The regional stage of the 1st All-Kazakhstan competition of church readers “In the beginning was the Word...” took place in Almaty

March 10, 2024. Alma-Ata. With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the regional stage of the I All-Kazakhstan competition of church readers “In the beginning was the Word...” took place in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iversko-Seraphim Convent.

The organizer of the competition is the cultural department of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

The event was organized with the aim of attracting the attention of the younger generation to the cultural richness and semantic depth of the Church Slavonic language, as well as understanding and comprehending the spiritual heritage of liturgical texts.

The jury, led by the vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop Veniamin of Talagar, included: dean of the parishes of the southern capital, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, mitered archpriest Valery Zakharov; the head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov, the head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin; teacher of musical theoretical disciplines at Alma-Ata Seminary E.V. Savelyeva; Sunday school teacher at the Ascension Cathedral I.V. Bykova.

The event took place as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese and the 225th anniversary of the birth of the first archpastor of the Turkestan diocese, the “apostle of the Great Steppe” - Archbishop Zephaniah (Sokolsky).

More than 50 participants took part in the regional stage of the competition, performing in two age groups: pupils of Sunday schools in the southern capital (from 10 to 16 years old) and church readers from churches in the city of Almaty (17 years old and above).

Before the start of the competition, Bishop Veniamin read out a welcoming address from Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. “Orthodox worship, being a spiritual treasury, reveals to its participants the beauty and greatness of Christ’s Gospel, reveals the depth of the dogmas and doctrinal foundations of the Holy Church. And therefore, clear and expressive reading of prayer texts is of great importance not only for churchgoers who are well acquainted with liturgical traditions, but also for those who are just looking for their path to God and are interested in Orthodox spirituality. The work of the reader is very responsible - he must always remember that he is proclaiming praises and prayers not only for himself, but for all those praying in the temple, where the Lord Himself, His Most Pure Mother, angels and saints are invisibly present. Through the lips of the reader, the prayer of all those present is pronounced and ascended to the Throne of God; every word of his must penetrate the mind and soul of every person praying in the temple. It is wonderful that today our young parishioners are showing interest in this significant part of the service. It is a great consolation for those praying to hear how children and teenagers glorify the Creator under the arches of the church with their ringing, clear voices,” says, in particular, the address of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

During the event, its participants demonstrated the skills of conscious reading of morning and evening prayers, the Gospel and the Apostle, the Book of Hours, the Psalter, liturgical texts, as well as the ability to translate various fragments of liturgical rites from Church Slavonic into Russian.

As a result of the event, the winners of the regional competition among pupils of Sunday schools in the southern capital were:

1st degree laureate

V. Demidov - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the city of Alma-Ata);
K. Kravchenko - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian of the Southern capital).
Laureate of the 2nd degree

K. Bocharova - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the city of Alma-Ata);
I. Bykov - (Sunday school of the Ascension Cathedral of the Southern capital);
S. Bykova - (Sunday school of the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty);
T. Muraev - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the city of Alma-Ata);
M. Stikhina - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian of the Southern capital).
Laureate III degree

N. Butina - (Sunday school of the temple in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God);
P. Mamotenko - (Sunday school of the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty);
E. Popoyanidi - (Sunday school of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the city of Alma-Ata);
V. Uvarov - (Sunday school of the Cathedral in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky of the Southern capital);
E. Feofanova - (Sunday school of the church in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Alatau microdistrict).
The winners of the regional competition among professional church readers were:

1st degree laureate

E.O. Blazhko - (temple in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God);
V.Yu. Klimov - (Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Almaty);
Laureate of the 2nd degree

O.S. Zhurbin - (temple in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the city of Alma-Ata);
Laureate III degree

E.A. Plotkin - (temple in the name of the holy martyrs Adrian and Natalia of the city of Alma-Ata).
On the same day, the regional stage of the church reader competition was held in the dioceses of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District. The recordings of the performances will be reviewed by members of the jury, on the basis of which the winners of the competition will be determined.

The results of the competition will be announced on March 29.