Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), Confessor of the Faith, Prayerfully Commemorated in Alma-Ata

September 4, 2026 marked the 51st anniversary of the repose in the Lord of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov, †1975) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan – a confessor of the faith and ascetic of piety of the twentieth century.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-St. Seraphim Convent, where the tomb of the ever-memorable hierarch, venerated by millions of faithful, is located. The service was led by Bishop Benjamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese.

His Grace was joined in the celebration by: Archpriest Valery Zakharov, Dean of the parishes of the Alma-Ata City Church District and Rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Alma-Ata; Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov), Father Confessor of the Alma-Ata Diocese; rectors and clergy of the churches of Alma-Ata and the neighboring deaneries.

The hymns were performed by the choir of St. Sophia Cathedral (Choirmaster – O. Usoltseva).

Present in prayer at the service were: Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina), Superior of the Iveron-St. Seraphim Convent, together with the sisters of the monastery; faculty members and students of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary; teachers and pupils of the parish Sunday schools of the Southern Capital; staff members of the Alma-Ata Diocesan Administration; and numerous parishioners of the churches of the Southern Capital.

The service concluded with the glorification of the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos and a memorial litia at the tomb of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov). Bishop Benjamin then congratulated Mother Abbess, the clergy and parishioners on this special day for Orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan and all those who venerate the memory of Metropolitan Joseph, and addressed the faithful with a sermon.

The memory of the confessor-hierarch, who endured Stalinist camps, German captivity and harsh conditions of exile, and then carried out his arduous episcopal ministry for two decades in Petropavlovsk and Alma-Ata, is reverently honored by a great number of faithful throughout Kazakhstan and beyond.

Throughout the day, hundreds of people visited the burial place of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) to prayerfully honor the memory of the elder-hierarch, light candles at his tomb and lay flowers.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, a photographic exhibition dedicated to Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), confessor of the faith and ascetic of piety, opened in front of St. Sophia Cathedral. The exhibition was organized by the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary.

The photographic exhibition consists of three thematic sections: the life of Metropolitan Joseph from his youth until his exile to Kazakhstan; his ministry as Metropolitan of Alma-Ata; and the veneration of the hierarch’s memory by the Orthodox faithful.

On this day, all those wishing to do so were also able to visit the house museum of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov). Seminary students conducted guided tours for visitors.

“During his life, Metropolitan Joseph endured several arrests, suffered abuse at the hands of the Gestapo, and spent more than twenty years in camps and prisons. Following the Apostle Paul, he could repeat: ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus’ (Gal. 6:17). Physical infirmity and pain in his arms and legs remained for the rest of his life as an indelible mark of the sufferings he had endured.

“The archpastor knew how to forgive and preserved a sincere benevolence toward others. According to his contemporaries, he treated everyone who came to him as a living image of God, thereby raising that person to a spiritual height. When Bishop Arseny tonsured the future hierarch into the mantle, he told him: ‘As the righteous Joseph fed the entire people of Israel, so must you feed everyone.’ Vladyka Joseph carried this testament of his spiritual father throughout his entire life, nourishing his flock with the incorruptible words of the Gospel and generously giving alms to those in need.

“Because of this special attitude of the archpastor toward people, clergy and government officials, Orthodox Christians and representatives of other religions, ordinary people and academics alike were drawn to him. Numerous recollections of his spiritual insight and the great power of his prayer have been preserved.

“For Metropolitan Joseph, there was no distinction between important and secondary matters in his pastoral labors, for in every aspect of his ministry he saw the highest meaning and a connection with the mysteries of God’s providence.

“Having venerated the Most Holy Theotokos from his youth, Vladyka Joseph was granted to pass into eternal life precisely during the days of the celebration of the Dormition of the Mother of God, as a faithful servant of Her Divine Son.

“Metropolitan Joseph taught the faithful the saving path both by word and by deed. In one of his sermons, he described the purpose of the human person in this world: ‘Christ ceaselessly radiated love and mercy, and we must ceaselessly sow around us kindness, goodness and compassion. Christ raised the dead, and we must make every effort to awaken and resurrect the sleeping souls of those close to us.’

“Eternal and grateful memory to Vladyka Joseph, Metropolitan of Kazakhstan, hierarch, confessor and righteous man.”

From the address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan in memory of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov).