Metropolitan Alexander performed the first reading of the penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete during Lent (+VIDEO)

March 18, 2024 – Monday of the first week of Lent; celebration in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Czestochowa".

In the morning, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan prayed during the statutory service in the Iveron-Seraphim home church of the metropolitan residence.

In the evening, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan performed Great Compline with the reading of the penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

At the end of the 9th song of the canon, the archpastor gave a blessing to the believers and addressed the parishioners with a sermon.

Compline chants were performed by the Metropolitan District Choir under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral under the direction of N. Zubrevich.

The heads of departments of the Metropolitan District, clergy of the main church of the southern capital, and employees of the Alma-Ata diocesan administration prayed together with the parishioners during the service.

A live broadcast of the reading of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete took place on the YouTube channel of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District “Semirechie”.

Metropolitan Alexander will continue reading the great canon of repentance in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of the Holy Pentecost. Starts at 18:00.

“My soul, my soul, arise, what are you writing off? The end is approaching…”, we hear in the first days of Lent the heartfelt words of the great penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete. The reading of this deeply meaningful and spiritually powerful prayer work begins with a warm heartfelt sigh: “Where should I begin to mourn the damned deeds of my life? What beginning will I make, O Christ, for this present mourning?” Throughout the entire further performance, the chorus to each troparion sounds the repentant exclamation of the psalmist Davila: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.” Saint Andrew sets out the key points of the biblical narrative in a spirit of deep heartfelt contrition, applying each of them with extraordinary skill to the state of the sinful soul. From the sacred treasury of Scripture he extracts the most powerful means for inducing repentance and moral correction.
In the troparia of the canon, we are offered examples of a virtuous life to follow and examples of an ungodly life to warn ourselves against, and the saving lessons of repentance and active ascent to God are revealed. The invaluable spiritual experience of many generations is collected here with the goal of awakening the soul from a sinful sleep and disposing it to self-examination, self-condemnation and repentance. In addition to examples from sacred history, the creator of the canon points to a living example of the most extreme moral decline and spiritual rebellion in the person of the holy ascetic Mary of Egypt, who reached a high degree of perfection.” From the words of Metropolitan Alexander.