On the feast of the Council of the Forerunner of the Lord John, the Head of the Metropolitan District celebrated the Liturgy in the Peter and Paul Church in Almaty

January 20, 2024 – post-feast of Epiphany, Council of the Baptist and Baptist John.

The day after the feast of Epiphany, the Church honors the Forerunner of the Lord, John, who served the cause of the Baptism of Christ by laying his hand on the head of the Savior. The Holy Forerunner and Baptist John, the greatest of the prophets, completes the history of the Old Testament Church and opens the era of the New Testament. He witnessed the mysterious Appearance of the Most Holy Trinity on the day of the Baptism of the Savior.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Peter and Paul Church in Almaty.

His Eminence was served by: the rector of the Peter and Paul Church, Archpriest Vladimir Shklyar, the keymaster of the Ascension Cathedral, the head of the Metropolitan District's public relations department, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov, the keymaster of the Peter and Paul Church, Archpriest Kirill Shklyar, the deputy keymaster of the Ascension Cathedral, Priest Andrey Shklyar, the 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, clergy of the Peter and Paul Church Priest Maxim Lysenko and Hieromonk Isaac (Istelyev), Protodeacon Nikolai Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan Protocol Service Protodeacon Roman Golovin, Deacon Konstantin Chupachenko, Deacon Alexander Piven, Deacon Sergiy Slesarchuk .

The choir of the Peter and Paul Church sang under the direction of I.N. Korovina.

For spiritual consolation and strengthening of the believers, an ark containing part of the right hand of the Baptist and Baptist John, stored in the house Iversko-Seraphim Church of the Metropolitan residence in Alma-Ata, was delivered to the temple at the beginning of the service. The great shrine was donated to the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District by the ever-memorable Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky Amfilohije, the guardian of the right hand of the Forerunner of the Lord, who now resides in the Mother of God Monastery in the city of Cetinje in Montenegro. The ark was installed in the center of the temple, next to the Astana image of the Queen of Heaven.

The Hierarch offered prayers for the increase of love and the eradication of all hatred and malice.

The sermon after the sacramental verse was delivered by Priest Georgy Sidorov.

At the end of the Liturgy, glorification of the Baptist of the Lord John took place in front of the ark with a particle of his relics.

Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the parishioners on the feast of Epiphany and the day of remembrance of “the Greatest of those born of women, the prophet of the Old and New Testaments,” after which he delivered a sermon.

“Today the Holy Church celebrates the after-feast of the Epiphany of the Lord and in a special way venerates the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord’s John. The Orthodox Church has established a custom: on the day after the great feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, we remember those saints who most closely served this sacred event. So, the day after Epiphany, we honor the one who served the cause of the Baptism of Christ by laying his hand on the head of the Savior. The Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord’s John, the greatest of the prophets, completes the history of the Old and opens the era of the New Testament. The Holy Prophet John witnessed the coming to earth of the Only Begotten Son of God, who took on human flesh. He baptized Him in the waters of the Jordan and was honored to see the mysterious appearance of the Most Holy Trinity on the day of the Baptism of the Savior. The Forerunner of the Lord is the son of the priest Zechariah and the righteous Elizabeth. Archangel Gabriel was the messenger of his birth, revealing to his father in the temple that he would have a son. Requested by prayers, foretold from above, the baby was filled with the Holy Spirit. From a young age, righteous John in the wild desert prepared himself for great service by strict life, fasting and prayer. At the age of about 30, he went out to preach repentance, preparing the people to accept the Savior of the world. According to the expression of church hymns, Saint John was a “bright morning star”, which in its brilliance surpassed the radiance of all other “stars” - the Old Testament righteous, and heralded the appearance into the world of the spiritual Sun - Christ the Giver of Life. Soon after the Savior's baptism, Saint John suffered a martyr's death, beheaded by the sword by order of King Herod. Celebrating the memory of the holy Forerunner of the Lord John today, we must once again remember the main words of his sermon and reflect on their importance: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repentance is a necessary condition for our spiritual life, preparation for communion with God, the path to unity with God. True repentance begins through awareness of one’s own untruths and the ineffable mercy of God, through apostasy from sin and contrition of the heart for the evil committed. True repentance is a deep change in human existence, a renunciation of an arbitrarily sinful and self-loving existence, the beginning of a new life, carried out according to the commandments of the Gospel, in the pursuit of the truth of Christ, in love for God and neighbor. Prayerfully remembering the great prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, let us ask him that through his intercession and prayerful intercession he would grant us the gates of deep heartfelt repentance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, where God dwells with those who love Him.” From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.