A meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan took place in the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Metropolitan District in Almaty

May 18, 2024. Alma-Ata. In the synodal hall of the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, a meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was held.

As part of the Synod of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District: Archbishop of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz Varnava, Archbishop of Karaganda and Shakhtinsky Sevastian, Archbishop of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk Amfilohiy, Archbishop of Kokshetau and Akmola Serapion, Archbishop of Petropavlovsk and Bulaevsk Vladimir, manager of the affairs of the Orthodox Church Churches of Kazakhstan Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Bishop of Aktobe and Ignatius of Kyzylorda, vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop of Taldykorgan Claudian, Bishop of Chimkent and Turkestan Chrysanf, vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop of Talgar Veniamin, Bishop of the Ural and Atyrau Vianor; honorary member – Archbishop Anthony (Moskalenko).

After the general prayer, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan greeted the archpastors with an opening speech and announced the agenda.

Metropolitan Alexander opened the work of the Synod with his report on his meetings with government officials of Kazakhstan and Russia, with heads of diplomatic missions and religious leaders: Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan E.Zh. Koshanov; Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.G. Balaeva, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation O.B. Lyubimova; Akim of the city of Astana Zh.M. Kasymbek; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia A.N. Borodavkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus P.V. Utyupin, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia V. Jovicic; with the Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, Supreme Mufti Nauryzbay kazhy Taganuly; with a delegation of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church of India led by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Archbishop George Panamthundil.

The head of the Metropolitan District told members of the Synod about the international scientific and practical conference “Traditional Family Values in the Modern World” being held in Almaty.

The manager of the affairs of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, spoke about his work in the meetings of the commissions of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church on theology and theological education and on issues of public life, culture, science and information and on participation in the international scientific and practical conference “Discourses and practices of tradition" in St. Petersburg.

Bishop Gennady informed the archpastors about the celebration of Orthodox Book Day in the dioceses of Kazakhstan and about the holding of a meeting of the open historical society of the Metropolitan District in Almaty.

Reports were heard from Metropolitan Alexander on the appointment of nun Sevastiana (Plotnikova) as abbess of the convent in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost” in the city of Astana and nun Nika (Otroshchenko) as abbess of the Iversko-Peter and Paul convent in the village of Oktyabrsky, Kostanay and Rudny diocese. Archbishop Sebastian made a report on the appointment of nun Olympiada (Salopeko) as abbess of the Nativity of the Mother of God convent in the city of Karaganda.

The Metropolitan and the episcopate congratulated Archbishop Sebastian on the 35th anniversary of his priestly ordination and Archbishop Vladimir on the 55th anniversary of his birth. For the church labors they endured on Kazakhstani soil, their Eminence archpastors were awarded the Order of the Metropolitan District “Yntaly Kyzmet Ushin” (For Diligent Service).

At the end of the meeting, members of the Synod addressed words of congratulations to the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, who is celebrating his birthday on May 18, wishing God’s mercy, strength of strength and many years of service to the Church of Christ.

The journals of the meeting of the Synod of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District are published after their approval by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' (see Article 9 of Chapter XIII of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church: “The journals of the Synod of the Metropolitan District are presented to the Holy Synod and approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'”).