September 30, 2024. Almaty. A delegation of Kazakh and Russian parliamentarians, in the city for a session of the Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council of Russia and the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, visited the Ascension Cathedral, a prominent historical and cultural site of Semirechye.
The group was led by Vice-Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zh.K. Asanov and the First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation A.V. Yatskin.
By the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the parliamentarians were welcomed by the cathedral's keyholder, Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, who also heads the Public Relations Department of the Metropolis.
The clergyman provided the guests with an overview of the history of the Ascension Cathedral, a historical and cultural gem of Semirechye, detailing its unique architecture and the current life of the principal church of Almaty. During the tour, Father Alexander focused on the comprehensive professional restoration of the cathedral carried out between 2017 and 2020. He noted that all restoration work was supervised by the Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan and UNESCO, involving top-level specialists from Kazakhstan, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, and France.
Archpriest Alexander emphasized that when President K.-Zh.K. Tokayev visited the cathedral in 2019, he highly praised the restoration work, referring to the project as the "second birth of this national shrine of Kazakhstan."
The delegation members expressed their appreciation for the restoration efforts, remarking on the elegance and grandeur of the cathedral's exterior, as well as the beauty of its interior, adorned with frescoes created by talented Palekh iconographers under the guidance of V.K. Kurilov, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia.
As a memento of their visit, the guests were presented with publications about the history of the Ascension Cathedral on behalf of Metropolitan Alexander.
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