On the Great Lent Saturday, dedicated to the Great Martyr Theodore Tyrone, the Head of the Metropolitan District celebrated the Liturgy in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Southern capital

March 8, 2025 is the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyrone (a temporary celebration on the Saturday of the first week of Lent) and the celebration in honor of the discovery of the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the city of Almaty.

The Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District was assisted by: the Dean of the churches of Alma-Ata, the Rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov, the Key-keeper of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Igor Svetlichny, Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek), Hieromonk Cherubim (Levin), the head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), the Vice-Rector for Educational Work of the Alma-Ata Seminary, Priest John Livinsky, the head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov, the head of the correspondence department of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, Priest Daniil Bobylev; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, Deacon Alexander Voronin, Deacon John Churkin, Deacon Georgy Tkachenko. The liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the Nikolsky Cathedral under the direction of O. Solomonova.

The sermon after the communion verse was delivered by priest John Livinsky.

According to pious tradition, on this day, most of the parishioners received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

After the dismissal of the Liturgy, the reliquaries with the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow were brought to the center of the church for prayerful veneration and spiritual strengthening of the believers. The clergy and choir performed a glorification of the Moscow righteous woman.

The head of the Metropolitan District congratulated those who approached the Holy Chalice on receiving the Heavenly Mysteries of Christ and addressed the congregation with an archpastoral word, after which prayers were read after Holy Communion.

This day marked 40 days since the death of Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Alexander performed a memorial litany for the newly departed hierarch.

“During the days of Great Lent, we are called by the Church to actively participate in the sacraments of Confession and Communion, with the goal of making this communion with Christ a constant and integral part of our entire life. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), the Lord addresses us. We cannot rid ourselves of the darkness of sin and become virtuous Christians if we do not have the closest communion with our Savior. Christ Himself revealed to us the way of mysterious union with Him – this is participation in the Divine Eucharist. A person cannot physically live without food and drink, just as he cannot exist without the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord Himself said about the meaning of Communion for the believer: “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” (John 6:55). Therefore, let us always strive, having been cleansed by repentance, to approach the Holy Chalice in order to partake of the divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries of Christ.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.