On the Sunday Commemorating the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the Administration, Faculty, and Students of the Almaty Seminary

June 21, 2026 – the feast day of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

Concelebrating with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: the auxiliary bishops of the Diocese of Astana, Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; Archpriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of the Churches of the Southern Capital and Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral; Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko); Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, Rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, Dean of Ascension Cathedral and Head of the Metropolitan District Department for Public Relations; Hegumen Philip (Moiseev), member of the Patriarchal Commission for Physical Culture and Sports; Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, Dean of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral; Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek), Secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District; Archpriest Ilya Vorozheikin of the Protection of the Mother of God and All Saints Church; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Secretary of the Department of Church History; Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky), Secretary of the Department of Church Practice; Priest John Livinsky, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs; Priest Peter Bakhtiyarov, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs; Priest Evgeny Bessonov, Seminary Inspector; Priest Oleg Lisin, Head of the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies; Priest Alexander Shishlov, Head of the Seminary Chancellery; Priest Vladislav Pashkov, Candidate of Theology and Head of the Department of Church Practice; Priest Georgy Kusliev; Priest Sergiy Pinigyn; Priest Dimitry Nekterov; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Alexey Alexandrovich; Deacon John Zhuchkov; and Deacon Georgy Tkachenko.

Praying at the Liturgy were: V.M. Kapsamun, President of the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation; employees of the Almaty Diocesan Administration; and faculty members and students of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Before the beginning of the service, an icon of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, preserved in the House Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God and St. Seraphim at the Metropolitan Residence in Almaty, was brought to the principal church of the Southern Capital for the veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the Choir of the Metropolitan District (director: O.N. Ovchinnikov, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing; choirmaster: V. Dudareva), the Ascension Cathedral Choir (director: E. Boguslavets), and the mixed choir of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary under the direction of O. Kuznetsova.

Prayers of thanksgiving were offered for the graduates who had completed their studies at the seminary.

The sermon before Holy Communion was delivered by Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko).

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 for the President, authorities, armed forces, and people of Kazakhstan.

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

At the conclusion of the service, Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful on the Lord’s Day and addressed them with a sermon.

A live broadcast of the Divine Liturgy was streamed on the “Proobraz” YouTube channel through the initiative and support of the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation (President: V.M. Kapsamun).

Video coverage of the service was provided by the Semirechye Television Studio of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District (Director: Honored Worker of Culture V.L. Posadneva), while photographic coverage was carried out by A. Shcheglov, a staff member of the Metropolitan District Information Department and the Eleos-Meirim Foundation.

In his sermon, Metropolitan Alexander said in part:

“The word ‘martyr’ in Greek means ‘witness.’ Those who suffered for the true faith bore witness before a world immersed in sin and godlessness to the power of their Christian hope and to the eternal values of the Gospel. And the world submitted to that witness. ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity,’ wrote the Church writer Tertullian in the third century. The Great Martyr Theodore, one of the most renowned saints of the early Church, bore witness to his steadfast faith and love for Christ by renouncing earthly glory and courageously enduring the most cruel tortures at the hands of pagan rulers. During his earthly life he worked miracles, leading idolaters to the knowledge of the True God, and after his martyrdom he became known as a swift helper and intercessor for Orthodox Christians.

This saint is also connected with the appearance, in thirteenth-century Kostroma in Northern Rus’, of one of Orthodoxy’s great shrines—the wonderworking icon of the Most Holy Theotokos which, through its association with the Great Martyr Theodore, came to be known as the ‘Feodorovskaya’ Icon.

The feasts of Christ’s martyrs contain many moral lessons. Today no one threatens us with death, torture, imprisonment, or exile because of our faith in Christ. Yet herein lies the tragedy: without any external compulsion, some people abandon the spiritual life and turn away from faith. Others launch hostile attacks against the Church in which they were baptized and raised, searching for faults or even spreading outright falsehoods. Thus the prophetic words of the Gospel are fulfilled: ‘Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold’ (Matthew 24:12).

Indeed, love for God and neighbor is diminishing in many hearts. What can save us from these temptations, from spiritual laziness and lukewarmness? Certainly a strong faith and the example of courageous and noble Christians who, even under the threat of suffering and death, did not renounce God or betray the faith. ‘They suffered, and we rejoice; they struggled, and we celebrate; their crown and glory are the glory of the whole Church,’ exclaims Saint John Chrysostom concerning the martyrs. ‘As they sympathize with us in our sins, so we rejoice with them in their victories.’ By honoring the feasts of the martyrs, we are strengthened in spirit, overcome our weaknesses, uproot our vices, and gain confidence in following the commandments of Christ.”