The Commemoration Day of the Holy Martyr Bishop Pimen of Verny and Semirechensk Honored in Almaty

On September 16, 2024, the Commemoration of St. Pimen, Bishop of Verny and Semirechensk – the First Martyr for Christ on Kazakh Soil, and the Feast of the Assembly of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Almaty was Celebrated.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, the Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent in Almaty.

His Grace was concelebrated by: Archpriest Alexander Sokolov, Priest Alexander Alferov, the Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolis, Priest Georgy Sidorov, the cleric of St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Southern capital, Hierodeacon Athanasius (Kozel), and Deacon Andrey Plakhuta.

Present at the Liturgy were: Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina), the Superior of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent, along with the sisters of the monastery, staff of the Almaty Diocesan Administration, pilgrims, and parishioners of the church.

The choir of the Sophia Cathedral, conducted by O. Usoltseva, sang during the service.

At the memorial litany, prayers were offered for the venerable elder and hierarch Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), the Kazakh hierarchs and clergy, and all Orthodox Christians "who, in the time of fierce persecutions by the godless, were tortured and killed, or perished from hunger, cold, wounds, diseases, and unbearable labor."

After the dismissal of the Liturgy, a glorification was sung in honor of the Holy Martyr Pimen, following which the archpastor delivered a sermon on the significance of the suffering of the 20th-century martyrs for the historical fate of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the importance of venerating the New Martyrs and Confessors in the spiritual life of every believer.

On the same day, Bishop Gennady led a prayer service at the site of the martyrdom of the Holy Martyr Pimen in the Baum Grove.

Attending the service in memory of the first martyr for Orthodoxy on Kazakh soil were the vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; the spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese, Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov); the dean of the churches of Almaty and rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Protopriest Valery Zakharov; and clergy of the Almaty Diocese.

Teachers and students of the Orthodox parish school named after the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, students of Sunday schools from the Southern Capital, and parishioners of the churches of Almaty gathered to honor the memory of the Holy Martyr Pimen.

Before the start of the prayer service, the hierarch addressed the participants with a sermon.

The choir of the clergy of the Almaty Diocese sang during the service.

At the conclusion of the prayer service, His Grace sprinkled the gathered faithful with holy water.