The head of the Metropolitan District awarded large families of clergy of the Alma-Ata diocese with the Order of Parental Glory

July 13, 2024. Alma-Ata. At the end of the Liturgy in the church in honor of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, large families of clergy from the southern capital were awarded.

The event took place as part of the celebration of the memory of the faithful Prince Peter, monastically David, and Princess Fevronia, monastically Euphrosyne, Muromsky, miracle workers - patrons of Orthodox marriage.

Honoring parents with many children on the days of great church holidays is a good long-term tradition of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

The solemn act was led by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

The event was attended by: Archbishop of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk Amfilohiy, dean of Almaty churches, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; rector of the Alma-Ata Church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeniy Vorobyov, head of the department of education and catechesis of the Metropolitan District, rector of the Intercession Church and the temple in honor of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Archpriest Evgeniy Bobylev, clergy of the churches of the Alma-Ata diocese, head of the representative office Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic of Kazakhstan M.S. Simakova, head of the educational projects department of Rossotrudnichestvo T.V. Zubkova, parishioners of the temple.

Parents who raised five or more children are nominated for awards from the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District. Their families are an example of pious marriage, a model of spiritual, moral and patriotic education of the younger generation.

Before the ceremony, Metropolitan Alexander addressed the recipients and those present with a word about the importance of preserving family values. “The family is the foundation of the present and future of humanity. Such enduring family values as a strong marriage between a man and a woman, honoring parents, respect for elders, and caring for the younger ones hold together every society and state. They must be carefully preserved and passed on to subsequent generations because they never become obsolete. According to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', “the family is a school of love, a school of piety, a school of human happiness.” It is in the family that a person learns basic norms of behavior and value guidelines, receives moral education and joins the spiritual tradition of his people. Family is the first and most important school of life for every person. Today, our society has to solve the task of preserving and reviving the family, traditional family and moral values in a difficult situation, facing numerous serious difficulties and challenges. And we are talking not only about difficult socio-economic conditions, but also about direct ideological and worldview attacks on the family and the unshakable values associated with it. Our event today is an opportunity to honor the feats of love for children, the care of fatherhood and the kindness of motherhood, to draw public attention to the spiritual beauty and inner strength of a large family,” said, in particular, the Head of the Metropolitan District.

The highest award of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan - the Order of Parental Glory - was awarded to:
• rector of the church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord in the village of Malovodnoye, Archpriest Nikolai Tkachenko and mother Lyubov Tkachenko (9 children);
• rector of the Elias Church in the village of Karaoi, Archpriest Georgy Lagovsky and mother Tatiana Lagovskaya (5 children);
• Priest Vladimir Shishlov, rector of the Dimitrievsky Church in the village of Baiserke, and mother Varvara Shishlova (5 children).

After the presentation of the awards, the Head of the Metropolitan District wished those present mercy from the Lord, good health and prosperity.

All families received gifts and cash certificates for the purchase of household appliances from the hands of Metropolitan Alexander.