7-го числа

Cathedral of St. Forerunner and Baptist John St. John the Baptist Baptist On the day after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Church glorifies St. His glorious Forerunner and Baptist. For it is worthy to honor with the celebration the one who served the sacrament of Divine Baptism and Epiphany, placing his right hand on the head of the Lady and immersing the Lord in the waters of the Jordan, and after the baptism of the Savior publicly confessed Him as the Son of God, and the next day after this, having seen Him and pointing to Him, he proclaimed to his disciples: behold, the Lamb of God (John 1:34-36). So, on the morning of the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Church gathers to celebrate the Baptist, calling this celebration the Council of the Baptist, that is, a meeting of believers in the church for the praise of God, in honor and praise of the great John the Baptist and Baptist. The Orthodox Church has been holding a Council in honor of the Forerunner since ancient times. In the 4th century, on the day of this Council, one can find an indication in the teaching of John Chrysostom, spoken in praise of the Baptist. In this teaching the saint says: “Let us glorify the Baptist. But will we crown him according to our zeal? For among those born of women there arose no greater man than John the Baptist, according to the word of the Lord Himself.” On the day of the Council, the Church glorifies John as the most honest prophet, “for even in the streams he was deemed worthy to baptize the Preached One. Moreover, having suffered for the truth, rejoicing, he preached the good news to those in hell, God revealed in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and bestowing upon us great mercy.” The Church calls on the Forerunner, and he prays to the Lord Christ, so that after our death we may be in the Church of the triumphant, in the church not made by hands, eternal, in heaven, and there hear the voice of the Saints and with them celebrate the eternal Epiphany, in heavenly glory and bliss. In the Apostle at the Liturgy on the day of the Council in honor of the Forerunner, the Church mentions the baptism of John: John baptized with the baptism of repentance, to the people of God, so that they may believe in the One who comes after him, that is, in Christ Jesus (Acts 16:1–8); in the Gospel - about the confession of Jesus Christ from John as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, who was before John, and about the testimony of John that he saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining on Him. He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit: This is the Son of God (John 1:29–34). Transfer of the right hand of the Baptist from Antioch to Constantinople The body of the Baptist, after the beheading of his head, was buried in the Samaria city of Sebastia. St. Evangelist Luke, who preached the Gospel here, took his right hand from the incorruptible relics of the Baptist and brought it to Antioch, where for a long time it was kept by the Orthodox with great respect, and gave grace-filled help to the believers. In 956, when the Mohammedans took possession of Antioch and all its borders under the Greek emperors Constantine VII and Romanus (912–958), Deacon Job transferred the hand of the Baptist from Antioch to Chalcedon, then free from the Mohammedan yoke. From Chalcedon, she was solemnly brought on the royal ship by the patriarch himself to Constantinople and was met with a procession of the cross, in the presence of the king and in the presence of a large crowd, on the very eve of the Epiphany of the Lord, and therefore, as if the Forerunner and Baptist himself invisibly arrived in Constantinople for the consecration of the waters, and aggravated the triumph of the Epiphany and the day following it in the Church of Constantinople. Without connecting with the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord a new remembrance - the transference of the right hand of the Baptist, the Greek Church decided to perform this remembrance on the morning of Epiphany, on the day of the Council of the Baptist. Thus, in the 10th century, the celebration of the transfer of the right hand of the Baptist to the right hand was added to the day of the Council in honor of the Baptist of the Lord. It was kept in Constantinople until the time of the conquest of Byzantium by the Turks, and every year on the day of the Nativity of the Forerunner, during the Divine Service, it was solemnly carried out by the patriarch to the pulpit for his appearance to the people.