The XXI Filaret International Educational Readings took place in Almaty

This spiritual and educational event of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District is being held as a regional stage of the XXXII International Christmas Educational Readings.

The theme of the scientific forum is the memory of the Orthodox new martyrs, confessors and devotees of piety of the land of Kazakhstan.

The organizer of the conference is Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary.

The Philaret readings, chaired by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, were attended by: Secretary of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Honored Artist of Russia O.N. Ovchinnikov; dean of the parishes of Almaty, mitered archpriest Valery Zakharov, secretary of the Kostanay diocese, hieromonk Gennady (Burdyuzha), acting rector of the Alma-Ata Theological Seminary Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, Vice-Rector for Educational Work Priest John Livinsky, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Priest Pyotr Bakhtiyarov, Vice-Rector for Scientific Work, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences A.P. Solovyov, head of the biblical and theological department, candidate of theology priest Oleg Lisin, head of the church history department archpriest Alexander Gaichenya, head of the regency department of the APDS, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation L.E. Goricheva, head of the church practical department, candidate of theology V.P. Pashkov, the head of the office of the theological school, Priest Alexander Shishlov, the clergy of the churches of the southern capital, teachers and students of the seminary, teachers and students of Sunday schools in the city, historians, local historians, representatives of the Cossacks.

The conference was opened by the report of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan “Memory of the Orthodox new martyrs, confessors and devotees of piety of the land of Kazakhstan.” In his speech, the hierarch noted: “According to a long-standing tradition, this main scientific, practical and educational conference of the Metropolitan District is held as a regional stage of the International Christmas Readings. This year our conference is dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a pan-church celebration in honor of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan. The new martyrs and confessors are the support of today, for we believe and know that they, who remained faithful to the Lord God, are still alive today (Deut. 4:4). The names of Hiero-Confessor Nicholas, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata, Hieromartyr Pimen, Bishop of Vernensky, and Rev. Sebastian of Karaganda are inscribed in golden letters in the history of Orthodoxy. In the past year, we prayerfully celebrated the 30th anniversary of the glorification of the saints of the Vernen ascetics - hieromonks Seraphim (Theologian) and Theognost (Pivovarov), the 90th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Nikolo-Kuchugur presbyters - Alexander Skalsky, Stefan Ponomarev and Philip Grigoriev, the 100th anniversary of the saintly the ministry of the first archpastor of the land of Kustanai, confessor of the faith - Bishop Timon (Rusanov). The host of new martyrs and confessors is large and varied. It unites people of different ages and professions, different class origins and life paths. Some were executed overnight, others were tortured for a long time, others spent years, sometimes decades, wandering in prisons and camps, dying of hunger and backbreaking work, but everywhere we see ardent faith, unbending will, deep conviction in the Gospel Truth and the willingness to go for it to end. Metropolitan Alexander reminded the participants of the event that “to date, almost two thousand ascetics have been glorified by name - hierarchs, clergy, monastics and laity, it is necessary to understand that this is only a small part of those who suffered torment for Christ from the godless authorities. To date, the number of victims for their faith during the years of post-revolutionary persecution, included in the database of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University is more than 36,000 names. This year, with the support of the staff of this university, large-scale work was completed to create an electronic database of all repressed clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose destinies are connected with Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It received the name “Turkestan Golgotha”. As part of the project, members of the commissions for the canonization of saints of all dioceses of the Kazakhstan and Central Asian Metropolitan Districts and independent researchers from 5 countries compiled biographical profiles and published the most complete and reliable data about the repressed Orthodox believers of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In the course of the work, inaccuracies were corrected and new information was added to the lives of the new martyrs and confessors. I urge students to give priority when choosing topics for coursework and diploma papers to the church history of the twentieth century in Kazakhstan, the era of persecution of Orthodoxy and the memory of new martyrs and confessors. I would like to express the hope that the traditional Philaret readings will be successful and will become a good contribution to the scientific and educational activities of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District and to the cause of perpetuating the memory of those who suffered for Christ,” was said in the archpastoral speech.

With the report “Sources on the history of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan from 1943 to 1991.” The rector of the theological school, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, spoke.

Employees of the department for the canonization of saints of the Kostanay diocese, Priest Andrei Krutin and Hieromonk Methodius (Chulkov) presented reports dedicated to the memory of the new martyrs and confessors of the land of Kostanay.

The honorary guest of the scientific forum was the deputy head of the missionary department of the Kazan diocese, teacher of the department of theology and philosophy of the Kazan Orthodox Theological Seminary and the department of religious studies of the Kazan Federal University, priest Alexander Danilov. The pastor conveyed words of greeting to the participants of the Philaret readings from the head of the Tatarstan Metropolis, Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan. Father Alexander made a presentation on the topic: “The missionary significance of preserving the memory of the Orthodox new martyrs and confessors of the 20th century.”

After the break, the conference continued its work in three thematic sections: “History of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan”, “Orthodox theology and religious philosophy” and “Church-practical research”.

Section “History of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan” (presenter – Priest John Livinsky):

• “Project for the establishment of a theological seminary in the Turkestan region based on materials from diocesan statements” - vice-rector for educational work, teacher of the church history department, priest John Livinsky;
• “Church life in Semirechye at the beginning of the 20th century based on materials from the Turkestan Diocesan Gazette” - head of the protocol service of the Head of the Metropolitan District, Protodeacon Roman Golovin;
• “The theme of peace in the works and sermons of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov)” – head of the church history department, Archpriest Alexander Gaichenya;
• “The daily life of a clergyman in Soviet Kazakhstan in 1920–1940.” (using the example of Archpriest Ignatius Onufrievich Kondratyuk)” – teacher of the church history department, priest Mikhail Berezin;
• “KarLag as a place of labors and exploits of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan” - teacher of the church history department, Priest Kirill Freygang;
• “History of Orthodox monasticism in Semirechye: the first monastery” - ancient guardian of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese M.L. Ivashko;
• “Archimandrite Kirill (Borodin) and his spiritual heritage” – first year seminary student Ya.L. Vokhmentsev.
As part of the work of the “History of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan” direction, the ancient guardian of the Astana and Alma-Ata diocese presented an electronic database of all repressed clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose destinies are connected with Kazakhstan and Central Asia under the name “Turkestan Golgotha”.

Section “Orthodox theology and religious philosophy” (presenter – Priest Oleg Lisin):

• “Modern trends in Christian theology: main directions and main representatives” – head of the biblical and theological department, candidate of theology priest Oleg Lisin;
• “The Fall and its ontological aspects” - teacher of the biblical and theological department of the seminary, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov;
• ““Absolute being” as a “constructive idea, power and grace” in the theology and philosophy of Archbishop Nikanor (Brovkovich)” - vice-rector for scientific work, candidate of philosophical sciences, teacher of the biblical and theological department A.P. Soloviev;
• “Ideas of apocatastasis in the work of E.N. Trubetskoy “The Meaning of Life” - teacher of the department of church-applied disciplines of the theological school R.B. Yakupov;
• “The problem of marriage in the works of S.V. Troitsky and P.N. Evdokimov: comparative analysis” – third-year seminary student Deacon Roman Karaman.

Section “Church and Practical Research” (leader – reader Vladislav Petrovich Pashkov):

• “Parish life as the basis of church social activity” - teacher of the church-practical department, Archpriest Vyacheslav Pugachev;
• “The question of the liturgical life of seminarians based on the materials of the “Reviews of Diocesan Bishops” and the Pre-Conciliar Presence of 1906” - head of the church practical department V.P. Pashkov;
• “Projects for transforming the practice of celebrating the Liturgy based on the materials of “Reviews of diocesan bishops on the issue of church reform”” - teacher of the department of church singing, Deacon Ioann Churkin;
• “Analysis of changes in the Kazakh legislation regulating the institution of registration of religious associations” - teacher of the church-practical department and lawyer of the theological seminary G.A. Zhevlakov;
• “Peculiarities of manifestation of emotional burnout in the professional activities of clergy” – fourth year seminary student A.V. Goncharov.

At the end of the presentations, the speakers were awarded certificates of participation in the XXI Filaret International Educational Readings.

At the end of the event, those present discussed the proposed reports and summed up the results of the conference.

More than 100 people took part in the scientific forum.

The participants of the educational readings adopted a resolution: “XXI Philaret Educational Readings” is held by the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan as a scientific, practical and educational conference, as a regional stage of the International Christmas Readings. This year the conference is dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a pan-church celebration in honor of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan. The proposed agenda is directly related to the theme of the Christmas Readings: “Orthodoxy and domestic culture: losses and gains of the past, the image of the future,” since in Kazakhstan the main asset of the Church of Christ is the feat of those who suffered for the faith, who shone forth in great numbers on this earth in the twentieth century. Our common task is to make every effort to, in the full sense of the word, glorify the sufferers for the faith among wide circles of the public, to introduce their fates not only to churchgoers, but also to everyone who is interested in the history and spiritual heritage of our country. During the conference, the participants made the following proposals related to the theme of the memory of the Orthodox new martyrs, confessors and devotees of piety of the land of Kazakhstan:
- to draw special attention of the leaders and teachers of Orthodox Sunday schools in Kazakhstan to the need for more active acquaintance of teachers and students with the life and works of the most outstanding new martyrs and confessors of the Church, to teach troparia to the revered sufferers of Christ;
- recognize as a necessary and important step in introducing teachers, Sunday school students and church parishioners to the life and works of the most outstanding new martyrs and confessors of the Church, the creation of diocesan and parish museums with exhibitions about the saints who shone on the land of Kazakhstan;
- in connection with the celebration in 2025 of the 50th anniversary of the repose of the outstanding church figure of the twentieth century, confessor of the faith and devotee of piety, Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), to call on the church community of Kazakhstan to hold social and cultural events that should help Orthodox Kazakhstanis realize that they are heirs of the heritage new martyrs and confessors;
to recommend that the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary intensify research work aimed at studying the feat of the Kazakh saints, and direct students to write coursework and diploma works devoted to the church history of the twentieth century in Kazakhstan, the era of persecution of Orthodoxy and the memory of new martyrs and confessors.”