Conception of the Honourable and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John
Categories: hymns, feast-days
Date: 23 September 2007 03:55:14
Troparion - Tone 4:
Rejoice, O barren one, who formerly did not bear a child,
for you have conceived the Lamp of the Sun, who is to illumine the whole universe darkened by blindness.
Rejoice, O Zachariah and cry out with boldness:
“The prophet of the Most High desires to be born!”
Kontakion - Tone 1:
Great Zachariah rejoices with his wife, the far-famed Elizabeth,
for she has fittingly conceived John the Forerunner,
whom an angel announced in gladness;
and whom we rightly honour as an initiate of the grace of God.
Today is one of six Feast Days of St John the Forerunner:
- September 23 - Conception of St. John the Forerunner
- January 7 - The Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner
[main feast day, the day after Theophany (Epiphany)]
- February 24 - First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- May 25 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- June 24 - Birth of St. John the Forerunner
[oddly, to me, nine months and one day, not nine months after his conception; perhaps June 23 was taken]
- August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
John is so-named as he is the Forerunner of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is one of the most-loved Saints of the Orthodox Church, and his icon always appears on the iconostasis [position 3 in that depiction], second-from-the-right of the Royal Doors [an icon of Christ is between St John and the Royal Doors]. On some of his icons he is depicted with wings as he is the Messenger of the Lord, and angels, typically depicted with wings in iconography, are messengers: in fact the word "angel" means "messenger".
A blessed Feast Day to all, particularly those named after the Honourable and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John!