On the Eve of Victory Day, Clergy of Alma-Ata Led by Metropolitan Alexander Laid Flowers at the Memorial of Glory in Panfilov Park

May 8, 2026. Alma-Ata. On the eve of the celebration of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, together with clergy of the city churches, laid flowers at the Memorial of Glory in the Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen.

Participating in the solemn ceremony were: Chancellor of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen; Bishop Klavdian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, member of the Church-Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ for the Development of Russian Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov; Dean of the churches of Alma-Ata and rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Candidate of Theology Archpriest Valery Zakharov; Archimandrite Joseph (Eremenko); Head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District, Candidate of Theology Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; personal secretary to the Head of the Metropolitan District Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek); staff members of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim”; heads of departments and commissions of the Metropolitan District in holy orders; deans of the church districts of the Alma-Ata Diocese; rectors and clergy of the churches of the Southern Capital; staff members of the Alma-Ata Diocesan Administration; students of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary; and parishioners of the churches of the Southern Capital.

Honored participants in the event included the president of the public foundation “Eleos-Meirim,” V.M. Kapsamun, and singers of the Byzantine choir that arrived from the Holy Mountain Athos.

Metropolitan Alexander and the clergy laid a wreath from the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan at the memorial. The clergy sang Paschal troparia. Prayers were offered “for leaders and soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield, for those who died from wounds and hunger, for those innocently tortured and slain in captivity and bitter labors, for all who toiled for the sake of Victory, and for all who perished during the calamities of war.”

Veterans of the Great Patriotic War and home front laborers were present at the ceremony.

Commemorations of leaders and soldiers, home front workers, and victims of the Great Patriotic War, as well as memorial events and wreath-laying ceremonies at Victory monuments, will take place on May 8 and 9 in all dioceses of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

“Recalling the Victory in the bloody struggle for the salvation of humanity from total enslavement, we offer prayers for the repose of all who fell in battle on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, who died from wounds and hunger, who perished during the blockade, who were tortured and slain in captivity. Our sincere gratitude, words of appreciation, and good wishes are addressed to the veterans and home front workers who demonstrated an example of sacrificial service to the people. By paying tribute to all who labored for the sake of Victory, we lay a firm foundation for our connection with future generations. It is important that the memory of the tragic and glorious days of the Great Patriotic War not be limited to the outward observance of calendar dates. In his address delivered on May 9, 1945, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I emphasized that Victory ‘brings an awareness of obligation, an awareness of duty, an awareness of responsibility for the present and the future.’ New generations must worthily preserve the brotherhood bequeathed to us, sealed by the blood shed on the fields of battle, and no matter how many years pass since that distant time, the memory of it must remain in the heart of the people, so that our children and grandchildren may live in peace, harmony, and friendship. All of us should learn devotion and courage from those who endured all the hardships and trials of war and won peace for the whole world.” From the address of Metropolitan Alexander.