TODAY WE CELEBRATE SAINT JOHN: On this day, brotherhoods and godparentships are formed, here’s how else he is called!

The Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful today celebrate the Assembly of Saint John the Baptist, more commonly known as Jovanjdan.

This is a frequent saint’s day among Serbs, considered the fourth most common. It is marked in red on the calendar and comes immediately after Christmas and Epiphany.

Apart from the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos, only Saint John is celebrated multiple times throughout the year. In this way, the church highlights the spiritual greatness of his personality and his indispensable role in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Saint John baptized Jesus Christ, hence the name the Baptist. He is the only prophet who was given the ability to point with his hand to the One whose coming he prophesied, and thus he was also called the Prophet. And tradition calls him the Forerunner because he preached the coming of the Messiah.

Saint John was born into the home of righteous and pious people, the high priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. Already elderly, they prayed to God for a child, who later served the holy sacrament of baptism. This saint spent his youth in the wilderness, and then began to call the people to repentance.

Of exceptional moral purity, he received the gift from God to baptize people and free them from their sins.

He fearlessly criticized both the people and the elders, and his love for truth and justice ultimately led him to death.

In our people, Saint John is highly esteemed. When forming godparentships and brotherhoods, the name of this saint is always mentioned, and he is often celebrated as a patron saint.

Today’s feast is called an Assembly because people gather in churches today to celebrate Saint John the Baptist.

It is celebrated several times a year, but the most celebrants are on this very day.