On the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan commemorated all the innocent victims of the 20th century

On May 31, the Republic of Kazakhstan celebrates the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression.

In 1997, by decree of the head of state, the last day of May was declared the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression. With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, funeral services were held in the churches of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan for all “those innocently killed, those who died from hunger, cold, wounds, illnesses and overwork.”

The head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District performed a funeral litany at the Synodal Church in honor of the Astana-Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan in Astana.

The archpastor offered prayers for Orthodox Christians “who endured torment for the truth of God and the Church of Christ, who were killed in times of fierce persecution by atheists, who died from hunger, cold, wounds, illnesses and backbreaking work,” and for all those who innocently suffered during the era of political persecution.

“The tragedy of the last century, which we now remember, affected millions of people. In the steppe camps, under the scorching heat and in the bitter cold, innocently convicted representatives of different nationalities and religions endured cruel suffering. The untruth of the ideology, to which countless lives of our compatriots were sacrificed, has become obvious to everyone today. No amount of the most beautiful dreams of a bright future can justify a crime against God’s commandment “thou shalt not kill.” An invaluable treasure - human life - is given to each of us by the All-Good Creator. And concern for the preservation of this priceless gift encourages people of different religious and political views to treat each other with respect and trust. Mutual understanding and brotherly love is the key to the development and prosperity of Kazakhstan.
Memories of people whose destinies were ruined during the period of brutal state terror are carefully preserved in the memory of generations. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' said the following words: “We are called to never forget about these terrible events, because the victims of fratricidal war, famine, religious and class persecution are not a faceless mass, but absolutely concrete people, these are our ancestors who live in our memory, whose names we continue to bear and whose names we remember or should remember in our prayers.” The images of the murdered sufferers encourage us to learn from the past and vigilantly guard civil peace and harmony in society. As the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the respected Kassym-Zhomart Kemelevich Tokayev, noted in his speech: “For many peoples who suffered from totalitarianism, the Kazakh land has become a real home. The courage and patience of our ancestors allowed us to overcome the most difficult trials with dignity and unite into a single nation. By carefully preserving the memory of those unjustly convicted, we will be able to build a bright future, the foundation of which remains our Independence.”
Today, funeral services are held in all Orthodox churches in Kazakhstan, during which we prayerfully remember all the deceased innocent sufferers. Eternal memory to them! Among those whom we remember today are a host of Kazakh sufferers for the faith of Christ. The names of many are known - more than 250 repressed people have been glorified as saints. But there are many more of those whose feats are known only to the Lord. In Kazakhstan, during the years of repression, about 1,000 representatives of the clergy, monastics and clergy were sentenced to various penalties. More than 2,000 archpastors, pastors and active laymen served exile in the country. According to preliminary data from researchers of the project of the Kazakhstan and Central Asian Metropolitan Districts - “Turkestan Golgotha” - the total number of victims for Christ, whose destinies are connected with Kazakhstan, may exceed 7,000 people. We firmly believe that the blood of the Orthodox new martyrs and confessors of the land of Kazakhstan was not shed in vain. On the day of remembrance of the victims of political repression, we offer special prayers to them - our heavenly patrons - and ask for blessings on our entire land, our people.” From the words of Metropolitan Alexander.