The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan made a pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra

December 28, 2023. Sergiev Posad. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan made a pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius.

Within the walls of the monastery, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was met by the head of the Lavra pilgrimage center, Hieromonk Polycarp (Tibanov).

Upon arrival at the Lavra, Vladyka Metropolitan prayed before the venerable relics of the Abbot of the Russian Land - St. Sergius of Radonezh, resting in the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery, and also venerated the numerous shrines and relics of the saints of God, stored in the Serapion Chamber and the Nikon Chapel, including the relics of the Apostle Andrew First-Called, First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen, part of the Robe of the Theotokos, stone of the Holy Sepulcher, head of St. Isaiah of Rostov.

In front of the shrines of the monastery, the Head of the Metropolitan District offered special petitions for the archpastors, pastors, monastics and laity of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, for the peace and prosperity of Kazakhstan in the coming year 2024.

During the visit to the Lavra, Metropolitan Alexander met with the monastery’s resident, Archimandrite Macarius (Veretennikov), a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, a member of the Synodal Liturgical Commission, and a famous church historian.

The main topic of the meeting was the perpetuation of the memory of the confessor of faith and devotee of piety, an outstanding church figure of the twentieth century - Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), whose name is revered by a huge number of believers in Kazakhstan, Russia and in many countries near and far abroad. In his youth, Archimandrite Macarius, living in Karaganda, was spiritually nourished by Metropolitan Joseph and published a collection of the homiletical and epistolary heritage of the elder saint, as well as his memoirs.

Metropolitan Alexander told Archimandrite Makariy (Veretennikov) about the work to create a house-museum of Metropolitan Joseph in Almaty, the opening of which is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the repose of the ever-memorable hierarch to the Lord, which will be celebrated in 2025.

For the Museum of the Metropolitan District, Father Macarius gave Metropolitan Alexander church items and personal belongings of Bishop Joseph, which he carefully kept after the death of the saint.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan invited Archimandrite Macarius to take part in preparing the celebration of the upcoming anniversary and organizing exhibitions at the memorial house of Metropolitan Joseph.

At the end of the meeting, the archpastor congratulated Father Macarius on the upcoming New Year and the pre-celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

The Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius was founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh in 1337 on Makovets Hill, 70 km northeast of Moscow. For centuries, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra has been one of the most revered pan-Orthodox shrines, the largest center of spiritual enlightenment and culture. Within its walls, a host of ascetics of the Russian Orthodox Church labored, including St. Nikon of Radonezh, St. Maxim the Greek, spiritual writers St. Epiphanius the Wise and Pachomius Logothet. The Holy Archimandrites of the Lavra were the Moscow Saints Philaret (Drozdov; †1867) and Innocent (Veniaminov; †1879), as well as the Hieromartyr Vladimir (Epiphany; †1918).
For centuries, a unique library of handwritten and early printed books has been collected in the Lavra. Hundreds of Russian monasteries were founded and spiritually equipped by the monasteries of the Lavra. In 1608-1610. the monastery withstood the siege of thirty thousand troops of Polish-Lithuanian invaders (there were about three thousand besieged in the monastery itself).
Since 1688 the monastery has been stauropegial. In 1744 the monastery received the status of a Lavra.
Since 1814, the Moscow Theological Academy, the oldest higher educational institution in Russia, founded in 1685 in Moscow, has been located on the territory of the Lavra. Transferred to the Lavra after the fire of 1812, the academy was housed in the former royal palaces of the 17th century.
In 1920, the Lavra was closed, its buildings housed the Historical and Art Museum and other institutions, and some of the buildings were occupied for housing. The revival of the monastery began in 1946.
In 1949, the Moscow Theological Academy resumed its activities within the walls of the Lavra. In 1971, 1988, 1990 Local Councils were held in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.
In 1993, the architectural ensemble of the Lavra was included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia.