Condolences from the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on the death of the choirmaster of the Peter and Paul Church in Kostroma, Mother Irina Stepanova

July 3, 2024. Russia, Kostroma. After a long illness, the choirmaster of the Peter and Paul Church in Kostroma, the wife of the rector of the Peter and Paul Church, Mitred Archpriest Sergiy Stepanov, Mother Irina, passed away.

The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, sent his condolences to Archpriest Sergiy Stepanov, children, relatives and friends of the deceased:

Your Reverence, dear Father Sergiy!
Dear brothers and sisters!

I learned with sorrow of the death of Mother Irina Stepanova, choirmaster of the Peter and Paul Church in Kostroma.

During the holy days of Lent, dedicated to the supreme apostles Peter and Paul, the Lord called His church worker to the heavenly abodes. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, speaking about the brevity of human existence, says: "Death is not constrained by the conditions of age, it is not afraid of those in the prime of life, it has power not only over the elderly." In the trial that has occurred, the consolation for all of us is the firm faith in Christ Crucified and Risen and the good news about the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy: "Death shall be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from all faces" (Isaiah 25:8). Our grief for the departed should not develop into a despondent state of mind. Those who suffer life's losses must open up to God in prayer, and through communication with the Creator find His help and consolation. I would like to recall the words of St. Ambrose of Optina, filled with deep spiritual wisdom: "Death is sent to any person then and only then, when his soul is most prepared for the transition to eternity." At the hour when we see off our loved ones on their journey across the earth, fragments of their lives known to us pass before our mind's eye, we recall the joy of communication, common deeds, and kind conversations. For many years, Mother Irina worked for the benefit of the Church of Christ in the musical field. In 1989, with my blessing, under the direction of the talented young choirmaster and composer Oleg Nikolaevich Ovchinnikov, later Honored Artist of Russia, the Bishop's Choir of the Kostroma Diocese was created in the city of Kostroma. In a short time, this church singing group received not only all-Russian, but also international fame and recognition. Almost from the very beginning, the deceased actively worked in the bishop's choir and became a faithful assistant to the choirmaster. Together with the collective, she participated in tours of Europe and the United States, in Patriarchal services in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. She was respected by the clergy and colleagues, and loved by the parishioners. The Lord visited Mother Irina with a serious illness, which she endured in a Christian way - with humility and trust in the all-wise Providence of God. In our memory, she will remain as a modest worker, a kind and sincere person, a high professional in her field.

Unable to personally attend the funeral service, I mentally say goodbye to the deceased and impart to her, who is walking on the path of all the earth, my archpastoral blessing, and to all of you - words of prayerful support. I have given instructions that funeral services for the newly departed servant of God Irina be held in the churches and monasteries of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan. May the All-Merciful Lord rest the soul of His faithful worker in a place where the light of His face does not cease and there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.

May the memory of all who knew the deceased be filled with sincere prayer for the inclusion of her soul among the righteous in the heavenly abodes.

Oleg Nikolaevich Ovchinnikov, Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Church Singing, under whose leadership she for many years sang praises to the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9), conveys his sincere condolences to Archpriest Sergius, relatives and friends of Mother Irina Stepanova. “May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” comfort your hearts and “strengthen you in every good word and deed” (2 Thess. 2:16-17). Eternal and grateful memory to the servant of God Irene!