Metropolitan Alexander officiated at the patronal feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God Church in the Akzhar microdistrict (+VIDEO)

September 21, 2024 is the twelve great feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in the Akzhar microdistrict of Almaty, which is celebrating its patronal feast.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: the dean of the parishes of Almaty, the rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, mitred archpriest Valery Zakharov; Rector of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the Akzhar microdistrict, Hieromonk Alexy (Cherevtsov), 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 Keeper of the Kazan Cathedral in Alma-Ata, Priest Georgy Rublinsky, Hieromonk Kheruvin (Levin); Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich, Head of the Metropolitan's Protocol Service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Deacon Andrei Ivashinin, Deacon Sergiy Slesarchuk, Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov.

The chants of the Liturgy were performed by the parish choir under the direction of V. Alferov.

The following prayed at the service: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia, member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Church Singing, O.N. Ovchinnikov; parishioners of the Nativity of the Mother of God Church and believers from surrounding communities.

After the Cherubic Hymn, Metropolitan Alexander performed the priestly ordination of Deacon Sergiy Slesarchuk, a cleric of the Ascension Cathedral in Alma-Ata.

Priest Georgy Sidorov delivered a sermon on the communion verse.

At the end of the Liturgy, a glorification of the feast took place – the clergy, choir and believers sang the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the Nativity of the Mother of God.

The head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District congratulated those present on the patronal feast and delivered a sermon.

Archpriest Valery Zakharov, on behalf of the clergy and believers, congratulated the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan on the anniversary of his monastic tonsure. Thirty-five years ago, Archbishop Chrysanthus (Chepil; + January 4, 2011) of Kirov and Slobodskoy (since 2004 – Metropolitan of Vyatka and Slobodskoy), in the house church of the bishop's residence in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Sign" in the city of Kirov, performed the monastic tonsure of the future Kazakhstani hierarch with the name Alexander - in honor of the Venerable Alexander of Svir.

After the service, His Eminence, in recognition of his support for the social and charitable projects of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, awarded the Order and Medal of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District "Saint and Doctor Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea" to: executive director of the public fund for the support of cancer patients "Healthy Asia", founder and administrator of the first children's hospice in Kazakhstan "I am with you" N.D. Plokhikh; social worker of the Nativity of the Mother of God Church of the Southern Capital O.V. Kudryavtsev.

"Today the Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos - the beginning of the great and incomprehensible to the human mind mystery of the incarnation of God and our salvation. At the dawn of time, our forefathers sinned - they broke God's commandment by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. But the Lord did not leave mankind without hope - Adam and his spouse were given the comforting promise that "the Seed of the Woman will crush the head of the serpent" (see Gen. 3:15), that in some miraculous way salvation will come to people and the power of sin and death will disappear. For thousands of years, mankind has been impatiently awaiting the coming of the Savior. The mystery of salvation was revealed in the Old Testament gradually, in prototypes, prophecies and visions - "Jacob's Ladder", "Burning Bush", "Ark of the Covenant", "Gideon's Fleece". The Old Testament evangelist Prophet Isaiah presented her to the world in a particularly vivid way, prophesying: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The Holy Virgin was not given to the human race, exhausted by sins, all at once. She was the fruit of the centuries-long history of God’s chosen people, the fruit of the spiritual aspirations and exploits of its best representatives. The Old Testament times were drawing to a close. And now, finally, the time had come for this Divine and most pure Vessel, the Virgin Mother of God, to appear in the world. As Tradition tells us, the Holy Virgin came from the line of King David. Her pious parents, Joachim and Anna, lived in Nazareth, a small town west of the Sea of Galilee. Both of them were righteous people and were known not for their royal origins, but for their humility and mercy. But one thing troubled their pure souls: they had no children until old age. This sadness is understandable, because at that time, infertility was considered God's punishment for sins. Therefore, despite their old age, Joachim and Anna did not stop asking God to grant them a child. They made a promise: if they had a baby, to dedicate him to serving the Almighty. For their patience, great faith, love for God and for each other, the Lord sent Joachim and Anna great joy - they had a daughter, whom the happy parents named Mary. The birth of Mary brought joy not only to her parents, but to all people, since it was She who was destined by God's Providence to become the Mother of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary teaches us to honor the Most Blessed Virgin Mary with special zeal - the source and intercessor of our salvation. Having served the mystery of the Incarnation, the Virgin Mary became for all times the Mother of all Christians, a zealous Intercessor, a warm intercessor and prayer before the Throne of the Most High. The feat of the parents of the Ever-Virgin - zeal in prayer, patience and humility of the righteous Joachim and Anna - encourages us to firm faith and hope in the mercy of God." From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.