By Menios Papadimitriou
With the blessing of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Fathers John Vlahos, and Demetrios Kazakis joined Fr. Dean Panagos at his parish, St Johns Greek Orthodox Church, in Blue Point, NY to celebrate the Divine Liturgy of the feast of the Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John on Monday, August 29, 2022.
The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner is the Orthodox Church’s annual commemoration of the martyrdom of John the Baptist which occurred in the 32nd year after the Birth of Christ. The church observes a strict fast day on this day, no matter what day of the week the feast falls, as an expression of the grief of Christians at the saint’s violent and unjust death. The accounts of his martyrdom are taken from the Gospels of Matthew (14:1-12) and Mark (6:14-29).
Fr. John is the Proistamenos of St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church in Greenlawn, NY, and Fr. Demetrios serves St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Babylon, NY as the community’s proistamenos. The three parishes are located within the Direct Archdiocesan District.
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Photos: St. John Greek Orthodox Church