On the Feast of the Nativity of the Baptist John and the Week of All Russian Saints, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the main church of Astana

July 7, 2024 – 2nd week after Pentecost, All Saints who shone forth in the Russian land; Nativity of the honest, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan performed the Divine Liturgy in the main church of the country - the Assumption Cathedral in Astana.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: the vicar of the Astana diocese, Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; Bishop of Ural and Atyrau Vianor; dean of the parishes of the Kazakh capital Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev), abbot of the St. George Meshchovo Monastery Archimandrite Georgy (Evdachev) (Kaluga Metropolis), keymaster of the Assumption Cathedral Archpriest Dimitry Baidek, keymaster of the Constantine-Elenin Cathedral Archpriest Sergius Kaliev, head of the personal secretary Metropolitan Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov, cleric of the Kaluga Metropolis, Hieromonk Kherubim (Levin), Hieromonk Bartholomew (Mostovshchikov), Priest Sergius Dianov, Priest Sergius Lubnevsky; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, Protodeacon Alexander Mokiy, Deacon Ilya Davydov, Deacon John Churkin, Deacon Mikhail Chumakov.

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 Kazakh 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.

The chants were performed by the cathedral choir under the direction of Olga Varentsova.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Archpriest Dimitry Baidek.

The festive Liturgy ended with the glorification of the Forerunner of the Lord John and All the Saints of the Russian Land, after which the archpastor addressed those present with a word of edification and sprinkled the believers with holy water.

“Today is a great holiday in the church calendar - the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. The Savior Himself testified about him: “Among those born of women there has not arisen a greater one than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). “Truly, of those born of women, no one is greater than John the Baptist,” St. Macarius the Great interprets these words of the Gospel, “Because he is the fullness of all the prophets. Everyone prophesied about the Lord, showing His coming from afar, but John, prophesying about the Savior, presented Him before the eyes of everyone, crying out and saying: “Behold the Lamb of God!” The Evangelist Luke tells about the birth of the Forerunner. In his Gospel text we read how the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the righteous priest Zechariah during a divine service. Seeing the confusion and fear of the elderly priest, the heavenly messenger said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John” (Luke 1:11-13). Zechariah, who lived to old age with his righteous wife Elizabeth in a childless marriage, did not believe what he saw and heard, for which he was punished with muteness until the birth of John the Baptist. “No word of God will fail” (Luke 1:37). A miracle happened - the elderly, barren Elizabeth gave birth to a son, who, according to the word of the archangel, “will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God; that he might present to the Lord a prepared people” (Luke 1:16-17). At a young age, Saint John retired to the desert, where he led a harsh ascetic life. Having gone out into the world, he began to preach the baptism of repentance for cleansing from sins. “Then,” we read in the Gospel, “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the surrounding Jordan came out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5). John the Baptist in the history of the New Testament Church is considered the first monk, the first educator and preacher, and the first martyr for the truth of Christ. The Baptist of the Lord shows us the image of a man who was able to be infinitely, unlimitedly and humbly devoted to God and his calling. The Forerunner of Christ can serve as an example and image for believers, because each of us, in some sense, in relation to those around us, to our neighbors, is often the forerunner of the Lord. Christ sends us into this world ahead of Himself, so that we bring people the word of God and demonstrate true righteousness by deeds, so that we help them understand and accept the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. John the Baptist did not work miracles or perform signs, but with the word of truth and holy life he led a huge number of contemporaries to the knowledge of the Lord. In this he is a teacher for you and me, who are capable of proclaiming and preaching the Crucified and Risen Christ with love and mercy, honesty and kindness, and the fulfillment of God’s commandments, brighter than any miracles and more convincing than various signs.” From the teachings of Metropolitan Alexander.