Participants in the Bringing of the Relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow Celebrated the Liturgy at the Main Church of Petropavlovsk

November 3, 2024 – 19th Sunday after Pentecost; the commemoration day of Saint Hilarion the Great.

A Divine Liturgy was held at the Ascension Cathedral in Petropavlovsk to honor the arrival of the reliquary containing the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow.

The service was led by Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola, with co-celebrants including Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevo; Diocesan Secretary Protopriest Sergiy Perushin; Dean of the Kokshetau Church District Protopriest Konstantin Kopnin; Priest Mikhail Berezin, rector of the Church of Saint Methodius in Petropavlovsk; Priest Antony Shuvakin, keyholder of the Church of All Saints of the Northern Capital; Priest Maksim Chernenko; the head of the diocesan department for prison ministry, Hieromonk Serafim (Maksimov); Priest Maksim Abdulkhasanov; Deacon Vladimir Bartol; Deacon Alexiy Alexandrovich; and Deacon Uar Zhazitov from the Kokshetau Diocese.

The archbishop’s choir, directed by Anna Zatay, sang the liturgical hymns.

At the end of the Liturgy, a prayer of glorification to Blessed Matrona was offered before the reliquary containing her relics. Archbishop Serapion thanked Archbishop Vladimir and all the participants for the shared prayer, congratulated those gathered on the arrival of the revered Orthodox saint’s relics in Petropavlovsk, and delivered a sermon. In response, the head of the Petropavlovsk Diocese expressed gratitude to Archbishop Serapion for his visit and participation in bringing the relics of Blessed Matrona to the capital of Northern Kazakhstan.

In recognition of their work for the benefit of the Petropavlovsk Diocese and in honor of significant birthdays, Archbishop Vladimir presented the Order of Saint Sebastian of Karaganda to T.A. Gurzheyeva, head of the diocesan department of religious education and catechism, and to L.A. Nikitina, director of the Sunday school at the Ascension Cathedral.

Following the Liturgy, parishioners and pilgrims continued venerating the revered Orthodox relic. The relics of Blessed Matrona will remain in the capital of Northern Kazakhstan until the evening of November 3, after which they will be taken to the Kokshetau Diocese.