Feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Metropolitan Alexander Celebrates the Liturgy at the Resurrection Cathedral in Semipalatinsk

August 14, 2026 – the feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the commemoration of the Seven Maccabean Martyrs, their mother Solomonia, and their teacher Eleazar; the beginning of the Dormition Fast.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Resurrection Cathedral in the city of Semipalatinsk.

The Head of the Metropolitan District was concelebrated by: Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; Archpriest Roman Sychuk, Dean of the Semipalatinsk Church District; Archpriest Sergius Zharich, cleric of the Resurrection Cathedral; Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek), Personal Secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District; Archpriest Peter Khonin; Hieromonk Silouan (Magilev), Dean of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Church District; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service; Protodeacon Andrei Dudnik; Protodeacon Nikolai Belokon; Deacon Ilya Kvan, Secretary of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Diocese.

An icon of the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ containing a great Gospel relic – a particle of the Wood of the Life-Giving Cross – was brought to the cathedral for the prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the faithful.

Praying at the divine service were: O.N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan and Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation; Abbess Marionilla, Superior of the Sts. Peter and Paul Znamensko-Abalatsky Convent in Semipalatinsk, with the sisters of the monastery; Cossacks of the Union of Cossacks of Semirechye; benefactors of the diocese.

The hymns of the Divine Liturgy were performed by the choir of the Resurrection Cathedral under the direction of choirmaster Yu. Khokhryakova.

Following the Communion verse, Priest Georgy Sidorov read out the address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the beginning of the Dormition Fast.

The divine service concluded with a glorification – the clergy sang the troparion and kontakion to the Cross of Christ, after which, in accordance with ancient Church tradition, the blessing of honey took place. Following the reading of the prayer “O Lord, Boundless in Mercy and Ineffable in Compassion,” Metropolitan Alexander sprinkled the newly harvested honey with holy water.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan addressed those gathered with a word of edification and congratulated the faithful on the beginning of the Dormition Fast.

“From the feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord begin the radiant days of the fast dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Lord, Who loves mankind and ‘desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4), once again grants us a grace-filled time for repentance, giving each of us another opportunity through fasting and prayer to cleanse ourselves of sins, overcome the passions, and renew our lives according to the Gospel. The physical, material world was created and exists according to its own laws; likewise, in the spiritual world the Creator has established immutable norms and rules that must not be forgotten, ignored, or violated. Every act of forgetting God, every evil, even in thought, and every transgression of a commandment, even one that seems insignificant and unimportant, destroys a person and leads to spiritual perdition. ‘The wages of sin is death’ (Rom. 6:23), says the Apostle Paul. Our world is sinking ever deeper into spiritual darkness – actions and behavior that once drew public condemnation are becoming commonplace; people cease to be ashamed of foul language and cruelty, flaunt immoral behavior, and proudly mock moral purity and family values. The consequences of falling away from God and disregarding His laws are evident – social disorder, military conflicts, economic crises, and pestilence. It is human sin, and nothing else, that is the cause of various calamities and catastrophes. Holy Scripture warns us: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’ (1 Cor. 15:33). We ourselves sin greatly and every day come into contact with spiritual darkness in its various forms, both manifest and hidden. Therefore, prayer and fasting are vitally necessary for us, for through them, according to the Savior’s word, all evil is driven from the human heart and mind and the impure forces that assail the soul are overcome. Let us not postpone repentance indefinitely. Let us begin the struggle against vice and falsehood with ourselves, restraining the passions through abstinence and opening the doors of God’s mercy through active love for our neighbor. The Fathers and teachers of the Church instruct us that by freeing ourselves from the captivity of the passions, we help free those around us from the defilement of sin; by ascending toward Heaven through the virtues, we help those near us rise spiritually; by offering sincere prayers and, above all, by participating in the Holy Eucharist, we sanctify the universe with grace. The Dormition Fast has a special character – it is a time of our gratitude and fervent prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos. Each of us, glorifying the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Sovereign Lady, should during these days especially feel and comprehend the power of Her maternal intercession and the greatness of Her love for the human race. To be a Christian means to follow Christ and courageously and patiently bear one’s cross. Yet we are not alone on the path of life: the Most Pure Mother of God is always with us. Her help and joy are always with those who seek God and salvation, who seek an encounter with Her, who share in the suffering of their neighbors and bring them consolation through compassionate words, good counsel, and helpful deeds. Through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven, Who in Her Dormition does not forsake the world, may the Creator and Giver of every good thing grant us to pass through the radiant course of the fast for the benefit of ourselves and our neighbors, ‘not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord’ (Rom. 12:11).” From a sermon by Metropolitan Alexander.