The Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore visited the Ascension Cathedral

April 28, 2024. Alma-Ata. The Ascension Cathedral was visited by a delegation of government officials from the Republic of Singapore, headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, Seah Kian Peng, who was in the southern capital on an official visit.

Among the guests: Speaker of the Parliament Seah Kian Peng, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to Kazakhstan Zulkifli Bin Baharudin, Members of Parliament Cheryl Chan, Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman, Edward Chia, Usha Chandradas, Honorary Consul of Singapore in Kazakhstan Talgat Orynbasarovich Chinikeyev, employee of the Directorate for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Karthik Meiyappan, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Secretariat of the Parliament of Singapore Stephen Kuik Ser Yung, Senior Assistant Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Secretariat of the Parliament of Singapore Muhammad Hussein Bin Khamis.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the delegation was met by the cathedral’s sacristan, head of the Metropolitan District’s public relations department, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov.

The priest told the guests about the history of the construction of the Ascension Cathedral, which is the historical and cultural pearl of Semirechye, the uniqueness of the architecture and modern life of the main temple of the southern capital. During the excursion, the sacristan father dwelt in detail on the details of the large-scale professional restoration of the cathedral, carried out in 2017-2020. It was noted that all work was carried out under the control of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic and UNESCO, with the involvement of professional specialists of the highest level from Kazakhstan, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Germany and France.

Archpriest Alexander emphasized that the President of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev, who visited the cathedral in 2019, after getting acquainted with the results of the restoration, highly appreciated the unique work done and called the implemented project “the second birth of the national shrine of Kazakhstan.”
Members of the delegation highly appreciated the restoration work done and noted the elegance and grandeur of the external appearance of the temple, as well as the beauty of the interiors, decorated with paintings made by talented Palekh isographers under the leadership of member of the Union of Artists of Russia V.K. Kurilova.

In memory of their visit to the Ascension Cathedral, on behalf of Metropolitan Alexander, the guests were presented with publications telling about the history of the temple.