On the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District made a special commemoration of those killed during the Great Patriotic War

June 22, 2024 – Day of Remembrance and Sorrow – 83rd anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed a special commemoration of those killed during the Great Patriotic War during the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty.

Prayers were offered “for the leaders and warriors who laid down their lives on the battlefield, those who died from wounds and hunger, those who were innocently tortured and killed in captivity and bitter labor, all those who labored for the Victory and for all those who died in the hard times of war.”

“On this day, June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began - our country was subjected to the most terrible invasion in its entire history. The German Nazis and their allies from countries where fascist regimes were established set as their goal the destruction of our Fatherland and the enslavement of our people. The disaster, which began on the day when the Russian Orthodox Church prayerfully remembered All the Saints who shone in the Russian land, in a single impulse inspired millions of citizens from Brest to Vladivostok, from the Arctic Ocean to the steppes of Central Asia to defend their native land. In the name of the coming Victory, soldiers did not spare their lives in difficult defensive and offensive battles, nurses and doctors sacrificially saved the wounded on the battlefield, workers and peasants, including teenagers and children, worked tirelessly in the rear. In difficult moments, many people turned to the fatherly faith - Holy Orthodoxy, they found strength and courage in its spiritual treasury and actually fulfilled the covenant of Christ: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15: 13). Our soldiers were united by a high goal - they defended not only their families and homes, they saved the whole world from the mortal threat of Nazi ideology hanging over it. On the very first day of the war, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', said words that resonated in the soul of every person: “The Fatherland is defended by weapons and a common national feat, a common readiness to serve in a difficult hour of testing with everything that everyone can. This is a matter for workers, peasants, scientists, women and men, young people and old people. Everyone can and should contribute their share of labor, care and art to the common feat. Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with heavenly blessing the upcoming national feat.”
The most important factor in defeating the enemy is that in 1943, at the very height of the war, the state leadership decided to return clergy from places of imprisonment, open churches, and resume the activities of monasteries and religious educational institutions. Orthodoxy, as it has happened more than once in history, inspired and united people, not allowing the enemy to break the people's spirit. More than 150 million rubles were collected by the Church and transferred to the state to create tank columns, aircraft divisions, provide rear support and help the wounded. Sincere faith in God and fervent prayer strengthened both those who sacrificed themselves on the battlefield and those who worked for days in the rear.
The key to courageous resistance and Victory was the unity of the peoples of our country. By uniting around the main goal - saving the Fatherland from the invaders - people of different political convictions, nationalities, and religions were able to defeat the invaders and defend freedom and independence.
The example of those heroic days is relevant to us to this day. The world has changed, but even today forces are emerging that are pushing people onto the path of mutual alienation and discord. New generations must worthily preserve the brotherhood bequeathed to us, sealed by the blood shed on the battlefields, and no matter how many years have passed since that distant time, the memory of this must remain in the hearts of the people, so that our children and grandchildren live in peace, harmony and friendship. We should all learn loyalty and courage from those who endured all the hardships and trials of war and won peace for the whole world.
Eternal and grateful memory to all the leaders and warriors who laid down their lives on the battlefield, who died from wounds and hunger, who were innocently tortured and killed in captivity and bitter labor, and who all worked for the sake of Victory.”
From the words of Metropolitan Alexander on the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.