As Part of the Sophonius Readings, a Presentation of the Academic Publications of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary Took Place

25 November 2025. Almaty. With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, a presentation of the academic publications of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary took place in the Throne Hall of the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolis named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov).

The event was held within the framework of the XXIII Almaty Orthodox Educational Readings in memory of St Sophonius (Sokolsky), Archbishop of Turkestan, Enlightener of Semirechye.

Participating in the presentation were: the rector of the Kazan Orthodox Theological Seminary, Candidate of Theology Priest Nikita Kuznetsov; the lecturer of the Minsk Theological Seminary, head of the library of the Minsk Theological Seminary, Candidate of Theology Archimandrite Nikodim (Generalov); the Vice-Rector for General and Social Affairs of the Kuzbass Orthodox Theological Seminary Archpriest Alexey Nagorny, the Vice-Rector for Educational Work Priest Ioann Livinsky, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the theological school A. P. Solovyov, the head of the Church History Department Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, the head of the Church Practice Department, Candidate of Theology Deacon Vladislav Pashkov, the research associate and lecturer of the Almaty Theological Seminary Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; the research associate of the theological school Priest Mikhail Berezin, the assistant to the head of the library of the Minsk Theological Seminary Reader Nazary Florya, the lecturers and students of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary.

The event opened with a presentation by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs A. P. Solovyov, who presented to those gathered the monograph of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan “Christianity in Central Asia in the Middle Ages.” Artem Pavlovich spoke about the structure of the book and its distinctive features, noted the high scholarly level of the research, the breadth of its source base, and emphasized the importance of the results obtained.

Then the research associate and lecturer of the Almaty Theological Seminary, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, presented to those gathered the collected works of the local historian V. A. Kazantsev “The Formation of the Turkestan Diocese (The History of Orthodoxy in Semirechye).” Father Alexander served as the editor and compiler of the presented publication.

In a remote format, the research associate of the theological school Priest Mikhail Berezin presented his monograph “The Orthodox Church in Northern Kazakhstan (1920–30): A Historical and Documentary Collection.”

During the event, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs A. P. Solovyov spoke to those gathered about the contents of the latest two issues of the academic periodical of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary “The Theological Bulletin.”

At the conclusion of the presentations, the speakers answered questions from those present.

The academic publications presented during the event will be transferred to the library of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary.

A group photograph was taken to commemorate the event.