Metropolitan Alexander performed the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the rite of consecration of the koliva in the main church of Alma-Ata

March 22, 2024 – Friday of the first week of Lent; Memorial Day of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of St. Gregory Dvoeslov at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was concelebrated by: the confessor of the Alma-Ata diocese, Archimandrite John (Sazonov), the head of the Metropolitan District's public relations department, the keynote of the Ascension Cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, Archpriest Dimitry Sidorov, Hieromonk Roman (Chistyakov), and the head of the Metropolitan's secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky). ), head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov, Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Deacon Andrey Pleten, Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin, Hierodeacon Sophonia (Mazurenko), Deacon Alexander Piven.

The choir of the Ascension Cathedral sang under the direction of N. Zubrevich.

The chant “Let my prayer be corrected” was performed by Deacon Alexander Piven, Dimitry Kochua and Makhmutzhan Ababakriev.

The sermon before communion was delivered by Archpriest Alexander Suvorov.

Following the prayer behind the pulpit, Metropolitan Alexander and the concelebrating clergy performed the statutory prayer singing to the Great Martyr Theodore Tiron with the rite of consecration of the koliva.

After the end of the service, the Metropolitan congratulated all those praying in the church on the completion of the Lenten services of the first week. These days, according to the archpastor, give every Orthodox Christian a special opportunity to feel the power of prayer associated with fasting, think about the meaning of life and sincerely repent of their sins.

“Koliv, in the tradition of the Orthodox Church, is a simple Lenten food consisting of boiled wheat or rice with the addition of honey, dried fruits and nuts. The tradition of consecrating the koliva on Friday of the first week of Lent dates back to the 4th century. The Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, wanting to prevent Christians from fasting, ordered the mayor of Constantinople to sprinkle all food supplies in the markets with blood sacrificed to idols during the first week of Great Lent. The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron, appearing in a dream to Archbishop Eudoxius, ordered him to announce to all Christians that no one should buy anything in the markets, but should eat boiled wheat with honey - kolivo (kutya or sochivo). The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron patronizes Christians in a special way during the days of fasting, protecting the faithful from temptations and temptations with his prayerful intercession. In memory of this event, the Orthodox Church celebrates annually on Saturday of the first week of Lent. On Friday, at the end of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the canon of prayer for the Great Martyr Theodore, compiled by the Monk John of Damascus, is read, after which it is blessed and distributed to the believers. The outstanding preacher of the Russian Orthodox Church, Saint Innocent of Kherson, points to this miracle performed by the Great Martyr Theodore Tiron as a clear proof of the significance and importance of fasting: “If fasting could be neglected as an unimportant thing, then it would not be done so in heaven and the saint the great martyr would not have left the bright abodes of the Heavenly Father only in order to point out to his earthly brothers a means of avoiding breaking the fast. Such appearances of saints in our world do not occur except for the most important reasons. How, after this, do some dare to think and say that it makes no difference whether to fast or not to fast?”