Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Meets in Alma-Ata

September 12, 2026. Alma-Ata. A meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, chaired by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, was held in the Synodal Hall of the Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) Spiritual, Cultural and Administrative Center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

The Synod of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District comprises: Archbishop Barnabas of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz; Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk; Archbishop Amfilohije of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; Archbishop Barsanuphius of Kokshetau and Akmola; Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo; Archbishop Ipatiy of Satpayev, Vicar of the Karaganda Diocese; Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan; Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda; Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan, Vicar of the Astana Diocese; Bishop Chrysanthus of Shymkent and Turkestan; Bishop Benjamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese; and Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau.

Following a common prayer, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan welcomed the archpastors with an opening address and announced the agenda.

The first report was delivered by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on his visits during the reporting period to the dioceses of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District: Kostanay and Rudny; Karaganda and Shakhtinsk; Uralsk and Atyrau; Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo; Shymkent and Turkestan; Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; and Pavlodar and Ekibastuz.

Vladyka Metropolitan then reported on his meetings with government officials of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Prime Minister O.A. Bektenov; Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Culture and Information A.G. Balayeva; Minister of Foreign Affairs Y.B. Kosherbayev; Akim of Astana Zh.M. Kassymbek; Akim of Alma-Ata D.A. Satybaldy; and First Vice Minister of Culture and Information K.Zh. Iskakov. He also reported on his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus M.V. Ryzhenkov and on meetings with heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan: A.N. Borodavkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Kazakhstan; Archbishop George Panamthundil, Apostolic Nuncio; Antonello De Riu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy; and D.V. Meleshkin, Consul General of the Republic of Belarus in Alma-Ata.

The Head of the Metropolitan District informed the members of the Synod about a number of major cultural, educational, academic and youth events held in Kazakhstan: the opening in Alma-Ata of the house museum of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, confessor of the faith and ascetic of piety; the Fourth International Scientific Conference “Philosophy of Religion in East and West,” held at the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary; the presentation of the Kazakh translation of the Service Book; the International Festival of Orthodox Choral Music “Paschal Hymn”; the International Volleyball Tournament marking the 25th anniversary of the finding of the relics of the Hieromartyrs Seraphim and Feognost of Alma-Ata; the Eurasian Orthodox Youth Forum “Heaven. Man. Steppe”; and the First All-Kazakhstan Congress on Church Social and Charitable Work “Serving One’s Neighbor.”

Concluding his report, Metropolitan Alexander told the archpastors about the visit by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D.N. Chernyshenko to the spiritual, cultural and educational center of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan currently under construction in Astana, which includes a church dedicated to All Saints Who Shone Forth in the Land of Kazakhstan, and about his participation in the opening of the international tournament “Games of the Future – 2026.”

The members of the Synod heard a report by Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Chancellor of the Metropolitan District, on his participation in meetings of the Commission of the Inter-Council Presence on Public Life, Culture, Science and Information and the Commission of the Inter-Council Presence on Theology and Theological Education, as well as in the international conference “The Role of Religious Leaders in Achieving Sustainable Development of the World.”

Bishop Gennady informed those present about the observance of Orthodox Book Day in the dioceses of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District and the participation of representatives of the Alma-Ata Diocese in an international scientific and practical conference devoted to the ethical, legal and social aspects of the development and application of artificial intelligence.

The Most Reverend hierarchs of Kazakhstan then presented their reports:

* Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk spoke about his meeting with Akim of the Ulytau Region Y.B. Baiken;

* Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo reported on the International Scientific and Theoretical Conference “History of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan,” held at the Spiritual and Administrative Center of the Ascension Cathedral in Petropavlovsk;

* Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda reported on the pilgrimage of clergy and laity of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District to the Holy Land;

* Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan reported on the educational conference for monastics of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District;

* Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau reported on his meeting with A.N. Tapishev, Head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the West Kazakhstan Region.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Alexander informed the members of the Synod about the forthcoming bringing to Kazakhstan, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, of a great Orthodox shrine – the incorrupt right hand of St. Spyridon of Trimythous – and presented the schedule for the relic’s stay in the dioceses of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

The journals of the meetings of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan are approved by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ (see Article 9, Chapter XIII of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church: “The journals of the Synod of the Metropolitan District shall be submitted to the Holy Synod and approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’”).