A meeting took place between the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Vatican Ambassador

July 8, 2024. Astana. At the invitation of the Vatican Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan visited the nunciature, where he met with the Apostolic Nuncio in Kazakhstan, Archbishop George Panamthundil.

Present at the meeting were: the dean of the parishes of the capital, Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev), and an employee of the Apostolic Nunciature of Astana, nun Daria Golubkova.

Metropolitan Alexander and the Vatican Ambassador exchanged greetings and congratulations on the national holiday of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Astana Day.

His Eminence told the nuncio about the life of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, the activities of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, the implementation of various educational and social projects, and provided statistical data on the number of dioceses, monasteries, parishes and clergy.

During the conversation, Archbishop George Panamthundil informed the Metropolitan about the celebration that took place the day before in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace. The Vatican Ambassador noted that as part of the celebrations, a traditional walking pilgrimage of believers to the Catholic spiritual center in the village of Ozernoye, North Kazakhstan region, took place, in which more than 150 people took part.

Separately, issues of interaction between religion, state and society in strengthening the institution of family were discussed, the positive role of traditional faiths in social processes, in establishing public morality, in creating peace and harmony in civil society and in preventing manifestations of interethnic hatred was noted.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the state of inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogue in Kazakhstan, expressing mutual satisfaction with the situation and assessing the prospects for its development as positive.

At the end of the conversation, Metropolitan Alexander and Archbishop George exchanged wishes for health and success in their work.

The meeting took place in a warm atmosphere.