11 September 2025
Dear brothers and sisters!
Today, the Holy Orthodox Church remembers the tragic and at the same time magnificent day — the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John.
The Saviour Himself said about Him in the Gospel that 'among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist' and put him higher than all the prophets. He had a special gift — a special sensitivity of soul, an 'inner ear', capable of hearing the voice of God. His life, spent in the solitude of the desert, in incessant fasting and prayer, was a feat of an ascetic, who prepared the path for the Son of God — the Saviour of the world. At the turn of the Old and New Testaments, he comes out to the people with a call for repentance, and His word was like a fire: it cleansed hearts, awakened the conscience, prepared people for a meeting with Christ.
The truth often turns out to be uncomfortable for the authorities. In his sermons, John fearlessly rebuked the local ruler, Herod Antipas, who oppressed the people and lived unrighteously and immorally, given his lawless relationship with his brother's wife. Out of fear of people's turmoil, John was bound in prison at the palace. But the prophetic voice kept sounding and troubling the conscience of sinners there as well. The tetrarch's offended wife, Herodias, sought a chance to close these lips. And when her daughter, Salome, after pleasing the king and nobles with her dance on a large banquet, demanded John's head, she received what she had desired on a plate.
History repeats itself. There are always 'Salomes' and 'Herodiases' near the thrones and chairs of rulers. There are always people willing to sacrifice the truth and condemn the innocent for the crumbs from the table of the powers that be. There are those who, like then, fear the living voice of God and thus try to silence it, to destroy its source: to ban the true canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, take away shrines, arrest hierarchs, and even mobilise priests, whom God Himself has forbidden to take up arms. They are afraid of people free from the blinders of their poisonous propaganda, like Herod was once afraid of John. They are afraid because light always overcomes darkness, and the truth is eventually stronger than any lies.
The day of the Beheading of John the Forerunner is the day of his parting with the earthly world, where he suffered from human malice, envy, and cruelty. At first sight, evil appears to be triumphant: the righteous man is murdered, and his executioners keep celebrating. But it only seems so. The head of the prophet fell down, but his word remained incorruptible. The martyr death of John the Forerunner became the crown of his ministry, it did not strike out his mission but, on the contrary, made it eternal. And what happened with Herod, Herodias, and Salome? Their fate turned out to be unenviable, like that of all fighters against God and His servants...
Let the example of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John, fortify us in the present hard times, so that we may fear no threats or persecution, so that we may remain faithful to Christ and His Holy Church. And may the Lord give us at least a little bit of that unwavering faith, love for the truth, heavenly wisdom, and spiritual courage which this wonderful man was full of.
Happy feast, dear friends!
All related news Today, the Holy Orthodox Church remembers the tragic and at the same time magnificent day — the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John.
The Saviour Himself said about Him in the Gospel that 'among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist' and put him higher than all the prophets. He had a special gift — a special sensitivity of soul, an 'inner ear', capable of hearing the voice of God. His life, spent in the solitude of the desert, in incessant fasting and prayer, was a feat of an ascetic, who prepared the path for the Son of God — the Saviour of the world. At the turn of the Old and New Testaments, he comes out to the people with a call for repentance, and His word was like a fire: it cleansed hearts, awakened the conscience, prepared people for a meeting with Christ.
The truth often turns out to be uncomfortable for the authorities. In his sermons, John fearlessly rebuked the local ruler, Herod Antipas, who oppressed the people and lived unrighteously and immorally, given his lawless relationship with his brother's wife. Out of fear of people's turmoil, John was bound in prison at the palace. But the prophetic voice kept sounding and troubling the conscience of sinners there as well. The tetrarch's offended wife, Herodias, sought a chance to close these lips. And when her daughter, Salome, after pleasing the king and nobles with her dance on a large banquet, demanded John's head, she received what she had desired on a plate.
History repeats itself. There are always 'Salomes' and 'Herodiases' near the thrones and chairs of rulers. There are always people willing to sacrifice the truth and condemn the innocent for the crumbs from the table of the powers that be. There are those who, like then, fear the living voice of God and thus try to silence it, to destroy its source: to ban the true canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, take away shrines, arrest hierarchs, and even mobilise priests, whom God Himself has forbidden to take up arms. They are afraid of people free from the blinders of their poisonous propaganda, like Herod was once afraid of John. They are afraid because light always overcomes darkness, and the truth is eventually stronger than any lies.
The day of the Beheading of John the Forerunner is the day of his parting with the earthly world, where he suffered from human malice, envy, and cruelty. At first sight, evil appears to be triumphant: the righteous man is murdered, and his executioners keep celebrating. But it only seems so. The head of the prophet fell down, but his word remained incorruptible. The martyr death of John the Forerunner became the crown of his ministry, it did not strike out his mission but, on the contrary, made it eternal. And what happened with Herod, Herodias, and Salome? Their fate turned out to be unenviable, like that of all fighters against God and His servants...
Let the example of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John, fortify us in the present hard times, so that we may fear no threats or persecution, so that we may remain faithful to Christ and His Holy Church. And may the Lord give us at least a little bit of that unwavering faith, love for the truth, heavenly wisdom, and spiritual courage which this wonderful man was full of.
Happy feast, dear friends!
