Feast of the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Southern capital (+VIDEO)

August 14, 2024 – the celebration of the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the day of remembrance of the seven Maccabee martyrs, their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar; the beginning of the Dormition Fast.

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

The head of the Metropolitan District was assisted by: the dean of the churches of Almaty, the rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; Dean of the Astana Church District Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev), Archpriest Alexander Sokolov, Head of the Metropolitan's Personal Secretariat Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District Priest Georgy Sidorov, Key Bearer of the Kazan Cathedral in Almaty Priest Georgy Rublinsky; Clergyman of the Church of the Holy Royal Martyrs Hieromonk Savva (Kulbakin), Key Bearer of the Adriano-Natalievsky Church Priest John Konoplev; Head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Referent of the Almaty Diocesan Administration Hierodeacon Mitrofan (Ognev), Deacon Alexander Piven, Deacon Andrei Plakhuta, Deacon Roman Karaman.

A sacred relic was present in the church during the Liturgy – an image of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, created with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander, with the saints of God standing before it: the Holy Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena, the Holy Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Olga, the Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and the Venerable Alexander of Svir. The icon, made in the best traditions of ancient Russian icon painting and applied art, contains reliquaries with particles of the Tree of the Cross of the Lord, the Life-Giving Sepulcher, Mount Golgotha; reliquaries with particles of the relics of the saints depicted.

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

The following people prayed in the church: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; Abbess of the Iversko-Serafimovsky Convent Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina) with the sisters of the convent, employees of the Alma-Ata Diocesan Administration; parishioners of Alma-Ata churches.
The sermon after the communion verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Rublinsky.

The service ended with a glorification - the clergy performed the troparion and kontakion to the Cross of Christ, after which, in accordance with ancient church tradition, the blessing of honey took place. After reading the prayer "Unrecognizable in mercy and ineffable in bounty, Lord", Metropolitan Alexander sprinkled the honey of the new harvest with holy water.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan addressed the congregation with an archpastoral word and congratulated the believers on the holiday and the beginning of the Dormition Fast.

“The bright days of Lent, dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, begin with the Feast of the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. The loving Lord, “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), once again grants us a blessed time for repentance, gives each of us another opportunity to cleanse ourselves of sins through fasting and prayer, overcome passions and renew our lives according to the Gospel. The physical, material world was created and exists according to its own laws, and in the spiritual world the Creator has established immutable norms and rules that cannot be forgotten, ignored or violated. Any forgetfulness of God, any evil, even in thoughts, and any violation of the commandment, even seemingly insignificant and unimportant, destroy a person and lead to spiritual destruction. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), says the Apostle Paul. Our world is sinking deeper and deeper into spiritual darkness – actions and deeds that used to cause condemnation in society are becoming commonplace, people are no longer embarrassed by bad words and cruelty, they flaunt immoral behavior, proudly mock moral purity and family values. The consequences of falling away from God and disregard for His laws are obvious – social unrest, military clashes, economic crises and pestilence. It is human sin, and nothing else, that is the cause of various disasters and catastrophes. The Holy Scriptures warn: “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33). You and I ourselves sin a lot, and daily come into contact with spiritual darkness in its various forms - obvious and hidden, therefore we vitally need prayer and fasting, by which, according to the word of the Savior, all evil is expelled from the human heart and mind, and the forces of impurity that fight the soul are defeated. Let us not postpone repentance for an indefinite period, let us begin the fight against vices and untruths with ourselves, let us curb passions with abstinence and open the doors of God's mercy with active love for our neighbor. The Fathers and Teachers of the Church instruct us that by freeing ourselves from the captivity of passions - we free people around us from sinful filth, ascending to Heaven with virtues - we help those who are near us to rise spiritually, sincerely performing prayers, and, especially, participating in the Holy Eucharist - we sanctify the universe with grace. The Dormition Fast has a special character – it is the time of our gratitude and fervent prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos. Each of us, glorifying the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Sovereign Lady, must in these days especially feel and realize the power of Her maternal intercession, the greatness of Her love for the human race. To be a Christian means to follow Christ and courageously and patiently bear one’s cross. But we are not alone on the path of life: the Most Pure Mother of God is always with us. Her help and joy are always with those who seek God and salvation, who seek a meeting with Her, who sympathize with their neighbors and bring them comfort with sympathetic words, good advice, and useful deeds. May the Creator and Giver of all blessings, through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven, who does not abandon the world in Her Dormition, grant us the benefit for ourselves and our neighbors to walk the bright path of fasting, never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11)." From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.