On the day of remembrance of St. John Climacus, Metropolitan Alexander led the youth Liturgy in the main church of the southern capital (+VIDEO)

April 11, 2024 - Thursday of the 3rd week of Great Lent, feast day of St. John Climacus.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was concelebrated by: the keymaster of the Peter and Paul Church of Alma-Ata, Archpriest Kirill Shklyar, the deputy keymaster of the Ascension Cathedral, Priest Andrey Shklyar, the vice-rector for educational work of the Alma-Ata Seminary, Priest John Livinsky, the head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), the head of the administrative secretariat of the Chapter Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov; cleric of the St. Nicholas Church of the city of Talgar, Priest Kirill Freygang, head of the office of the theological school, Priest Alexander Shishlov, head of the correspondence department of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, Priest Daniil Bobylev, cleric of the Peter and Paul Church, Priest Kirill Gromov, keymaster of the Kazan Cathedral of Alma-Ata, Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan's protocol service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Hierodeacon Afanasy (Kozel), Deacon John Churkin, Deacon Bogdan Boyko.

The men's choir of the Alma-Ata diocese under the direction of Deacon Alexander Pivny sang.

Participants in the service were representatives of the Orthodox youth movement of Kazakhstan “Alpha and Omega”, students of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, young parishioners of the cathedral and city churches of the diocese.

The Hierarch offered prayers for the increase of love and the eradication of all hatred and malice.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Rublinsky.

Most of those present in the main church of Almaty received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

At the end of the Liturgy, the archpastor addressed those gathered with a teaching about the significance of the work of St. John Climacus - the book “Ladder of the Divine Ascent” - for the spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian.

For the upcoming holiday of Holy Easter, Metropolitan Alexander awarded a number of clergy of the Alma-Ata diocese with liturgical and hierarchical awards:

• deputy keymaster of the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty, Priest Andrey Shklyar - the right to carry a club;

• the head of the office of the theological seminary, cleric of the Matroninsky Church of Almaty, Priest Alexander Shishlov - the right to wear a pectoral cross;

• cleric of the Peter and Paul Church of the Southern capital, Priest Kirill Gromov - the right to wear a pectoral cross;

• the keymaster of the Kazan Cathedral of Almaty, Priest Georgy Rublinsky - the right to wear a pectoral cross.

At the end of the service, the Head of the Metropolitan District presented the Orthodox youth with his book “The most important thing in us is the soul,” after which the hierarch talked with the young people and answered their questions.

“Reverend John, abbot of Mount Sinai, showed us a high example of fasting life and left us a work amazing in its impact on the soul - a book called “The Ladder” or “Spiritual Tablets”, which contains the teaching of man’s ascent to the Lord - spiritual guidance in a journey from earth to Heaven, from the temporal to the eternal, from the depths of sin to the heights of God’s love and union with Him. “The Ladder” consists of thirty words, which are like steps. The monk considers the first step to be renunciation of earthly attachments. Then follow: obedience, repentance, memory of death, crying over sins, meekness. Next, the reader is revealed the causes of sin - passion - and given effective instructions for combating them. This work also depicts the path of virtues, the mother of which is “sacred and blessed” prayer. And “The Ladder” ends with a description of the three main Christian virtues - faith, hope and love. The Holy Church calls us on this day to learn to accomplish the main task of our life - the salvation of our soul - ascending step by step along the ladder of virtues and overcoming passions and vices.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.