The Weekly Festal Cycle
The Third Day (Triti-Tuesday)
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
The Third Day (Triti-Tuesday)
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
The Third Day of the week has been dedicated by our Church to the Honorable Forerunner, Saint John the Baptist, who is an important person in our Church, because he is connected with Christ, he was Christ's cousin. Saint John is described as a Forerunner, because he preceded Christ and prepared the way for His coming with the preaching of repentance, as he is also described as a Baptist, because he was found worthy to baptize Christ.
The Apolytikion of the day is well-known, but also very special. We chant: "The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is enough for you, O Forerunner, for you were shown to be more revered than the Prophets since you were granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom you proclaimed. Then having endured great suffering for the Truth, you rejoiced to bring, even to those in hades, the good tidings that God Who had appeared in the flesh takes away the sin of the world and grants us the great mercy."
There will be a short analysis of this Apolytikion, because in it the whole life, the conduct and the work of Saint John the Forerunner are enclosed.
First of all, in the Apolytikion we are reminded of the passage from the Proverbs of Solomon, "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked is blotted out" (Prov. 10:7), that is, the remembrance of the righteous is done with the praises of men, while the the name of the ungodly is erased.
This passage of the Old Testament is adapted to Saint John the Baptist, in the sense that he does not need the praises of men, since the testimony of the Lord is sufficient. Christ Himself commended Saint John to His Disciples with many words, especially with the words: "Truly I say to you, there shall not arise among those born of women anyone greater John the Baptist" (Matthew 10:11). When, then, one is blessed by Christ Himself, what does one need of other praises and blessings from people?
Then, in the Apolytikion, it is emphasized that Saint John was truly more revered than all the Prophets, because he was found worthy of baptizing Christ, Who preached the truth, in the Jordan River. He is called a Prophet and in fact he is the last of the Prophets of the Old Testament and the first Prophet of the New Testament. He lived at the crossroads between the Prophets of the Old and New Testaments.
The important thing is that the Prophets in the Old Testament saw the Lord of Glory without a body (pre-incarnate), while Saint John the Forerunner saw the Lord of Glory with a body (incarnate), he recognized Him immediately after His conception in the womb of the Panagia and "leaped for joy" in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. Then, he was found worthy to baptize the incarnate Lord of Glory and to be the first to know the mystery of the Triune God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Then he testified for the truth, rebuking Herod for the sin he committed in marrying his brother's wife, and then after his martyrdom he descended into Hades, where he preached that God became man, He who takes away the sins of the world and He distributes to people great mercy.
Great, indeed, was the work of Saint John the Forerunner. It is a theological work to preach to people the mystery of the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, and to do the same to those who are in Hades, that is, to the other Prophets and Righteous of the Old Testament who were in Hades. Thus, he recognized Christ in the flesh, he became the Forerunner of Christ, but he also became the Prophet of the Prophets and the Righteous of the Righteous of the Old Testament.
Saint Gregory Palamas writes wonderfully about John the Forerunner. Since Saint John "was conceived with so many and such great promises, before he was even born he was anointed a prophet," because he recognized Christ as soon as He was conceived in the Panagia, "and transmits the gift to his mother" and "comes to surpass the perfection" of the Prophets Isaiah and Elijah, while he was still a fetus. That is why "even before he knew the world, as an embryo, he was transcendental. When he was born, he made people rejoice and surprised everyone with the miraculous events surrounding him."
Then, Saint Gregory Palamas writes that Saint John the Forerunner "preached a message worthy of his citizenship, because he proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven." Also, "not only with words, but also with deeds, he revealed Christ to everyone. He baptized Him, He pointed to Him with His finger, He recommended Him to His disciples, and with everything He testified that He is the Son of the Father, the Lamb of God, the Bridegroom of the souls of those who come to Him, it is He who takes away the defilement, who offers and bestows sanctification."
Saint Gregory continues that Saint John the Forerunner is "the pillar of all virtue and piety..., the extreme of the God-bearers of all ages, the brilliant treasury of the gifts of the Spirit, who bore the name of divine Grace with the name given to him, the dwelling-place of all piety and virtue." That is why Saint John "was not only the Forerunner of Christ, but also of His Church" and of all of us.
This shows the great value of Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is why the Church celebrates him every Tuesday, after the angels, because he lived an angelic life in the flesh.
The Exapostelarion of Tuesday that is chanted before the Praises during Matins is: "Let us all shout out to the son of Elizabeth, John the Forerunner and the Baptist of the Savior, the Prophet of the Prophets and the native of the desert."
May have his intercessions before God, so that we too can see the Risen Lord of Glory.
Source: Delivered on Sunday 28 July 2024. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
The Apolytikion of the day is well-known, but also very special. We chant: "The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is enough for you, O Forerunner, for you were shown to be more revered than the Prophets since you were granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom you proclaimed. Then having endured great suffering for the Truth, you rejoiced to bring, even to those in hades, the good tidings that God Who had appeared in the flesh takes away the sin of the world and grants us the great mercy."
There will be a short analysis of this Apolytikion, because in it the whole life, the conduct and the work of Saint John the Forerunner are enclosed.
First of all, in the Apolytikion we are reminded of the passage from the Proverbs of Solomon, "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked is blotted out" (Prov. 10:7), that is, the remembrance of the righteous is done with the praises of men, while the the name of the ungodly is erased.
This passage of the Old Testament is adapted to Saint John the Baptist, in the sense that he does not need the praises of men, since the testimony of the Lord is sufficient. Christ Himself commended Saint John to His Disciples with many words, especially with the words: "Truly I say to you, there shall not arise among those born of women anyone greater John the Baptist" (Matthew 10:11). When, then, one is blessed by Christ Himself, what does one need of other praises and blessings from people?
Then, in the Apolytikion, it is emphasized that Saint John was truly more revered than all the Prophets, because he was found worthy of baptizing Christ, Who preached the truth, in the Jordan River. He is called a Prophet and in fact he is the last of the Prophets of the Old Testament and the first Prophet of the New Testament. He lived at the crossroads between the Prophets of the Old and New Testaments.
The important thing is that the Prophets in the Old Testament saw the Lord of Glory without a body (pre-incarnate), while Saint John the Forerunner saw the Lord of Glory with a body (incarnate), he recognized Him immediately after His conception in the womb of the Panagia and "leaped for joy" in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. Then, he was found worthy to baptize the incarnate Lord of Glory and to be the first to know the mystery of the Triune God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Then he testified for the truth, rebuking Herod for the sin he committed in marrying his brother's wife, and then after his martyrdom he descended into Hades, where he preached that God became man, He who takes away the sins of the world and He distributes to people great mercy.
Great, indeed, was the work of Saint John the Forerunner. It is a theological work to preach to people the mystery of the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, and to do the same to those who are in Hades, that is, to the other Prophets and Righteous of the Old Testament who were in Hades. Thus, he recognized Christ in the flesh, he became the Forerunner of Christ, but he also became the Prophet of the Prophets and the Righteous of the Righteous of the Old Testament.
Saint Gregory Palamas writes wonderfully about John the Forerunner. Since Saint John "was conceived with so many and such great promises, before he was even born he was anointed a prophet," because he recognized Christ as soon as He was conceived in the Panagia, "and transmits the gift to his mother" and "comes to surpass the perfection" of the Prophets Isaiah and Elijah, while he was still a fetus. That is why "even before he knew the world, as an embryo, he was transcendental. When he was born, he made people rejoice and surprised everyone with the miraculous events surrounding him."
Then, Saint Gregory Palamas writes that Saint John the Forerunner "preached a message worthy of his citizenship, because he proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven." Also, "not only with words, but also with deeds, he revealed Christ to everyone. He baptized Him, He pointed to Him with His finger, He recommended Him to His disciples, and with everything He testified that He is the Son of the Father, the Lamb of God, the Bridegroom of the souls of those who come to Him, it is He who takes away the defilement, who offers and bestows sanctification."
Saint Gregory continues that Saint John the Forerunner is "the pillar of all virtue and piety..., the extreme of the God-bearers of all ages, the brilliant treasury of the gifts of the Spirit, who bore the name of divine Grace with the name given to him, the dwelling-place of all piety and virtue." That is why Saint John "was not only the Forerunner of Christ, but also of His Church" and of all of us.
This shows the great value of Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is why the Church celebrates him every Tuesday, after the angels, because he lived an angelic life in the flesh.
The Exapostelarion of Tuesday that is chanted before the Praises during Matins is: "Let us all shout out to the son of Elizabeth, John the Forerunner and the Baptist of the Savior, the Prophet of the Prophets and the native of the desert."
May have his intercessions before God, so that we too can see the Risen Lord of Glory.
Source: Delivered on Sunday 28 July 2024. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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