The official desk calendar of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan for 2026 has been published

The Publishing House of the Kazakh Metropolitan District has published the calendar of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan for 2026 – the official liturgical and reference edition, which traditionally combines the calendar by which Orthodox parishes in Kazakhstan will live and pray in the coming year, and reference sections.

The coming year is marked for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kazakh Metropolitan District by a number of commemorative dates and anniversaries, to which the calendar is dedicated. In 2026, Orthodox believers will prayerfully commemorate: 1700 years since the Finding of the Precious Cross and the Nails by the holy Empress Helen in Jerusalem, 700 years since the repose of Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow, and All Rus’, 375 years since the repose of Venerable Job, Abbot of Pochaev.

In the coming year, celebrations will be held marking the 60th anniversary of the repose of the Venerable Confessor Sebastian of Karaganda; the 25th anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of the heavenly patrons of Kazakhstan – the Venerable Martyrs Seraphim and Theognost of Almaty; and the 200th anniversary of the birth of a prominent spiritual enlightener – Bishop Alexander (Kulchitsky) of Turkestan and Tashkent.

80 years will have passed since the return of the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker – one of the oldest churches in the southern capital – to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1946, through the efforts of the holy confessor Metropolitan Nicholas (Mogilevsky) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas was returned to the Orthodox Church, and liturgical life was revived there.

In 2026, the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan will mark the 35th anniversary of the canonical establishment of the Uralsk and Chimkent Dioceses, as well as the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Dioceses of Kokshetau, Petropavlovsk, and Ust-Kamenogorsk.

In accordance with the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, the calendar contains for each day of the year a list of saints, events in church history, and venerated icons of the Most Holy Theotokos commemorated by the Church on that day; it provides readings from Holy Scripture appointed for the services; and in special cases – notes on fasting and brief liturgical rubrics. Special attention is given to the days commemorating the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan and the locally venerated icons of the Mother of God.

The reference section contains information about the archpastors and dioceses of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, including detailed contact information and photographs of the episcopate; as well as information about the highest theological institution of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan – the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary.

The edition opens with a portrait of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, and is richly illustrated. High-quality photographs depict events in the church life of Kazakhstan and the ministry of the Head of the Metropolitan District in 2024–2025. Among the most notable events are the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Astana and Alma-Ata Dioceses and the bringing of the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow to Kazakhstan; the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War; and the holding of the international academic conference “Choirmaster Service in the Metropolitan District: The Path to Mastery.”

The front (first) cover of the calendar features the church in honor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir, the Baptizer of Rus’, in the city of Almaty.

The third cover page is adorned with an icon of the Venerable Martyrs Hieromonks Seraphim and Theognost.

The fourth cover page features a photo of the Cathedral in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God and Venerable Seraphim of Sarov in the city of Ekibastuz.

The edition is issued with the blessing of the Head of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.