On the eve of the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the all-night vigil at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

On February 14, 2025, in the evening, on the eve of the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the all-night vigil at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: the confessor of the Almaty diocese, Archimandrite John (Sazonov) and the cathedral clergy.

The chants were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District (choirmaster - Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, choirmaster - V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (choirmaster - O. Kuznetsova).

At the Great Vespers, according to the Church Charter, a litia (intensified prayer) was performed with the blessing of bread, wine, wheat and oil.

At the Sretensky Matins, after the reading of the Gospel passage (Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 25 to 32), which tells about the upbringing of the Infant Christ by the Most Holy Virgin Mary to the Jerusalem Temple and His meeting with the righteous Simeon, Metropolitan Alexander addressed the believers with a sermon on the spiritual essence of the feast of the Meeting of the Lord.

During the performance of the canon “dry land deep-bearing soil,” the believers, who venerated the icon of the feast, were anointed with consecrated oil.

A special feature of this festive all-night vigil is the performance by the choir of the 9th song of the canon of special refrains: "Virgin Mother of God, hope of Christians, cover, protect and save those who trust in You", composed by the outstanding Byzantine hymnographer - the Venerable Cosmas of Maiuma in the 8th century.

On the Feast of the Meeting itself, Metropolitan Alexander will lead the Divine Liturgy in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Almaty. The service begins at 8:30.