On the day of remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the patronal feast of the Iveron-Seraphim Monastery was prayerfully celebrated in Almaty

August 1, 2024 - celebration in honor of the uncovering of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the miracle worker.ца.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan led the Divine Liturgy in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iveron-Seraphim Monastery in Almaty, celebrating the patronal feast.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: vicars of the Astana diocese - Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Veniamin of Talgar; Dean of the churches of Almaty, rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov, rector of the Almaty church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, acting Rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, head of the information and publishing department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, key keeper of the St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Igor Svetlichny, key keeper of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, rector of the Epiphany Church Archpriest Valery Shavrin, key keeper of the Peter and Paul Church Archpriest Kirill Shklyar, Archpriest Alexander Sokolov, secretary of the Kostanay Diocese Hieromonk Gennady (Burduzha), Priest Peter Andrusenko, rector of the Ksenievsky parish in the city of Kapchagay Hieromonk Pimen (Tkachenko), head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), cleric of the Adriano-Natalievsky Church in the village of Otegen Batyr Priest Vyacheslav Sidorovsky, vice-rector for academic affairs work of the Alma-Ata Seminary priest Peter Bakhtiyarov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District priest Georgy Sidorov, key keeper of the Kazan Cathedral in Alma-Ata priest Georgy Rublinsky, cleric of the church of the metochion in the name of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers hieromonk Savva (Kulbakin), head of the metropolitan protocol service protodeacon Roman Golovin, hierodeacon Afanasy (Kozel), deacon John Churkin, deacon Andrei Plakhuta, deacon Roman Karaman.

On the day of the monastery's patronal feast, a reliquary with great relics was brought from the Iversko-Serafimovskaya house church of the metropolitan residence in Alma-Ata for the prayerful veneration of believers: the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, part of the stone on which the venerable elder prayed for a thousand days and nights, a lock of the saint's hair, as well as parts of his clothing and vestments.

The chants of the Liturgy were performed by the choir of the St. Sophia Cathedral under the direction of O. Usoltseva.

The following prayed in the church: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; Abbess of the Iversko-Serafimovskaya Convent Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina) with the sisters of the monastery, employees of the Alma-Ata diocesan administration; parishioners of Alma-Ata churches and numerous pilgrims.

During the Liturgy, memorial petitions were offered for Metropolitan Chrysanthus (Chepil) of Vyatka, the ever-memorable Kazakh hierarchs, including the first hierarchs of the Turkestan region, Archbishop Sofonia (Sokolsky, †1877) and Bishop Nikon (Bogoyavlensky, †1897), buried at the altar of St. Sophia Cathedral, and the ascetic of piety, Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov, †1975), whose tomb is located in St. Sophia Cathedral; The deceased abbesses of the Iveron-Seraphim Monastery were especially commemorated: Nun Paisia (Kryuchkova), Abbess Nektaria (Dimitrieva) and Abbess Euphrosyne (Bakurevich) and the parents of St. Seraphim of Sarov – the ever-memorable Isidore and Agafia Moshnin.

The sermon after the communion verse was delivered by Archpriest Valery Zakharov.

After the Liturgy, a religious procession took place to the chapel in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The hierarchs, clergy and believers performed a glorification before the icon and the reliquary with the relics of the holy elder.

In prayerful memory of the event, His Eminence presented the monastery with a copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Healer”. Abbess Lyubov gratefully accepted the relic from the hands of the archpastor.

A polygamy was proclaimed to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'; the Head and Most Reverend Archpastors of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; the President of the country K.-Zh.K. Tokayev; the authorities, the army and all the people of Kazakhstan.

On August 1, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrates the anniversary of his deacon's ordination. In 1983, on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov, in the St. Seraphim Cathedral in the city of Kirov, the ever-memorable Archbishop Chrysanthus (Chepil; †2011, later Metropolitan of Vyatka and Slobodskoy) ordained his secretary and subdeacon Alexander Mogilev to the rank of deacon.

Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen congratulated the head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on the memorable date of his ordination on behalf of the clergy and laity.

Metropolitan Alexander thanked Bishop Gennady, the hierarchs, clergy and believers for the words of good wishes addressed to him, and delivered a sermon.

"Reverend Seraphim left us many profound and wise, but at the same time simple in content teachings, which he based on the Holy Scripture and the works of the Holy Fathers. We learn many saving lessons from the well-known saying of Father Seraphim: "Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved." The good, righteous spiritual state of a person filled with the Holy Spirit spreads to many. But it is important to remember that sin, having appeared in the heart of one person, gradually infects more and more people. Therefore, desiring salvation for ourselves and our family and friends, desiring to eradicate sins and vices in society, we must first of all begin with ourselves - lead a virtuous life, acquire holiness, be transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The saint considered prayer to be an important means of acquiring grace: “Prayer brings the Spirit of God more than anything else, and it is most convenient for everyone to perform… For its fulfillment, there is always an opportunity for both the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, the healthy and the sick, the righteous and the sinner.” Saint Seraphim calls everyone by his example and his instructions to follow the path indicated by Christ. He calls to fight sin and one’s shortcomings, himself being a beacon and a lamp for all who seek salvation.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.