On Monday, 20th January 2025, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the Synaxis of the Honourable Prophet and Baptist John.
Due to the special role he fulfilled in baptising the Lord, the Church understands the term “Synaxis” as the gathering of its members to honour the Honourable Forerunner.
This feast was celebrated particularly in the Holy Church of Saint John the Baptist, situated in the centre of the Old City of Jerusalem, south of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In this Holy Church, Vespers were held in the evening, and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the morning by the Archimandrites, Christodoulos, Meletios, and Claudius, along with the Romanian-speaking priests and the celebrating Archimandrite John, Archdeacon Mark, and Deacon Eustathios, with the chanting of Hierodeacon Dositheos and visiting monks from Mount Athos.
After the Divine Liturgy, the celebrants were warmly received by the renovator of the Holy Church, the Hegumen Archimandrite Bartholomew.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
