Inscription Written by Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) Donated to His House Museum

September 1, 2026. Alma-Ata. The collections of the house museum of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, opened this year in the Southern Capital with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, continue to be enriched with new exhibits.

Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina), Superior of the Iveron-St. Seraphim Convent in Alma-Ata, donated to the museum of the confessor of the faith and ascetic of piety, revered by the faithful, a commemorative inscription written by the elder-hierarch on one of the pages of his diary. On a small sheet of paper he wrote:

“Mother of God, Most Pure and Most Blessed! Thou Who mercifully didst put it into my heart to become a monk from my early years! I am unworthy of all Thy mercies poured out upon me, which Thou hast shown to Thy servant; for I was once received into Thy Belynichi monastery, and now I have a panagia, a staff, and an orlets…. (Chernov), 1956.”

Metropolitan Joseph’s handwritten notes are one of the characteristic features of his spiritual legacy. Vladyka was accustomed to recording memorable events from his life, personal reflections and observations, as well as leaving inscriptions on personal belongings that he owned or gave to others as gifts. These autographs and notes, preserved to the present day, allow us to see behind historical events a living person who devoted his life to serving the Church.

The memorial house in which the Museum of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) has been established is located on Ashimbayev Street in Alma-Ata, not far from the Iveron-St. Seraphim Convent. In the 1960s and 1970s, this single-story house accommodated the Alma-Ata Diocesan Administration, where the elder-hierarch lived and worked. The museum is not only a memorial to the life and ministry of Metropolitan Joseph, but also an important research center devoted to the spiritual legacy of the righteous archpastor.