On the day of remembrance of the first martyr Archdeacon Stephen, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Almaty

August 15, 2024 - celebration in honor of the transfer of the relics of the first martyr Archdeacon Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople and the day of remembrance of Blessed Basil, the Fool for Christ's Sake, the Moscow Miracle Worker.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Trinity Church of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Almaty.

The head of the Metropolitan District was assisted by: the dean of the churches of Almaty, the rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; the key keeper of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, the chairman of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Kazakhstan, Archpriest Anatoly Izmerov, the rector of the Spaso-Siluan Issyk Hermitage, Hegumen Nazariy (Markov), the head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), the acting dean of the Talgar church district, the rector of the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Talgar, Priest Kirill Freygang, the cleric of the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Talgar, Priest Jacob Klimov, the key keeper of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky, the cleric of the Nativity of Christ Church in the southern capital, Priest Maxim Idrisov, the key keeper of the Adriano-Natalievskiy Church, Priest Ioann Konoplev; Head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service, Archdeacon Roman Golovin, Chief Physician of the Orthodox Medical Center named after St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Deacon Alexander Dzhodzhua, Hierodeacon Stefan (Popov), Deacon Alexander Piven, Deacon Vitaly Ryngach.

For the prayerful consolation of the faithful, an exact copy, "measure for measure", of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Healer" and a stone from the place of the martyrdom of St. Stephen were brought to the church for the service. On part of the stone is written the sufferer of Christ, made by the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation S.N. Sokolov.

The choir of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Alma-Ata sang under the direction of E. Skorova.

After the cherubic hymn, Metropolitan Alexander performed the priestly ordination of the cleric of the Nikolsky Church in the city of Talgar, Deacon Vitaly Ryngach.

The sermon on the verse after communion was delivered by priest Maxim Idrisov.

At the end of the Liturgy, the Most Holy Theotokos and Archdeacon Stefan were glorified, after which the archpastor addressed the faithful with a word of instruction.

After the service, Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the cleric of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Hierodeacon Stefan (Popov), on his name day, and priest Kirill Freygang on his birthday anniversary. The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan presented the clergy with holy prosphora, wishing them God's mercy, spiritual and physical health, and zealous service to the Church of Christ.

"The Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church have preserved for us precious testimonies about the life and martyrdom of the holy first martyr, Archdeacon Stephen. The holy apostle of the 70, the first martyr and Archdeacon Stephen was the eldest of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles themselves, which is why he is called an archdeacon. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saint Stephen boldly preached the Gospel, supporting the truth of his words with signs and wonders. The success of his preaching was so obvious that it aroused the hatred of the enemy of the human race, the devil, against him. The spirit of malice clouded the minds of people, and the persecutors of Christ and His Church seized Saint Stephen, dragged him beyond the walls of Jerusalem, to the Valley of Josaphat, where they stoned him. In the distance, on the Mount of Olives, the Most Pure Mother of God stood on a rock with the Apostle John the Theologian and, looking at the martyrdom of Stephen, earnestly prayed for him to her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He would strengthen the martyr in patience and receive his soul in peace. Showered with a hail of stones, Stephen saw the Lord in the heavens looking at his death. In terrible suffering, stained with blood, the holy archdeacon "prayed and said: Lord Jesus! Receive my spirit!" (Acts 7:59), Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60). Before the holy archdeacon Stephen, no one had shed blood, testifying to Christ. But in his history there appeared a host of followers – passion-bearers, confessors, martyrs. The apostolic word teaches that the greatest divine gift is not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him. Since the time of the holy first martyr Stephen, persecutions have been raised against the Church of Christ more than once by the world lying in evil. The Savior Himself said about this: “ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). The Orthodox Church was subjected to especially cruel persecution in the 20th century. Our Kazakh land is abundantly watered with the blood of new martyrs and confessors, who are now holy intercessors and intercessors. Today, the “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them” (Eccl. 3:5). And we are witnesses to how, as a sign of repentance for the apostasy of our ancestors, the reconciliation of the earth with Heaven, man with God, here, on the land of Kazakhstan, the destroyed shrines are being restored and new beautiful temples of God are being created, where the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered "for all and for everything", a prayer is raised to the Throne of God for the salvation of our souls, for the peace of the whole world, for our God-protected country. Today there is no persecution for faith, but every Christian needs much love and patience to protect themselves and their loved ones from the corrupting influence of sins and vices. We draw blessed strength for this spiritual battle from spiritual unity with the saints and the righteous, with the saints of God, with the martyrs for Christ - ancient and modern." From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.