October 20, 2024 – 17th Sunday after Pentecost; the commemoration of the Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, and the feast of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God, called “Tenderness.”
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.
Concelebrating with the head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: the vicars of the Astana Diocese – Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; Mitred Archpriest Evgeny Vorobiev, rector of the church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Almaty; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, key holder of the Ascension Cathedral and head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan District; Protopriest Evgeny Ivanov, acting rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and head of the Information Department of the Metropolitan District; Igumen Philip (Moiseev), conductor of the men’s choir of the Almaty Diocese; Protopriest Alexander Zyryanov, dean of the Ili Church District; Priest Andrey Shklyar, assistant key holder of the main church of the Southern capital; Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in Akzhar District; Priest Alexander Alferov, cleric of the Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-Seraphim Women’s Monastery in Almaty; Priest Ioann Livinsky, prorector for educational work at the Almaty Theological Seminary; Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitsky), head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the head of the Metropolitan District; Priest Daniil Bobylev, head of the correspondence department at the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary; Priest Ioann Konoplev, key holder of the Adriano-Nataliev Church; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, key holder of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty; Protopriest Nikolai Grinkevich, Metropolitan’s protocol service head, Protopriest Roman Golovin, Protopriest Vladimir Syrovatsky, Deacon Ioann Churkin, and Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov.
The hymns of the service were performed by the choir of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District and the combined choir of conductors of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan under the direction of Honored Cultural Worker of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, Honored Artist of Russia A.A. Puzakov, and the conductor of the choir of the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo, Moscow, A.K. Mayorov.
Renowned church choir conductors from Moscow participated in the service as part of a scientific-practical conference for church choir conductors held in the Southern capital.
After the Eucharistic Canon, Metropolitan Alexander ordained Vladimir Alferov, the conductor of the Central Sunday School choir at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty, as a deacon.
Priest Georgy Rublinsky delivered the homily following the communion verse.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, His Eminence congratulated the hierarchs, clergy, and laity on the Sunday feast – the “Little Pascha” – and gave a sermon.
A “Many Years” was intoned for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia; the head and hierarchs of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; the President of Kazakhstan K.-J.K. Tokayev; the authorities, military, and all the people of Kazakhstan.
At the end of the service, the head of the Metropolitan District warmly thanked the choir members for their efforts and the high level of performance of the spiritual works. The Metropolitan noted that church choral singing plays a significant role in preserving the traditions of Orthodoxy in the country, uniting active believers in both urban and rural parishes, especially the youth.
October 20, 2024, marked the 14th anniversary of the repose of Bishop Tikhon (Stepanov) of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory. Metropolitan Alexander, along with the hierarchs and clergy, performed a memorial litia for the late archpastor.
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