On the eve of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Head of the Metropolitan District celebrated the all-night vigil at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

On September 20, 2024, in the evening, on the eve of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the all-night vigil at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted at the service in the main church of the southern capital by: spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese Archimandrite John (Sazonov); sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral, head of the Metropolitan District Public Relations Department Archpriest Alexander Suvorov; acting Rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary, Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov and the cathedral clergy.

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).

At the Great Vespers, according to the Church Charter, a litiya (intensified prayer) was performed with the blessing of bread, wine, wheat and oil.

At Matins, after reading the Gospel reading, Metropolitan Alexander addressed the worshipers with a sermon in which he spoke about the spiritual meaning and significance of the celebrated event for Orthodox Christians.

During the singing of the canon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the believers were anointed with consecrated oil.

On the day of the holiday itself, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Nativity of the Mother of God Church in the Akzhar microdistrict of Almaty. The service will begin at 8:30.