Metropolitan Alexander got acquainted with the process of completing the paintings in the altar of the Kazan Cathedral in the southern capital

February 29, 2024. Alma-Ata. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan visited the oldest temple of the southern capital - the cathedral in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the “Small Stanitsa”.

The hierarch was accompanied by the president of the Apostol public foundation, Georgy Gennadievich Sosnovsky.

Bishop Metropolitan and G.G. Sosnovsky was met by the rector of the Kazan Cathedral, Archpriest Sergiy Khmyrov the sacristan, Priest Georgy Rublinsky the clergy and the parish activists of the temple.

The head of the Metropolitan District bowed to the shrines of the cathedral, including the revered Kazan image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the 17th century, donated to the parish by the confessor of faith and devotee of piety of the 20th century, Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), and an exact copy, “measure and likeness”, of the Vatican copy of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God .

His Eminence got acquainted with the newly created altar paintings of the temple. G. G. Sosnovsky and the head of the artel of icon painters, G. P. Kiseleva, told the archpastor about the progress of the work and the features of the subjects.

Present at the discussion of the results of the work were the acting rector of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, the head of the information and publishing department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, and the head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov.

Metropolitan Alexander gave a positive assessment to the completed paintings and made a number of amendments to improve the quality of the images of some saints.

The head of the Metropolitan District thanked the icon painters for their efforts and gave the clergy and workers an archpastoral blessing. The hierarch said special words of gratitude to the church’s patron, G.G. Sosnovsky and employees of the Apostol Foundation he heads.

The work on creating the altar paintings of the Kazan Cathedral was carried out over four months by a group of five Almaty icon painters under the direction of the isographer G.P. Kiseleva. The area of the painted walls and vaults was 168 square meters. The main plot of the completed works is dedicated to the event of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the altar apse there is an image of the Resurrection of Christ surrounded by angels, on the northern and southern walls there are angels and saints glorifying the risen Lord Jesus, on the crossbar of the iconostasis wall there is an image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The host of saints depicts the new martyrs and confessors of Kazakhstan: Metropolitan Nicholas of Alma-Ata (Mogilevsky), Bishop of Vernensky Pimen (Belolikov), Bishop of Peter and Paul Methodius (Krasnoperov), Schema-Archimandrite Sebastian (Fomin), hieromonks Seraphim (Theologian) and Theognost (Pivovarov), priests Vasily Kolmykov from Zharkent, Vissarion Selinin from Urdzhar, Vladimir Tsedrinsky from Lepsinsk, priest Parfeniy Krasivsky, who served in the Kazan Cathedral and suffered for Christ on the porch of his native church. Next to the saints of God is placed the figure of the 20th century ascetic of piety, the ever-memorable Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), revered by a huge number of Orthodox believers both in Kazakhstan and far beyond its borders.

Previously, the isographer Galina Kiseleva, together with her assistants, worked on painting the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Almaty and the St. Gabriel Church in the city of Taldykorgan.