September 28, 2024. Astana. On the first day of the Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral, marking the opening of the festivities for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana Diocese.
The central event of the celebration was the bringing of the reliquary with the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow under the arches of the country's main cathedral.
For the Liturgy, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, was concelebrated by: the head of the Yekaterinburg Metropolis, Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, a member of the Higher Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and Chairman of the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechesis; Bishop Fedor of Berdyansk and Primorsk; Dean of the parishes of Almaty, Protopriest Valery Zakharov, rector of the Almaty church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow," Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyev; Acting Rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, Head of the Information Department of the Metropolitan District, Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov; Hieromonk Siluan (Sinegubov), cleric of the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Astana; Dean of the Ili Church District, Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov; Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin), personal secretary of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); Keyholder of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan's protocol service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Alexander Mokiy, Deacon Ilya Davydov, and Deacon Ioann Churkin.
The hymns were performed by the choir of the cathedral under the direction of Olga Varentsova.
Praying during the service were: Archbishop Amfilochiy of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk, Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo, Bishop Aleksey of Galich and Makaryev (Kostroma Metropolis), Bishop Ignaty of Aktobe and Kyzylorda, Vicar Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan (Astana Diocese), Vicar Bishop Veniamin of Talgar (Astana Diocese), Bishop Vianor of Uralsk and Atyrau; Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing, O.N. Ovchinnikov; the head of the public foundation "Apostle Foundation" G.G. Sosnovsky, staff of the Astana Diocesan Administration, numerous parishioners, and pilgrims.
After the Communion verse, Priest Georgy Rublinsky read aloud Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan's address regarding the bringing of the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow to Kazakhstan.
At the end of the Liturgy, there was a magnification to the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and to Blessed Matrona in front of the reliquary containing her holy relics.
At the conclusion of the service, Metropolitan Alexander thanked the hierarchs, clergy, and all the participants of the celebration for the shared prayer, congratulated those gathered on the arrival of the relics of Blessed Matrona, highly venerated in the Orthodox world, to Astana, and addressed the faithful with a word of edification.
After the sermon by the Metropolitan, the veneration of the relics of Blessed Matrona began. Residents and guests of the capital, along with a large number of pilgrims from cities and villages across central Kazakhstan, gathered to offer prayers to the holy woman of God.
The head of the Metropolitan District also congratulated O.N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Metropolitan District, on his birthday, wishing him God's help in his service to the Holy Church, strength of soul and body, and creative success. Metropolitan Alexander presented Oleg Nikolaevich with a holy prosphora and a bouquet of flowers.
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