July 7, 2026 – the Nativity of the Honorable, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the village of Rodina, Tselinograd District, Akmola Region.
Concelebrating with the Head of the Metropolitan District were: Dean of the Astana Church District Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev); Dean of the Assumption Cathedral Archpriest Evgeny Korolkov; Dean of the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen Archpriest Sergius Kaliyev; the Metropolitan’s Personal Secretary Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek); Acting Secretary of the Kostanay Diocese Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha); Dean of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Astana Hieromonk Siluan (Sinegubov); Head of the Metropolitan’s Secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky); Rector of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Akkaiyk, Akmola Region, Priest Vladislav Kovalenko; Dean of the Church of St. John the Baptist Priest Kirill Bondar; clerics of St. Sergius Church, Priest Andrei Ivashinin and Priest Nikolai Goryachev; Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Deacon Ilya Davydov, Deacon Mikhail Chumakov, and Deacon Ioann Yanchuk.
Praying during the Divine Liturgy were: the benefactor of the church, I.A. Sauer, Director of Rodina Agrofirm LLP and Hero of Labor of Kazakhstan; residents of the village of Rodina and neighboring communities; and pilgrims from Astana and Pavlodar.
For the prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, a reliquary containing a portion of the right hand of St. John the Baptist was brought to the church for the service. This great holy relic was presented as a gift to the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District by the ever-memorable Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, the custodian of the right hand of the Forerunner of the Lord, which is now preserved at the Monastery of the Mother of God in Cetinje, Montenegro.
The liturgical hymns were sung by the choir of the Assumption Cathedral, directed by O. Varentsova.
The sermon before Holy Communion was delivered by Hieromonk Siluan (Sinegubov).
The Divine Liturgy concluded with a glorification of St. John the Forerunner, after which Metropolitan Alexander addressed the faithful with words of congratulations and sprinkled them with holy water.
“Today the Church celebrates the great feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. Concerning him, the Savior Himself testified: ‘Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist’ (Matthew 11:11). ‘Indeed, among those born of women there is none greater than John the Baptist,’ explains St. Macarius the Great, ‘for he is the fulfillment of all the prophets. All the prophets foretold the coming of the Lord from afar, but John, while prophesying of the Savior, presented Him before the eyes of all, crying out: “Behold the Lamb of God!”’
The Evangelist Luke recounts the birth of the Forerunner. We read how the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the righteous priest Zechariah while he was serving in the Temple. Seeing the elderly priest’s fear and confusion, the heavenly messenger said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John’ (Luke 1:11–13). Zechariah, who together with his righteous wife Elizabeth had remained childless into old age, did not believe what he had seen and heard, and for this he was struck mute until the birth of John the Baptist.
‘For with God nothing will be impossible’ (Luke 1:37). The miracle came to pass: the aged and barren Elizabeth gave birth to a son who, according to the words of the Archangel, ‘will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God… to make ready for the Lord a people prepared’ (Luke 1:16–17).
While still young, St. John withdrew into the wilderness, where he lived a life of strict asceticism. When he emerged, he began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ‘Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins’ (Matthew 3:5).
In the history of the New Testament Church, John the Baptist is regarded as the first monk, the first enlightener and preacher, and the first martyr for the truth of Christ. He shows us the image of a man who was boundlessly, unreservedly, and humbly devoted to God and to his calling.
The Forerunner of Christ is an example for every believer because, in a certain sense, each of us is called to be a forerunner of the Lord for those around us. Christ sends us into the world ahead of Him so that we may bring people the word of God and reveal true righteousness through our deeds, helping them to understand and receive the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
John the Baptist performed no miracles and worked no signs, yet through the word of truth and the holiness of his life he led countless people to the knowledge of the Lord. In this he is our teacher, showing us that through love and mercy, honesty and kindness, and faithful observance of God’s commandments, we can proclaim Christ Crucified and Risen more powerfully than any miracle and more convincingly than any sign.”
From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander
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