Metropolitan Alexander offered prayers for Kazakhstan at the St. Elisabeth Convent in Minsk

On August 7, 2024, in Minsk, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, together with the accompanying delegation of Kazakhstani pilgrims, visited the significant spiritual center of the Minsk Diocese—the St. Elisabeth Convent in the Novinki district.

The Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and the St. John the Baptist Monastery of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) in Essex, UK, served as examples for the external and internal organization of the monastery. Currently, the monastery is home to over 100 nuns.

The Head of the Metropolitan District was welcomed by Abbess Euphrosyne (Laptik). The Mother Superior told the guests about the establishment and current life of the convent, the various projects being implemented, and conducted a tour of the church complex and workshops.

At the convent, Metropolitan Alexander visited the Church of the "Reigning" Icon of the Mother of God, which is beautifully adorned with Byzantine-style mosaics.

After venerating the holy relics of the monastery, which include particles of the relics of John the Baptist and Forerunner, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the holy hierarchs Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Ambrose of Milan, the great martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, and many other holy martyrs, hierarchs, venerable and righteous ones, the hierarch familiarized himself with the work of the workshop that produces mosaic iconographic panels for the decoration of churches.

The Head of the Metropolitan District presented the Mother Superior with an icon of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan as a blessing. For her many years of service, the hierarch awarded the abbess the medal of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia, an honor of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

Metropolitan Alexander also donated books about the life of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan and musical albums of the Metropolitan Choir, conducted by Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, to the monastery's library.