SVETI JOVAN 20. JANUAR / 20 TH JANUARY Saint John
JESUS’S BAPTISM
Orthodox believers celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist on 20 th January, as it is believed that it was then that he baptised Christ in the River Jordan. He was born six months before Christ, which is why he was called the Forerunner, as he prepared people for the coming of the Saviour. He had such moral purity that he could be referred to as being more of an angel than a mortal man. “What should we do to gain the grace of God?” asked the people. And John answered them: “Anyone who has two shirts should give one to he who has none, and whoever has plenty of food should share with he who has little”. Like many Christians who suffered on the path of the Lord, John the Baptist was beheaded during the reign of Emperor Herod. He remains as an example of rock solid and unwavering faith, honesty, courage and truthfulness. Saint John is one of the most popular family patron saints’ days in Serbia – ranked fourth in terms of the number of Slava celebrants.
Smatra se poslednjim
KRŠTENJE ISUSOVO Pravoslavni vernici 20. januara slave Jovanjdan, jer se veruje da je tada Sveti Jovan Krstitelj na reci Jordan krstio Hrista. Rođen je šest meseci pre Hrista i zato je nazvan Preteča, jer je ljude pripremao za dolazak Spasitelja. Bio je takve moralne čistote da se pre mogao nazvati anđelom nego smrtnim čovekom. „Šta treba da radimo pa da zadobijemo milost Božju?“, pitali bi, a Jovan bi im govorio: „Ko ima dve
prorokom Starog zaveta i prvim koji je prepoznao Isusa kao Spasitelja / He is considered the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first to recognise Jesus as the Saviour
haljine, neka jednu dade onome ko nema nijednu, a ko ima dosta hrane, neka podeli onome ko nema nimalo“. Poput mnogih hrišćana koji su stradali na putu Gospodnjem, i Sveti Jovan je posečen u vreme cara Iroda. Ostao je primer čvrste i nepokolebljive vere, poštenja, odvažnosti i istinoljubivosti. Sveti Jovan je jedna od najpopularnijih slava u Srbiji – po broju svečara nalazi se na četvrtom mestu.
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