The Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Receives a New Sacred Relic – Altar Cross Containing Relics of Venerated Saints

June 28, 2026. Almaty. The Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan has received a new sacred relic—an altar cross containing particles of the relics of revered saints.

At the request of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the shrine was donated by benefactors for the prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful of the Almaty Diocese.

The cross contains relics of the following saints: Venerable Macarius of Altai; the Great Martyrs Catherine of Alexandria and Irene of Macedonia; Hieromartyr Charalambos of Magnesia; the Holy Martyrs Vitus of Rome, Victoria of Corduba, Justina of Antioch, and Victoria, Virgin of Rome; and the Holy Hierarchs Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria; Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica; Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; and Macarius (Nevsky), Metropolitan of Altai.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the altar cross containing the holy relics will be brought to churches of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District on Sundays and feast days for the veneration of the faithful.