The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan met with the President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso

August 3, 2024. Almaty. The President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, who is on an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, visited the main temple of the southern capital - the Ascension Cathedral.

In the cathedral, the distinguished guest was met by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

The meeting was attended by: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; the key keeper of the Ascension Cathedral, head of the Metropolitan District public relations department, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; Acting Rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, head of the information department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service, Archdeacon Roman Golovin; members of the official delegations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of the Congo.

Metropolitan Alexander told D. Sassou Nguesso about the history of the construction of the Ascension Cathedral, which is the tallest Orthodox wooden church in the world. During the conversation, the hierarch noted the uniqueness of the architecture and historical role of the temple, included in the list of 100 national sacred sites of Kazakhstan as part of the implementation of the presidential program "Rukhani Zhangyru".

During the excursion, the Head of the Metropolitan District dwelt in detail on the details of the large-scale professional restoration of the temple, carried out in 2017-2020. It was noted that the work was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic and UNESCO, with the involvement of professional specialists of the highest level from Kazakhstan, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Germany and France, and the use of advanced technologies and high-quality modern materials.

Metropolitan Alexander emphasized that the President of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev, who visited the cathedral in 2019, after reviewing the restoration results, highly praised the unique work done and called the completed project "the second birth of the national shrine of Kazakhstan".

The head of the Republic of Congo noted the elegance and grandeur of the temple's exterior and the beauty of the interiors, decorated with paintings. The hierarch said that the icon painters from the city of Palekh used sketches by Nikolai Gavrilovich Khludov, a famous icon painter and artist who worked on decorating the interiors of the cathedral and one of the teachers of the first Kazakhstani professional artist Abylkhan Kasteyev, after whom the state art museum in Almaty is named, when creating the paintings.

During the conversation, the bishop told Denis Sassou Nguesso about the life of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, which is preparing to celebrate a special date in the coming year - the 15th anniversary of the establishment of its canonical and legal status.

The guest lit a candle in front of the cathedral's holy relic, the Feodorovskaya-Alma-Ata Icon of the Mother of God, for the prosperity of his country and the development of relations between Congo and Kazakhstan.

After the tour of the main church of the southern capital, the President of the Republic of Congo left a memorable entry in the book of honored guests.

The distinguished guest shared his impressions of his acquaintance with Kazakhstan and told Metropolitan Alexander about his life and work as President of the Republic of Congo.

The interlocutors discussed the current international political situation and a number of issues related to the peacekeeping activities of traditional faiths. Metropolitan Alexander emphasized the consolidating role in the development of state-confessional and interreligious dialogue in Kazakhstan of the President of the Republic K.-Zh.K. Tokayev, who attaches great importance to the spiritual and moral component in public life and believes that the strengthening of good neighborliness and brotherly love between its citizens is the key to the country's development.

At the end of the meeting, which took place in a warm atmosphere, the Head of the Metropolitan District presented the President of the Republic of Congo with an icon of the Ascension of the Lord and a book-album telling about the spiritual and cultural pearl of Semirechye – the main temple of Alma-Ata, the history of its construction and full-scale scientific restoration.