On the Sunday Commemorating St. Peter of Moscow, Metropolitan Alexander Celebrates the Liturgy at the Metropolitan District Representation in Moscow

September 6, 2026 – the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the commemoration of the Translation of the Relics of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow and All Rus’, the Wonderworker.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and Their Mother Sophia at the Patriarchal Metochion in Moscow – the Representation of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

His Eminence was joined in the celebration by Abbot Agathangel (Gagua), Vice-Rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, Candidate of Theology, Doctor of Medical Sciences and Professor; Hieromonk Antony (Drobyazko), Dean of the Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and Their Mother Sophia; and clergy of the Metochion.

Present in prayer at the service were O.N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan and Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation; N.V. Parshikova, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; V.A. Levin, Acting General Director of Sofrino; staff members of the Representation; and parishioners of the church.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the church choir under the direction of Anna Rozhnova.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander addressed the faithful with words of instruction.

“Whenever Sunday – the Little Pascha – comes, the Holy Church reminds us of the mystery of our salvation through the Resurrection of Christ. ‘God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ – by grace ye are saved – and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:4–6),” says the Apostle Paul.

Through the Resurrection of the Savior, every believer has received the opportunity to partake of the grace-filled power sent down from above, so as to live according to the truth of the Gospel and the commandments of God – to be kind and merciful, honest and benevolent in relations with all kinds of people, and to be able to share both the joys and sorrows of those near and far. It is impossible to profess the Orthodox faith without painstaking and constant spiritual work upon oneself and one’s inner world.

At the same time, we must transform the reality around us through wise words and noble deeds, by bringing into our own lives and the lives of those around us the saving and sanctifying grace of God. The Lord does not demand feats beyond our strength. Only the first steps in following the precepts of the Gospel are difficult. At first, one must learn to stop oneself in time and wisely refrain from answering rudeness with rudeness, evil with evil, falsehood with falsehood, or condemnation with condemnation.

The next step is to be attentive to the needs of our neighbors, to their sorrows and successes. It is important to understand that right and honest actions performed within the family, at work, or simply in our dealings with neighbors and acquaintances bring true joy to the heart and grant peace to the soul.

Addressing every person, the Savior calls to us again and again: ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light’ (Mt. 11:28–30). To feel and understand just how good and light the burden laid upon us by the Lord truly is, we must hasten to do good.”

From a sermon by Metropolitan Alexander.