The Commemoration of the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church Was Prayerfully Observed in the Southern Capital

February 8, 2026 – the Sunday of the Prodigal Son; the feast in honor of the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.

By the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, presided at the Divine Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were the spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese, Archimandrite John (Sazonov), Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko), Protopodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, Deacon Andrei Pleten, Hierodeacon Sophony (Mazurenko), Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin, Deacon Alexander Piven, Deacon John Zhuchkov, and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District (Regent – Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, Choir Director – V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (Regent – E. Boguslavets).

During the divine service, special prayers were offered for the repose of hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and all Orthodox Christians “who, during the time of cruel persecutions by the godless, were tortured and slain, and who reposed from hunger, cold, wounds, illnesses, and unbearable labor in camps, prisons, and chains.”

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy, a service of glorification was held in honor of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.

At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Gennady addressed the faithful with a homily on the saints of the Orthodox Church who shone forth through the feats of martyrdom and confession in the twentieth century.