On the feast of the miraculous Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty

August 29, 2024 is the afterfeast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the commemoration of the transfer of the Image of the Lord Jesus Christ Not Made by Hands from Edessa to Constantinople and the day of the celebration of the appearance of the great shrine of Orthodoxy - the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan led the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of the city of Almaty, where the copy "measure for measure" of the miraculous image is kept.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: Administrator of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen; Vicar of the Astana Diocese Bishop of Taldykorgan Claudian, Vicar of the Astana Diocese Bishop of Talgar Veniamin; Dean of the churches of Almaty, rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral Archpriest Valery Zakharov, rector of the Church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in the city of Almaty Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, key keeper of the Ascension Cathedral, head of the public relations department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, acting rector of the Almaty Theological Seminary, head of the information and publishing department of the Metropolitan District Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov; Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, key keeper of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, dean of the Ili Church District, Archpriest Valery Shavrin, rector of the Epiphany Church, Archpriest Ioann Lopatin, rector of the Paraskevino Church, Archpriest Nikolai Tkachenko, key keeper of the Peter and Paul Church, Archpriest Kirill Shklyar, 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, rectors and clergy of the churches of the Almaty Diocese; the deacon rank was led by Archdeacon Nikolai Grinkevich.

The following prayed at the service: head of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the Republic of Kazakhstan, M.S. Simakova, head of the educational projects department of Rossotrudnichestvo T.V. Zubkova; leaders, spiritual mentors, teachers and students of Sunday schools of the diocese, parishioners of the main church of the southern capital.

The chants were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District (choirmaster - Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov, choirmaster - V. Dudareva) and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral (choirmaster - N. Zubrevich).

During the service, His Holiness Patriarch Philaret, nun Martha and Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, who received a blessing for reign from the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God; the ever-memorable Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich Kassian (Yaroslavsky) and other Kostroma archpastors - keepers of the Feodorovskaya icon were especially remembered.

The sermon after the communion verse was delivered by Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov.

The service ended with the glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos before the image of the Shroud of the Queen of Heaven and the Feodorovsky icon, after which Metropolitan Alexander cordially congratulated the archpastors, clergy, monastics and laity on the special celebrations dedicated to the Mother of God. In his sermon, Metropolitan Alexander told those gathered about the history of the discovery of the Feodorovskaya icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the gracious help and miracles manifested from this icon.

Representatives of the Union of Cossacks of Semirechye, headed by Ataman V.S. Shikhotov, a member of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, took an active part in ensuring order and security.

The video recording of the metropolitan service was carried out by the television studio of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District "Semirechye" (director - honored cultural worker V.L. Posadneva, cameraman A. Schmidt); photo recording - employee of the information department A. Shcheglov.

After the service, the Head of the Metropolitan District congratulated the dean of the Ili church district, Archpriest Alexander Zyryanov, on the 30th anniversary of his priestly ordination, and Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov) on the anniversary of his service in the holy orders. The Metropolitan presented the clergy with holy prosphora, wishing them God's mercy, spiritual and physical health and zealous service to the Church of Christ.

"The miraculous Feodorovskaya icon of the Queen of Heaven is one of the most ancient in the Orthodox Church. The founders of Holy Russia prayed before this image of the Most Blessed Lady, the saints and rulers knelt before it, the saints and righteous cried out for Heavenly intercession. The Feodorovskaya icon of the Mother of God was especially revered by the holy confessor Nikolai, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata, the elder-saint Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), the holy confessor Sebastian of Karaganda and many sufferers for Christ who shone on the land of Kazakhstan in the twentieth century. This shrine, having gone through many hardships and trials together with our people, was a visible sign of God's help to all who come with faith to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. Looking with hope at the face of the Queen of Heaven, shining with spiritual beauty, preserved by the power of God for many centuries, we believe and confess that "She is the glory of those on earth, the joy of those in Heaven, the adornment of all creation" (St. Gregory Palamas). From the Feodorovsky icon of the Queen of Heaven, those suffering from serious illnesses receive healing, those grieving receive consolation, and those in difficult circumstances receive help. This shrine is revered by Orthodox people as the patron of family well-being, the birth and upbringing of children. Today, Orthodox people ask the Mother of God to incline the mercy of Her Son and God to the entire Russian Orthodox Church, to bless the countries, cities and villages where believers in Christ live. If our prayer is sincere and heartfelt, if our hope is undoubted, then there will be no obstacles to the Lord pouring out on us the same grace that He poured out on our pious ancestors who offered their heartfelt prayers before the Feodorovsky icon of His Most Pure Mother. The generous gifts poured out on us through the intercession of the Sovereign Lady encourage us to correct our lives according to the Gospel. Our gratitude to the Queen of Heaven must be expressed not only in words, but also in concrete actions. Saint and physician Luke, Archbishop of Crimea, says the following about this: “Glorifying the Most Holy Theotokos, let us remember that we must not only praise Her, but also guard our hearts from that which is contrary to Her heart, that which is contrary to Her holiness.” The Mother of God is called more honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, but with all her greatness she is a good example of virtue for us. “The example of the holiness of the Most Holy Virgin is given to us by the Gospel not only for our reverence and wonder, but also for our edification and imitation,” writes the wise hierarch Saint Philaret of Moscow. From the Holy Scriptures we see such qualities of the Mother of God as humility, modesty and obedience to the will of God. Therefore, asking the Most Holy Theotokos for everything we need in earthly existence, let us not forget to ask for the most important thing, for the one thing needful (see Luke 10:41-42) – for the Heavenly gifts necessary for the salvation of the soul. Spiritual strength and vigor are important to us for the fulfillment of the commandments. We all are in dire need of a merciful heart that can selflessly and sacrificially love, forgive, sympathize and understand.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.