In 1904, the residents of the southwestern part of the city of Verny, in an area then known as Kuchugury, approached Bishop Paisius (Vinogradov) of Turkestan and Tashkent with a request to bless the collection of donations and seek funds for the construction of a church in this district. The archpastor gave his consent.
At that time, in the mountains near the city of Verny, a blessed man named Ilya the Charcoal Burner lived in a small wooden cell. He devoted himself entirely to prayer and contemplation of God. He was called the Charcoal Burner because he burned aspen charcoal in the mountains, brought it to the city, sold it, and used the money to buy modest food before returning to the mountains. He was called blessed because he always came to the city covered in charcoal dust, adorned with metal cans that clanged as he walked the streets of Verny with a sack of charcoal on his back.
When a site was being chosen and funds were being sought for the construction of a church in honor of St. Nicholas, people went to Ilya to hear his opinion:
"Father Ilya, we want to build a church for St. Nicholas. What do you say?"
"And where do you want to build it?"
"In Kuchugury, at Zubovskaya Square."
Ilya thought for a moment and said:
"Build it! This church will stand until the end!"
On December 14, 1908, the church in honor of St. Nicholas, designed by architect S.K. Troparovsky, was consecrated by Bishop Dimitry (Abashidze) of Turkestan and Tashkent, who is now glorified among the saints as St. Anthony, the confessor.
The first rector of this church was appointed Protopriest Alexander Filimonovich Skalsky, who had previously served as the rector of the Alexander-Mariinsky Church at the children's shelter in the city of Verny, also located in Kuchugury.
At the request of the parishioners of the Church of St. Nicholas, Bishop Dimitry (Abashidze) in 1910 sent a request to the abbot of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos to bless the Verny residents with a relic of the Great Martyr Panteleimon. Soon, relics of the healer Panteleimon, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Niphont, Patriarch of Constantinople, were handed over to the Athonite metochion in Odessa, where they were met by Deacon Stephan Ponomarev of the Church of St. Nicholas, who had been sent from Verny.
In a short time, the Church of St. Nicholas became one of the most visited in the city, and its rector, who genuinely loved his flock, earned deep respect and reverence from the Orthodox residents of Verny.
Chronicles of those years testify: "The Kuchugury Church stands out among many parish churches of the city of Verny not only for its external beauty, reminiscent of the best period of architecture, but also for its internal life. The number of worshipers has become so large, unlike anywhere else, that if their fervor remains at the same height, this church will soon need to be expanded."
After the October Revolution, a wave of persecution against the Church of Christ swept across the country. In Semirechye, the storm of murders and arrests began with the execution in 1918 of Bishop Pimen (Belolikov) of Verny and Semirechye, after which the Almaty See remained vacant until 1927.
The Church of St. Nicholas, whose clergy did not defect to the renovationist schism and steadfastly maintained loyalty to the Patriarchal Church, became a stronghold of Orthodoxy in Almaty during this period.
The rector of the church, Protopriest Alexander Skalsky, united the parishioners around him with his pious life, sermons, and reverent service at the Lord's altar. He lived alone in one of the rooms in the house by the Church of St. Nicholas and dedicated all his free time to the sick and destitute. He performed services solemnly and festively; his voice could be heard in the farthest corner of the church. "This is at the Lord's Altar!" he said. "We are serving God! God! People should rejoice, everyone should be happy! We must serve so that even the air resonates."
In the basement of the Church of St. Nicholas, Father Alexander gave shelter to the nuns of the closed Iveron-Sergius Monastery of Verny. In the church, they sang on the kliros, baked prosphora, sold candles, and lived like in a monastery, almost according to the monastic rule.
After 1917, Father Stephan Ponomarev returned from the front and was assigned to the Church of St. Nicholas. He had a completely different character: he was always silent and immersed in prayer. Father Stephan served daily: "God forbid," he said, "to miss a service." His services were quiet, unhurried, and reverent. In winter, it was cold in the Church of St. Nicholas. Father Alexander wanted to arrange a warm church in the basement of the temple, but he could not realize this good intention in times of poverty and persecution.
Many years later, a warm church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was arranged in the basement of the temple and consecrated by St. Nicholas (Mogilevsky), Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan.
Among the multitude of martyrs and confessors who served and prayed under the arches of the Church of St. Nicholas in the 1920s and 1930s, special mention should be made of the archpastors of the Almaty See: Bishop Leo (Cherepanov), Bishop German (Weinberg), and Archbishop Alexander (Tolstopiatov).
When the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty was closed for services, the renovationists expelled from the cathedral, led by the false Metropolitan Melchizedek, moved to the Trinity Church. The adherents of the schismatic renovationist movement, created by the Bolsheviks to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church from within, occupied not only the Trinity Church but also the Sophia Cathedral and the Church of the Protection of the Theotokos. Refusing to serve with the schismatics, the cleric of the Trinity Church, Protopriest Philip Grigoryev, sought to join Father Alexander at the Church of St. Nicholas, and he gladly accepted the displaced pastor.
At that time, only two churches in Almaty remained loyal to Orthodoxy – the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, located in the distant part of the city called Maly Stanitsa, and the Church of St. Nicholas in Kuchugury. The Church of St. Nicholas thus became the cathedral of the Almaty Diocese, where Bishop German (Weinberg) began to perform episcopal services. Bishop German arrived in Almaty with Igumen Feogen (Kozyrev). They lived in the Church of St. Nicholas in the right side room near the narthex. Father Feogen was almost twice the age of the young Bishop German. The bishop treated him as an elder, always seeking his advice.
Almaty was overcrowded with exiles who turned to Bishop German for help. Often, the altar of the Church of St. Nicholas was crowded with clergy, from deacons to bishops. Bishop German and the priests of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas understood that by helping the exiles, they were incurring the wrath of the authorities and expected to be arrested soon. The clergy learned of the impending arrest, scheduled by the GPU for December 10, 1932, from a parishioner of the Church of St. Nicholas – the mother of the GPU chief Ivanov.
The evening before, on December 9, Bishop German and the clergy celebrated the All-Night Vigil in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God called "The Sign." A choir of exiled singers and opera singers performed. At 10 p.m., when the service ended, Red Army soldiers arrived, loudly cursing, and began banging on the windows and doors. One of the nuns, Mother Euthalia, went upstairs and said, "We won't open the doors without the warden." The soldiers brought the warden, G.V. Shakhvorostov. Then they opened the doors and entered the room of Bishop German and Father Feogen, who were already prepared for arrest. They also arrested Nun Paraskeva (Bukhantsova) with them. Other sisters sat in the basement and through a half-open shutter saw Father Alexander, Father Stephan, and Mother Euphrosyne (Daurtseva) being brought into the courtyard. The other sisters were not touched as Ivanov did not issue an arrest warrant for them, only taking Mother Euthalia to carry the box of confiscated money to the GPU. When they arrived at the GPU, Father Philip was already there. In the morning, the parishioners saw the church sealed and wanted to break the lock but were afraid.
Protopriests Alexander, Stephan, and Philip were interrogated in the GPU for a month, then transferred to the city prison. But first, the priests were sent to a sanitation pass, i.e., a bathhouse, and then put in the open bed of a truck and driven through the cold to the prison, where they were placed in a typhus ward. Weakened by severe colds, they contracted typhus. Father Philip died first on January 17, followed by Father Stephan on January 18. Father Alexander Skalsky died on January 20, 1933.
The protopriests were buried by the nuns of Verny's Iveron-Sergius Monastery on a now-defunct cemetery located in the area of modern Kirpichno-Zavodskaya Street in Almaty. At the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000, Protopriests Alexander Skalsky, Stephan Ponomarev, and Philip Grigoryev were canonized as New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
In February 1936, the Church of St. Nicholas was closed. It housed a museum of atheism. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a stable was arranged in the church, and a penal company was located in the church basement. Former parishioners often observed horses being driven out of the church at 6 a.m. via wooden ramps set on the high porch of the church, only to be driven back in at 8 p.m. The altar and the entire church were filled with wooden bunks covered with hay, and the floor was littered with manure.
At this time, there was not a single functioning Orthodox church left in Almaty. Believers secretly gathered in apartments for communal prayer.
The beginning of the Great Patriotic War put an end to the bloody rampage of godlessness. After the Great Victory, on July 5, 1945, by the decree of the Holy Synod, the Almaty and Kazakhstan Diocese was established, to be headed by Archbishop Nicholas (Mogilevsky), who had been released from exile. The archbishop arrived in Almaty on the feast day of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God on October 26, 1945, and began his ministry in the small and remote Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The archbishop began to petition for the reopening of the centrally located Church of St. Nicholas. In 1946, the Church of St. Nicholas was returned to the community of believers.
At that time, the once majestic cathedral was in a deplorable state - the church stood without crosses, with torn-off domes and a demolished bell tower. Inside, neither the iconostasis nor icons were preserved, only stripped wooden walls remained, and the brickwork of the basement had crumbled.
Archbishop Nicholas and the faithful immediately began repairing the church. In the spring of 1946, while scaffolding still stood inside and outside the Church of St. Nicholas, the archbishop consecrated the first restored altar in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on the Annunciation, the first service was held there.
From that time, the Church of St. Nicholas became the Cathedral of the Almaty and Kazakhstan Diocese.
Almost daily, the archbishop performed services in the cathedral and other churches in the city and region, often embarking on long and difficult journeys throughout the diocese, despite challenging road and transportation conditions, igniting the people's spirit for prayer, and opening hearts to love God. In the Church of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty, the archbishop introduced congregational singing and the reading of akathists.
With his prayer, apostolic zeal, paternal care, and life example, Archbishop Nicholas revived spiritual life in Kazakhstan.
On October 25, 1955, the eve of the feast of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Nicholas peacefully departed to the Lord, having served exactly 10 years on the Almaty See.
The archbishop wished to be buried under the altar of the Church of St. Nicholas in the lower Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos he had created. He asked this of the rector of the church, Archimandrite Isaakiy (Vinogradov), and his spiritual children, even pointing out the place for his burial. However, the secular authorities did not grant permission for this final wish of the saint to be fulfilled. Thus, Metropolitan Nicholas was buried in Almaty at the Central Cemetery.
In 2000, at the Jubilee Bishops' Council, Metropolitan Nicholas was glorified among the saints. On September 8 of that year, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy of Astana and Almaty (now Metropolitan of Tula and Efremov), the holy relics of the confessor Nicholas were found at the city cemetery and transferred to the Church of St. Nicholas. Thus, the wish of the Almaty confessor was fulfilled – to be with his beloved flock in the Church of St. Nicholas in both body and spirit.
The relics of Metropolitan Nicholas now rest in the Varvara Chapel of the church, providing grace-filled help to all who approach with faith.
In the post-war period, outstanding archbishops and priests served and prayed in the Church of St. Nicholas Cathedral, among whom was the associate of Metropolitan Nicholas (Mogilevsky), Archimandrite Isaakiy (Vinogradov).
From 1948 to 1956, Archimandrite Isaakiy was the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas Cathedral, being an associate and reliable assistant of Metropolitan Nicholas in the spiritual revival of the Kazakhstan Diocese during the "Stalinist peace" and post-war devastation. In Almaty, seeking to strengthen monastic traditions and the spiritual fervor of his flock, Father Isaakiy conducted secret monastic tonsures.
Another significant figure of the 20th century, whose life was closely connected with the Church of St. Nicholas for fifteen years, was Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Almaty and Kazakhstan – an outstanding hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, a person of unique talents and qualities, a blessed elder, and a confessor of faith who spent a total of 20 years in camps and exile.
On September 15, 1960, already an archbishop, he was appointed to the Almaty See. This appointment coincided with the "Khrushchev thaw," which turned out to be a harsh frost for the Russian Orthodox Church. The country once again saw the closure of churches and administrative persecution of the clergy. At this time, Almaty was shaken by internal church schisms, and by the time of Archbishop Joseph's appointment, the city was in a very complex situation.
Two young archimandrites were serving in the Church of St. Nicholas, and a conflict had arisen between them. Each had their own supporters, leading to two very strong opposing groups of parishioners within the church. The commissioner for religious affairs simply removed both archimandrites from registration, exacerbating the situation further. Rebellious parishioners, incited by provocateurs, did not allow Archbishop Innocent (Alferov) of Almaty to enter the cathedral, nor other priests. They decided to close the cathedral themselves and hang a lock on the door. If this had happened, the authorities could have officially closed the cathedral, claiming that it was no longer needed by the believers.
The situation was saved by Father Pavel Milovanov. He quietly entered the church through a window and began the service alone. When the rebels with the lock approached the doors of the Church of St. Nicholas, they heard Father Pavel's exclamation: "Blessed is our God, always, now and ever..." The rebels were frightened, and some regained their Christian conscience, so the malicious plan was not carried out.
The Holy Patriarch, sending Archbishop Joseph to Almaty, personally told him, "If you, Vladyka, cannot manage there for any reason, then perhaps the Almaty See will have to be annexed to Tashkent." And blessing him for his new place of ministry, he handed over the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to the Church of St. Nicholas Cathedral, thereby calling the Mother of God to help the archbishop in pacifying the rebellious diocese.
On September 26, 1960, Archbishop Joseph of Almaty and Kazakhstan arrived in Almaty. He considered prayer the most effective means of pacification. To preserve the diocese, Archbishop Joseph began to celebrate the Divine Liturgy daily. Under his wise guidance, church life soon flowed peacefully, and the conflicting parties reconciled. Some time later, the entire flock sincerely loved the archbishop. On September 4, 1975, the elder saint passed away in a city hospital after surgery and was buried in Almaty at the Central Cemetery next to Metropolitan Nicholas (Mogilevsky).
On June 10, 1991, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy (Kutepov) (currently Metropolitan of Tula and Efremov), a parish school was opened, one of the first in Kazakhstan. In the initial years, about 300 children and 100 adults attended the school. The school operated throughout the week in two shifts. Since 2001, evening theological courses have been held twice a week for all who wish to attend.
Since 1995, the seat of the ruling bishop of the Kazakhstan Diocese was moved from the St. Nicholas Cathedral to the restored Ascension Cathedral.
In the spring of 1995, with the active assistance of the "Mercy" group, the construction of a Memorial Cross was completed on the church grounds—a monument in memory of the victims of post-revolutionary repressions of clergy and laity. Memorial services are held here on commemorative parental days.
In July 1995, Kazakhstan was visited for the first time by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.
The first service of the Patriarch on Kazakh soil was a moleben in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty, followed by a memorial service at the Memorial Cross erected in the churchyard in memory of all Orthodox Christians innocently persecuted here during the years of persecution.
In 2004, with the blessing of Metropolitan Methodius of Astana and Almaty (currently Metropolitan of Perm and Kungur), the cathedral underwent restoration, and in 2007, the wall paintings were completed by Protopriest Andrei Burdin.
On January 17, 2010, the St. Nicholas Cathedral was visited by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. During his visit, he said: "With special heartfelt tremor, I entered under the arches of this church. In those very difficult times, when our Church lived under conditions of state atheism, the cathedral was the center of diocesan life on the vast territory of Kazakhstan. Here served remarkable hierarchs—Bishop Nicholas (Mogilevsky), who has been canonized; Bishop Joseph (Chernov), whom I personally knew well and deeply respected and loved. It was this cathedral that was the place of common prayer for those who gathered around their archpastor to glorify the Lord. Under the arches of this cathedral, I wish to thank God for the feats of those who preserved the Orthodox faith on Kazakh soil: those who gave their lives for the faith of Christ, those who bore the heaviest burdens of persecution, those mothers and grandmothers who baptized children, often hiding it from fathers and grandfathers. Eternal memory to all the workers of Orthodoxy on Kazakh soil and glory to those who have been canonized. We believe that they stand before the Lord today and pray for our Church, for Kazakh soil, and for the Orthodox people who live in this country."
On September 20, 2010, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the consecration of the newly built building of the central Sunday school at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty. The Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center for children and youth was created with the support of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. On the day of the school's consecration, the President sent a greeting address to Metropolitan Alexander for the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan.
On May 23, 2012, on the day of the paschal feast, the head of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan consecrated a monument to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, installed near the St. Nicholas Cathedral. The monument to St. Nicholas is a gift from the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkestan Diocese by the Charitable Foundation of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The sculptural image is based on the iconographic image of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk. In his right hand, the saint holds a symbolic sword, as mentioned by the Apostle Paul, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17), and in his left hand, an image of a church.
In 2016, the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan celebrated the 70th anniversary of the return of the St. Nicholas Cathedral to the Orthodox believers.
The church is built from Tien Shan spruce, taking into account the seismic danger of the zone. It withstood the destructive 10-point earthquake of 1911.
The parish grounds include an icon shop and kiosk, the Sunday school building, diocesan garages, and an auxiliary building (refectory, laundry, "Mercy" society).
A particle of the relics of St. Nicholas, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan.
Particles of the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon (from the Athonite St. Panteleimon Monastery).
A particle of the relics of St. Barbara the Great Martyr (from Kyiv).
An icon of St. John of Tobolsk with a particle of his relics, gifted by the residents of Tobolsk in March 1954 as a token of gratitude for the material assistance provided by the parishioners of the St. Nicholas Cathedral for the restoration of the Tobolsk church.
An icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a particle of his relics, gifted in 1993 by Archbishop Alexy of Almaty and Semipalatinsk.
An icon of St. Nicholas (1911), containing a specially constructed cross with a particle of the Stone of the Nativity Cave in Bethlehem.
A reliquary with particles of the relics of more than 20 saints: St. Gregory, the Great Martyr Marina, the Great Martyr Paraskeva, the Venerable Martyr Anastasius, the Venerable Onuphrius the Great, the Venerable Nilus of Stolobny, the Venerable Silvanus, the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves, the Holy Princess Anna, and others.
A particle of the relics of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, gifted in 2010 for the patronal feast by Archbishop Alexander (now Metropolitan) of Astana and Almaty.
May 22, December 19.
The Annual Educational Initiative “Total Dictation” Held in the Petropavlovsk Diocese
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Metropolitan Alexander Performs the First Reading of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the Great Lent of This Year
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Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk Participates in Events Dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Day of Gratitude
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