On the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Uralsk

April 26, 2026 – the Third Sunday after Pascha; the commemoration of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women and the righteous Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the secret disciples of Christ.

On this day, the Orthodox Church honors the women disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ – Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas, Salome, Joanna, Martha, Mary, and others who followed Him during His earthly life and did not leave the place of His burial after His death. It was they who were the first to receive the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ. This feast has long been regarded as the Orthodox women’s day, a celebration of all women.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the city of Uralsk.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Archbishop Amfilokhiy of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda; Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan, vicar of the Astana Diocese; Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau; Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyev, rector of the Almaty Church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”; Archimandrite Theodosius (Kuryanov), rector of the Archangel Michael Cathedral of Uralsk; Archimandrite Dionysius (Kozulev), cleric of the Intercession Convent of Uralsk; Archpriest Anatoly Robu, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Uralsk; Archpriest Vladimir Garasim, dean of the Ural church district; Hegumen Dorofey (Dilmanayev), head of the information department of the Ural Diocese; Archpriest Vasily Kroitor, dean of the Priural church district; Archpriest Dimitry Noskov; Archpriest Georgy Lemachko, cleric of the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Uralsk; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Ioann Roshka; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Protodeacon Alexander Mokiy; Deacon Ilya Kvan; Deacon Vladimir Lemachko; Deacon Rustik Yakupov; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

The choir of the Archangel Michael Cathedral sang under the direction of L.V. Bondareva.

Praying at the service together with the faithful were: O.N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Metropolitan District, member of the Patriarchal Council for the development of church singing, Honored Artist of Russia; Abbess Varvara (Morozova) of the Intercession Convent with the sisters of the monastery; V.M. Kapsamun, President of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim”; A.V. Gruby, Consul General of Russia in Uralsk; parishioners of the city’s churches; and pilgrims from nearby settlements.

At the memorial litany, the Head of the Metropolitan District offered special prayers for the repose of the ever-memorable His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, on the fortieth day since his repose; Archbishop Anthony (Moskalenko), who reposed one year ago; and Lyubov Pavlovna Milovanova, a long-time laborer of the Church.

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

The Liturgy concluded with the glorification of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, after which the Metropolitan proclaimed “Christ is Risen!” in various languages, ancient and modern.

The Head of the Metropolitan District addressed the faithful with a word of instruction, after which he congratulated all women on the feast of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women.

Many Years was proclaimed for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’; for the Head, the episcopate, the clergy, and the flock of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; and for the President, the authorities, the armed forces, and all the people of Kazakhstan.

The Metropolitan addressed special words of congratulations to Archimandrite Theodosius (Kuryanov), who marked his 70th birthday. In recognition of his labors for the benefit of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and on the occasion of the anniversary, the hierarch awarded the pastor the Order of Archbishop Sophronius (Sokolsky), the first hierarch of the Turkestan Diocese and Apostle of Semirechye.

The Head of the Metropolitan District sprinkled the numerous faithful with holy water.

“ The joyful Paschal message is the unshakable foundation of our faith; according to the word of the holy Apostle Paul, ‘if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain’ (1 Cor. 15:14). Today, on the day of the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, the heart of every believer is filled with grace-filled joy: before us is visibly revealed the great mystery of our salvation accomplished by the Incarnate Son of God; today each one attains ‘peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 5:1). Celebrating Holy Pascha, we, as the Paschal canon proclaims, ‘celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hell, and the beginning of another, eternal life.’

The first word of the Risen Lord addressed to the Myrrh-Bearing Women was: ‘Rejoice’ (Matt. 28:9), and His first greeting to the disciples was: ‘Peace be with you’ (Luke 24:36). Joy and peace were granted by the Savior to His apostles, who carried the good news of the Resurrection of Christ to the ends of the earth, becoming ‘eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word’ (Luke 1:2), and, having fulfilled their earthly mission, continue to instruct the faithful through their inspired writings: the Kingdom of God is ‘righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17). The building of such a Kingdom within one’s soul, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, is the principal aim of the Christian life; for this, the Church, as a loving Mother, grants her children all that is necessary, addresses our hearts with the Gospel proclamation, instructs us with the wisdom of the Holy Fathers, and makes us partakers of grace-filled gifts in the Sacraments of the Church. Today the Church calls us with the words of St. Gregory the Theologian: ‘Christ is risen from the dead: be raised with Him. Christ has gone forth from the tomb: be freed from the bonds of evil. A new creation is born in Christ: be renewed.’

The Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons says that the apostles placed everything necessary for us into the Church of Christ as into a rich treasury, in which this divine inheritance is not only carefully preserved but also distributed to the faithful children of the Church for their salvation. This treasure has now been entrusted to us, Orthodox Christians; we are obliged not only to preserve it with great responsibility and love, but also to make these gifts of God’s mercy accessible to our neighbors – ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good!’ (Ps. 33:9). All of us are called by the Savior to the work of proclaiming the faith – especially now, when so many people urgently need to find the true path of spiritual life. ‘How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?’ – warns the holy Apostle Paul, and concludes: ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ (Rom. 10:14–17). Each of us, by the very name of Christian which we bear, is obliged to bring the Gospel message to people, affirming by word and deed the all-conquering power of the Truth and Righteousness of Christ.” From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander.