April 10, 2025. Almaty. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, who is on a working visit to the southern capital of Kazakhstan, visited the Ascension Cathedral — the historical and spiritual gem of the country — at the invitation of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.
Accompanying Mr. Lavrov were: A.N. Borodavkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Kazakhstan; M.Yu. Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; A.V. Sternik, Director of the Third Department of the CIS Countries; M.V. Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; A.Yu. Drobinin, Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; E.A. Izotova, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Head of a division of the Third CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan; D.A. Turaev, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Almaty.
The distinguished guest was welcomed at the principal church of the Southern capital by the Head of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.
Participating in the meeting were: O.N. Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of Russia, and member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing; Archimandrite Sergy (Karamyshev), Dean of the Astana Church District; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, Sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral and Head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan District; Protopriest Eugene Ivanov, Acting Rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary and Head of the Information Department of the Metropolitan District; Priest Georgy Sidorov, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District; Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Head of the Metropolitan’s Protocol Service.
Metropolitan Alexander shared with Sergey Viktorovich the history of the construction of the Ascension Cathedral, emphasizing that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the return of the church to its rightful owner - the Orthodox Church. The father sacristan of the cathedral spoke with the guest about documented evidence that, during the construction of the cathedral - built according to the design of the talented architect and engineer A.P. Zenkov - innovative technologies and seismic resistance principles for that era were applied, which enabled the cathedral to withstand the devastating 1911 earthquake that destroyed nearly all the buildings in the city of Verny.
During the conversation, the hierarch emphasized the historical role and contemporary significance of the cathedral in the life of the Southern capital and noted that it is included in the list of 100 nationwide sacred sites of Kazakhstan as part of the presidential program Rukhani Zhangyru.
During the tour, the archpastor focused in detail on the full-scale professional restoration of the cathedral, which was carried out from 2017 to 2020 under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and UNESCO, with the involvement of local scholars and top-level specialists from Russia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, and France.
The Head of the Metropolitan District stated that the President of the country, Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich Tokayev, during his visit to the cathedral, gave high praise to this grand restoration project, calling it “the second birth of a nationwide sacred treasure of Kazakhstan.”
S.V. Lavrov and the members of the delegation noted the elegance and grandeur of the cathedral’s exterior and the beauty of the interior, adorned with murals executed by talented Palekh isographers under the direction of V.K. Kurilov, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia. Metropolitan Alexander explained that the contemporary isographers used the sketches of Nikolai Gavrilovich Khlyudov – a renowned iconographer and artist who worked on the decoration of the cathedral’s interior and one of the teachers of the first professional Kazakh artist, Abylkhan Kasteyev, after whom the State Museum of Arts in Almaty is named.
The Head of the Metropolitan District showed the participants of the tour the gift of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the 25th anniversary of the return of the Ascension Cathedral to the faithful – the icon of the “Icon Not Made by Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Before another sacred object of the cathedral – the Feodorovskaya-Almaty icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, an exact copy, “measure for measure,” of the miraculous revealed icon of the Queen of Heaven – S.V. Lavrov and the accompanying persons lit candles.
The conversation between the Head of the Metropolitan District and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation continued in the parish cathedral house. During the conversation, the upcoming Primatial visit to Kazakhstan of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, was discussed. His Holiness is scheduled to arrive in Astana at the invitation of the Head of State K.-Zh.K. Tokayev to participate in the 8th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. His Eminence shared with Sergey Viktorovich his recollections of the visit of the Primate to the main cathedral of the southern capital in 2010.
For the development of relations between the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and in connection with his 75th birthday, Metropolitan Alexander awarded Sergey V. Lavrov the highest distinction of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan – the Order of “Beibitshilik pen Kelisim” (Peace and Harmony). “Your rich diplomatic experience and remarkable personal qualities consistently help you to successfully resolve the difficult tasks currently faced by the ministry you lead. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my deep gratitude for your active support of the peacemaking mission of the Orthodox Church, as well as its educational work in many countries. I hope that your service will continue to bear abundant fruit in the field of strengthening peace and harmony among nations and peoples,” the archpastor stated in particular while presenting the award.
Sergey Viktorovich congratulated Metropolitan Alexander on the 15th anniversary of his tenure as Head of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan and the 50th anniversary of his ecclesiastical service, noting the special contribution of the Orthodox Church to strengthening spiritual, cultural, and humanitarian ties between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and expressed his gratitude to the metropolitan for his personal contribution to the development of Russian-Kazakh cooperation. The Minister emphasized the importance of uniting the peacemaking efforts of secular authorities and religious leaders amid the tense socio-political situation and the escalation of international conflicts.
For her contribution to the development of relations between the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova was awarded the Order of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and Sophia – the patronesses of Semirechye. As a memento of the visit to the cathedral, the guest was presented with a photo album about the Ascension Cathedral and a scholarly work by Metropolitan Alexander – the book The History of Christianity in Central Asia. As a blessing for his labors, the hierarch presented Sergey Viktorovich with an icon of the Ascension of the Lord. The metropolitan noted that the icon was painted on a board made from Tien Shan spruce, once part of the cathedral’s original window frames and preserved after the restoration.
At the conclusion of the meeting, which took place in a warm atmosphere, the Head of the Metropolitan District and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia exchanged wishes for good health and success in their labors.
Main
Login or register, to write a comment!
Your comment has been successfully added and is currently being reviewed by the site administration