Address:

050014, Almaty, 500B Zhansugurov St.

(+7 727) 223-63-00

Historical Background

The initiative to establish the Alexander Nevsky Church belongs to Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. The project received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

On November 10, 2015, in the Zhetysu district of Almaty, near the existing Paraskeva Church, the construction of the church in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky began. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the rite of consecration of the foundation stone.

Preparatory work continued for two years, and the construction of the church building began in October 2017. All works were completed in time for the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the birth of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky in 2021.

The church was designed by architect Sergey Kozlov and Archpriest Ioann Lopatin, with the participation and approval of Metropolitan Alexander.

On December 8, 2018, at the administrative and spiritual-cultural center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), the church utensils donated for the under-construction church were handed over. The utensils, manufactured at the Sofrino artistic production enterprise, were donated by Sergey Evgenievich Cheremin, Minister of the Moscow Government and Head of the Department of External Economic and International Relations, at the request of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. Among the donated liturgical items were a tabernacle, a requiem table, and a chandelier.

Current Status

In 2021, the painting of the newly built church was completed. The work was done by iconographers from the city of Palekh (Ivanovo region, Russia) under the guidance of the renowned iconographer, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, V.K. Kurilov.

On December 5, 2021, the great consecration of the Cathedral in the name of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky took place, marking the completion of the construction, timed to the celebration of the historically significant date – the 800th anniversary of the birth of the holy ruler of Russia. The rite of the great consecration and the Divine Liturgy were performed by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

By the time of the great consecration, a relic was brought to the Alexander Nevsky Church – an exact replica of the miraculous Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, along with other liturgical items donated to the newly consecrated church for the prayerful veneration of the faithful.

Prior to this, on October 24, 2021, Metropolitan Alexander consecrated the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God for the Metropolitan District at the Theophany-Anastasian Cathedral in Kostroma near the ancient icon of the Queen of Heaven, which has been in the city on the great Russian river Volga for almost eight centuries. The new icon was created by the distinguished iconographer, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, S.N. Sokolov. The icon is adorned with a riza made by the Alexander Nevsky Artistic Workshop in Moscow by the famous jeweler A.I. Aniskin. The riza accurately reproduces the 19th-century masterpiece of jewelry art – the gold riza decorated with precious stones on the Feodorovskaya Icon in Kostroma, made in 1891 from voluntary donations by the inhabitants of Russian provinces, with the personal participation of Emperor Alexander III.

Architectural Features

The Alexander Nevsky Church is designed with a frame scheme, with load-bearing reinforced concrete columns and monolithic walls. The church, which can accommodate five hundred people, is crowned with five domes symbolizing the Lord and the four evangelist apostles.

In designing the project, the architects proposed to combine the Paraskeva and Alexander Nevsky churches into a single complex. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to create unifying elements both externally and internally, as the stylistic differences between the buildings were evident. The architecture of the existing church used an eclectic set of elements from different eras and styles of Russian church architecture. The future Alexander Nevsky Church, as described above, was designed with a frame scheme, with load-bearing reinforced concrete columns and monolithic walls.

The architects developed a beautiful solution that made the church complex harmonious – creating stucco on the facade of the new church: pilasters ending in zakomaras, evenly arranged in naves, the central one of which is wider and higher. An important feature of the building's exterior became the colonnade, creating a unified church space.

The common entrance of the two churches – the porch – became the main unifying element. The design idea is successful both architecturally and functionally. The monolithic and integral structure, in case of an earthquake, is ensured by the latest technology of compensatory piles, combined with the extension, lightweight central dome, and drum.

At the base of the central drum, an octagonal spherical dome of the stained glass system was built – a glass plafond. This design allows light from the window openings to freely enter the central ceiling decor of the upper lighting, forming the so-called "circle of light."

Information About Non-Liturgical Buildings:

The premises include utility buildings, a dining room, and a rest room.

Church Relics:

Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God – an exact replica of the ancient miraculous icon of the Queen of Heaven, which has been in the city of Kostroma for almost eight centuries;

An icon with a particle of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva, which initially belonged to Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Almaty and Kazakhstan, and was then given for prayerful remembrance to the servant of God, Ekaterina Chernodyrova. In gratitude, she donated the icon to the Intercession parish for the future church or chapel in honor of the Great Martyr Paraskeva. On the patronal feast day in 1996, the icon was transferred from the Intercession Church to the under-construction Paraskeva Church;

A revered, renewed icon of the Kazan Mother of God, before which, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy, an unquenchable lampada is lit and the Akathist hymn is regularly sung;

An icon of Saint Nicholas of Myra, given to the Paraskeva Church by Metropolitan Alexander.