On the week of the paralytic, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the church of the Representative Office of the Metropolitan District in Moscow

May 26, 2024 – 4th week of Easter, about the paralytic. In the liturgical service of this Sunday, the Lord’s healing of the paralytic, who had suffered from a serious illness for 38 years, is glorified. In this miracle, the Church sees the renewal of the life of all humanity through the Resurrection of Christ.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the Divine Liturgy with the Easter rite in the church in the name of the holy martyrs Faith, Nadezhda, Love and Sophia at the Patriarchal Metochion of Moscow - the Representation of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: assistant to the Head of the Metropolitan District, Hieromonk Anthony (Drobyazko) and clergy of the metochion.

The chants were performed by the parish choir under the direction of Anna Rozhnova.

Praying during the service were employees of the Representation, benefactors of the Patriarchal Metochion and parishioners of the church.

At the end of the Liturgy, a procession of the cross around the church and Easter glorification took place, after which the Metropolitan pronounced the exclamation “Christ is Risen!” in different languages, ancient and modern.

The archpastor sprinkled the believers with holy water and spoke a word of teaching.

“In Easter prayers, the words are repeated many times that Christ gave life to “those in the tombs.” Whom does the Church call the dead, whom the Savior revived by His Resurrection? These are the righteous of the Old Testament, starting from Adam and Eve, this is all of humanity, which did not have the knowledge of truth and freedom before the appearance of the Lord in the world (see John 8:32), these are all those whose souls were resurrected by the grace of God through faith in Christ, came to life through repentance and following the gospel commandments. “When the soul passes from sin to virtue,” teaches the Monk Abba Dorotheos, “then it celebrates Pascha to the Lord. The Lord’s Passover is the transition from evil to good.” The Gospel miracle of Christ's victory over death is a call to every person to begin a new life - to be resurrected together with the Risen Savior by faith in the power of God (see Col. 2:12). By His Resurrection, Christ confirmed the apostles in the truth and immutability of his promise: “I am the resurrection and the life; The one who believes in me will live, even though they die and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25,26). The Lord’s disciples carried this good news throughout the entire earth, and at all times, every Christian on his life’s path, in difficulties and trials, in sorrows and difficult circumstances, trusts in Christ, who “Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” "(Rom. 14:9)." From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.