Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The head of the Metropolitan District celebrated the Liturgy at the Ascension Cathedral in the southern capital (+VIDEO)

March 24, 2024 – first week of Lent, Triumph of Orthodoxy.

The establishment of the holiday is associated with the events of the Council of Constantinople in 843, convened by Empress Theodora to restore icon veneration in the Byzantine Empire and marks the triumph of the Church over all false teachings and schisms that have ever existed.

The head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

His Eminence was co-served by: vicars of the Astana diocese - Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; dean of Almaty churches, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, mitered archpriest Valery Zakharov; rector of the Alma-Ata church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, confessor of the Alma-Ata diocese Archimandrite John (Sazonov), cleric of the cathedral, head of the public relations department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, acting rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, head of the information department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, Hegumen Philip (Moiseev), Hieromonk Roman (Chistyakov), head of the Metropolitan Secretariat, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Hierodeacon Afanasy (Kozel), Deacon John Churkin, Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin, Deacon Alexander Piven.

The chants were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District (regent - Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, choirmaster - V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (regent - N. Zubrevich).

The following people prayed at the Liturgy: employees of the Alma-Ata diocesan administration, Cossacks, Sunday school students and parishioners of the cathedral.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Archpriest Evgeniy Ivanov.

After the end of the Liturgy, Vladyka Metropolitan led the “Sequence of the Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy” - a special prayer singing for the triumph of the Orthodox faith and for the guidance of all those who have departed from the Church of Christ on the true path.

In accordance with the rite, at the festive prayer service the anathematization of “those who do not accept the grace of redemption preached by the Gospel, as our only means of justification before God, was proclaimed; those who reject the councils of the holy Fathers and their traditions, in agreement with the Divine Revelation, and piously preserved by the Orthodox Catholic Church; sweeping aside the immortality of the soul, the end of the age, future judgment and eternal reward for virtues in heaven, and condemnation for sins.”

“Eternal Memory” was proclaimed to preachers and defenders of the Orthodox faith; hierarchs, pastors and laity who labored for Orthodoxy in the land of Kazakhstan.

Solemn many years were proclaimed to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill; Primates of Local Orthodox Churches; Head and episcopate of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; To your Eminence archpastors, pastors and all the faithful children of the Church of Christ; To the President, authorities, military and people of Kazakhstan.

The ceremony of the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” ended with the singing of the hymn “We Praise Thee God,” authored by St. Ambrose of Milan.

At the end of the prayer service, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan congratulated the archpastors, clergy and parishioners on the holiday and addressed everyone present with a word of edification.

The video recording of the metropolitan service was carried out by the television studio of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District “Semirechye” (director - Honored Worker of Culture V.L. Posadneva, cameraman A. Schmidt); photographic recording by information department employee I. Burenin.

“The Church calls the first Sunday of Great Lent the day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. On this holiday, all of us who profess the holy Orthodox faith pay tribute to the memory and respect of all those who affirmed it throughout two thousand years of history. Through the exploits of saints, the prayers of saints, the labors of equal-to-the-apostles, the blood of martyrs and the testimony of confessors, the saving faith of Christ has been preserved for centuries. And we, having received this treasure from our pious ancestors, now have the opportunity to participate in the saving Sacraments of the Church, in which we are given Divine grace, strengthening us on the path of salvation. Celebrating today the Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, with a grateful heart we remembered all those who served to spread the faith of Christ in the world and on our land. We offered fervent prayers so that the Lord would strengthen us all in the firm confession of Orthodoxy, and also that those deprived of the joy of being within the fence of the Holy Church would come to the knowledge of the Truth, realize the need to trust in God and we could glorify our Lord and Savior with one mouth and one heart.” . From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.