A representative of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan took part in a methodological seminar on forms of perpetuating the memory of those who suffered for their faith in the 20th century

January 27, 2024. Butovo, Moscow region. In the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Butovo training ground, as part of the XXXII International Christmas Readings, a methodological seminar was held on forms of perpetuating the memory of those who suffered for the faith in the 20th century.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan from the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, the head of the department of church-historical disciplines of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, cleric of the Nativity Cathedral of the city of Almaty, Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, took part in the seminar.

At the beginning of the event, a round table was held, during which those gathered were able to talk about the work on organizing church museums and exhibitions that are held in dioceses, as well as share additional experience in perpetuating the memory of those who suffered for their faith. Plans for the development of work in this direction were discussed by: the rector of the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Butovo, Archpriest Kirill Kaleda and the leader of the seminar, director of the Butovo Memorial Center, a member of the Church and Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for perpetuating the memory of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church Igor Vladimirovich Garkavy.

Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya made a presentation on the “Turkestan Golgotha” project - a database of clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church repressed in Central Asia. Father Alexander said that within the framework of this endeavor, members of the commissions for the canonization of saints of 12 dioceses of two Metropolitan districts and independent researchers from 5 countries are working. At the moment, 5855 repressed people have been identified, of which 323 are glorified saints, the speaker noted.

The speech aroused interest among the discussion participants and a willingness to cooperate in the joint search for reliable facts and ways to solve problems associated with the lack of sources for studying the biographies of the new martyrs was expressed.

At the end of the seminar, there was a tour of the Museum of the New Martyrs, victims of Butovo: the guests visited the burial grounds at the Butovo training ground - the largest site of mass executions and burials of victims of Stalin’s repressions in the Moscow region (today the names of almost 21,000 people are known), the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, memorial complex "Garden of Memory".