A meeting took place between the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan

May 2, 2024. Astana. The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, visited the House of the Mazhilis, where the hierarch met with the Chairman of the Lower House of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Zhakanovich Koshanov.

The meeting was attended by the dean of the parishes of the capital, Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev).

After exchanging greetings, Metropolitan Alexander told E.Zh. Koshanov about the life of the Metropolitan District, which is celebrating an important historical date this year - the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese.

According to the Metropolitan, the priority direction of activity of the capital diocese and the entire Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan has been and remains the strengthening of interaction and cooperation between church institutions, government bodies, traditional confessions and public associations for the well-being of the country.

The archpastor said that in connection with the anniversary, Alma-Ata would be visited by a shrine known in the Christian world - the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Healer”.

The Metropolitan noted that preparations have now begun for the celebration in 2025 of the 50th anniversary of the blessed death of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) and the 225th anniversary of the birth of the first archpastor of the Turkestan diocese, the “apostle of the Great Steppe” - Archbishop Zephaniah (Sokolsky). The head of the Metropolitan District emphasized that, as part of the celebration of memorable dates, scientific, educational, cultural and youth events will be held in all dioceses of Kazakhstan.

The Speaker of the Mazhilis told the Head of the Metropolitan District about the work of the Lower House of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The meeting participants talked about the consolidating role in the development of state-confessional and interreligious dialogue in Kazakhstan of the President of the Republic K.-J.K. Tokayev, who attaches great importance to the spiritual and moral component in public life and believes that the key to the development of the country is the strengthening of good neighborliness and brotherly love between its citizens.

Metropolitan Alexander emphasized the need to unite the efforts of parliamentarians and religious leaders in the field of countering extremism and radicalism and expressed a desire to involve leading experts and scientists from the main traditional faiths of the country - Islam, the Hanafi madhhab and Orthodoxy - in the work on bills relating to the religious sphere.

The head of the Metropolitan District and the Chairman of the Mazhilis discussed issues of assistance to Kazakhstanis who found themselves in the zone of extreme disaster - unprecedented floods that swept through ten regions of the country. According to interlocutors, the call of the head of state K.-J.K. Tokayev to unite all the forces of society in the fight against the consequences of the tragedy, found a lively response in the hearts of millions of people. The head of the Metropolitan District told the Speaker of the Mazhilis about the charitable assistance provided to the victims by diocesan social and charitable services and parish volunteers.

Metropolitan Alexander invited Erlan Zhakanovich to visit the Orthodox spiritual and cultural center named after Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius at the Assumption Cathedral of the capital and the church-historical museum of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, most of the exhibitions of which are dedicated to the exploits of repressed clergy - sufferers for the faith of Christ. The Chairman of the Mazhilis accepted the invitation with gratitude.

At the end of the meeting, which took place in a good and constructive atmosphere, the interlocutors exchanged souvenirs.