Cathedral of the Baptist and Baptist John

Among the Orthodox Church dates there are many memorable days dedicated to John the Baptist One of them falls on January 20, this is the Cathedral of the Baptist and Baptist John The date is directly related to the feast of the Epiphany, which falls on January 19 John the Baptist was a contemporary of Jesus Christ and a very famous person of his time His entire life's path was connected with the prophecy of the coming of the Savior The Baptist was a long-awaited child in a well-born family that had remained childless for a long time The birth of John was a divine miracle for his elderly parents As a baby, the future Baptist was almost killed by order of King Herod, who ordered the destruction of all the babies of Bethlehem But the mother, warned by an angel, managed to escape with her son into the desert The Baptist's father died, having hidden the secret of the escape of his wife and son from the soldiers carrying out Herod's orders Ascetic life in the desert has become familiar to the Forerunner; he wears clothes made of skins and wool, eats locusts and wild honey At the age of 30, the Prophet became known for his preaching throughout the Jordanian country He called the people to repentance, recalling the commandments of the Old Testament; his speeches often mentioned the imminent coming of the Messiah and the approach of the Kingdom of Heaven The Forerunner baptized many, dipping them into river waters and praying, cleansing their bodies with water and souls with repentance During the next baptism, Jesus was among the crowd The Prophet immediately realized who had come to him and expressed surprise, realizing that he was talking to the son of God But Jesus answered that his baptism was a work of righteousness that must be done During the Forerunner’s prayer, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a snow-white dove, and the true essence of Christ was revealed John, preaching about the truth, did not remain silent about the crimes of the royal family, for which the king’s wife Herodias hated him By spreading slander, she achieved the arrest of the Forerunner And then, involving her own daughter in the crime, she forced the king to sentence the Baptist to execution The Orthodox Church venerates John the Baptist as one of the most important saints, ranking immediately after the Mother of God in importance The prophet appears as one of the main prayer books for humanity before God, who has earned this right with his ascetic life and fearless delivery of the truth In Slavic rituals, the holiday of the Cathedral of the Forerunner is called the Winter Wedding Party, Ivan Brazhnik, Lazy Day and other similar names Early in the morning they drank baptized water on an empty stomach, and after the festive meal they brought the remains of the ritual food to the cattle so that they would not get sick and would be fruitful From this day on, the end of the winter holidays began, giving way to a time of everyday household chores Finally, the bans on spinning and sewing were lifted, and it was possible to go into the forest without fear of meeting a pack of wolves and evil spirits After Midsummer, the time for matchmaking began In families with marriageable girls, grooms and matchmakers were waiting, preparing beer for the guests as a mandatory treat This small wedding season lasted until Maslenitsa