On Bright Wednesday, the Head of the Metropolitan District Celebrated the Liturgy at the Annunciation Church in Alma-Ata

15 April 2026 – Bright Wednesday of Paschal Week, the day of commemoration of Venerable Titus the Wonderworker.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy according to the Paschal rite at the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Alatau district of Alma-Ata, where the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan is located.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; dean of the churches of the Southern Capital and rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Valery Zakharov; rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyev; Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko); Archimandrite Gabriel (Tutberidze); rector of St. John the Baptist Church in the village of Guldala Archpriest Georgy Kharlov; rector of St. Alexis Church in the village of Baiterek Archpriest Anatoly Boyko; Hegumen Onisim (Tulnikov); personal secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek); head of the Metropolitan’s Secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov; rector of St. Alexander Nevsky Church in the village of Saimasai (Aleksandrovka) Priest Roman Klyuyev; cleric of St. Alexis Church in Baiterek Hieromonk Alexy (Samosenkov); acting dean of the Talgar Church District and rector of St. Nicholas Church in Talgar Priest Kirill Freygang; sacristan of Kazan Cathedral in Alma-Ata Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko; and Deacon Daniil Pasyuk.

The choir of the Annunciation Church sang under the direction of I. Polishcheva.

Praying at the service were Orthodox residents of the Alatau district and faithful from nearby settlements.

At the Communion verse, Priest Georgy Sidorov read aloud the Paschal Message of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the glorification of the Bright Resurrection of Christ took place, after which the archpastor proclaimed “Christ is Risen!” in various ancient and modern languages.

Metropolitan Alexander sprinkled the faithful with holy water and addressed those gathered with a sermon of instruction.

“The human heart senses the greatness and holiness of Pascha, God’s saving Passover, for in the words of Saint Ambrose of Milan, ‘By the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, hell is shut up, Heaven is opened, the thief is brought into paradise… The Resurrection of our Lord is life for the dead, forgiveness for sinners, and glory for the saints.’ In the Paschal hymns, the words are repeated many times that Christ has granted life ‘to those in the tombs.’ Whom does the Church call dead, whom the Savior enlivened by His Resurrection? These are the righteous of the Old Testament, beginning with Adam and Eve; all humanity, which before the coming of the Lord into the world had no knowledge of truth and freedom (cf. John 8:32); and all those whose souls have been raised by the grace of God through faith in Christ, who have come alive through repentance and the keeping of the Gospel commandments. ‘When the soul passes from sin to virtue,’ teaches Venerable Abba Dorotheos, ‘then it celebrates the Lord’s Pascha. The Lord’s Pascha is the passage from evil to good.’ The Gospel miracle of Christ’s victory over death is a call to every person to begin a new life – together with the Risen Savior, to rise again through faith in the power of God (cf. Colossians 2:12).” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.