Meeting on the Construction of a Memorial Church in Lisya Balka Held in Shymkent with the Participation of the Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan

14 May 2025. Shymkent. At the invitation of the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aida Galymovna Balayeva visited the site in Lisya Balka where a memorial church in honor of the New Martyrs of Chimkent is to be built. On 11 May, in this district of the metropolis – which in the first half of the 20th century became an execution ground and mass grave for a great number of hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and lay Orthodox Christians – Metropolitan Alexander had celebrated the rite of blessing the cross and laying the foundation stone for the future chapel.

The head of the ministry held a working meeting on the construction of the memorial church, intended to perpetuate the memory of those who suffered for the faith. Metropolitan Alexander, who is currently in Moscow participating in the regular session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, took part in the meeting remotely.

Present at the site of the future church were: Bishop Chrysanth of Chimkent and Turkestan; Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan, vicar of the Astana Diocese; Secretary of the Chimkent Diocese A.B. Dyomin; Deputy Akim of the city of Shymkent S.A. Kuranbek; Head of the City Department for Religious Affairs B.A. Onerbayev; Deputy Head of the Land Department of Shymkent B. Omarkhanov; representatives of the city and regional offices of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan; diocesan staff; and benefactors who are members of the board of trustees.

The Head of the Metropolis, in his address, warmly thanked A.G. Balayeva for her kind assistance in resolving the matter of establishing the memorial complex, which has received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the approval of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev. Speaking to representatives of the authorities and the public, the hierarch emphasized that the construction of the memorial church would be carried out through the donations of benefactors.

The participants of the meeting discussed the stages of project implementation, which is planned to be completed in time for the visit of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to Kazakhstan in September of this year. It is expected that Patriarch Kirill will consecrate the newly built memorial chapel and celebrate its first service in memory of the New Martyrs and in commemoration of the victims of political repression.

The initiative to construct a memorial church in Lisya Balka belongs to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. This place – tragically known throughout the world – became the site of execution and burial for thousands of Orthodox Christians. Among them were eminent spiritual figures of the last century – Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) of Kazan, Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh), Archbishop Alexy (Orlov), Bishop Eugene (Kobranov), many other well-known hierarchs and pastors, and an innumerable multitude of ordinary believers.

Patriarch Kirill, well-acquainted with the history of the persecution of Orthodoxy, proposed the construction of a memorial church in Lisya Balka – located within the present-day boundaries of the city of Shymkent – during an official meeting with the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Maulen Sagathanovich Ashimbayev, held on 22 November 2024. The creation of the memorial chapel will serve to commemorate the Orthodox hierarchs, clergy, and laity who suffered for the faith on the territory of modern southern Kazakhstan in the 20th century.

The project for the construction of the memorial chapel, which received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, was reviewed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev. Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, after studying the matter, approved the establishment of two religious memorials in Lisya Balka – an Orthodox chapel and a Muslim mosque – as this site became the final resting place for innocently slain representatives of the two leading traditional confessions in Kazakhstan: Islam and Orthodoxy.

A great number of relatives of those who perished and were buried in Lisya Balka continue to await the construction of the memorial church. Appeals to build a commemorative chapel in this place – tragically known across the world – have come from descendants of the victims not only from Kazakhstan, but also from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, the United States, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and other countries.