Benefactors of the Metropolitan District Awarded Decorations of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan

December 21, 2025. Astana. A meeting took place in the fireplace hall of the Spiritual, Cultural and Administrative Center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius between Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and the Director of the Institute of Diplomacy of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, A. Yu. Volkov.

Those participating in the meeting included: the dean of the parishes of the capital, Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev); the dean of the Assumption Cathedral, Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek); the head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); and benefactors of the Metropolitan District.

Alexey Yuryevich Volkov informed Metropolitan Alexander about the history and present-day life of the Academy of Public Administration, which was established by Presidential Decree on May 31, 2005. The archpastor was told that this higher educational institution of special status provides initial training, retraining, and advanced professional development for civil servants. “Since its founding, the Academy has made a significant contribution to the professional formation of the state apparatus of sovereign Kazakhstan and to the establishment and development of the system of public administration,” A. Yu. Volkov noted.

The Head of the Metropolitan District, in turn, shared information about the life of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, the principal center for training clergy of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, which holds a state license to conduct educational activity in accordance with the legislation of the Republic. The hierarch informed the guests about the celebration, in the concluding year, of the 15th anniversary of the seminary’s founding and the events organized in connection with this significant jubilee.

The interlocutors also discussed the progress of construction in Astana of the spiritual, cultural, and educational center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, which will include a church dedicated to All Saints who have shone forth in the land of Kazakhstan.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Alexander presented A. Yu. Volkov and the benefactors with ecclesiastical awards of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.