St. Spyridon’s Relics Leave Kostanay Diocese After Being Venerated by More Than 19,000 People

October 2, 2026. The visit of the relics of St. Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Trimythous, to the Kostanay Diocese has concluded.

The shrine, which is visiting the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, was kept at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Kostanay.

The bringing of the incorrupt dexter of St. Spyridon was organized by the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation.

Accompanying the holy relics on their pilgrimage are Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan; Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan, Vicar of the Astana Diocese; clergy of the Metropolis of Corfu of the Church of Greece; and clergy from churches in Alma-Ata.

During his visit to Kostanay, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan celebrated solemn services at the city’s principal cathedral marking the arrival of St. Spyridon’s relics in the region; blessed the foundation of a church dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God “Multiplier of Wheat”; and performed the lesser consecration of the newly built chapel church dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Vladimirovka, Kostanay Region.

On October 2, the Head of the Metropolitan District and representatives of the Metropolis of Corfu of the Church of Greece accompanying the relics of St. Spyridon met with K.I. Aksakalov, Akim of the Kostanay Region.

In the afternoon, a final moleben was celebrated at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral. At its conclusion, Protopresbyter Evangelos Koutras presented the Kostanay Diocese with a gift from Kostanay native A.V. Karmakov – a wooden reliquary containing a fragment of the covering from the tomb of St. Spyridon. The Head of the Metropolitan District gratefully received the shrine from the Greek clergyman and blessed the faithful with it, invoking God’s saving grace upon the land of Kazakhstan.

At the request of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and with the kind consent of Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxos and the Diapontian Islands, the reliquary was brought to Kostanay by a delegation of the Church of Greece headed by Protopresbyters Evangelos Koutras and Thomas Kostamonitis, clergy of the Metropolis of Corfu. The delegation also included Pavel Spiridonis and Spyridon Agathos, assistants to the Head of the Metropolis of Corfu.

The Head of the Metropolitan District congratulated the clergy and faithful on the arrival of this unique shrine in the capital of the Kostanay Region and then delivered a sermon.

The reliquary containing a fragment of the covering from the tomb of St. Spyridon of Trimythous will remain at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral, where anyone wishing to do so may offer prayers before it.

Following the moleben, the relics of St. Spyridon departed Kostanay for the Southern Capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Alma-Ata.

More than 19,000 people venerated the relics of the great saint of God during their stay in the Kostanay Diocese. Molebens were celebrated continuously by the clergy, while pilgrims received informational booklets and small icons blessed at the holy relics, provided with the support of the Eleos-Meirim Public Foundation.