics of the holy Archdeacon Stephen and a stone from the place of his martyrdom. On part of the stone there is an image of Saint Stephen, executed by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation S. N. Sokolov.

On the analogion in the center of the cathedral there was also a reliquary with a copy of the honorable Gifts of the Magi from the Monastery of Saint Paul on Mount Athos.

The choir of the Church of Christ the Savior in Almaty sang under the direction of E. Skorova.

After the Communion hymn, Priest Georgy Sidorov read aloud the Nativity Message of Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan Alexander.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, a glorification of the Nativity of Christ was performed, after which Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the hierarchs, clergy, and parishioners on the feast of the coming into the world of God the Word and addressed those present with a sermon.

“Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church have preserved for us precious testimonies of the life and martyrdom of the holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen. The holy Apostle of the Seventy, Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, was the senior among the seven deacons appointed by the Apostles themselves, which is why he is called Archdeacon. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Saint Stephen boldly preached the Gospel, confirming the truth of his words by signs and wonders. The success of his preaching was so evident that it aroused against him the hatred of the enemy of the human race – the devil. The spirit of malice clouded the minds of people, and the persecutors of Christ and His Church seized Saint Stephen, dragged him outside the walls of Jerusalem into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where they stoned him.

At a distance, on the Mount of Olives, the Most Pure Mother of God stood upon a stone together with the Apostle John the Theologian and, beholding the martyrdom of Stephen, fervently prayed to her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He might strengthen the martyr in endurance and receive his soul in peace. Showered with a hail of stones, Stephen saw in the heavens the Lord looking upon his death. In terrible suffering, covered with blood, the holy Archdeacon ‘prayed and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ (Acts 7:59), and, kneeling down, he raised his final loud prayer for his murderers: ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge!’ (Acts 7:60).

Before the holy Archdeacon Stephen, no one had shed blood in witness to Christ. But after him, hosts of followers appeared in history – passion-bearers, confessors, and martyrs. Apostolic teaching tells us that the greatest divine gift is not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him. Since the time of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, persecutions against the Church of Christ have repeatedly arisen from the world that lies in evil. The Savior Himself spoke of this: ‘If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you’ (John 15:20). Particularly cruel persecutions were endured by the Orthodox Church in the twentieth century. The land of Kazakhstan is abundantly watered with the blood of the new martyrs and confessors, who are now holy intercessors and supplicants.

Today the ‘time to gather stones’ has come (Ecclesiastes 3:5). And we are witnesses of how, as a sign of repentance for the apostasy of our forefathers, of the reconciliation of earth with Heaven and of man with God, here on the land of Kazakhstan destroyed shrines are being restored and new beautiful churches of God are being built, where the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered ‘for all and for everything,’ and prayer is raised to the Throne of God for the salvation of our souls, for the peace of the whole world, and for our God-protected country.

Today there are no persecutions for the faith, but every Christian requires much love and patience in order to protect himself and his loved ones from the corrupting influence of sins and vices. We draw the grace-filled strength for this spiritual struggle from our spiritual unity with the saints and the righteous, with the pleasing ones of God, with the martyrs for Christ – ancient and new.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.

One of the first newly built churches that Metropolitan Alexander consecrated on Kazakhstani soil was the church in honor of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen in the village of Predgornoye, East Kazakhstan Region. The great consecration took place on August 30, 2010.