On June 2, 2024, celebrations were held in Astana on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the founding of the oldest temple in the city - the Cathedral of Equal—to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and his mother Queen Elena. The temple was founded in Akmolinsk, as Astana was called in the XIX century, with the blessing of Archbishop Yevlampy of Tobolsk and Siberia (Pyatnitsky).
The celebrations on the occasion of the memorable date were led by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.
By the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, for prayerful worship and spiritual strengthening of the faithful, Vladyka Alexander delivered to the cathedral an ark with a particle of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
During the divine service, the abbess of the monastery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Recovery of the Dead" in Astana, nun Sevastyana (Plotnikova) with the inhabitants of the monastery, employees of the Astana diocesan administration, parishioners of the cathedral and temples of Astana, teachers and students of the parish Sunday school prayed.
At the Liturgy, prayers were offered for the ever—memorable Kazakh hierarchs, deceased clergy and monastics who labored in Kazakhstan, among whom were the founder of the monastery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Recovery of the Dead", confessor of the faith Archimandrite Kirill (Borodin) and abbess of the monastery Abbess Raphail (Vasilenko). Everyone was remembered, "in the year of fierce persecution from the atheists, those who were tortured and killed, from hunger, cold, wounds, diseases and backbreaking work, and all Orthodox Christians who lived in faith and piety in the land of Kazakhstan."
Before communion, Priest Georgy Rublinsky read out the address of Metropolitan Alexander on the occasion of the celebration of the 170th anniversary of the founding of the Constantino-Eleninsky Cathedral.
At the end of the Liturgy, an Easter celebration and a procession took place.
Metropolitan Alexander consecrated a cross and a foundation stone at the construction site of a new residential building of the convent in honor of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Recovery of the Dead", which is located next to the Constantine-Eleninsky Cathedral.
In a speech addressed to the audience, the head of the Metropolitan District stressed that the existence of the monastery is historically closely connected with the parish life of the cathedral: "Both the large-scale restoration of the temple in the 70s of the twentieth century, and the foundation of the convent in that difficult era for the existence of the Church of Christ took place thanks to the courage and sacrificial labors of the ever-memorable Archimandrite Kirill (Borodin), a spiritual pupil of two outstanding Kazakhstani lamps of faith — the righteous Prelate Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) and the Reverend Confessor Sebastian of Karaganda."
After reading the statutory prayers, the bishop sprinkled the foundation stone and the place of future construction with consecrated water.
Metropolitan Alexander noted that the construction of the monastery building will enhance the educational and social service of the monastery, create additional opportunities for the reception of pilgrims. The building will be built on donations from benefactors.
Then Vladyka Alexander performed the rite of consecration of the new Sunday school building of the Constantine-Eleninsky Cathedral.
The building with comfortable spacious classrooms and halls was built with the blessing of the head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District on public donations and funds from benefactors. Its opening is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Astana diocese. The school will be named after the blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky — in honor of the holy ruler, peacemaker and diplomat, and in memory of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was the main decoration of the city in pre-revolutionary times and destroyed by atheists in the 30s of the last century.
Upon the return of the procession to the cathedral, Metropolitan Alexander congratulated the clergy and laity on the memorable date and addressed words of heartfelt gratitude to all those who, through prayer, sacrifice or personal participation, helped and continues to support parish life.
In prayerful memory of the event, the head of the Metropolitan District handed over to the temple an icon with a particle of the relics of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Elena and an altar cross with a particle of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. As a gift to the church, Metropolitan Alexander presented a copy of the church-issued charter on the construction of the Constantine-Eleninsky Cathedral, signed by Archbishop Evlampy of Tobolsk and Siberia.