On the day of remembrance of the first martyr Archdeacon Stephen, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the city of Almaty

January 9, 2024 is the after-feast of the Nativity of Christ and the day of remembrance of the Apostle, First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Almaty.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was concelebrated by: vicars of the Astana diocese - Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; dean of Almaty churches, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest Valery Zakharov; rector of the Almaty Church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Archpriest Evgeny Vorobyov, deputy head of the DECR of the Georgian Orthodox Church Archpriest Archil Khachidze and head of the public relations department Archpriest Georgy Pirtskhelani; the clergy of the churches of the southern capital; the head of the personal secretariat of the Metropolitan, Hieromonk Prokhor (Endovitsky), the head of the administrative secretariat of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Priest Georgy Sidorov; Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan's protocol service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatsky, Deacon John Churkin, Deacon Bohdan Boyko.

For the prayerful consolation of believers, an ark containing part of the relics of St. Archdeacon Stephen was brought to the church for the service.

The choir of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Almaty sang under the direction of E. Skorova.

His Eminence offered prayers for the increase of love and the eradication of all hatred and malice.

Using the communion verse, Priest Georgy Sidorov read out the Christmas message of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.

At the end of the Liturgy, glorification of the Nativity of Christ took place, after which Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the archpastors, clergy and parishioners on the holiday of the coming of God the Word into the world and addressed those gathered with a sermon.

At the end of the service, the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan congratulated the clergyman of the Nativity Cathedral, Hierodeacon Stefan (Popov), congratulated him on his name day and presented him with a holy prosphora, wishing him God’s mercy, mental and physical health and diligent service to the Church of Christ.

“Today we turn our gaze to that distant time when the Only Begotten Son of God appeared into the world, born of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, along with his appearance changed the entire history of the human race. “There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), we hear the words about the God-man Christ in one of the very first apostolic sermons. The Nativity of Christ is therefore called by the fathers and teachers of the Church the greatest and key moment in history, because except for God Himself, no one could correct human nature damaged by sin, save people from death, or open the gates of eternal and blessed life. No one could save a person - not the best of people, “neither an intercessor nor an angel.” “No one other than the Savior Himself, who at the beginning created the universe from nothing, could grant incorruption to our corruptible nature,” St. Athanasius the Great teaches us, “no one other than our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the true Life, could elevate our mortal nature to immortality."
In the Gospel we read how the great miracle of the Nativity of Christ glorified the entire universe: the angels exclaimed enthusiastically: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests!” (Luke 2:14), the heavens shone with a wonderful star, which “stopped over the place where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9), “and the earth,” as it is sung in the festive kontakion, “brings a den to the Unapproachable,” awaiting salvation people met the Lord in the form of a Child, “glorifying and praising God for all things they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). “So, come, let us worship together with the Magi,” St. Basil the Great calls upon us, “let us give glory together with the shepherds and let us rejoice along with the angels, “for today a Savior has been born to you, he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11)”. Another father of the Church, St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, tells us about the gifts revealed at the Nativity of Christ: “Paradise is open to the thief, curses are turned into blessings, all sins are abolished, wickedness is expelled, the truth has come, pure morals are sown, virtue is transplanted on earth, angels have entered communication with people and people received boldness to speak with angels. Why and for what reason did this happen? Because God came into the world and because people were taken up into heaven.” In the festive chants these days, the call to make a spiritual journey to Bethlehem together with the Magi will be repeated many times in order to see the newborn God-infant in the manger. “We will all come to where Christ is born,” the Venerable Roman the Sweet Singer addresses us, “with the star of faith in our minds and we will bring gifts worthy of Him - the best of virtues.” According to the general opinion of the holy fathers, our gifts to the Born God are good deeds, even more precisely, a change in our entire way of life in accordance with the high title of a Christian.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.