On October 22, 2025, in Almaty, Deputy Head of the Presidential Directorate of the Russian Federation for State Policy in the Humanitarian Sphere N.P. Ovsiyenko, who was on an official visit to the southern capital, visited several churches of the city.
By the blessing of the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the distinguished guest was welcomed by the Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov.
The visit began with a tour of the spiritual and historical jewel of Kazakhstan – the Ascension Cathedral. Priest Georgy shared with Nikolay Pavlovich the history of the cathedral’s construction, emphasizing that this year marks the 30th anniversary of its return to its rightful owner – the Orthodox Church. The priest also presented documentary evidence showing that the cathedral, designed by the talented architect and engineer A.P. Zenkov, was built using innovative seismic-resistant technologies of its time, which enabled the cathedral to withstand the devastating earthquake of 1911 that destroyed most of the buildings in the city of Verny.
During the tour, the guest learned about the full-scale professional restoration of the church, which took place from 2017 to 2020 at the initiative and with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander. The work was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and UNESCO, with the involvement of local scholars and high-level specialists from Russia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, and France.
N.P. Ovsiyenko noted the elegance and grandeur of the cathedral’s exterior and the beauty of its interiors. In front of the sacred objects of the cathedral – including the icon of the “Image Not Made by Hands” gifted by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Theodorovskaya–Almaty icon of the Most Holy Theotokos presented by Metropolitan Alexander, which is an exact “measure-for-measure” replica of the miraculous icon of the Queen of Heaven – the guest lit candles.
On the same day, Nikolay Pavlovich, accompanied by Priest Georgy Sidorov, visited the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, where they were received by the parish rector, Archpriest Ioann Lopatin. The Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Metropolitan District shared the history and architectural features of the church.
Following the visit, the clergy and the guest laid flowers at the monument to Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky, located on the cathedral square. N.P. Ovsiyenko had participated in the working group responsible for the creation of the monument.
As a token of remembrance from his visit to the churches of the southern capital, Nikolay Pavlovich was presented with an album about the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty, a booklet about the Alexander Nevsky Church, the scholarly work The History of Christianity in Central Asia by Metropolitan Alexander, and an icon of Venerable Sebastian of Karaganda.
N.P. Ovsiyenko expressed his gratitude to the clergy for the tour and conveyed his best wishes to the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.
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