A delegation of clergy from Georgia visited Alma-Ata

On January 8-10, 2024, a group of clerics of the Georgian Orthodox Church visited the shrines of the city of Almaty.

The deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Georgian Patriarchate, Archpriest Archil Khachidze and the head of the public relations department of the Georgian Patriarchate, Archpriest Georgiy Pirtskhelani, arrived in the southern capital.

The guests were greeted by Archimandrite Gabriel (Tutberidze), a shepherd caring for the Georgian diaspora of the Alma-Ata diocese.

The clergy visited churches that are historical and architectural monuments of the Republic - the Ascension Cathedral, the church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the St. Nicholas Church, where they venerated the relics of the heavenly patrons of Kazakhstan - the holy martyrs of St. Nicholas-Kuchugur presbyters Alexander Skalsky, Stefan Ponomarev and Philip Grigoriev; Saint and Confessor Nicholas, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata, Rev. Confessor Schema-Archimandrite Sebastian, Elder of Karaganda and other saints. The guests offered prayers at the memorial cross installed at the northern wall of the Kazan Cathedral in memory of the martyrdom of Priest Parthenius (Krasivsky), who served in this church until the day of his suffering for Christ and was killed by atheists on the porch. The pilgrims got acquainted with the life of the Iversko-Seraphim convent, where the honest remains of the confessor of faith and ascetic of piety, Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), are buried, talked with the abbess, Abbess Lyubov (Yakushkina) and the sisters of the monastery.

On January 9, in the fireplace hall of the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan held a meeting with clergy of the Georgian Church.

The meeting was attended by: vicars of the Astana diocese - Bishop Claudian of Taldykorgan and Bishop Benjamin of Talgar; Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; 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; Head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin; employees of the Alma-Ata diocesan administration.

Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the guests on the civil new anniversary and the holiday of peace and God's love for people - the Nativity of Christ.

The Bishop spoke about the celebration of a historical date in 2024 - the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese and preparations for the 50th anniversary of the repose of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) in the Lord. The archpastor informed the Georgian clergy about the creation of the house-museum of Bishop Joseph in the southern capital. “To date, it has been possible to restore the ancient building where the blessed hierarch lived and worked; The collection of exhibits for future exhibitions is encouraging with good results,” noted the Head of the Metropolitan District.

His Eminence reminded the guests that one of his predecessors at the Kazakhstan cathedra was Schema-Archbishop Anthony (Abashidze), who headed the Turkestan diocese from 1906 to 1912.

A separate topic of communication between the meeting participants was the transfer to the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan of a unique shrine - a particle of the relics of the great Georgian ascetic of the second half of the 20th century, St. Gabriel (Urgebadze), which took place on November 7, 2023. The sacred gift was presented to the Orthodox people of Kazakhstan with the blessing of His Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.

In consideration of the work to develop relations between the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Georgian Orthodox Church, the bishop presented the pastors with anniversary medals “150th anniversary of the Turkestan diocese.”

Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the head of the public relations department of the Georgian Patriarchate, Archpriest George Pirtskhelani, on his 50th birthday and wished him God’s mercy, mental and physical health and diligent service to the Church of Christ.

The guests were presented with books about the history and restoration of the Ascension Cathedral, a plaque with an artistic depiction of the main temple of Alma-Ata, calendars of the Metropolitan District and discs with recordings of the Metropolitan Choir under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov.