Metropolitan Alexander Celebrated Sunday Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Aktobe

September 1, 2024 – The Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the commemoration of the Don Icon of the Mother of God.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Aktobe.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was concelebrated by Bishop Ignaty of Aktobe and Kyzylorda, Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan (Vicar of the Astana Diocese), Protopriest Evgeny Vorobyov (Rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in Almaty), Acting Dean of the Aktobe Church District Hieromonk Kiprian (Dakhno), Protopriest Dmitry Solovyov (Rector of the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir in Aktobe), the Metropolitan's Personal Secretary Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), and clergy of the Aktobe Diocese. Also serving were the Metropolitan's Chief of Protocol Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Secretary of the Aktobe Diocese Boris Fateev, and Deacon Sergey Meshkov.

By the beginning of the service, the main church of the Aktobe Diocese received for veneration a precise copy, “measured in size,” of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "The Healer," along with reliquaries containing a piece of the Virgin Mary's robe and a stone from the tomb of the Most Holy Theotokos, for the spiritual strengthening of the faithful.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the St. Nicholas Cathedral Choir under the direction of S. Korolyova.

The sermon following the communion verse was delivered by Protopriest Dmitry Solovyov.

The Liturgy concluded with a glorification of the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Alexander then congratulated the hierarchs, clergy, and laity on the Sunday – the “Little Pascha” – and delivered a homily.

After the service, veneration of the holy relics began. Throughout the evening, the diocesan clergy continued to serve molebens with the akathist hymn to the Queen of Heaven.

Following the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander met with A.Zh. Turaliev, the head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the Aktobe Region, to discuss issues related to cooperation between the Aktobe Diocese and the secular authorities of the region.

"We know that eternal life is attained through love for God and love for our neighbor; however, the Lord Himself revealed to us another great truth: the divine food—the holy and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, the most pure Body and Blood of our Savior—leads man to the Kingdom of Heaven. Participation in the sacrament of Communion is a source of virtue and an effective means of deliverance from sin. The Lord Jesus Christ warns us: 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you' (John 6:53). It is impossible, by merely observing from the outside, to feel the gracious gifts, to receive the consolation and help from the Lord, which are granted to a believer by properly observing the fast, frequently attending the church of God, and participating in the sacraments. Personal spiritual experience cannot be replaced by any intellectual effort, exertion of will, or attentiveness of the senses, for 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him' (1 Corinthians 2:9). 'Taste and see that the Lord is good!' (Psalm 34:8), the Church of Christ invites us with the words of the Psalmist David, to partake in true, genuine spiritual life." — From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.