Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Celebrates a Moleben before the Wonderworking Feodorovskaya Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos

August 6, 2026. Kostroma, Russia. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, who is visiting the holy sites of the Northern Thebaid at the invitation of Metropolitan Ferapont of Kostroma and Nerekhta and Governor of the Kostroma Region S.K. Sitnikov, celebrated a Moleben before one of Orthodoxy’s great shrines—the wonderworking Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, which is enshrined in the Epiphany Cathedral of the Kostroma Kremlin.

For more than twenty years, while serving as Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich, Metropolitan Alexander was the guardian of this ancient wonderworking icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Joining the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan in prayer at the principal church of the Kostroma Metropolia were:

Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and member of the Patriarchal Church and Public Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov Clergy of the Kostroma Metropolia Staff of the diocesan administration Parishioners

Metropolitan Alexander offered special petitions for the bishops, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, for peace and prosperity in the land of Kazakhstan, and for the President, authorities, armed forces, and people of the Republic.

Following the Moleben before the wonderworking Feodorovskaya Icon of the Queen of Heaven, the hierarch addressed those present with a sermon. He conveyed to the faithful of Kostroma the blessing of the holy places of Kazakhstan, which the ever-memorable His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II once described as “an antimension spread beneath the open sky.”

Metropolitan Alexander presented the Metropolitan District’s “Еңбек үшін” (“For Labor”) Order to Professor Andrei Ivanovich Zakharov of the Institute of Culture and Arts at N.A. Nekrasov Kostroma State University, Honored Artist of Russia, on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The distinguished church award was bestowed in recognition of his significant contribution to the revival and development of Orthodox choral singing.

“Since the apostolic age, the Christian world has venerated icons of the Mother of God. According to Church Tradition, the first image of the Virgin was painted by the Holy Evangelist Luke. Our devout forebears were distinguished by their profound and heartfelt love for the Queen of Heaven, as evidenced by the many icons of the Most Holy Theotokos glorified by miracles throughout the Orthodox Church. Among them is the great shrine of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, whose centuries-long history has been closely linked with the most significant events in the life of the Church and the Fatherland. The history of this icon, which has remained in Kostroma for nearly eight centuries, preserves the memory of countless miracles and of the gracious protection and maternal help bestowed by the Most Holy Theotokos upon Orthodox Christians. This great shrine is connected with renowned ascetics of faith and piety, celebrated military leaders, and tsars. Glorified through many miracles, the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God is especially venerated as the protector of family life, childbirth, and the upbringing of children, and as a helper in difficult labor. Through prayers offered before this holy image, healings from serious illnesses—including infertility—have taken place, and there are genuine, well-documented testimonies confirming these miracles.”

From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.