On the day of martyrdom of Holy Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord John, a great man of faith and an ascetic, the Church offers us to remember those who, like this innocent saint, have perished for faith and Motherland either in prison or on the battlefield.

The Forerunner of the Lord who has suffered for the Divine truth has long been known as a patron of warriors who vowed to give their lives for truth. An Imperial Decree by Catherine II in 1769 determined to serve the panikhida service on the day of the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner at the time when Russia was fighting wars with the Turks and the Poles that claimed lives of a great number of the Russian soldiers.

Following the early-morning Divine Liturgy, Rev. Fr. Anthony Beliaev and Archdeacon Job (Shendrya), the monastery clergymen, served panikhida at the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery’s Trinity Cathedral. We prayed for all the servicemen who met death while defending our Motherland and its people.