Metropolitan Alexander Celebrates the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saints Alexander and Antonina in Kostroma

June 13, 2026. Kostroma. On the feast day of Apostle Hermas of the Seventy and the relatives of Hieromartyr Pimen, Bishop of Verny — Hieromartyr Philosopher Ornatsky, presbyter, and his sons, Martyrs Boris and Nikolai — Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina of Rome.

Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Secretary of the Kostroma Diocese and Rector of the Church of St. John Chrysostom Archpriest Valery Bunteev; Rector of St. Tikhon’s Church Archpriest Pyotr Bakhtin; Rector of the Church of Saints Alexander and Antonina Archpriest Igor Shashkov; Rector of the Prophet Elijah Church Archpriest Vitaly Shastin; Rector of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul Archpriest Sergiy Stepanov; Rector of the Ascension Church in the village of Bychikha, Kostroma District, Archpriest Alexander Vorobyov; Rector of St. Nicholas Church in Sharya and Dean of the Sharya District Archpriest Dmitry Stepanov; Rector of the Church of the Savior on Zaprudnya Priest Ioann Stepanov; Priest Alexiy Klobukov; Honored Artist of Russia Protodeacon Mikhail Spelnik; Head of the Metropolitan District Protocol Service Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Deacon Sergiy Bakhtin; and Deacon Serafim Stepanov.

The parish choir, directed by I. Shashkova, sang during the service.

Praying at the Liturgy were: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Cultural Figure of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, and member of the Patriarchal Church and Public Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov; as well as staff of the Kostroma diocesan administration.

Representatives of the Kostroma city and regional administrations, deputies of the regional and city Dumas, and leaders of public organizations were also present.

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy, His Eminence congratulated the concelebrating clergy and parishioners on the joy of celebrating the Divine Liturgy and the forthcoming Feast of All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land, after which he delivered a sermon.

The archpastor also awarded decorations of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District to several residents of Kostroma who had rendered notable service for the benefit of Orthodoxy.

At the Church of Saints Alexander and Antonina, Metropolitan Alexander venerated an ancient revered copy of the wonderworking Igritsa-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The original Igritsa icon, revealed in the seventeenth century, was stolen in the postwar years from the Resurrection Church in the village of Lyubovnikovo, where it had been kept after the destruction and closure of the Igritsa Pesoshensky Monastery.

Among the church’s holy objects before which the metropolitan offered prayers were particles of the relics of the church’s heavenly patrons, the Martyrs Alexander and Antonina of Rome, as well as relics of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, St. Clement of Rome, and the Righteous Theodore Ushakov.

The hierarch also visited the parish necropolis — the burial place of many Kostroma clergymen — where he offered prayers for the departed.