On the eve of the Week of the Veneration of the Cross, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the all-night vigil with the removal of the Cross in the main church of the Southern capital

On March 22, 2025, on the eve of the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross of Great Lent, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the all-night vigil with the rite of removal of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was assisted by: the key-keeper of the Ascension Cathedral, the head of the public relations department of the Metropolitan District, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov and the cathedral clergy.

The chants of the Liturgy were performed by the choir of the Metropolitan District under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov and the choir of the Ascension Cathedral under the direction of E. Boguslavets.

In accordance with the liturgical Charter, during the service of the week of the Veneration of the Cross, the Church glorifies the Holy Cross and the fruits of the Savior's suffering on the cross, therefore the main feature of this Sunday all-night vigil is the rite of carrying the Cross out of the altar to the center of the church for veneration.

At matins, after the great doxology during the singing of the Trisagion, Metropolitan Alexander carried the Cross of the Lord out of the altar.

The Cross carried out is a gift from the ever-memorable His Beatitude Diodorus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, with particles of the Life-giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord, Mount Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher.