On October 18th Kazakhstan celebrated the day of Spiritual Consent for the 27th time. The holiday was established soon after Kazakhstan gained its independence and in a special way it characterizes the political and ideological tendencies of the country.
Since the establishment of this holiday, which aims at nation-wide unity, maintaining peace and promoting mercy and helping one’s neighbor, representatives of various religions of Kazakhstan have actively participated in the events dedicated to this holiday.
A scientific and practical conference was held in the capital’s Palace of Peace and Concord this year, for the Day of Consent, with the participation of politicians, public and religious leaders of the country on the topic «Spiritual harmony – the key to unity and stability».
The Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Abayev Dauren, addressed the conference with a welcoming speech. He quoted the First President of the country: «Peace and harmony is the main gain of our independence», urging with these words not to take for granted the world that we have, and those favorable relations between ethnic groups and representatives of various religious movements which are a reality of our country. The event was attended by the initiator of the Day of Spiritual Consent, Merited Culture Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, composer Tolegen Mukhamedzhanov, who recalled the history of the introduction of this holiday and its nature for almost three decades.
Among the conference speakers were the Deputy of maslikhat [what is a maslikhat??] of Nur-Sultan Miras Shekenov, the Deputy Akim/ Mayor of Nur-Sultan, Bakhtiyar Maken, the director of the Department for the promotion of inter-civilization and interreligious dialogue Karlygash Kalilakhanova, as well as religious representatives: Protopriest of the Assumption Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church Dmitry Bidek, Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Bishop Yuri Novgorodov and Lyazzat Yangaliyeva, the Director of the Office of Public Information for the Baha’is of Kazakhstan.
The emphasis on the importance of the constant maintaining of this spiritual consent was made by the representative of the Orthodox Church, saying that it would be a mistake to consider that as a given. He cited as an example the disagreements that arise within the Orthodox Church in the context of the invasion of political ideas in Ukraine, closely adjacent to Kazakhstan. The Head of the Lutheran Church urged us to remember that the spiritual consent that we now have is not a gain of ours, but an inheritance passed on to us from our ancestors which we must preserve.
The conference ended with a speech of the Chairman of the Republican youth organization “Zharasym”, talking about the measures being taken to preserve and instill spiritual consent among young people. We are kindly reminded that 2019 is declared the Year of Youth in Kazakhstan.
The Catholic Church was represented at this conference by the spokesman of Conference of Catholic Bishops Monsignor Piotr Pytlowany. On the ground floor of the Palace of Peace and Concord participants had the opportunity to see a small exhibition of church utensils and books of particular importance for the different religions practiced in our country.
