On 11 November 2021, the feast of the Venerable Martyr Anastasia the Roman, the head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky, concelebrating with Metropolitan Feodor of Volgograd and Kamyshin, Metropolitan Alexy of Chelyabinsk and Miass, Bishop Pitirim of Skopin and Shatsk, Bishop Pavel of Dushanbe and Tajikistan, the clergy of the Diocese of Tashkent and visiting clergy. On the eve a polyeleos service was celebrated in the church.
At the litany for the departed, fervent prayers were offered for the repose of Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), who labored in the Diocese of Tashkent in the mid-20th century and is buried in the Botkin Cemetery of the capital of Uzbekistan. This day marked 50 years since his blessed repose.
The sermon before the Sacrament of Communion was delivered by the rector of the church, Archpriest Sergiy Statsenko.
At the end of the Liturgy Metropolitan Vikenty addressed the worshippers with an archpastoral word, congratulating everyone on the jubilee, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Tashkent and Turkestan, and noting:
"We begin this celebration with prayer for those who labored in this land throughout the history of our diocese, because all these laborers and men and women of prayer built up our diocese. We have received it in splendor and in the joy of the triumph of the Orthodox faith. We are grateful to them for laboring so much, preserving the faith of Christ and handing it down to us in purity and holiness.
Today we have celebrated the service in this church of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky, the 800th anniversary of whose birth falls this year. We have already marked this celebration at our St. Alexander Nevsky Church, but now, in the fullness of archpastoral and pastoral ministry, we have come here to glorify once more the Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, and to glorify all those laborers, fathers, mothers, archpastors and pastors who rest here in this place and whose souls, we believe, are in the Kingdom of God, because their labors were very hard and pleasing to God. The Lord in His mercy receives this labor by taking them all into His embrace and settling them in the Kingdom of Heaven, saying: 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!'
Today, dear brothers and sisters, we remember the 50th anniversary of the repose of one of the most spiritual elders of our diocese, Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), whose relics rest here now, and we believe that his soul rejoices in the Kingdom of Heaven for all the labors and feats he undertook in those years of hardship, when he was persecuted, exiled and arrested because he believed in the True God and in the Kingdom of God, and because he was preparing for the heavenly mansions through the feat of earthly life.
He overcame every difficulty. Nothing broke him: neither humiliation, nor insults, nor any exile or imprisonment. He stood firm in the faith, and to the end of his days on earth he instructed people in faith and piety.
We are grateful to him for his courageous feat: at a time when it was forbidden to speak and preach the word of God and to teach piety, he conducted catechetical courses, teaching people a pious life and instructing them in the Orthodox faith."
In his words of welcome in reply, Archpriest Sergiy Statsenko thanked Metropolitan Vikenty for the visit and the joint service, noting:
"At one time this church stood empty; the Renovationists had occupied it. At the same time this area was full of Orthodox clergy. I think an untold number of exiled bishops served in the chapel of the 'Joy of All Who Sorrow' icon, many of them at the same time. Back then that was a sign of sorrow. Today, I hope, the parallel is not quite the same. A large number of bishops have visited our church. This is a truly serious and important event, the first in many years. It is now a sign of joy, because the dark stretch is passing and a bright one is beginning. If we strive to attain holiness and draw near to the saints, then perhaps Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), whom we honor today, will one day be canonized among the saints, since everything is moving in that direction. And the prayer of the many hierarchs who prayed in our church today may become an impetus for the canonization to be accomplished."
At the litany for the departed, fervent prayers were offered for the repose of Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), who labored in the Diocese of Tashkent in the mid-20th century and is buried in the Botkin Cemetery of the capital of Uzbekistan. This day marked 50 years since his blessed repose.
The sermon before the Sacrament of Communion was delivered by the rector of the church, Archpriest Sergiy Statsenko.
At the end of the Liturgy Metropolitan Vikenty addressed the worshippers with an archpastoral word, congratulating everyone on the jubilee, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Tashkent and Turkestan, and noting:
"We begin this celebration with prayer for those who labored in this land throughout the history of our diocese, because all these laborers and men and women of prayer built up our diocese. We have received it in splendor and in the joy of the triumph of the Orthodox faith. We are grateful to them for laboring so much, preserving the faith of Christ and handing it down to us in purity and holiness.
Today we have celebrated the service in this church of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky, the 800th anniversary of whose birth falls this year. We have already marked this celebration at our St. Alexander Nevsky Church, but now, in the fullness of archpastoral and pastoral ministry, we have come here to glorify once more the Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, and to glorify all those laborers, fathers, mothers, archpastors and pastors who rest here in this place and whose souls, we believe, are in the Kingdom of God, because their labors were very hard and pleasing to God. The Lord in His mercy receives this labor by taking them all into His embrace and settling them in the Kingdom of Heaven, saying: 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!'
Today, dear brothers and sisters, we remember the 50th anniversary of the repose of one of the most spiritual elders of our diocese, Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), whose relics rest here now, and we believe that his soul rejoices in the Kingdom of Heaven for all the labors and feats he undertook in those years of hardship, when he was persecuted, exiled and arrested because he believed in the True God and in the Kingdom of God, and because he was preparing for the heavenly mansions through the feat of earthly life.
He overcame every difficulty. Nothing broke him: neither humiliation, nor insults, nor any exile or imprisonment. He stood firm in the faith, and to the end of his days on earth he instructed people in faith and piety.
We are grateful to him for his courageous feat: at a time when it was forbidden to speak and preach the word of God and to teach piety, he conducted catechetical courses, teaching people a pious life and instructing them in the Orthodox faith."
In his words of welcome in reply, Archpriest Sergiy Statsenko thanked Metropolitan Vikenty for the visit and the joint service, noting:
"At one time this church stood empty; the Renovationists had occupied it. At the same time this area was full of Orthodox clergy. I think an untold number of exiled bishops served in the chapel of the 'Joy of All Who Sorrow' icon, many of them at the same time. Back then that was a sign of sorrow. Today, I hope, the parallel is not quite the same. A large number of bishops have visited our church. This is a truly serious and important event, the first in many years. It is now a sign of joy, because the dark stretch is passing and a bright one is beginning. If we strive to attain holiness and draw near to the saints, then perhaps Archimandrite Boris (Kholchev), whom we honor today, will one day be canonized among the saints, since everything is moving in that direction. And the prayer of the many hierarchs who prayed in our church today may become an impetus for the canonization to be accomplished."
