The Day of Remembrance of the Blessed Princes Oleg of Bryansk and Mikhail of Chernigov was prayerfully celebrated in the Southern capital

October 3, 2024 - the afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord; the day of remembrance of the holy blessed prince Oleg of Bryansk and the confessor prince Mikhail of Chernigov.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in the name of Blessed Matrona of Moscow of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent in the city of Almaty.

His Eminence was assisted by: the dean of the churches of Almaty, the rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; the rector of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Moscow, Priest Vladislav Mishin, Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin), the head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky); Hierodeacon Afanasy (Kozel) and Deacon Roman Karaman.

Praying at the service were: Abbess of the Iversko-Seraphimovsky Convent Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina) with the sisters of the convent; Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; Rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in the city of Alma-Ata Archpriest Yevgeny Vorobyov, Acting Rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, Head of the Information Department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Yevgeny Ivanov; Vice-Rector for Educational Work Priest John Livinsky; Vice-Rector for Academic Work Priest Petr Bakhtiyarov, Head of the Chancellery of the Theological School Priest Alexander Shishlov, Head of the Choir Department of the APDS L.E. Goricheva, members of the teaching staff and students of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary.

For the prayerful worship of the faithful, for the service, an icon with a particle of the relics of the holy faithful prince Oleg of Bryansk was brought to the church.

The choir of the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iversko-Seraphimovsky Monastery sang under the direction of O. Usoltseva.

The liturgy ended with the veneration of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross and the glorification of the faithful princes Oleg of Bryansk and Mikhail of Chernigov, furthermore the Head of the Metropolitan District addressed the worshipers with words of homily.

On the feast day of the faithful prince Oleg of Bryansk, the Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District Oleg Nikolaevich Ovchinnikov, Honored Artist, choirmaster of the Metropolitan Choir, church composer, celebrates his name day.

Metropolitan Alexander warmly congratulated the maestro on his name day and wished Oleg Ovchinnikov mercy from the Lord, strength of soul and body, creative success, many years of life and God's help in his work for the good of the Church of Christ. The Bishop presented Oleg Nikolaevich with a holy prosphora and a bouquet of flowers.

Archpriest Valery Zakharov, on behalf of the clergy of the Almaty diocese, congratulated the secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District on his name day and wished the maestro many years of life.

Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, on behalf of the administration, the teaching staff and students of the theological school, expressed words of congratulations to Oleg Nikolaevich and presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

Many years were proclaimed to all those celebrating their name day on the feast of the faithful princes Oleg of Bryansk and Mikhail of Chernigov.