On Saturday, January 20, 2024, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Forerunner and Baptist John.
This feast means the gathering of the faithful in the Church, to honour the Holy Forerunner, as the one who preeminently officiated at the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.
This feast was celebrated at the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Jerusalem, the one near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian quarter. The Divine Liturgy there was led by Archimandrite Amphilochios with the co-celebration of Archimandrite Christodoulos, Fr Stephen and Hierodeacon Simeon. The chanting was delivered by Nuns of the Patriarchate and Hierodeacon Dositheos, as the service was attended by monks, nuns and members of the Greek community of Jerusalem.
The feast was also celebrated at the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, located on the West Bank of the Jordan River, where our Lord was baptized.
The Divine Liturgy there was celebrated by Archimandrite Chrysostom of the Holy Metropolis of Megara of the Church of Greece and the Priest Anastasios of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with the joint prayer and chanting by the Spiritual Father of the Monastery of Saint Savvas Archimandrite Eudokimos and Monk Theoktistos. The service was attended by some monastics and believers from Jericho.
