On the feast of the finding of the head of John the Baptist, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy at the Church of St. John the Baptist in the village of Guldala

June 7, 2024 – the third discovery of the head of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the Divine Liturgy at the church in honor of the Nativity of the Baptist and Baptist John in the village of Guldala (Red Field), Alma-Ata region.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was concelebrated by: the rector of the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in the city of Alma-Ata, Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, the dean of the Ili church district, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, the rector of the parish, Archpriest Georgy Kharlov, the rector of the Iversky Church in the village of Boraldai, Hegumen Filaret (Petrochenko ), rector of the Archangel Michael Church in the village of Turgen, Hieromonk Varsonofy (Larionov), deputy keymaster of the Ascension Cathedral, priest Andrey Shklyar, rector of the Elias Church in the city of Zharkent, priest Dimitry Kaplin, 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.

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

For the spiritual strengthening of believers, an ark containing part of the right hand of the Baptist and Baptist John was brought to the church for the festive service with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander. The great shrine was donated to the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District by the ever-memorable Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky Amfilohije, the guardian of the right hand of the Forerunner of the Lord, who now resides in the Mother of God Monastery in the city of Cetinje in Montenegro.

Orthodox residents of the village of Guldala and believers from surrounding settlements prayed at the Liturgy.

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

The liturgy ended with glorification of the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ and the Forerunner of the Lord John, after which the hierarch sprinkled holy water on those gathered.

Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the parishioners on the holiday of Easter and the day of remembrance of “the Greatest of those born of women, the prophet of the Old and New Testaments,” after which he delivered a sermon.

“The Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, the greatest of the prophets, completes the history of the Old and opens the era of the New Testament. The Holy Prophet John witnessed the coming to earth of the Only Begotten Son of God, who took on human flesh. He baptized Him in the waters of the Jordan and was honored to see the mysterious appearance of the Most Holy Trinity on the day of the Baptism of the Savior.

The Forerunner of the Lord is the son of the priest Zechariah and the righteous Elizabeth. Archangel Gabriel was the messenger of his birth, revealing to his father in the temple that he would have a son. Requested by prayers, foretold from above, the baby was filled with the Holy Spirit. From a young age, righteous John in the wild desert prepared himself for great service by strict life, fasting and prayer. At the age of about 30, he went out to preach repentance, preparing the people to accept the Savior of the world. According to the expression of church hymns, Saint John was the “bright morning star”, which in its brilliance surpassed the radiance of all other “stars” - the Old Testament righteous, and heralded the appearance into the world of the spiritual Sun - Christ the Giver of Life. Soon after the Savior's baptism, Saint John suffered a martyr's death, beheaded by the sword by order of King Herod.

Celebrating the memory of the holy Forerunner of the Lord John today, we must once again remember the main words of his sermon and reflect on their importance: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repentance is a necessary condition for our spiritual life, preparation for communion with God, the path to unity with God. True repentance begins through awareness of one’s own untruths and the ineffable mercy of God, through apostasy from sin and contrition of the heart for the evil committed. True repentance is a deep change in human existence, a renunciation of an arbitrarily sinful and self-loving existence, the beginning of a new life, carried out according to the commandments of the Gospel, in the pursuit of the truth of Christ, in love for God and neighbor. Prayerfully remembering the great prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, let us ask him that through his intercession and prayerful intercession he would grant us the gates of deep heartfelt repentance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, where God dwells with those who love Him.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.