Metropolitan Alexander Congratulated Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen on His Name Day

February 5, 2026 – the feast day of Venerable Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, and the name day of the Vicar of the Astana Diocese, Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, sent His Grace a congratulatory address, which reads in part:

“I cordially congratulate you on the day of remembrance of your heavenly patron – Venerable Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, the Wonderworker!

At a young age, having heeded the call of Christ, the Chief Shepherd, you accepted the cross of service to the Holy Church. You studied theological sciences at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and were ordained to the priesthood by the Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, now His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’. Your pastoral ministry began in the city on the Neva, in the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral.

For more than ten years, your ministry was carried out under the shelter of a great All-Russian shrine – the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. There you received monastic tonsure and were given a name in honor of the great saint of the Russian land – Venerable Gennady, enlightener and patron of the ancient Kostroma region. While bearing responsible obediences in Kostroma, you served for sixteen years as rector of the revived Kostroma Theological Seminary and labored in the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs.

Now, carrying out your archpastoral ministry on the God-protected land of Kazakhstan and serving as my good помощник in the administration of the Astana and Almaty Diocese, you selflessly bear the apostolic cross, ‘preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness’ (Acts 28:31). The fruits of your labors have been marked by high ecclesiastical and state awards.

On the day of your spiritual celebration, dear Vladyka, I would like to greet you with the words of Holy Scripture: ‘Glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good’ (Rom. 2:10), and to wish you many and blessed years of rightly dividing the word of Divine truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

I offer prayers to the New Martyrs and Confessors of Christ who shone forth in the land of Semirechye for your health and благоденствие. May Venerable Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, whose name you bear, always strengthen you in the feat of archpastoral service. May your labors bring abundant fruit in the work of the spiritual growth of the faithful.”