To His Eminence, the Most Reverend ALEXANDER, Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan, Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Permanent Member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Your Eminence, Most Reverend Master!
On September 27, 2024, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, you are celebrating a remarkable milestone—the 35th anniversary of your archpastoral ministry.
The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, the clergy of the Metropolitan District, monastics, and the Orthodox faithful of our country ask you to accept their warm and sincere congratulations, along with heartfelt wishes for spiritual and physical strength, grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord (1 Tim. 1:2).
Thirty-five years ago, during the Divine Liturgy at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral in Moscow, when you were entrusted with the episcopal staff, you heard these words of counsel addressed to you: "Be approachable to the people, patient with the weaknesses of the servants of God entrusted to you. Do not be quick to exercise authority, to punish, or to prohibit. Zeal in any matter is undesirable, especially when it concerns the salvation of a person. Strive to instruct, to bring about shame, to soften the hearts of those at fault, and let sincere repentance meet with merciful and corrective love." Throughout all these years, which have become a time of fruitful church labor for you, you have been a loving father to your flock—approachable to all people, patient with those around you, and merciful to those who repent.
From childhood, your heart was filled with love for God and His Holy Church. It pleased the Lord that you were raised and grew up in the traditions of Christian piety. In the depths of your soul, you always heard the voice of the Savior calling you: "Follow Me" (Luke 5:27). In those distant years, when Orthodoxy was under the yoke of a godless regime, you were nurtured by clergymen and church workers—confessors of the faith who had endured the crucible of trials. It was from them that you received your first spiritual lessons, and, inspired by their examples, you grew and were strengthened in the faith.
The All-Merciful Lord called you to high ecclesiastical service in the prime of your spiritual and physical strength, at a time when you already had considerable life experience behind you. During your studies at the theological schools in the city on the Neva, you had the privilege of close communion with eminent hierarchs—the ever-memorable Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) and the rector of the Theological Academy, Bishop Kirill of Vyborg, the current Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. For a long time, you fulfilled the obedience of a subdeacon to the elder-hierarch, Archbishop Meliton (Soloviev) of Tikhvin. He, being your spiritual mentor, passed on to you the commandment he had heard in his youth from the righteous pastor John of Kronstadt: "Love the Church of God with all your heart." These words became the guiding principle and motto of your entire life.
The piety and wisdom, devotion to the Church, and the desire to alleviate its condition under the persecution of the godless authorities, as well as your fatherly care for priests, seminary students, and the entire Orthodox flock—these lessons you absorbed in your youth from your archpastoral mentors who served in Russia's northern capital. These wise hierarchs were your teachers in the faith, offering a high example of service to God and people. Not only did they nurture you, but they also helped you become a mentor to others, thereby fulfilling the command of the Apostle Paul: "And what you have heard from me before many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).
After completing your theological education in the city of Saint Peter, for ten years you diligently and responsibly fulfilled church obediences in your native land—the ancient Vyatka region. You served as the personal and diocesan secretary to His Grace Bishop Chrysanthos (Chepil), who later became the first Metropolitan of Vyatka, and it was from his hands that you received holy orders.
Your attentive approach to ecclesiastical administrative duties, your diligence in the performance of divine services, and, most importantly, your sincere and deep desire to develop the activity of the Orthodox Church, as much as was possible at that time, distinguished you during those difficult years. As the secretary of the diocesan administration, you gained unique experience in defending the interests of the Church, helping parish priests carry out their saving mission under far-from-favorable conditions of administrative restrictions and oppression.
These admirable qualities were further developed and fully manifested after your election to the ancient see of the hierarchs of the God-protected land of Kostroma. In the city on the great Russian river Volga, you initially faced resistance from the authorities, who were unwilling to take the life of the Church into account. Yet, thanks to your diligent labors, wisdom, patience, and courage, with God's help, misunderstanding and rejection were replaced by mutual understanding and cooperation. With truly apostolic zeal, you set about reviving church life in the central Volga region.
Due to your tireless efforts, the sacred relics of the Kostroma region, sanctified by the spiritual feats of many venerable fathers, and the ancient spiritual and cultural traditions of the Northern Thebaid became known throughout Russia and far beyond. From a young age, your heart was filled with reverent love for the Mother of God. Moved by this holy devotion, and demonstrating zeal for the Lord your God (Numbers 25:13), you revived the veneration of one of the great treasures of Orthodoxy—the wonderworking Feodorovskaya Icon of the Queen of Heaven. This ancient icon of the Most Holy Theotokos became a "Great Pilgrim," visiting a large number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, from the White Sea to the Pacific Ocean, where tens and hundreds of thousands of believers greeted Her with unwavering devotion.
The Lord called you to apostolic ministry during a time of ecclesiastical renewal and significant societal changes. On one hand, it was a blessed era for preaching the Gospel and building up church life in all its fullness. On the other hand, the entire nation was enduring severe trials in social, economic, and political spheres. In these difficult circumstances, you guided the flock entrusted to your care with a firm, fatherly hand through the turbulent sea of life.
During those critical years for both the Church and the country, in addition to your archpastoral labors, you carried out many obediences, among which were the organization and development of All-Church Youth Ministry and the creation of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs. The spiritual nurturing of children and young people through their involvement in parish, diocesan, and nationwide Church projects became a new direction in the life of Orthodoxy at that time. You successfully accomplished the tasks set before you by the church leadership, laying the foundation for youth ministry and giving it the momentum for further development. Continually learning and spiritually improving yourself, you taught the word of Christ’s truth to your flock, "admonishing the unruly, comforting the faint-hearted, and supporting the weak" (1 Thess. 5:14).
All the ecclesiastical and administrative experience you accumulated during your archpastoral service has been fully manifested on the land of Kazakhstan. In 2010, a new and glorious chapter began in your life when you were elected by His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod to head the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. You have been filled with deep love for this blessed land, stained with the blood and sanctified by the sufferings of the new martyrs and confessors of the past century. During the 15 years you have spent in Kazakhstan, not a single day has been lived for yourself, nor spent in idleness or rest.
Your life has been devoted to the constant visitation of regional centers and distant villages, the pastoral care of Kazakhstan’s multi-ethnic flock, the resolution of parish and diocesan issues, and the concern for the well-being of God’s holy churches and monasteries. You have labored in the areas of church construction, spiritual education, and enlightenment. Your numerous journeys throughout the country, including its most remote corners, have filled the hearts of the people with deep gratitude for your all-encompassing fatherly care and prayerful intercession for all of us.
You have earned the special gratitude of the people of Kazakhstan by establishing the tradition of bringing renowned Orthodox relics to the country. This October, thanks to your efforts, all the dioceses of the Metropolitan District will be blessed with the visit of a reliquary containing the honorable and wonderworking relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow.
Your accomplishments during your leadership of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan are well-known in the Orthodox world. Your labors in organizing church life across the ten dioceses, your active peacemaking efforts, your significant contribution to the development of interfaith dialogue, and your work to preserve the historical and cultural heritage have earned the recognition of the state authorities. You have been awarded many orders and medals of the Republic.
What has been mentioned here represents only a small part of the labors and concerns that fill your life. The full measure of your sacrificial service is known only to God. To Him, you give honor and glory, always remembering the words of the prophet and psalmist David: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Thy name give glory" (Ps. 113:9).
On September 26, 1989, in your address at your nomination as Bishop of Kostroma and Galich, you said that the modern conditions of church life require "a creative approach to fulfilling one’s duties from every servant of God: to proclaim the truth of Christ with zeal, to be a stronghold of faith in Christ, a reliable support for the faithful, an adornment of the Church, and to stand unwavering in fidelity to the apostolic and patristic teachings." This is what you have consistently strived for, and you continue to set a good example for all of us.
Today, millions of Orthodox believers in our country see you as their spiritual leader, they sincerely pray for you, and from the depths of their hearts wish you good health and the blessed success of our Lord Jesus Christ in your work for the benefit of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.
May our Lord and Giver of all blessings grant you many years, and may He bless all your endeavors and undertakings done for the glory of the Church of Christ and for the benefit of the people of Kazakhstan!
With respectful love in Christ,
Archbishop Antony (Moskalenko)
Archbishop Barnabas of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz
Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk
Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk
Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola
Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo
Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan
Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda
Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan, Vicar of the Astana Diocese
Bishop Chrysanth of Shymkent and Turkestan
Bishop Benjamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese
Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau
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