The Head of the Metropolitan District Commemorated All Innocent Martyrs and Victims of Persecution Against Orthodoxy

On November 7, 2024—a day of mourning and remembrance for all who suffered under the godless regime of the 20th century, marking the anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917, which claimed millions of lives and initiated a period of persecution against the Church of Christ in the former Russian Empire—Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan held a memorial service in the Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their Mother Sophia at the Patriarchal Representation of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District in Moscow. He commemorated all those “innocently tortured and killed during the years of godless persecution, and those who died from hunger, cold, wounds, illnesses, and hard labor.”

The archpastor prayerfully remembered the victims of the historical tragedies experienced by the country in the 20th century. The memorial service was attended by the staff of the Representation and parishioners of the church.

Memorial services and litias were held in all churches of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

“Today, November 7, we recall a tragic date—the anniversary of the October Revolution, which marked the beginning of unprecedented persecutions against the Church of Christ in history. Under various pretexts, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians—hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and laity—were arrested and exterminated. Many were shot, often without trial, perished in prisons and camps, or died from hunger, cold, disease, and grueling labor.

The sufferings and torments endured by the clergy and faithful, the trials of confessors, and the blood of martyrs are offerings to global Orthodoxy, a contribution from our people to the treasury of sanctity of the Universal Orthodox Church. The persecutions against the faith in Christ had a unique impact on Kazakhstan. The sacrifice of the martyrs of the last century, who stained the vast expanses of the Great Steppe with their blood, allows us to metaphorically speak of our country as an ‘antimension spread under the open sky.’

Today, we realize that thanks to the sacrifices of our predecessors, the church revival at the turn of the last and current centuries became possible. The martyrs and confessors hastened the advent of times favorable to the life of Orthodoxy. It was through their courage, strength of spirit, and firm Christian virtues that they managed to restore the noble image of the Church in public consciousness, leading many of our compatriots to the churches in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, we—clergy and active laity—face an important task: to reveal the feats of each of the Kazakhstani saints to our contemporaries, to help each Orthodox Christian of the Metropolitan District spiritually assimilate the meaning and fruits of their labors. As His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has said, ‘Our love for the New Martyrs must be expressed in preserving the living testimony of their feats.’ Eternal and grateful memory to all who suffered for their faith in God, for the eternal Gospel truths, and for their love of their native Orthodoxy. Eternal memory to all who suffered innocently during the years of godless turmoil.” — From the words of Metropolitan Alexander.