Celebrations were held in the capital of Kazakhstan to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana diocese

September 29, 2024 – the 14th week after Pentecost, after the Exaltation of the Cross; the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised and the Martyr Ludmila, Princess of Bohemia.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', celebrations were held in the Assumption Cathedral of the capital of Kazakhstan – Astana to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese. The central event of the celebration was the bringing of the relics of Saint Blessed Matrona of Moscow to the boundaries of the Metropolitan District. The day before, the ark with the relic was brought under the vaults of the cathedral and installed in the center of the temple for the prayerful veneration of believers.

On the day of the celebration, the Divine Liturgy was led by: Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, and Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl.

The permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church were assisted by: guest archpastors - Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, Metropolitan Sergius of Singapore and Southeast Asia, Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut, Metropolitan Ferapont of Kostroma and Nerekhta, Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia, Bishop Alexy of Galich and Makaryev, Bishop Fyodor of Berdyansk and Primorsky Krai; Kazakh episcopate - Archbishop of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz Varnava, Archbishop of Karaganda and Shakhtinsky Sevastian, Archbishop of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk Amphilohiy, Archbishop of Kokshetau and Akmola Serapion, Archbishop of Petropavlovsk and Bulayevsk Vladimir, Bishop of Aktobe and Ignatius of Orda, vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop of Taldykorgan Claudian, Bishop of Chimkent and Turkestan Chrysanf, vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop of Talgar Veniamin, Bishop of the Ural and Atyrau Vianor.

Also serving with the Most Reverend hierarchs were: the dean of the parishes of Alma-Ata, mitred archpriest Valery Zakharov, the dean of the Astana church district, Archimandrite Sergiy (Karamyshev), the rector of the Alma-Ata church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow", Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov; assistant to Metropolitan Alexander in the Representative Office of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District in Moscow, doctor of medical sciences, professor Hegumen Agafangel (Gagua); Head of the Public Relations Department of the Karaganda Diocese Hieromonk Moses (Patrikeev), Personal Secretary of the Archbishop of Elista Archpriest Evgeny Goncharenko, Secretary of the Kostanay Diocese Hieromonk Gennady (Burduzha), Secretary of the Tatarstan Metropolitanate Hieromonk Kirill (Korytko), Abbot of the Monastery of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov in the City of Khanty-Mansiysk Hegumen Anthony (Kiripichev); Clergy of the Astana Church District; Clergy who arrived with the visiting archpastors; the deacon rank was headed by Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich. The following prayed at the Liturgy: the abbess of the monastery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Seeking the Lost" in Astana, Abbess Sevastiana (Plotnikova) with the nuns of the monastery; secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing O.N. Ovchinnikov; head of the public foundation "Apostle Fund" G.G. Sosnovsky, employees of the Astana diocesan administration, numerous parishioners and pilgrims.

The guests of the holiday were: the apostolic nuncio (ambassador of the Vatican) to the Republic of Kazakhstan Archbishop George Panamthundil, honorary archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kazakhstan Yuri Novgorodov; deputy chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.P. Rau, deputy chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan O.V. Perepechina, Vice-Minister of Information and Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.Zh. Iskakov; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus P.V. Utyupin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic D.S. Dyushekeev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba O.S. Leon; Deputy Akim of Astana E.B. Baiken; Director of the Institute of Diplomacy of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.Yu. Volkov, Chairman of the Board of the N. Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Interfaith and Intercivilizational Dialogue B.S. Sarsenbayev; representatives of public and ethnocultural associations.

The chants were performed by the choir of the Assumption Cathedral under the direction of Olga Varentsova.

According to the communion verse, Priest Georgy Rublinsky read out the Address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the occasion of the bringing of the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow to Kazakhstan.

A large number of believers received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

At the end of the Liturgy, the veneration of the Holy Cross of the Lord and the glorification of the blessed old woman Matrona before the ark with her relics took place.

The protodeacon intoned the many years to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'; the Head and Episcopate of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, the guests, the archpastors; the President, the authorities, the army and all the people of Kazakhstan.

After the Liturgy, Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan read out the greetings of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the archpastoral service of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. Bishop Vikenty also expressed words of good wishes to the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on behalf of the archpastors, clergy, monastics and laity of the Central Asian Metropolitan District.

Vicar of the Astana Diocese Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan congratulated Metropolitan Alexander on the memorable date on behalf of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and presented the Metropolitan with a bishop's staff as a prayerful gift, which is an exact copy of the staff that belonged to the confessor of faith and ascetic of piety of the 20th century Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov).

In his response, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan heartily thanked the Most Reverend Bishops, clergy, monastics, parishioners and pilgrims for their warm words of good wishes, and asked all participants in the service for special prayers for the sending of God's help in their further service to the Church of Christ in the land of Kazakhstan.

The head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District congratulated the participants of the service on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata Diocese and the bringing to Kazakhstan of the relics of the elder Matrona of Moscow, especially revered by the Orthodox people, after which he addressed the worshipers with a word of edification.

The video recording of the service was made by the Orthodox television studio "Semirechye" (director - honored cultural worker V. Posadneva, cameraman A. Schmidt); photography was carried out by A. Shcheglov.

After the service in the Assumption Cathedral, the believers continued to venerate the relics of Blessed Matrona.

On the same day, Metropolitan Alexander met with the archpastors who had arrived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana diocese, representatives of the state authorities of the Republic, leaders of traditional confessions and heads of diplomatic missions at the spiritual and cultural center of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan named after the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.