The
Synaxis of St. John the Baptist
Beatitudes on 8: Feast: 4, from Ode 3; Forerunner: 4,
from Ode 6.
1. O Church of Christ, who of old wast barren
and grievously childless, be glad today;
for by water and the Spirit children have been born unto thee,
who cry out with faith:
There is none as holy as
our God!
2. In the wilderness the Forerunner crieth out
with a loud voice: “Prepare ye the ways of
Christ and make straight
the paths of our God, crying out with faith: There is none as
holy as our God!”
3. He who once assumed the guise of a malignant
serpent and planted death in the
garden of creation, is now cast into darkness by Christ’s
coming in the flesh; and by
assailing the Master, the Dawn which hath shone forth upon us,
he crusheth his own
loathsome head.
4. The Master draweth to Himself the divinely
crafted nature of man, which had been
overthrown by the tyranny of greed; and He restoreth mortal men,
granting them a new
birth, and accomplishing thereby a mighty work; for He is
come to cleanse our nature.
5. Thou, the voice of the Word, didst precede
Him and didst shine forth like a radiant
star, the Sun of righteousness illumining thee, O
Forerunner.
6. Thou didst not concern thyself with earthly
cares, and wast enriched with the
expectations of heaven. And
thou didst perfect thy life like an angel on earth, O most
blessed one.
7. We know thee to be the seal of the prophets,
the mediator between the old and new
covenants, and we proclaim thee to be the Baptist and Forerunner
of Christ the Savior.
8. All the faithful acknowledge and believe thy
conceiving to be truly ineffable and thy
birthgiving to be inexpressible and unapproachable, O only Bride
of God.
Troparia & Kontakia
Tone 1: When Thou, wast baptized in the Jordan, O
Lord, /
the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; /
for the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, /
calling Thee His beloved Son. /
And the Spirit in the form
of a dove /
confirmed the certainty of the word. /
O Christ our God, Who hast
appeared //
and hast enlightened the world, glory be to Thee.
Tone 2: The memory of the righteous is celebrated
with hymns of praise, /
but the Lord’s testimony is sufficient for thee, O
Forerunner; /
for thou hast proved to be truly even more venerable than
the prophets, /
since thou wast granted to baptize in the running waters /
Him whom
they proclaimed. /
Wherefore, having
contested for the truth, /
thou didst rejoice to announce the good tidings even unto
those in hades: /
that God hath appeared in the flesh, /
taking away the sin of the world //
and granting us great mercy.
Glory…Tone 6: Stricken with awe by Thy coming in the flesh,
/
the Jordan turned back in fear; /
and John, fulfilling, the prophetic ministry, /
shrank back with trembling.
/
The ranks of the angels
were amazed, /
beholding Thee baptized in the flesh in the streams, /
and all who were in darkness were enlightened, //
hymning Thee Who hast appeared and illumined all things.
Both now… Tone 4: Thou hast appeared today unto
the whole world, /
and Thy light, O Lord, hath been signed upon us /
who with knowledge chant unto Thee: /
Thou hast come, Thou hast
appeared, //
O Light Unapproachable.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 7th Tone: The righteous man
shall be glad in the Lord
and shall hope in Him.
Choir: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord
and shall hope in Him.
Reader: Hearken,
O God, unto my prayer, when I make supplication unto Thee.
Choir: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord
and shall hope in Him.
Reader: The
righteous man shall be glad in the Lord.
Choir: And shall hope in Him.
Reader: The
Reading is from the Epistle of the Acts of the Holy Apostles:
[Acts 19:1-8 (§42)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 5th Tone.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: A light hath dawned forth for the righteous
man, and gladness for the upright
of heart.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Be
glad in the Lord, O ye righteous, and give thanks for the remembrance of His
holiness.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 1:29-34
(§3)]
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of
the 9th Ode of the
First Canon of the feast, Second Tone:
Refrain: Magnify,
O my soul, /
her who is more honorable than the host on high, //
the most pure Virgin Theotokos.
Irmos:
Every tongue is at a loss to praise thee as
is due: /
even a spirit from the world above is filled with
dizziness, when it seeketh to sing thy praises, O Theotokos. /
But since thou art good,
accept our faith: /
Thou knowest well our love
inspired by God, //
for thou art the Protector of Christians and we magnify
thee.
Communion Verse: The grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men. In
everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be
afraid of evil tidings.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!