August 29:
The Holy Glorious Prophet,
Forerunner and Baptist John

HYMN OF PRAISE to SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

O Saint John, wonderful Baptizer,

Of the Savior, you were the glorious Forerunner,

You, with your purity, touched human souls

And, as an awesome trumpet, from the Jordan resounded

From sleep and idle vices, awakening men,

When the axe was near to the root.

To you I bow, to you I pray:

Every temptation, help me to resist.

Prophet most powerful, to you I bow,

And before you kneel and before you I weep:

From your heart, grant me the strength of a lion,

From your spirit, grant me angelic whiteness.

Grant me your strength that by practice to attain

To God be submissive and to rule over myself,

To baptize by fasting, to purify by all-night vigils,

To sweeten by prayer and heavenly vision,

And to every martyrdom, walk without fear

With your courage and with a strong faith.

O Saint John, God's chosen one,

And glorious martyr for supreme justice,

You, of whom the godless armies are afraid

To my prayers, do not turn a deaf ear,

But, strengthen me by your prayers,

That as a true candle before the Lord, I stand.

- from the Prologue of Ohrid