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December 9, 2024. Astana. A meeting was held in the Senate of the Republic between the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the country Maulen Sagatkhanovich Ashimbayev.

The meeting was attended by the dean of the parishes of the capital, Archimandrite Sergiy (Karamyshev) and Chief of Staff of the Senate M.A. Spotkay.

One of the significant topics of communication was the discussion of the results of the meeting of the speaker of the Senate of Kazakhstan with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', which took place in the Patriarchal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow on November 22 of this year. Maulen Sagatkhanovich emphasized that the Russian Orthodox Church assists in strengthening global interreligious dialogue and developing spiritual diplomacy at the international level and fully supports the holding of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan.

The parties touched upon the issues of preparation for the holding of the VIII Congress in Astana, the theme of which is "Dialogue of Religions: Synergy for the Future".

Metropolitan Alexander and M.S. Ashimbayev spoke about the implementation of the initiative proposed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the aim of perpetuating the memory of Orthodox hierarchs, clergy and laity who suffered for their faith on the territory of modern Kazakhstan in the 20th century. His Holiness the Patriarch, who is well aware of the history of persecution of Orthodoxy, proposed to erect a memorial church in Lisya Balka, located on the territory of the present-day city of Chimkent. The infamous Lisya Balka became the place of execution and final resting place for thousands of Orthodox Christians. Among them are Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) of Kazan, Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh), Archbishop Alexy (Orlov), Bishop Evgeny (Kobranov), many other famous archpastors and pastors and countless ordinary believers.

Maulen Sagatkhanovich informed the Metropolitan Bishop that the noble idea of His Holiness found a response among the state leadership of the country and in Lisya Balka, in memory of the innocently repressed people, whose number, according to official data alone, is over 18,000 people, a memorial mosque and an Orthodox chapel will be built.

The head of the Metropolitan District informed the Speaker of the Senate about the implementation of a spiritually and culturally significant project - the construction of an Orthodox educational center with a church in honor of All Kazakhstani Saints in the city of Astana. The hierarch emphasized that this project received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the approval of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.-Zh.K. Tokayev and the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation M.V. Mishustin. Metropolitan Alexander told his interlocutor that the plot of land allocated by the capital's authorities was properly prepared for construction, with the support of philanthropists, work has already begun. Another topic of the meeting was the discussion of holding an exhibition in Kazakhstan next year dedicated to a unique historical and archaeological monument - the Shroud of Turin. As Metropolitan Alexander noted, the initiators and organizers of this project, timed to coincide with the VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, were the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, the international charitable organization "Kirche in Not" ("Help to the Church in Trouble") and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Astana. Maulen Sagatkhanovich was informed that the exhibition "The Shroud of Turin", which has already received international recognition, was created on the initiative of the Representation of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Germany. It includes a life-size copy of the Shroud of Turin and exhibits dedicated to scientific research of the artifact. It is planned that the exhibition will begin its work in April of the next year and will be held in the cities of Astana, Karaganda and Petropavlovsk, and will end its work in Alma-Ata.

The archpastor shared with M.S. Ashimbaev the results of bringing part of the holy relics and the robe of the blessed elder Matrona of Moscow to the boundaries of the Metropolitan District. The Metropolitan Bishop reported that over 300 thousand people prayerfully bowed to the shrine, which visited the capital of the Republic – Astana, the Southern capital – Alma-Ata, large regional centers and cities of the country, in a short period of time, receiving spiritual consolation, strengthening and support.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic congratulated each other on the upcoming New Year and exchanged wishes for health and success in their work.