Holy Trinity Cathedral
Diocese of the Holy Trinity in Almaty is a Roman Catholic diocese with the center (department) in Almaty. Subordinate to the Archdiocese of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The territory of the diocese covers Kyzylorda, South Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Almaty region and Almaty. The cathedral of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Almaty. In 1975, believers in the Catholic community purchased a small house in Almaty, which served as their church. Over time, this room was not enough. For this reason, in 1978, a larger house was bought, which was rebuilt into a small church, which could contain 200 people. However, from the side it looked like an ordinary house. In the late 1980s, a large number of Kazakhstan Germans moved to their historical homeland, as a result of which the parish lost many parishioners.
Construction of the temple
In 1995, work began on the construction of the temple. In 1997, the first worship was held in an unfinished church. On June 7, 1998, the constructed temple was consecrated. The first bishop was Heinrich Feofil Khovanets. From March 5, 2011 is was led by the diocese of Bishop Jose Luis Mumbiel Sierra and Vicar General Jan Bogumil Bednarsky. On the territory of the cathedral is a statue of the Virgin Mary in a grotto made of stones. At the level of the foot of the statue, on the side, there is a plate with the text of the song “Rejoice Mary!” in three languages: Russian, Latin and Kazakh.
A candle is burning near the statue. On July 7, 1999, an apostolic administration was formed with a center in Almaty, subordinate to the Karaganda diocese. On May 17, 2003, the Almaty Apostolic Administration was elevated to the rank of diocese and subordinated to the Archdiocese of the Blessed Virgin Mary with its center in Astana (now Nur-Sultan). In 2015, a new one was erected next to the old temple by E.E. Rakhmatullin. The main initiator and benefactor of the Trinity Church was D.V. Chalykh. The diocese has 8 parishes, 6 diocesan (non-religious) and 6 monastic priests (the total number of monks is 7 and of nuns is 14). The total number of Catholics in Almaty is estimated at 50,000.
