Metropolitan Alexander Held a Working Meeting with the Leadership of “Radio VERA”

September 26, 2025 — Almaty. At the spiritual, cultural, and administrative center of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan held a meeting with the leadership of the Russian cultural and educational radio station Radio VERA.

The delegation visiting Kazakhstan included: R.A. Torgashin, General Director of Radio VERA; Y.E. Selyukova, Director of Educational Programs and Head of the “Clever Laboratory” project; N. Streltsova, Director of Development; and A. Lobada, Digital Director.

Participants from the Kazakh side included: Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, Rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District; Priest Ioann Livinsky, Vice-Rector of the Seminary; Priest Kirill Konoplev, Deputy Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the District; Priest Georgy Rublinsky, Deputy Chairman of the Youth Affairs Commission of the Metropolitan District; A.S. Kasymova, President of the “Örkendeu” Foundation; and A.Yu. Grevtsev, Project Manager of “Senim Online.”

After an exchange of greetings, Metropolitan Alexander spoke to the guests about the main recent event in the life of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan — the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Astana, which took place from September 16 to 18.

The main topic of the meeting was the discussion of cooperation between Radio VERA and the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan in the field of media partnership and educational initiatives. In particular, they discussed the implementation of the Senim Online project — the creation of a cultural and spiritual-educational internet broadcast under the aegis of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, with the support of the Örkendeu Foundation.

As a token of the meeting, the hierarch presented the leadership of Radio VERA with his academic publication “Christianity in Central Asia in the Middle Ages”, a Metropolitan District calendar for 2026, and a music album “Songs of the Great Victory”, released by the Department of Culture of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan under the direction of O.N. Ovchinnikov, Honored Artist of Russia, to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The Radio VERA delegation also made a pilgrimage to the Aksai Hermitage, the place of ascetic labors and martyrdom of the heavenly patrons of Almaty and all Kazakhstan — Hieromonks Seraphim (Bogoslovsky) and Feognost (Pivovarov). The group also visited the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Kazan Cathedral, and the Alexander Nevsky Church, and met with G.V. Cherepanova, Director of the Central Sunday School of Almaty, and V.L. Posadneva, Honored Cultural Worker and Director of the Semirechye Orthodox TV Studio.