Embroidered Epigonation with Saint John the Forerunner

Embroidered Epigonation with Saint John the Baptist

Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord, the greatest of the prophets, the voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” the dove of the desert heralding the spring of grace, the torch of divine Light, the sunrise announcing the Sun of Righteousness, a heavenly man and earthly angel standing at the boundary between heaven and earth, uniting the Old and New Testaments. Sent by God into the wilderness to proclaim the good news of the coming Messiah, and to prepare the way for Jesus, John fulfills his mission by baptizing Him in the waters of the Jordan. From that moment, his own radiance begins to wane, so that the glory of the Savior may increase.

Yet, even after the coming of Grace and his martyrdom, John the Baptist continued to be, for Christians in a spiritual sense, the Forerunner of the Lord. A model of self-restraint, repentance, and purification from passions through asceticism and prayer, and the initiator of monastic and hermit life, John will never cease to be the one who prepares the way leading to Christ.

source: calendar-ortodox.ro