The feast of the Dissection of the Sacred Head of Saint John the Baptist in I.M. Aetolia and Acarnaniatranslated

The memory of the Dissection of the Sacred Head of Saint John the Forerunner was celebrated with splendor in the Holy Metropolis of Aetolia and Acarnania. The Most Reverend Metropolitan of Aetolia and Acarnania, Mr. Damaskinos, on the afternoon of Friday, August 28, 2026, officiated at the Solemn Vespers, which was held at the Holy Monastery of the Holy Forerunner of Derbekistis Thermos.

After thanking those who participated and prayed at Vespers, His Eminence referred during his sermon to the Holy Forerunner, emphasizing the following:

"But we bless the Baptist, as among those born of women, rightly honoring him."

The presence of the Holy Forerunner in the world was unprecedented and noisy. The people saw in him a great prophet, equal to the Prophet Elijah, the Prophet Jeremiah or even the Messiah himself. But John himself, to the questions of the priests and the Levites, answered that he is that mysterious person, whom Isaiah calls a "voice" (Is. 40, 3). "John is here; I, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, direct the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said" (John 1, 23).

Saint Theophylactos observes that John is well characterized as a voice, "as...