Midfeast of Holy Pentecost. Metropolitan Alexander Celebrates the Liturgy at the Church of St. John the Baptist in the Settlement of Guldala

May 6, 2026 – the commemoration day of the Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer; the Midfeast of Holy Pentecost – the midpoint of the fifty-day period between the feasts of the Bright Resurrection of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

The name of the feast, “Midfeast,” is taken from the Gospel account describing how the Lord Jesus Christ, during the third year of His public ministry, entered the Temple at the midpoint of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles and taught about Himself as the true Messiah – the Son of God, the Mediator between God and mankind, and the Lawgiver of the New Covenant.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist in the settlement of Guldala (Krasnoye Pole), Almaty Region.

According to ancient liturgical tradition, before the beginning of the Liturgy, a lesser blessing of water service was celebrated.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: the Vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; Archpriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of the churches of the Southern Capital, Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Candidate of Theology; Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, Rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty; Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko); Archpriest Georgy Kharlov, Rector of the parish; Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek), Personal Secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District; Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, Dean of the Ili Church District; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), Head of the Metropolitan’s Secretariat; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

For the prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, a reliquary containing a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer was brought to the church.

The mixed choir of the Almaty Diocese sang under the direction of Deacon Alexander Piven.

Praying during the service were: O. N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Metropolitan District, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Church Singing, Honored Artist of Russia; Orthodox residents of Guldala and faithful from neighboring settlements.

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

The Liturgy concluded with the glorification of the feast of Holy Pascha and the Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, after which the hierarch proclaimed “Christ is risen!” in various languages – ancient and modern.

At the conclusion of the service, the Head of the Metropolitan District congratulated Bishop Klavdian on the anniversary of his episcopal consecration. The Metropolitan wished the hierarch good health and God’s help in his archpastoral labors on the land of Kazakhstan.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan also congratulated Archpriest Georgy Kharlov, Priest Georgy Sidorov, and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko on the feast day of their heavenly patron. His Eminence wished the clergymen health and God’s help in their labors for the good of the Church of Christ.

After exchanging the Paschal kiss with the clergy and faithful, the Head of the Metropolitan District delivered a sermon.

“Today, the Church calendar marks the feast called Midfeast, that is, the midpoint of Pentecost. This day stands between two great spiritual celebrations – the saving Pascha of God and Pentecost. In it, the joy of Christ’s Resurrection is joined with the anticipation of the remembrance of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. On the day of Midfeast, the Church also commemorates the Gospel events connected with the midpoint of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles. The Evangelist John recounts that during the third year of His ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ came secretly to the feast in Jerusalem, and only in the middle of it openly began teaching the people: ‘Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught’ (John 7:14). In one of the discourses delivered during these days, Christ spoke about the future descent of the Holy Spirit upon those who believe in Him, which links these events with the New Testament Pentecost. In the prayers chanted by the Church on the feast of Midfeast, we ask the Lord to quench our souls with the waters of piety. The image of the ‘waters of piety’ is connected with the words of Christ, Who said to His disciples during the Feast of Tabernacles: ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ (John 7:37–38). Asking God to satisfy our spiritual thirst, we implore Him to grant us gracious help in the work of our salvation, to teach us to live in piety, that is, in accordance with the Gospel commandments. Such help the Lord sends to us through the action of the Holy Spirit. Orthodox Christians believe and confess that God is the Source and Giver of all blessings, and that His action in this world is accomplished through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Trusting in the boundless love and mercy of God, we ask Him to fill our lives with gracious help. In the prayers of Midfeast, we address Christ, calling Him the Source of our life. He – the Creator and Maker – revealed to us the beauty of the earthly world and, having conquered death and risen again, became for us not only the Source of temporary, material life, but also the foundation and beginning of eternal life, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive’ (1 Cor. 15:22).”

from the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.