Celebrations in Honor of the Principal Shrine of Rudny Altai – the Znamensk-Abalak Icon of the Mother of God – Held in the Diocese of Ust-Kamenogorsk

July 21, 2026 – the Diocese of Ust-Kamenogorsk held celebrations in honor of the principal shrine of Rudny Altai, the Znamensk-Abalak Icon of the Mother of God.

At the Holy Spring near Semipalatinsk, where the miraculous discovery of the icon of the Queen of Heaven took place in 1740, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated under the presidency of Archbishop Amphilochy of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Archimandrite Dionisy (Kozulev), a cleric of the Protection Convent in Uralsk; Archpriest Roman Sychuk, Dean of the Semipalatinsk Church District; Hieromonk Silouan (Magilev), Dean of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Church District; Hieromonk Nikodim (Avdeyev), dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Ust-Kamenogorsk; clergy of the Dioceses of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; while the deacons were led by Protodeacon Andrey Dudnik.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Resurrection Cathedral under the direction of Y. Khokhryakova.

Praying at the service were: Hegumenia Marionilla (Pomelnikova), abbess of the Znamensk-Abalak Convent in Semipalatinsk, together with the sisters of the monastery; Hegumenia Varvara (Morozova), abbess of the Protection Convent in Uralsk; representatives of the Semipalatinsk Cossacks; and numerous pilgrims from Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semipalatinsk, and other cities and settlements throughout Rudny Altai.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the archpastor, together with the clergy and faithful, celebrated a service of glorification to the Most Holy Theotokos, after which Archbishop Amphilochy addressed the pilgrims with a sermon.