Priest Anatoly Ilchenko of the Shymkent Diocese Has Reposed in the Lord

November 1, 2024. Almaty. Following a prolonged illness, Priest Anatoly Ilchenko, rector of the Church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in the village of Baurzhan Momyshuly (Burnoe), and clergyman of the Shymkent Diocese, departed to the Lord in his 73rd year.

On November 3, a funeral service was conducted by Bishop Benjamin of Talgar, Vicar of the Astana Diocese, at the Christ the Savior Church in Almaty, by blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

Prior to the burial, a farewell gathering was held, and the Gospel was read over the body of the departed priest.

Bishop Benjamin was assisted by the Dean of the Parishes of the Southern Capital, rector of Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Protopriest Valery Zakharov; Protopriest Alexander Gaichenya, keyholder of the Christ Nativity Cathedral; Priest Georgy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Metropolitan District; Priest Ioann Konoplev, keyholder of the Church of Saints Adrian and Natalia; Priest Maksim Idrisov; and Protodeacon Roman Golovin, head of the protocol service of the Metropolitan.

In attendance were relatives, close friends, and spiritual children of the late priest. The choir of Christ the Savior Church in Almaty, under the direction of E. Skorova, performed liturgical hymns.

Before the funeral service began, Priest Ioann Konoplev read a message of condolence from Bishop Chrysanthus of Shymkent and Turkestan. After the absolution prayer, read by Bishop Benjamin, the clergy and faithful paid their final respects to the reposed priest, accompanied by the singing of the sticheron, “Come, brethren, let us bid a last farewell to the deceased…”

The funeral service concluded with the pronouncement of “Eternal Memory.” The coffin with the body of the reposed priest was carried around the Christ Nativity Cathedral, and he was laid to rest at the Aksai City Cemetery.

Eternal memory to the newly departed Priest Anatoly Ilchenko!

Biographical Information

Priest Anatoly Alexeyevich Ilchenko was born on February 17, 1952, in the Ukrainian village of Sasha, Teplyk District, Vinnytsia Region, to a family of farm workers.

After completing secondary education, he graduated from the Kommunarsk Vocational School No. 8 in the Luhansk Region in 1969 and worked as an electrician at the Kommunarsk Metallurgical Plant until 1970.

From 1970 to 1972, he served in the Soviet Border Troops. Until 1973, he worked as an electrician at the Ladyzhyn State District Power Plant.

In 1976, he graduated from the Nikopol Metallurgical College and began working at the Almaty Machine-Building Plant, holding positions as an electrician, deputy head of the mechanical workshop, chief power engineer, and head of human resources.

From 1992 to 1993, he worked at the Almaty Electric Car Repair Plant, followed by employment at Kainar Joint Venture (1993–1994) and Almaty Bus Assembly Plant (1994–1996).

In 1998, by blessing of the rector of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty, he entered the Theology and Missionary Department of Almaty Theological Seminary, which he completed in 2002. He served as a teacher at the Sunday School of Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

Under the blessing of Protopriest Yevgeny Bobylev, rector of the Church of the Intercession in Almaty, he performed hospice ministry for cancer patients for ten years.

On February 9, 2014, he was ordained as a deacon by Archbishop Elevfery of Shymkent and Taraz, and on February 16, 2014, he was ordained as a priest by the same archbishop and served at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Shymkent.

On January 1, 2015, he was assigned to the clergy of the Assumption Cathedral in Taraz while simultaneously serving as rector and chair of the parish council of the Church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in the village of Baurzhan Momyshuly, Zhambyl Region.

He was married since 1976 and raised two sons.