On the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Commemoration Day of Saint Basil the Great, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the Southern Capital

On 14 January 2026, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ and the memory of the great hierarch and ecumenical teacher – Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the city of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Metropolitan District were: the rector of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Archpriest Vladimir Shklyar, the keyholder of the Ascension Cathedral, Head of the Department of Public Relations of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; the keyholder of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Archpriest Kirill Shklyar, the dean of the churches of the central district of the Orel Diocese, Archpriest Vasily Ivanov (Orel Metropolis – Russia), the dean of the Ili Church District, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, the rector of the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Priest Andrey Shklyar, the head of the personal secretariat of the metropolitan, Hieromonk Prochor (Endovitsky), the head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov, cleric of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Priest Maksim Lysenko, the keyholder of the Kazan Cathedral of Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky;

Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Protodeacon Sergy Kulikov, Deacon Georgy Tkachenko, Deacon Daniil Pasyuk.

Praying during the service were:

the secretary of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation, choir director of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing, O. N. Ovchinnikov;

employees of the Almaty diocesan administration, parishioners of the churches of the Southern Capital.

The guest of the feast was the president of the public foundation “Eleos–Meirim”, V. M. Kapsamun.

Liturgical hymns were sung by the choir of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul under the direction of I. N. Korovina.

The sermon after the communion verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Sidorov.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the glorification of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and Saint Basil took place, with prayers for the beginning of the New Year and to the Cappadocian hierarch.

After the singing of the Polychronion, the metropolitan addressed the faithful with an archpastoral sermon, in which he spoke about the life and labors of Saint Basil the Great and revealed the spiritual meaning of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord:

“On the eighth day after the Nativity of Christ, the Church celebrates the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ and prayerfully glorifies the great hierarch and ecumenical teacher – Saint Basil the Great. Every event in the Gospel is called sacred because it was performed for the sanctification and salvation of the human race. The Church commemorates these events in order to nurture in us the desire for God, for truth, and to inspire us to righteous life.

Our Saviour, according to the Old Testament law, underwent circumcision, which was instituted for all male infants as a sign of the Covenant of God with the patriarch Abraham and his descendants. During this rite, the Divine Child was given the name – Jesus, as announced by the Archangel Gabriel on the day of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Virgin Mary. The name Jesus means ‘Saviour’. According to the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, the Lord – the Giver of the Law – submitted to circumcision, giving an example to mankind of the necessity of strict adherence to the Divine commandments.

Another important meaning of the Circumcision of the Lord is that it demonstrates the true human nature of Christ. His flesh was real, not imaginary, as some heretics claimed. In the New Testament, the rite of circumcision was superseded by the Sacrament of Baptism, of which it was a prototype.

Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was a great father and teacher of the Church who lived in the 4th century. In the fulfilment of his ministry, he zealously preached and tirelessly cared for the needs of his flock, thereby earning the deep respect and great love of the people. In 370, Saint Basil was elected to the see of Caesarea by the Council of Bishops. During a difficult period for the Church, he showed himself to be a fervent defender of the Orthodox faith, guarding it against heresies through his words and writings.

Basil the Great was an ascetic and man of prayer, the author of many theological works, and the compiler of the order of the Divine Liturgy, which the Orthodox Church continues to celebrate to this day. For his great services to the Orthodox Church, Saint Basil is called ‘the Great’ and is glorified as ‘the glory and beauty of the Church’, ‘the luminary and eye of the universe’, ‘the teacher of dogmas’, ‘the treasury of wisdom’. He is the heavenly patron of the enlightener of Rus’ – Saint Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles, who received the name Basil at Baptism.

In one of his teachings, the saint gave us an important rule for dealing with others: ‘A wise man, when he eats grapes, eats the sweet ones and leaves the unripe. Likewise, a virtuous man, when he looks at another, sees his virtues, whereas a foolish and senseless man sees only his sins.’

As we prayerfully commemorate Saint Basil the Great, let us strive to imitate his holy life, his strong faith and love for God, his full devotion to Holy Orthodoxy. Following his example, let us hasten to be true confessors of the Christian faith – true Christians not only in name and word, but in our very life.”

From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.