On the Feast of the Great Martyr Irene and Venerable Jacob of Zhelezny Bor, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Liturgy at the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the Akzhar District

May 18, 2026 – the commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Irene and Venerable Jacob of Zhelezny Bor, the feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Inexhaustible Cup,” and the anniversary of the birth of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Akzhar district of Alma-Ata.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; Vicar of the Astana Diocese Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan; dean of the churches of the Southern Capital and rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Valery Zakharov; Archimandrite Gerontius (Borisevich); dean of the Astana church district Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev); rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Alma-Ata Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov; head of the diocesan department for the canonization of saints Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko); personal secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek); rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the Akzhar district Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov); head of the Metropolitan’s secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky); head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Protodeacon Sergius Kulikov; Hierodeacon Innocent (Strunov); secretary of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Diocese Deacon Ilya (Kvan); and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

Praying at the service were: administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen; secretary of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, regent of the Choir of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, and member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov; head of the information and publishing department of the Metropolitan District and rector of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; president of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim” V.M. Kapsamun; benefactors and parishioners of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church.

The mixed choir of the Alma-Ata Diocese, conducted by Deacon Alexander Piven, sang at the service.

During the Liturgy, petitions were offered for the health and well-being of Metropolitan Alexander, who marks his birthday on May 18.

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

At the conclusion of the service, the Paschal glorification took place, after which Metropolitan Alexander proclaimed “Christ is Risen!” in various ancient and modern languages and sprinkled the faithful with holy water.

Many Years was proclaimed for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church; for the Head and episcopate of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District and the visiting hierarchs; and for the President, authorities, armed forces, and people of Kazakhstan.

Archbishop Amphilochius read an address of congratulations to Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan from the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on the occasion of the anniversary of his birth.

In his response, the Head of the Metropolitan District warmly thanked the hierarchs, clergy, and laity for their heartfelt good wishes and asked all participants in the Liturgy for fervent prayers for God’s help in his continued service to the Church of Christ in Kazakhstan.

Present at the festive service was N.M. Kikimov, head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the city of Alma-Ata, who conveyed greetings and best wishes from the city administration to His Eminence.

President of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim” V.M. Kapsamun presented the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan with a commemorative gift.

In recognition of his labors for the benefit of the Holy Church, Metropolitan Alexander awarded Priest Sergius Slesarchuk the right to wear the nabedrennik.

Video coverage of the Metropolitan’s service was provided by the television studio of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District “Semirechye” (director – Honored Worker of Culture V.L. Posadneva); photography was carried out by A. Shcheglov of the information department.

Congratulatory addresses were sent to the hierarch by permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, hierarchs of the Moscow Patriarchate and Local Orthodox Churches, state leaders of Kazakhstan and Russia, members of the Parliaments of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, regional and city akims of Kazakhstan, members of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, leaders of traditional religious confessions in Kazakhstan and Russia, and representatives of public organizations.