Alma-Ata Prayerfully Celebrates the Patronal Feast of St. Vladimir Church

On July 28, 2026, the feast of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Grand Prince of Rus’, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Chancellor of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Vladimir Church in Alma-Ata, which was observing its patronal feast.

Concelebrating with His Grace were: Archpriest Alexander Gaychenya, dean of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in the Southern Capital; Hegumen Nazariy (Markov), abbot of the St. Silouan the Athonite Hermitage in Issyk; Hieromonk Alexiy (Samosenkov), dean of the Church of the Mother of God Icon “Life-Giving Spring” in the settlement of Kosmos, Talgar District, Almaty Region—a metochion of the Iveron-Seraphim Monastery; Priest Roman Kravchenko, cleric of St. Vladimir Church; Priest Kirill Freygang, Acting Dean of the Talgar Church District and rector of St. Nicholas Church in Talgar; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, dean of Kazan Cathedral in Alma-Ata; Priest Dimitry Kaplin, Dean of the Zharkent Church District; and clergy of the churches of the Southern Capital. The deacons were led by Hierodeacon Afanasy (Kozel).

The liturgical hymns were sung by the choir of St. Vladimir Church under the direction of Deacon Makariy Belitsky.

Praying during the Divine Liturgy were V.M. Kapsamun, President of the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation; S.V. Kiselev, the parish’s principal benefactor; other benefactors and parishioners of the church; and Orthodox faithful of Alma-Ata.

The Divine Liturgy concluded with a procession with the Cross and a service of glorification to St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. Bishop Gennady then offered the special prayer appointed for the Feast of the Baptism of Rus’.

The hierarch congratulated the clergy and parishioners on the patronal feast and addressed those present with a sermon.

A live broadcast of the Divine Liturgy was streamed on the Proobraz YouTube channel with the support of the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation.

The spiritual celebrations concluded with a concert in the square before the church, featuring performances by the choir of St. Vladimir Church, the duo Rumi and Yanis, and the men’s choir Knyazhichi, directed by S. Redkin.