Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Constantine-Helen Cathedral in Kostanay

On October 13, 2024, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost and the commemoration day of Saint Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia, a festive Divine Liturgy was held at the Constantine-Helen Cathedral, the main church of the Kostanay Diocese, to mark the arrival of the holy relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow.

 

The Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. Concelebrating with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Mitred Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyov, rector of the church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty; Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha), secretary of the Kostanay Diocese; Protopriest Vasily Korolev, rector of Michael the Archangel Church in Kachar village, Kostanay Region; Igumen Innokenty (Pomogalov), cleric of the cathedral; Protopriest Oleg Kalmykov, rector of the church of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt in Lisakovsk; Protopriest Andrey Korchazhnikov, cleric of the Constantine-Helen Cathedral; Protopriest Vitaly Kleba, rector of Michael the Archangel Church in Kostanay; Protopriest Vitaly Gutsan, rector of Saint Nicholas Church in Kostanay; Protopriest Alexiy Mostovshchikov, rector of the parish of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Fedorovka village, Kostanay Region; Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Georgiy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District; Priest Andrey Krutin, rector of the church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Zatobolsk village; Priest Alexey Kovalev, Priest Sergiy Neverov, Priest Georgiy Chernykh, Hieromonk Methodius (Chulkov); Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky; Deacon Eliazar Aitbakin; and Deacon Ioann Churkin.

 

The choir of the Constantine-Helen Cathedral in Kostanay, directed by T. Zhebrak, sang the liturgical responses.

 

Praying at the service were: Abbess Nika (Otroshchenko), superior of the Iveron-Petropavlovsk Convent in Oktyabrsky village, along with the sisters of the monastery; the local Cossack community; children from Sunday schools; parishioners of Kostanay churches; and pilgrims from neighboring settlements.

 

Following the communion hymn, Priest Georgiy Sidorov read the address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the occasion of the arrival of the relics of Blessed Matrona in Kazakhstan.

 

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, a service of praise to Blessed Matrona was held before the reliquary. Afterward, Metropolitan Alexander elevated Mother Nika (Otroshchenko) to the rank of hegumeness, presenting her with a pectoral cross and an abbatial staff. As a blessing for her spiritual labors, His Eminence gifted the abbess an icon containing a relic of Saint Nike of Corinth, the heavenly patroness of the Iveron-Petropavlovsk Convent.

 

The Head of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan thanked all the participants for their prayers and congratulated them on the arrival of the holy relics of one of the most venerated saints in the Orthodox world to Kostanay. He then sprinkled the faithful with holy water and delivered a sermon.

 

Following the service, the faithful began venerating the relics of Blessed Matrona. Many residents and guests of Kostanay, as well as pilgrims from nearby cities and villages, gathered to offer their prayers to the great saint.