Celebration of the Epiphany in the dioceses of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan

Shymkent diocese

On the night of January 18-19, Bishop Chrysanthos of Shymkent and Turkestan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Shymkent.

His Eminence was concelebrated by the clergy of the cathedral.

The holiday chants were performed by a choir under the direction of E. V. Aleshina.

At the end of the Liturgy, the rite of great consecration of water took place, after which Bishop Chrysanthos sprinkled all those praying with the great agiasma and addressed those gathered with a sermon on the spiritual significance of the feast of the Epiphany.

On this day, Epiphany bathing took place in open reservoirs of the Shymkent region. Thus, everyone was able to dive into the waters of the source of the Koshkar-ata River, located in the very center of Shymkent. The city services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Center for Disaster Medicine monitored the swimmers' compliance with all necessary safety rules.

The night before, the hierarch celebrated an all-night vigil with litia in St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Ural diocese

On January 18, on the Eve of Epiphany, Bishop Vianor of Ural and Atyrau celebrated the Divine Liturgy, Great Vespers and the rite of the Great Blessing of Water in the Archangel Michael Cathedral in the city of Uralsk.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: the rector of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in the city of Uralsk, Archimandrite Feodosius (Kuryanov), Archpriest Georgy Lemachko, the secretary of the Ural Diocese, Archdeacon Vasily (Kryukov) and Deacon Artemy Rybalchenko.

After entering with the Gospel, the proverbs of the Feast of Epiphany were read - Old Testament prophecies about the Baptism of the Savior with special refrains alternately sung by the clergy and choir: “O lover of mankind, glory to Thee” and “Only to those who sit in darkness, glory to Thee.”

At the end of the Liturgy, the archpastor, together with the clergy, performed the rite of the great consecration of water.

After sprinkling the temple and worshipers with the great hagiasma, the clergy and singers performed the troparion and kontakion of the holiday.

At the end of the service, Bishop Vianor congratulated the believers on the Vespers of the Feast of the Epiphany and addressed those gathered with a word of teaching.

On the night of January 18-19, Bishop of Ural and Atyrau Vianor celebrated the night Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at the Pokrovsky Convent of the city of Uralsk.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Abbot Dorofey (Dilmanaev), Secretary of the Ural Diocese, Archdeacon Vasily (Kryukov), Deacon Artemy Rybalchenko, Deacon Viktor Mostovshchikov.

Archbishop Anthony (Moskalenko) prayed during the service.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, a religious procession was held to the Chagan River, where Bishop Vianor performed the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.

At the end of the Liturgy, Bishop Vianor sprinkled the temple and the worshipers with the great hagiasma; The clergy and choir performed the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the holiday.

The hierarch congratulated Abbess Varvara with the sisters of the monastery and parishioners on the great holiday and addressed those gathered with a sermon on the spiritual meaning of the Baptism of the Lord.

On the morning of January 19, the administrator of the Ural diocese, accompanied by clergy and laity, made a procession of the cross to the Ural River, where he performed the rite of the great consecration of water.

In the city of Aktau, the rector of the Annunciation Church, Archpriest Sergius Ponich, performed the rite of great consecration of the waters of the Caspian Sea, after which everyone was able to dive into the “Jordan”, specially arranged on the coast.

Peter and Paul Diocese

On January 19, the secretary of the diocesan administration, Archpriest Sergiy Pervushin, celebrated the festive Divine Liturgy in the main church of Northern Kazakhstan - the Ascension Cathedral of Petropavlovsk.

Archbishop Vladimir of Petropavlovsk and Bulaevsk prayed during the service.

The hymns of the Liturgy were performed by the bishop's choir under the direction of A. A. Zatai.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, Bishop Vladimir performed the rite of the great consecration of water.

At the end of the service, the hierarch congratulated the parishioners on the holiday and delivered a sermon in which he revealed the spiritual meaning of Epiphany.

Ust-Kamenogorsk diocese

On January 18, on the Eve of Epiphany, Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk celebrated the Great Vespers and Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at the Resurrection Cathedral in the city of Semipalatinsk.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were: the dean of the Semipalatinsk church district, Archpriest Evgeny Yaganov, the rector of the Zinoviev Church in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, Hieromonk Methodius (Shevchuk), Protodeacon Andrey Dudnik, and the clergy of the Resurrection Cathedral.

Festive chants were performed by the choir of the second cathedral of the diocese under the direction of regent Yu. Khokhryakova.

Praying during the service were: parishioners of the Resurrection Cathedral, teachers and students of the parish Sunday school, representatives of Cossack organizations of the Abay region.

Based on the sacramental verse, the sermon was delivered by Archpriest Alexander Yurkin.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, Archbishop Amphilochius led the rite of the great blessing of water.

At the end of the festive service, the bishop addressed those gathered with an archpastoral word.

On January 19, on the day of the celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord, Archbishop Amphilochius led the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at St. Andrew's Cathedral in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were: the clergyman of the cathedral, Hieromonk Nikodim (Avdeev), Priest Roman Podrezov, Priest Konstantin Dyakov, secretary of the Ust-Kamenogorsk diocese, Deacon Ilya Kvan and Protodeacon Andrey Dudnik.

The chants of the Liturgy were performed by the cathedral choir under the direction of N. Romantsov.

Praying during the service were: employees of the diocesan administration, parishioners of the cathedral, teachers and students of the Central Sunday School.

Based on the sacramental verse, the sermon was delivered by Priest Roman Podrezov.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, a procession of the cross and the rite of the great consecration of water took place on the cathedral square in a specially prepared font.

At the end of the festive service, Vladyka Archbishop congratulated those gathered on the great celebration of the Baptism of the Lord and delivered words of teaching.

Pavlodar diocese

On January 18, on the Eve of Epiphany, Archbishop Barnabas of Pavlodar and Ekibastuz performed the Great Vespers, the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the Great Blessing of Water in the Annunciation Cathedral of Pavlodar.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were: the secretary of the Pavlodar diocese and the dean of the Pavlodar district, Archpriest Alexy Stepanov, the clergy of the Annunciation Cathedral, Priest Alexy Gmyza and Deacon Ambrosy Taukenov.

At the end of the service, the bishop performed the rite of the great consecration of water and sprinkled the temple and the worshipers with the great hagiasma.

At the end of the Liturgy, before the icon of the Baptism of the Lord, glorification was performed - the clergy and choir performed the troparion and kontakion of the Epiphany.

The archpastor congratulated the believers on the Eve of the Epiphany and addressed those gathered with a word of teaching.

On January 19, on the day of the Feast of Epiphany, Archbishop Barnabas celebrated the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at the Annunciation Cathedral of Pavlodar.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were: the secretary of the Pavlodar diocese and the dean of the Pavlodar district, Archpriest Alexy Stepanov, the clergy of the Annunciation Cathedral, Priest Alexy Gmyza and Deacon Ambrosy Taukenov.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, while singing the troparia “The Voice of the Lord on the Waters,” the clergy went to the center of the church, where Archbishop Barnabas performed the great consecration of the water.

At the end of the service, the bishop addressed the flock with an archpastoral word.

Karaganda diocese

On January 19, Archbishop Sevastian of Karaganda and Shakhty celebrated the festive Divine Liturgy at the Vvedensky Cathedral in the city of Karaganda.

The hierarch was concelebrated by: the secretary of the diocesan administration, Archpriest Dimitry Patrikeev, and the clergy of the cathedral.

The chants were performed by the choir of the Vvedensky Cathedral

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Archpriest Dimitry Patrikeev.

At the end of the Liturgy, the bishop led the festive religious procession and the rite of the great consecration of water on the cathedral square of the main temple of the Karaganda diocese.

After the consecration, everyone was able to dive into the font, specially arranged on the territory of the cathedral.

In the afternoon, Archbishop Sevastian performed the rite of the great blessing of water at the Zhartas reservoir in the Abay district of the Karaganda region.

Kokshetau diocese

On January 18, on the Eve of Epiphany, Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola performed the Great Vespers in conjunction with the Liturgy of St. Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, and the rite of the great consecration of water in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in the city of Kokshetau.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were: the secretary of the diocesan administration, the dean of the Resurrection Cathedral, Priest Valery Anferov, Hieromonk Evlogiy (Shcherbak), Deacon Uar Zhazitov, and Deacon Maxim Klementyev.

The hymns of the Liturgy were performed by the choir of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ under the direction of M. Petrova.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Hieromonk Evlogy (Shcherbak).

Following the prayer behind the pulpit, Archbishop Serapion performed the great consecration of water.

After sprinkling the temple and the worshipers with the great agiasma (Epiphany holy water), the clergy and singers performed the troparion and kontakion of the holiday before the icon of the Baptism of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

At the end of the service, the bishop addressed the parishioners of the cathedral with a sermon and congratulated them on the Vespers of the Feast of Epiphany.

On the evening of January 18, Archbishop Serapion, co-served by the clergy of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the Church of the Archangel Michael in the city of Kokshetau, performed the rite of consecration of the waters of Lake Kopa. After the consecration, traditional bathing began in a font specially built on the ice of the lake.

On the night of January 18-19, on the feast of Holy Epiphany - the Baptism of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola performed the night Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the rite of the great consecration of water in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in the city of Kokshetau.

Concelebrating with the archpastor were: Secretary of the Diocesan Administration, Dean of the Resurrection Cathedral, Priest Valery Anferov, Hieromonk Evlogii (Shcherbak), Deacon Uar Zhazitov, Deacon Andrey Kulyas, and Deacon Maxim Klementyev.

The hymns of the Liturgy were performed by the choir of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ under the direction of M. Petrova.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Priest Valery Anferov.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, while singing the troparia “The Voice of the Lord on the Waters,” the clergy went to the center of the temple, where Archbishop Serapion performed the great consecration of the water.

After sprinkling the temple and worshipers with the great hagiasma, the clergy and choir performed the troparion and kontakion of the holiday in front of the icon of Baptism.

At the end of the service, the bishop addressed those gathered with an archpastoral speech, in which he spoke about the feast of the Epiphany.

Kostanay diocese

On the night of January 18-19, the Divine Liturgy in the Constantine-Elenin Cathedral of the city of Kostanay, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, was performed by the secretary of the diocese, Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha), in the co-service of the cathedral clergy.

The chants of the festive service were performed by the choir of the Constantine-Eleninsky Cathedral under the direction of T. Zhebrak.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha).

Following the prayer behind the pulpit, the rite of the great consecration of water was performed.

At the end of the Liturgy, glorification was performed before the icon of the Baptism of the Lord, after which the secretary of the diocese addressed the parishioners with a sermon.

On the evening before January 18, Hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha) celebrated an all-night vigil with lithium in the Constantine-Eleninsky Cathedral.

Aktobe diocese

On the night of January 18-19, Bishop Ignatius of Aktobe and Kyzylorda performed the festive Divine Liturgy and the rite of the great consecration of water in the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious in the city of Baikonur.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Priest Daniil Ivashinin, Deacon Mikhail Kharchenko, and Deacon Andrei Ivashinin.

At the end of the Liturgy, the rite of great consecration of water took place, after which Bishop Ignatius sprinkled all those praying with the great agiasma and addressed those gathered with a sermon on the spiritual significance of the feast of the Epiphany.

The night before, the archpastor celebrated an all-night vigil with litia in the St. George Church.